China

As we approach the second US-DPRK Summit, the media in the United States is so focused on the dynamics between President Trump and Kim Jong-un that the interests and motivations…

President Donald Trump is off on his longest international trip yet, stopping in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. There, he is expected to tackle a range of…

For the first Korean Kontext podcast of 2017, five members of the KEI staff sat down with host Jenna Gibson for a chat about the volitility of 2016 and what…

In this episode, which originally aired in 2011, we hear from author Mike Kim, who speaks with Korean Kontext about his experiences living and working with North Korean refugees on…

By Phil Eskeland Earlier this morning, the U.S. government revealed that the U.S. surpassed all previous records in exporting manufactured and agricultural goods to the Republic of Korea (ROK), reaching $48.3 billion for 2017.  This trend started approximately 1 ½ years ago, but the previous year’s annualized trade data did not fully reveal this development…

KEI Communications Director Jenna Gibson, host of the KEI podcast Korean Kontext, recently interviewed Min Jin Lee, author of the critically acclaimed book Pachinko, a novel centered around the struggles of a Korean family living in Japan. The following is a partial transcript of that conversation, which has been edited for space. The rest of…

By Kyle Ferrier It was only just reported last week that South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa will be attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Her visit to the annual conference most closely associated with globalization marks the first time a South Korean foreign minister has participated since Yoon Byung-se attended in…

By Troy Stangarone Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo recently signaled that he may remain in Japan rather than attend the opening ceremony for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea. While Prime Minister Abe could still decide to attend the Games with the Diet signaling a willingness to change its schedule to allow his attendance,…

Please join KEI for a conversation with Markus Garlauskas and Axel Catellier on the factors driving South Korea’s recent military force development.