United States of America

On 1 April 2007 Korea and the United States finally completed their year-long negotiations to conclude the Korea- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), which was then signed by the…

President Lee Myung-bak won a landslide victory in 2007. His popularity before the election was obvious, and it came as a surprise to almost no one that he won by…

The world can only hope the recent U.S.-North Korean bilateral discussions will revive the six-power talks and lead to Pyongyang’s renunciation of its nuclear weapons ambitions. Hope, however, is not…

This paper builds on Kiyota and Stern (2007), in which we analyzed the economic effects of a U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (KORUSFTA). In Section II, we review the objectives and…

By Troy Stangarone Since the first summit meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un in April, efforts by North and South Korea to repair and reconnect road and rail lines on the Korean Peninsula have received significant attention, including the recent announcement that they will be holding a groundbreaking…

By Juni Kim It’s been quite a year for North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un. After a tense 2017 with multiple ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) tests, threatening rhetoric, and North Korea’s largest nuclear demonstration, Kim Jong-un embarked on a very different approach in 2018. Fashioning himself as an open and reasonable statesmen, he has gone on…

By Liberty Smith It is no secret that societal expectations of Korean women are exceedingly burdensome. Approximately 50% of Korean women in their 20’s have had plastic surgery, citing job candidacy and marriage potential as equally strong motivations. Women bear the brunt of unpaid household chores and child-rearing, dedicating more than three times the hours…

By Phil Eskeland The Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau recently released the latest set of monthly trade statistics for October 2018 that includes data on 3rd Quarter services trade.[1]  In terms of merchandise goods, while the U.S. trade deficit through October with the world expanded by 11 percent, the Republic of Korea…

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.