South Korea

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…

By Troy Stangarone For the first time this year, Korea has surpassed the $1 trillion mark in annual trade volume, making it just one of nine nations to do so. This milestone comes after years of intensive export lead growth that have transformed Korea from one of the poorest nations in the world into a…

By Chad 0Carroll Last week the hosts of the world’s most popular political podcast, Naneun Ggomsuda, spoke to a packed audience in Washington DC as part of a tour that also took them to Boston, New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.  Focusing primarily on the satire of domestic South Korean politics, worldwide demand…

By Troy Stangarone When scholars and historians look back on the Seoul G-20, it is likely to be seen as a brief interregnum between crises rather than the first post-crisis summit that many world leaders had hoped it would be at the time. Since the Seoul Summit last November, the world has faced growing concerns…

By Sarah K. Yun Soft power is the ability of a country or an actor to obtain what it wants through attraction and charm rather than through hard power and force.  The ultimate goal of fostering soft power is to promote a positive image in order to enhance one’s ability to influence.  Like many nations,…