United States of America

Although the Korean Peninsula has been divided for over 70 years, North and South have not been able to make lasting progress in terms of reconciliation. While there are multiple…

Why is South Korea pilot-testing its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and what made it shift from non-issuance to consideration? This paper investigates the Bank of Korea (BOK)’s CBDC-related developments…

This paper deals with one of the most critical issues in contemporary international relations: how China’s rise challenges foreign policies of U.S. allies, with a focus on the Republic of…

By Phil Eskeland What does the looming vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for the President have to do with Korea?  While Korea is currently not party to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks, on the surface, the TPA debate appears not to affect Korea all that much.  However,…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz Once again, a month of positive movements but also negative setbacks that keep near term inter-Korean relations uncertain. Many of the inter-Korean related activities that took place in May involved Kaesong in some way. Even with a few interactions, discouraging rhetoric still hurts the possibilities for future possibilities. Inter-Korean connections have been…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz “Survive and advance” is a phrase often associated with the month of March with the NCAA basketball tournament in the United States, but the phrase could be applied to the month of April for events on the Korean peninsula. The two Koreas, as well as the other countries involved in Northeast Asia,…

By Mark Tokola One March 26th newspaper headline read: “South Korea Seeks Membership in Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”  Another newspaper’s headline read: “Decision to Join China-Led Bank Tests South Korea’s Ties to U.S.”  The latter probably drew more readers because, face it, stories about multilateral lending institutions rarely stir excitement.  Stories about potential rifts between…

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.