Asia

For more than a half century, the specter of renewed conflict across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) has dominated thinking about Korea’s future. To be sure, the prevailing political-military situation at…

The Korea Economic Institute (KEI) is pleased to issue the second of its new “Special Studies.” In contrast to KEI’s other publications, which generally take the form of a compilation…

During the past decade, the United States and Korea have pursued free trade agreements (FTAs) with a number of bilateral trading partners. For the United States, the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) FTA…

During the two-year period since the outbreak in August 2007 of the U.S. subprime crisis, Korea has felt its severe effects: Korea’s economy contracted sharply and experienced a liquidity crisis.…

Despite being industrial powerhouses, Korea and Japan are both resource-poor nations with limited domestic sources of energy. Powering their economies required both to develop supply chains for fossil fuels, nuclear…

In 2023, KEI has set out on its “Rethinking Korea initiative,” which explores the evolution of U.S.-Korea relations, Korea’s place in the world, and rapid changes in Korean society itself.…

In 2023, KEI has set out on its “Rethinking Korea initiative,” which explores the evolution of U.S.-Korea relations, Korea’s place in the world, and rapid changes in Korean society itself.…

In 2023, KEI has set out on its “Rethinking Korea initiative,” which explores the evolution of U.S.-Korea relations, Korea’s place in the world, and rapid changes in Korean society itself.…

This is the first in a 10 part series looking at how the issues identified in KEI’s annual “10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula” series developed in 2021. The original “10 Issues” piece can be found here. The North Korean border continues to be closed since extensive quarantine conditions were imposed in…

What Happened The Korean government adopted a mandate requiring people to show their vaccine passports when accessing libraries and tutoring facilities. Nationwide polling showed overall public support for the government’s requirement for vaccine passports when accessing these institutions, but 40.4% expressed opposition. Meanwhile, 76.8% supported similar measures for entry to restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and stores. Implications: Korean society…

What Happened Public health mandate requiring vaccine passes to enter restaurants, grocery stores, and cafes incited backlash from foreign nationals whose overseas vaccinations were not recognized. Seoul amended its vaccine pass requirement for foreign nationals after a U.S.-led embassy protest. Prior to the changes, the U.S. military issued its own vaccine documents that were recognized by South Korean…

In the first few days of December each year, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issues an annual Global Humanitarian Overview focusing on current humanitarian trouble spots and setting the agenda for UN humanitarian aid in the coming year.  The 2022 Global Humanitarian Overview issued December 2 this year, projected…