Asia

Digitalization could open a new era of growth for Korea. Previous expansion waves, based on traditional industries, have fostered export-led growth and placed Korea among the world’s top ten economies.…

After an initial surge in cases, Korea was less seriously affected by the COVID-19 virus than other countries, but the subsequent recovery was relatively mild. The negative effect was concentrated…

This paper deals with one of the most critical issues in contemporary international relations: how China’s rise challenges foreign policies of U.S. allies, with a focus on the Republic of…

The rivalry between the United States and China is affecting countries in its midst. This particularly applies to South Korea. The country is a strong economic player with a successful…

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…

One year ago, President Moon Jae-in launched the Korean New Deal, which aims to “set the foundation for Korea’s next 100 years.” The New Deal is a national development strategy with three main objectives. First, create jobs, both government-supported positions for low-skilled workers and jobs that support the transition towards a digital and green economy.…

Does society affect the quality of the movies its directors make? Do democracies in fact make better art? Perhaps South Korea can provide an outlook on this question. 1960 is a special year in the country’s political history - a popular protest ousted President Syngman Rhee from office in April after he attempted to hold…

What Happened In 2019, Korean Internet Service Provider (ISP) SK Broadband claimed that heavy data usage by the U.S. streaming service Netflix posed a major financial burden and sought government arbitration. Local online platforms have also complained of reverse discrimination as domestic platforms pay substantially more in network usage fees than foreign ones. In response to a new law…

What Happened As vaccines begin wider distribution in Korea, the digitally literate youth are at a significant advantage in finding appointments over the elderly who are at a greater risk of infection. Police reported that social media users admitted to using tools like automated keystroke sequences to increase their chances of finding vaccine appointments. Vaccine scarcity and the zeal of…