This special issue presents 7 articles on the Korean Peninsula and Korea’s place in contemporary international affairs. Bringing together Korea-based scholars from the fields of international relations, area studies, literature, and digital media, as well as Michael Reiterer, former Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Korea, the issue addresses topics of growing importance for understanding Korea in the age of polycrisis. The contributions focus on North Korea, alliance dilemmas, shifting security perceptions in the Korean digital public sphere during the Ukraine War, translation and cultural mediation, the implications of the UK’s reset diplomacy towards the EU, cultural Iberism, and the risks of reunification by absorption. Taken together, the articles show the diversity of perspectives through which the Korean Peninsula can be examined today.