Asia

The Fall 2024 issue of Korea Policy, Broadening the Alliance: New Frontiers in US-South Korea Cooperation, is a special issue focused on the US-ROK alliance. The issue is motivated by…

The Joe Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol administrations have embraced the expansion of economic cooperation within the US-ROK alliance, leading to the emergence of South Korea as a valued technology partner…

The security alliance between the United States and South Korea, once focused primarily on military defense, is evolving to include economic security and technological cooperation. The evolving partnership between the…

This paper elucidates how Washington and Seoul cooperate on AI and quantum technologies, both recognized as critical emerging technologies essential to their national interests. Technology cooperation is denoted as government-to-government…

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…

Korea’s real GDP grew 6.6% (seasonally-adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2021, bringing it back to its pre-pandemic peak level (Figure 1). The May OECD Economic Outlook projects that it will increase 3.8% in 2021, significantly faster than its March outlook of 3.3%. The new projection is consistent with forecasts by the Bank…

What Happened On May 13, the South Korean government announced it will provide tax incentives and subsidies to encourage growth and investment in the domestic chip market. On May 25, the government announced additional plans to provide financial incentives and support to domestic makers of automotive chips and other key car components. The government also sent requests to foreign automotive chip…

Despite differences in political ideology, South Korea’s relationship with Vietnam has deepened and evolved since formal diplomatic relations were established in 1992. Trade and economic investment have grown substantially, and the two countries have upgraded their bilateral relationship from a “dialogue partnership” to a “strategic partnership.” Next year’s 30th anniversary of South Korea’s diplomatic relations…

At the end of May, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea held his first in-person meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House. The joint statement released by the U.S. indicates that the leaders discussed a wide range of areas to deepen cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea, from climate change and COVID-19,…