Asia

Japan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy predates that of the U.S. In fact, Abe Shinzo gets credit for envisioning it as early as 2007, during his first brief tenure as prime minister. When…

Over the past decade, the “Indo-Pacific” concept has replaced the late 20th century “Asia-Pacific” as a central frame of reference for strategy and external policy. Definitions vary. Some cast the…

KEI’s 2023 Report on American Attitudes Toward the Korean Peninsula summarizes results from a survey commissioned by KEI and conducted by YouGov from August 22nd to August 29th, 2023. The…

For many years, South Korea has been a homogeneous country. But with more foreigners coming to live in Korea, that is starting to change. In fact, the Korea Institute for…

In early July, the United States and South Korea announced that they had come to an agreement to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system near the city…

With Election 2016 well underway, KEI's very own Phil Eskeland has been closely following how both the Republican and Democratic parties have been talking about foreign policy and Asia. He…

In the late 1930s, nearly 200,000 ethnic Koreans were forcibly removed from the Soviet Far East, packed into trains and sent to Central Asia. More than 70 years later, their…

What Happened With increased financial digitization, Korean banks are shutting down their brick and mortar stores around the country. Throughout the pandemic, the elderly have struggled to access basic items such as masks using digital tools. More recently, their inability to quickly claim leftover vaccines through an online system left them at a disadvantage compared to the younger, tech-savvy population. Implications:…

Earlier this week, the North Korean Foreign Ministry released an article entitled “‘Humanitarian Aid’ Should Not Be Abused For Sinister Political Purpose.”  The article was given wide circulation—released by the Foreign Ministry and also the official press agency KCNA.  In a country where the media is rigidly controlled by the regime, the release of such…

With so many South Koreans adopting information and communication technology, the South Korean government used the data collected from its citizens to provide better public services. However, its success and other developments may be weakening the political support behind data privacy. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, public health officials have adopted technologies like quick response (QR)…

What Happened Last year, a revised law required public school teachers to undergo mandatory drug testing. Lawmakers revised the law in response to the rise of drug abuse in Korea in recent years. The Gyeonggi Province Teacher’s Union demanded education authorities re-examine the “unreasonable’ measure. Implications: Seeking to address growing societal problems, the South Korean government often overlooks communicating its…