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The following is part of a new miniseries from KEI surveying the most important developments and trends in the U.S.-South Korea relationship in 2025. You can read all year-in-review pieces by clicking here. If one theme dominated the global economic narrative in 2025, it was policy uncertainty. From trade and monetary policy to geopolitics and…

South Korea’s cosmetics industry has become one of the country’s most dynamic export engines, transforming from a cultural curiosity into a high-value sector that demonstrates how innovation, soft power, and macroeconomic conditions can converge to reshape a nation’s trade profile. What began as a wave of interest in Korean skincare routines has matured into a…

Despite slowed economic growth, trade tensions, and a declining property market, China continues to present itself as being on a strong path of stability and prosperity. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit late last year was prefaced by expectations of how Chinese President Xi Jinping would come to the table in bilateral talks with President…

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is spending the first weeks of the new year attempting a feat of diplomatic engineering that would challenge the most experienced leader. He began the year in Beijing, the first official visit by a South Korean president since 2019. Next week, he is scheduled to join Japanese Prime Minister…

Dr. Benjamin R. Young is an Assistant Professor of Intelligence Studies at Fayetteville State University. He was a 2024-25 Stanton Foundation Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation. He is the author of the…

The following policy brief is part of a limited series from the Korea Economic Institute of America inspired by the latest edition of Korea Policy, Volume 3 Issue 2. You can read the author’s full paper by clicking here. Executive Summary This paper examines the Lee Jae-myung administration’s China policy, which seeks to balance relations…

The following is part of a new miniseries from KEI surveying the most important developments and trends in the U.S.-South Korea relationship in 2025. You can read all year-in-review pieces by clicking here. In 2025, security developments on the Korean Peninsula underscored both the durability and the evolution of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Against the…

The following is part of a new miniseries from KEI surveying the most important developments and trends in the U.S.-South Korea relationship in 2025. You can read all year-in-review pieces by clicking here. December 3, 2025, marked one year since then South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. The widespread protests and presidential…

The following is part of a new miniseries from KEI surveying the most important developments and trends in the U.S.-South Korea relationship in 2025. You can read all year-in-review pieces by clicking here. Throughout 2025, economic policy and national security became increasingly interconnected, with the United States treating trade deficits and supply chain vulnerabilities as…