Asia

After two years of sluggish growth, the Korean economy is now recovering. Economic activity began to revive in the early part of 2005 and accelerated throughout the year, reaching an…

The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and the Korea-European Union Free Trade Agreement (Korea-EU FTA) are the major FTAs for the Korean economy. Although both FTAs share many similarities,…

This study was undertaken to assess possible futures for the North Korean regime and the Korean peninsula that could affect U.S. and regional interests, and to consider which U.S. and…

This article is aimed at analyzing, in a comparative perspective, the economic reforms undertaken by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) and Cuba since the demise of…

This interview originally aired in 2014.  With the retirement by Yi So-yeon, South Korea’s remaining astronaut, many have turned attention to Korea, wondering whether there is a future for its…

In this episode, we spoke with Kevin O'Donnell, who, after decades on a private sector career path, became the first-ever Peace Corps country director for South Korea, followed by a…

As North Korea's largest trading partner and political ally, China is a crucial factor in any potential solution to curb North Korea's weapons programs. President Trump expressed hope earlier this year…

In December 1950, while fighting the advancing Chinese army and bitter Korean winter, Colonel Edward Forney and other American and Korean officers managed to evacuate all troops as well as…

As 2021 began, the world was still in the depths of the pandemic and vaccines to protect against COVID-19 were only beginning to become available to the public in a small number of countries. As 2022 begins, the pandemic continues to impact lives and economies around the world but there are signs of recovery. Among…

One of Korea's strongest capabilities is its soft power, accrued through its exports of Korean popular culture. Whether it’s Squid Game or BTS, Parasite or Black Pink, the Korea Wave has reached every shore and boosted Korea's profile. But while this does provide some opportunities, experts say there are limitations to what objectives the Korean…

The campaign for the March presidential election has been marred with partisan attacks and personal scandals that are reflective of the deeply seated fissures in Korea that mirror the emergence of bipolar "mega identities" in the U.S., especially as a backlash to the alleged successes or failures of the progressive Moon Jae-in administration. But in…

The potential growth rate – the level of output that an economy can produce at a constant inflation rate – in Korea has declined steadily from 5.0% during 1997-2006 to 2.7% during 2017-20, according to the OECD (Figure 1). The OECD projects that it will slow further to 2.2% from 2021-23. The Bank of Korea…