Asia

South Korea and Japan share common challenges and liberal democratic values but have been unable to build a close security relationship, due mainly to their political differences. This paper examines…

At the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), we foster connections to advance United States-Republic of Korea ties. Through bringing together people with an interest in topics of importance to…

How has the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped or influenced China’s geopolitical outlook and its grand strategy for the years to come? This is a question that will determine China’s relationship with…

The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant geopolitical challenges and presents opportunities for the United States in the Indo-Pacific. The Trump administration bungled the crisis, damaging the U.S.’s standing as a paragon…

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…

The summit between President Joe Biden and President Moon Jae-in on May 21 was a resounding success.  Substantively and symbolically they reaffirmed the important strategic and economic relationship between Seoul and Washington.  But at the same time, they carefully avoided the differences between the two on how to proceed in dealing with North Korea, particularly…

Despite the completion of the internal policy review and a successful summit, newly-appointed North Korea envoy Sung Kim faces many of the same constraints that have long plagued U.S. North Korea policy. The Biden administration has rightly acknowledged that any engagement implies “a calibrated, practical approach.” But there are simply not that many policy levers…

What Happened On April 1, Minjok Sarangbang, a small South Korean publishing company, printed copies of Kim Il Sung’s 1992 memoir, With the Century without the required government approval. The Ministry of Unification is investigating the situation, and South Korean retailers pulled the books from their shelves. Multiple conservative civic groups filed an injunction to prevent the sale of Kim’s memoir claiming it could endanger…

What Happened In March, the Biden administration encouraged Seoul to increase trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan. Biden’s first face-to-face meeting with an international leader occurred in April when Japanese Prime Minister Suga arrived in Washington. The U.S. president’s second in-person meeting with a world leader was with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on May 21. Implications: The White House…