United States of America

2012 was a year of leadership transition in China and a presidential election in the United States. At the 18th Congress of China’s Communist Party in November, Hu Jintao passed…

The papers in this volume address some of the key issues that impacted Korea in 2012 and some important trends that will influence future policies. In the first year following…

Washington and Seoul are negotiating the replacement of their 1974 civil nuclear cooperation agreement that expires in March 2014. Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act (AEA) requires exports…

The 2012 electi on saw the rising prominence of Korean Americans as an increasingly visible force in U.S. politi cs. This paper discusses key features of the Korean American vote,…

By Ken Gause The death of Kim Chong-il does not only mean a transition in leadership as can be seen with the apparent coronation of Kim Chong-un as the successor. It also likely means a change in the leadership structure, which will potentially have a dramatic impact on how Pyongyang makes decisions and how those…

By Troy Stangarone Years ago, The Economist developed the Big Mac Index to track how much a MacDonald’s Big Mac cost in countries around the world. The idea was to provide an understandable measure for purchasing power parity across countries since the Big Mac is a basic commodity that has spread across the world. Of…

By Troy Stangarone Despite the financial crisis of 2008, the global downturn that followed in 2009, and a year of tension between North and South Korea, the Kaesong Industrial Complex has been remarkably resilient. New numbers from the Ministry of Unification show that production at the complex was up 38 percent in September from a…

By Sarah K. Yun Soft power is the ability of a country or an actor to obtain what it wants through attraction and charm rather than through hard power and force.  The ultimate goal of fostering soft power is to promote a positive image in order to enhance one’s ability to influence.  Like many nations,…

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.