Asia

During the past several decades numerous discussions about the problems of education in South Korea have been advanced by government officials, education experts, teachers, students, parents, as well as the…

The automobile industry is a dynamic and significant sec-tor in most of the major economies in the world. It is closely related to various other manufacturing sectors such as rubber,…

More than two decades ago, when the USSR still existed and the concept of the world socialist system presumed that all socialist countries were developing as one, I argued (still…

One cannot enter the same river twice. Every time one looks at North Korea, on the surface it appears boringly the same. Its life fl ows in the same predictable…

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…

What Happened Last September, Google sought to force all apps downloaded from Google Play Store to use its billing system. Mounting criticism from app developers prompted Google to lower its commission rate for its billing system from 30% to 15% for app developers whose annual sales amount to less than USD 1 million. Recently, Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers pushed ahead with…

What Happened The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced earlier this week to put some nuclear reactors back in operation to meet the public’s energy demand amid the ongoing heatwave. The government is also urging businesses and the public to roll back their electricity consumption as current demand threatens to outstrip supply. The increased demand for electricity has…

As K-pop’s popularity expands beyond South Korea, industry leaders are expanding to the American market by joining hands with large American record labels – HYBE, the entertainment company that manages the popular band BTS, announced a partnership with Universal Music Group. Meanwhile, another major South Korean entertainment company SM signed a similar agreement with MGM. These partnerships hope…

What Happened Last week, South Korea’s top policymakers discussed plans for dealing with the country’s low birth rate and the falling size of the country’s working-age population. One proposed measure calls for extending after-school childcare services to encourage mothers to focus more on work. However, parents and teachers’ groups are criticizing the government’s plan saying what is really needed…