Asia in Motion: Latest APAC Journal Captures Common Thread of ‘Movement and Change’

The 2024-2025 edition of the Asia-Pacific Affairs Council (APAC) Journal has just been released and is available to download.  

Centered on the theme “Asia in Motion,” the new issue includes pieces on China, Laos, Tibet, Taiwan, India, and Southeast Asia as a whole. The seven articles offer a comprehensive look at how nations across the Indo-Pacific region are navigating an era of profound upheaval. Technological change is a constant, with AI governance, information warfare, renewable energy, and the growth of data centers in Southeast Asia’s tech hubs some of the topics under consideration. This year’s Journal also makes room for the traditional Tibetan folk dance known as Gorshey; the Lao–China Railway; and China’s development financing in the Pacific Islands.   

The APAC Journal is an annual project of the graduate student group known as the Asia Pacific Affairs Council, which is supported by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. The editorial team behind this year’s Journal consists of Editor-in-Chief Mi Yeon Kim (Columbia MBA and MIA ’25) and Assistant Editors Charlotte Ho (Columbia MIA ’26), Flora Ren (Columbia MIA ’26), Hanh Angela To (Columbia MPA ’25), Subin Moon (Columbia MPA ’26), and Ying Yi Tan (Columbia MIA ’26). 

According to Assistant Editor Ho, their main goal with this year’s issue was to foreground “the dynamic transformations taking place across Asia, particularly with 2024-2025 being a major election cycle. Many countries were either heading into elections or experiencing policy shifts influenced by elections in allied nations. We wanted the Journal to reflect the economic, political, and technological complexity of these changes while providing a platform for student voices.”

Ho explains that the theme “Asia in Motion” is meant to convey the idea that “Asia is constantly evolving across multiple dimensions.” The theme also gave student contributors the freedom to approach the region “from a variety of angles, while staying anchored to a common thread of change.”

The 2025 APAC Journal is also noteworthy for its striking graphic design, which balances elegant visuals with legibility and clarity. Ho is quick to acknowledge the Editor-in-Chief: 

“Huge credit goes to Mi Yeon, who designed the journal from scratch! Presentation was definitely a priority this year, and the design was developed with the possibility of print in mind. Conceptually, we wanted a clean, minimal design that could still encapsulate a sense of movement.”

The APAC Journal will continue to spotlight student voices and capture Asia’s dynamic changes. Watch this space in the Fall 2025 semester for a call for contributors.