China

With North Korea announcing to the world that it will be attempting to launch a second satellite for 2012, many analysts have been speculating as to why Pyongyang is so…

In this episode we hear from author Mike Kim, who speaks with Korean Kontext about his experiences living and working with North Korean refugees on the China-North Korea border. Mike…

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.