United States of America

Despite an historic delay and continued opposition in some quarters, passage of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) looks set to proceed quickly through the United States Congress. The…

KEI has bid farewell to 6 of its 9 family members this year. The faces and personalities are changing, but KEI’s commitment to excellence remains. We have a basic philosophy…

During the last two years ago, U.S.-South Korea relations have strengthened in ways that many Korea watchers did not expect. With a liberal President Barack Obama entering office, some feared…

Last year was a momentous year for the Korean Peninsula. As the world worked its way out of the global and financial crisis of 2008-2009, South Korea demonstrated its global…

By Phil Eskeland Seventh wedding anniversaries are oftentimes overlooked.  It is not as glamorous as a 25th silver or 50th golden anniversary.  Gifts associated with a seventh year wedding anniversary in the U.S. are items made either out of copper or wool; a far cry from precious stones linked with other momentous anniversaries.  Nevertheless, on…

By Robert R. King The North Korean Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Kim Song, last week made an urgent request on behalf of his government to the United Nations and its affiliated humanitarian agencies to provide food assistance to his country.  The request said the looming food crisis is the result of a…

By William Brown Some in Washington and elsewhere continue to think sanctions pressures are easing on North Korea, and that Marshal Kim heads into his second summit with President Trump in a strong position.  We face a lot of uncertainties when it comes to North Korea, but Kim is probably not going to Vietnam with the…

By Yea Ji Nam In December 2018, close to a hundred thousand taxi drivers took to the streets around the National Assembly to protest against the launch of a mobile ride-sharing service from Kakao Mobility. Amid these rolling protests, two elderly taxi drivers set themselves on fire to bring attention to the challenges facing Korea’s…

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.