1919 Posts located
Central banks have two responsibilities: (1) stabilize the value of the currency and (2) maintain public confidence in deposit money by limiting systemic risk. The first responsibility is primary, ongoing,…
In the unfolding process of the Korean financial crisis in 1997, an inefficient corporate bankruptcy system played a damaging role in the Korean economy. Before the crisis, in 1996 and…
Although Korea has seen its economic growth rates come down from the stratospheric heights of previous decades, it remains, by any advanced-country yardstick, a successful economic performer. Korea’s real GDP…
Korea’s economy in the year 2005 demonstrated that it is picking up significant positive momentum, although the full-year performance in 2005 showed mixed results. Korea’s real gross domestic product (GDP)…
Although it is happening more rapidly in South Korea, an aging society is a common feature in post-industrial societies around the world. With the number of retirees growing and the…
In March, Seoul suffered from the worst air pollution on record. Enough that the South Korean government has officially designated the problem as a "social disaster." But what is causing…
Over the past few years, Korea and Koreans have experienced incredible political, social, and diplomatic shifts. It is hard keeping up with all these new developments as a Korea Watcher,…
Even before the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, foreign policy practitioners and observers were talking about the difficulties of sequencing international sanctions relief for North Korea…
By Sarah K. Yun During the Joint Session of Congress on October 13, President Lee Myung-bak told the epic tale of Korea’s journey from war to peace, and poverty to prosperity; a tale in which he has very much shared in his own personal life. While thanking Congress for the ratification of the KORUS FTA,…
By Nicholas Hamisevicz Much of the focus this week has been on the enduring U.S.-ROK relationship and how these countries envision a future Asia as South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrives in Washington for a state visit. However, beyond the U.S.-South Korea alliance, Korea’s emerging relationship with India can also be an important aspect in…
By Nicholas Hamisevicz In late August, I joined a tourist group led by the Young Pioneer Tours company on a one week trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (or North Korea). Visits to Pyongyang, Mount Paektu, Samjiyon, Chongjin, and Wonsan attracted adventure tourists, some of whom had been to other places like Iran, Burma, and…
By Troy Stangarone After more than a year of heightened tensions over the sinking of the Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island a proposed gas pipeline from Russia to South Korea through North Korea is potentially changing the factors on the ground. Ever since Kim Jong-Il and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed in principal…