Asia

South Korean–Middle Eastern relations have been neglected in the literature throughout the years, mainly owing to the focus on Korea’s relations with the United States and Asian states and the…

An old Korean proverb says that when two whales fight it is the shrimps whose backs are crushed. Maybe that proverb best describes Korea’s situation on the trade front these…

The Domestic and International Politics of Spent Nuclear Fuel in South Korea: Are We Approaching Meltdown?

Geography alone would give Russia a prominent role in the Korean peninsula. The Russian Federation currently shares a recently demarcated 17-kilometer common border along the Tumen River with the Democratic…

Growing up in Tennessee and Alabama, Dr. David Oh never imagined he would one day be leading a mission to explore a metallic asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. But…

In 2017, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will complete the move of nearly all troops and support staff from Yongsan Garrison in Seoul to Camp Humphreys, 50 miles south of the…

For the first Korean Kontext podcast of 2017, five members of the KEI staff sat down with host Jenna Gibson for a chat about the volitility of 2016 and what…

The last several rounds of UN sanctions against the DPRK have been called the "strongest ever," and the new sanctions passed on November 30 are no different. There are some…

By Troy Stangarone On May 1, South Korean President Park Geun-hye will travel to Iran for a three-day summit with the newly emerging regional power. Her visit will represent the first summit meeting between Iran and South Korea since the two nations established relations in 1962. However, while relations with Iran hold significant promise with…

By Eunjung Lim On April 13, 2016, the legislative election for the 20th National Assembly of South Korea (hereafter Korea) was held. Like many Korean dramas that have earned popularity across different continents, this election was full of dramatic turnovers that made Korea experts on the other side of the world, in Washington, D.C., surprised…

By Jenna Gibson Walking down one of Seoul’s many shopping streets, sandwiched between food carts and two-story portraits of the latest k-pop phenom, store clerks hover, calling out to the crowds as they pass by in various foreign languages. “Ohayo gozaimasu! Nihao! Hello! Come in! Big sale today!” They know their audience – tourists in…

By William Brown China surprised many Washington pundits by signing on in February to what looks like fairly tough trade sanctions on North Korea.  Most importantly, it agreed to put a halt to its purchases of coal and metal ores to the extent that these provide foreign exchange to North Korea’s military and to the…