Asia

Seong-Hyon Lee argues that the trilateral relationship between South Korea, Japan, and China is currently at a critical juncture as historical legacies, territorial disputes, and the evolving geopolitical landscape pose…

This introduction provides a broader framework for the first four papers in this issue of Korea Policy by examining five distinct ways or areas wherein trade and investment intersect with…

This paper examines the concept of “derisking” and how the Japanese Economic Security Promotion Act (ESPA) has responded to it within the framework of deterrence theory. It explores how ESPA…

This week, we have a very special guest who flew in from Paris to talk about Korea's economy. Dr. Randall Jones is head of the Japan/Korea Desk at the Organization…

As Seoul has grown, it has become more and more international. The city has been making an effort to attract more foreign visitors, whether as tourists, students or workers. This…

Over the last 50 years, Myanmar has oscillated between periods of friendship with South Korea and partnership with North Korea. As Myanmar opens to the international community, however, investment and…

Anyone who has spent time in Korea knows the term Yellow Dust. Sand from Mongolia sweeps across China, picking up pollutants and carrying them across borders. Every spring, Koreans bring…

Despite being thousands of miles apart, the Korean Peninsula and Ukraine share a land border with Russia. Given their respective ties to Moscow, both South and North Korean governments have toed around the sidelines of the Ukraine crisis—with Seoul publicly supporting a diplomatic solution while quietly considering additional humanitarian aid to Kyiv, and Pyongyang issuing…

The Ukraine accounts for 11.8% of the world’s wheat market and has long been known as the “breadbasket of Europe.” However, the potential outbreak of conflict between Russia and the Ukraine has implications for Ukraine’s wheat trade with all nations, including South Korea. The Ukraine is the 2nd largest exporter of wheat to South Korea,…

North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s parliament, adopted the government budget for the new year at its session February 6-7.  The budget law was approved with a pledge to develop the economy and improve the people’s wellbeing despite the “persevering struggle” against international sanctions and the COVID pandemic. A particularly noteworthy aspect of the…

This post was revised on August 21 , 2023 to reflect additional research by the authors. Additional analysis can be found in authors' article Political Polarization in Korea. Korea’s democracy is clearly a success story. Along with Taiwan, it is one of the few Asian countries that transitioned to democratic rule in the 1980s and…