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…

This essay was part of a contest jointly organized by the George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies and the Institute for Korean Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. The contest invited students to analyze a South Korean policy challenge and propose evidence-based solutions. The winning entries are published on KEI’s blog. South Korea’s healthcare system,…

10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula in 2025 Authors: Mai Anna Pressley, Dan Sneider, Nils Wollesen Osterberg, Scott Snyder, Tom Ramage, James Kim, Jennifer Ahn, Clint Work, Joo Young Kim   The year 2024 ended with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, his impeachment by the National Assembly,…

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called to congratulate Donald Trump shortly after the US presidential election, telling the president-elect that the first Trump administration had set the foundation for US-Korea-Japan trilateral cooperation. Yoon later told the press he expected cooperation “would proceed well even during the [second] Trump administration.” Although some of the personnel…

The debate over sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) highlights the need and desire for nations to develop their own AI systems, including large language models (LLMs), tailored to their unique cultural and historical contexts. This idea has gained traction in Seoul, where US LLMs like ChatGPT have often fallen short in addressing questions that require a…

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.