Korea, South

In this episode of Korean Kontext, I have the opportunity to speak with Richard V. Allen, who, in the weeks preceding his official instatement as National Security Advisor to President-elect…

We bring the Korean Kontext studio to the U.S. Department of State to speak with Kathleen Stephens, current U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. Ambassador Stephens shares with us her personal…

Hello again after the holiday break! Just before the holidays I spoke with Hawon Lee, who was just wrapping up his nearly four years as Washington D.C. Bureau Chief of…

In this episode, we are joined by Balbina Hwang, currently a visiting professor at Georgetown University and the National Defense University here in D.C. Ms. Hwang is here to speak…

By Troy Stangarone After more than six years of negotiations, debate, and delay, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) will come into effect tomorrow. Expectations for the agreement run high, especially in Korea where there has been significant public debate over the KORUS FTA. Starting tomorrow we will begin to see if the agreement…

By Chad O'Carroll In 2012 South Korea will hold elections for both the National Assembly and the presidency, the first time that both votes will be in held during the same year in several decades. With South Korean president’s being limited to a maximum term of five years, Lee Myung-bak will be ending his term in…

By Dr. Richard Weitz During his campaign for the Russian presidency, Vladimir Putin wrote several lengthy articles detailing his views and policy recommendations. In his foreign policy treatise, Putin devoted a surprising amount of attention to North Korea. Putin writes that, “We have consistently advocated the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula - exclusively through political…

By Sarah K. Yun Traditionally, Korea’s major diplomatic and trade partners consisted of the United States, Japan, China, Europe, and Russia. Under President Lee Myung-bak’s “New Asia Initiative,” Korea has boosted its engagements in the Asia-Pacific, especially smaller neighbors in the region. The rationale is that Korea can serve as an excellent and non-threatening model…

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.