South Korea

This article was published on The Asan Forum on September 4, 2023. The first ever stand-alone leader-level summit at Camp David between President Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan,…

This article was published on The Korea Times on August 16, 2023. For much of the past year there has been a focus on how the CHIPS and Science Act…

This article was published on The Diplomat on August 7, 2013. On the July 27 anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, there were numerous tributes to the ultimate sacrifice so…

This article was published on The Korea Times on July 19, 2023. Dating back to last year’s presidential election, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has sought to transform Korea’s foreign…

The recent crisis in the Middle East raises questions about the impact it may have on energy access for the world. Faith Birol, the current head of the International Energy Agency, said that the Israel-Hamas war is “definitely not good news” for oil prices. Similarly, on October 30 the World Bank warned that oil prices…

South Korea stands at a critical demographic juncture, facing a declining birthrate that has far-reaching implications for its economy and society. The increasingly severe demographic trends have pushed the government and society to consider which policy measures might offset the social and economic consequences of demographic decline. Fertility quickly declined from an average of six…

The world is turning its attention to China’s economy and Korea is taking note. The South Korean Ministry of Finance put together an all-government task force to respond to the potential negative effects of the downfall of China’s largest property developer, Evergrande, which recently canceled the restructuring of more than $19 billion of debt affecting…

Words and labels have power. They can frame the way we think, fortify assumptions, and build expectations. They also obfuscate and mislead. In academic, diplomatic and media settings, the routine descriptor to contextualize South Korea’s role in the world is “middle power.” We rarely think deeply about the term and are prone to ignore its…