Asia

The most important single variable for any trade-dependent country like Korea is robust and sustainable growth for the world economy. Korea takes a sharp hit to its exports, and thus…

Despite the critical function of the armistice, very little political attention has been paid to the agreement, with few bureaucrats, policymakers, and Korea experts sufficiently knowledgeable about its details. Surprisingly,…

In the past few months, Korea’s profile as a peaceful nuclear power has risen with the announcement of a deal for its first ever export of a nuclear power plant—to…

In April 29, with national flags lowered to half-mast across South Korea, a siren blew at 10 a.m. calling for a moment of silence for the 46 sailors lost in…

This spring, Han Kang became the first Korean author to win the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for her novel, "The Vegetarian." And, for the first time in the prize's…

North Korea recently experienced one of the worst natural disasters in its history, as flood waters swept through towns in the northeast part of the country. Up to 600,000 people…

Middlebury College, famous for its immersive language programs, added Korean as its 11th language in 2015. Now, after two summers, the School of Korean is helping students from a variety…

With the goal of supporting the next generation of scholars interested in Korea and Northeast Asia, the U.S.-Korea Next Gen Scholars Program brings together young professionals from various backgrounds to…

By Troy Stangarone On May 2, Korea and China announced that they would begin talks on a bilateral free trade agreement. In many ways, this is a significant step in bilateral relations between Korea and China. The two countries only formally established relations in 1992, and in two short decades the relationship has blossomed on…

By Caryn Fisher The ongoing trial of Anders Behring Breivik, the alleged mass killer from Norway who is undergoing trial for the murder of 77 people, reopens the concept of a link between violent video games and acts of violence in real life. During his trial, Breivik stated that he used the game “Call of…

By Chad 0Carroll North Korea continues to ratchet up its belligerent rhetoric against South Korea, this week threatening to destroy a range of South Korean targets including the Blue House and the offices of various (and named) conservative newspapers and television stations. Rather spectacularly, DPRK state media claimed its military would “reduce all the rat-like…

By Troy Stangarone Nutritional aid might not be the only cost of North Korea’s recent failed satellite launch.  Only a few months prior to Kim Jong-il’s death there had been significant discussion of building a pipeline to transmit Russian gas through North Korea to the South. North Korea had indicated that it would be willing…