The Peninsula
The Peninsula blog is a project of the Korea Economic Institute. It is designed to provide a wide ranging forum for discussion of the foreign policy, economic, and social issues that impact the Korean peninsula.
North Korea’s Top Five Outrageous Claims
Jenna Gibson
January 21, 2016
From the superhero-esque origin stories of the Kim family to the fantastical inventions they have gifted to the world, here are five of the most outrageous claims from North Korea.
U.S. Presidential Debates Enter Rhetorical Overdrive
Phil Eskeland
November 20, 2015
What clues can we detect in the U.S. presidential debates thus far about how the candidates view foreign policy, international trade, and, more specifically, relations with the Republic of Korea?
Gender Discrimination in Job Interviews Contributes to Workforce Inequality
Jenna Gibson
November 4, 2015
What interests you about this job? What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? What are your measurements? One of these questions would raise red flags if asked by a potential employer here in the United States, but it is still relatively common in Korea
Crisis Averted – For Now
Phil Eskeland
October 31, 2015
This was a very interesting week in Washington – three seminal events happened (no, the visit of Prince Harry doesn’t count) that were linked in some fashion to the surprise resignation of House Speaker John Boehner announced last month.
Happy Halloween: Korea Shows a Growing Interest in the Spooky Holiday
Jenna Gibson
October 30, 2015
Halloween as we know it in the United States is still not widely celebrated in South Korea. Trick or treating is limited to kindergarten parties and English hagwons, and you’re unlikely to see many jack-o-lanterns or skeletons decorating peoples’ homes.
Global Korea? The Potential Long-term Implications of Recent Cuts to English Education
Jenna Gibson
October 26, 2015
Last month, the Korean Ministry of Education announced major changes to the way South Korean students will learn English. Some of them are positive, and can potentially help ease the overwhelming classroom workload for Korean students. But these new policies may also have some unintended side effects.
The Korean and American Presidents Should Discuss Work-Family Balance Issues
October 13, 2015
Earlier this year in state of the nation addresses, both presidents stressed the importance of enhancing the lives of middle class families and their centrality to revitalizing their national economies. The work-family balance is no longer a matter of individual life, but a national (even global) issue that governments and policymakers should pick up and do something about.
Native Korean Religions: The Old and the New
Juni Kim
October 8, 2015
Although hardly a new phenomenon, a number of native religious movements both large and small have attracted scores of devout Korean followers, intermingled with political causes, and in some cases have notoriously landed in news headlines.
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