Korea, South

With worldwide familiarity of Korean pop culture increasing through the viral exposure of Korean musician Psy’s hit record “Gangnam Style”, this episode Korean Kontext speaks to Mark James Russell, author…

In this episode we spoke to B.R. Myers, author of “The Cleanest Race” and regular contributor to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic.  Having been raised…

In this episode we spoke to comedian and actor Steven Byrne, of the brand new TBS series “Sullivan and Sons”.  Known as one of the hardest working and energetic comics in…

Korean Kontext recently spoke to Gordon Flake of the Mike and Maureen Mansfield Foundation for a conversation about Korea’s rising prominence as a “middle power”.  Focussing on South Korea’s rapidly…

President Yoon Suk Yeol announced on July 5 that South Korea will expand its nuclear energy production to more than 30% of total electricity creation by 2030 from the current level of 27.4%. This is part of a broader plan to use nuclear, hydrogen, and renewable sources of energy to decrease fossil fuels as a…

In the last two posts on Korea and the war in Ukraine, I showed that Moon administration moved relatively quickly to join the international sanctions regime and was rewarded by inclusion on Russia’s  "unfriendly nations" list. I also argued that the costs of standing on international legal principle were softened by the fact that the…

A recent hearing by the Congressional Human Rights Commission expressed hopes for a breakthrough in South Korea’s refugee policies under the Yoon administration. Despite its growing international status and economic power, the country retains an extraordinarily low refugee acceptance rate of 1.5%. South Korea’s refugee policies have been so far shaped by political expedience, not…

Wavve, a South Korean streaming service, plans to release two LGBTQ dating shows in July 2022. While dating and romance reality programs are popular in South Korea, non-heterosexual couples have not been represented in programs developed by mass broadcast studios. Smaller, independent media companies like Wavve on the other hand are more responsive to these…

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.