Korea, South

With President Donald Trump finishing up his first official trip to Asia, including a stop in South Korea last week, this week's episode of Korean Kontext asks: what do South…

President Donald Trump is off on his longest international trip yet, stopping in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. There, he is expected to tackle a range of…

This interview originally aired in 2014.  With the retirement by Yi So-yeon, South Korea’s remaining astronaut, many have turned attention to Korea, wondering whether there is a future for its…

In this episode, we spoke with Kevin O'Donnell, who, after decades on a private sector career path, became the first-ever Peace Corps country director for South Korea, followed by a…

Last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio made significant efforts to develop a strong working relationship to advance the bilateral relationship. In a recent interview with public broadcaster KBS, President Yoon said his Japanese counterpart is an honest leader. In recent months, surveys looking at both the Korean and Japanese publics…

For seventy years, one of the few things that North Korea, South Korea, and the United States agreed upon was the goal of reunifying the Korean Peninsula.  No more, at least for now.  During a January 2024 speech, Kim Jung-un announced, “The reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea.” He…

Corruption has a significant negative effect on economic growth through its impact on investment, competition, entrepreneurship, government efficiency and human capital formation. It also has important implications for numerous indicators of economic development, such as environmental quality, personal health and safety, income distribution and social trust. Reducing corruption should be a top priority. Many studies…

South Korea’s rapprochement with Japan and North Korea’s embrace of Russia significantly shaped events on the Korean Peninsula in 2023. Both promise to have a substantial impact on events in the coming year. After years of declining relations, South Korea took the initiative to mend ties with Japan by proposing a path for resolving the…

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.