Asia

South Korea is currently engaged, once again, in a large-scale, expensive modernization of its military that aims to provide the country with a more robust and self-sufficient defense. The timing…

Globalization is a hallmark of the twenty first-century world. As transportation and telecommunications grow in both efficiency and level of performance and as the ambit of the Internet expands, it…

The penetration of the Internet in Korean society is usually seen as a positive development, perhaps even a model for other countries; more efficient bureaucracy, more political figures making use…

In the field of international security, few connections have been made between the Korean peninsula with the Middle East. Traditional regional studies literature focuses on Korean issues within the Asia…

Since the death of Kim Il-sung in 1994 there have been numerous predictions that the collapse of the North Korean political system would be imminent, yet the Kim dynasty continues…

In February 2014, the United Nations' special Commission of Inquiry on on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched their report, laying out more than 400…

Starting from the period after the Korean War and continuing today, more than 100,000 Korean children were adopted around the world. As they get older, many of them decide to…

Much has been said about the power of outside information – news, weather, and even soap operas – to influence the North Korean public. But a new report takes a…

What Happened There is speculation in South Korea that the Biden administration will strengthen ties between democratic countries to affect U.S. engagement with China. While Seoul has been hesitant to make any moves that might provoke China, former ROK ambassador to the United States Yang Sung-chul noted that the forum can be a means to advance South Korea’s own…

What Happened A record number of retail investors - over 2 million - are expected to attend Samsung Electronics’ virtual shareholder meeting in March. A growing number of domestic retail investors have been purchasing Samsung stocks, leading to its value doubling since March 2020. Retail investors make up 99.6% of Samsung Electronics’ shareholders but they only control 6.48% of the company’s…

What Happened On February 12, a member of the National Assembly noted that 23.5 percent of all North Korean defectors who received medical attention were treated for mental health issues in 2019. Although the South Korean public-at-large is likely underreporting their mental health needs, the defector community showed significantly higher rates than the societal average (4.6 percent) in…

In recent months, western media reporting has emphasized Kim Jong Un’s emotion-laden comments admitting both North Korea’s failure to meet economic goals and the severe hardships being experienced by its people. These statements have been characterized by some western observers as apologies, contrition and personal admissions of “his” failure. Such characterizations should not lead to…