Korea, South

In March, a curious protest took place in Seoul. Private kindergartens were going on strike. Protests by industry groups or workers are not uncommon in South Korea, but something about…

Although it is happening more rapidly in South Korea, an aging society is a common feature in post-industrial societies around the world. With the number of retirees growing and the…

In March, Seoul suffered from the worst air pollution on record. Enough that the South Korean government has officially designated the problem as a "social disaster." But what is causing…

Over the past few years, Korea and Koreans have experienced incredible political, social, and diplomatic shifts. It is hard keeping up with all these new developments as a Korea Watcher,…

The dramatic clash in the Oval Office between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a profound shock to South Korea, which could not believe such an assault on an ally was possible. “It was a very concerning and worrying development,” National Assembly Representative Wi Sung-lac, a former senior diplomat and foreign…

South Korea’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement sets a target of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent by 2030 (relative to their peak in 2018). Korea also aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (Figure 1, Panel A). The targets are ambitious, as Korea was the world’s thirteenth-largest GHG…

Since 2019, decoupling has been the keyword for the global economy. This trend mainly manifested around the US-China trade war, in which the two economies tried to reduce their economic dependency on each other. It had a tangible impact on global supply chains as multinational corporations shifted their production away from China. For instance, GoPro,…

Contributors (last name alphabetical): Je Heon (James) Kim, Joo Young Kim This timeline is the third part of a series that covers major events in the aftermath of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024. This part covers the events from the request by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) for an…

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.