Choong Hong is a Senior Associate at The Asia Group focusing on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. He helps clients monitor the rapidly changing policy landscape by conducting research and detailed analysis on political, industrial, and defense issues, with a focus on critical and emerging technologies, telecommunications, multilateral engagements, bilateral relations, and more.
Prior to joining The Asia Group, Choong worked as the sole researcher for United Nations Security Council Affairs at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York. His diverse portfolio covered a range of UN Security Council agenda items including Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, the Question of Palestine, and North Korea. He also undertook protocol duties over three Korean presidential visits during his time.
Choong earned his MA in international economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies as vice president of his class. He led a capstone project on the outlook of U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation on the global semiconductor supply chain. Choong also holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and human biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Choong was born in Chicago and spent his early childhood in both South Korea and the United States. He is a native speaker of Korean and English. Choong was a competitive golfer in North Carolina and continues to enjoy occasional outings in his spare time.