Korea, South

For understandable reasons, the international community has been focused on North Korea's nuclear program, concerned that Pyongyang could have a weapon capable of such massive destruction. But should they also…

Human rights in North Korea remains a divisive issue between the international community and North Korea. In 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council established Commission of Inquiry on Human…

  When Marja Vongerichten was 19, she met her birth mother for the first time since being adopted at age three. The first thing they bonded over, Marja says, was…

Born in Brooklyn, Chef Edward Lee always loved cooking. And after graduating from college with an English literature degree, he returned to that love and became an award-winning chef. Not…

By Phil Eskeland Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum have used North Korea and Iran interchangeably to buttress their position on the negotiations to corral Iran’s nuclear weapons ambition.  Some argue that the Iran deal will not work just like the 1994 nuclear deal with North Korea.  Others argue that the Iranian deal…

This is the third in a three part series looking at the ongoing trade debate in the United States and its impact on Korea. Part one can be found here and part two here. By Phil Eskeland This post was updated on July 24, 2015. This has been an incredibly fascinating past several weeks to anyone who…

By Mark Tokola People who have worked on policy towards North Korea for some time often remark that nothing really changes: the DPRK’s weapons programs progress, gross human rights violations continue, bad crop years are met with international appeals for food assistance, acts of aggression against South Korea occur periodically, and North Korean propaganda threatens…

By Mark Tokola Ceremonies are being held in the UK to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.  On June 15, 1215, in Runnymede, England, King John and a group of rebel barons agreed to a contract, drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury , that placed limits on the King’s power.  Historians will point…

Please join KEI and KIEP for a discussion about the first 10 years of KORUS and the future of the U.S.-Korea economic relationship.