Asia

Seoul has gradually adopted a more outspoken position regarding the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and framed it in increasingly expansive terms—as a regional and global…

The development of the concept of the Indo-Pacific strategy, since its adoption by the United States in 2017, has primarily been driven by the emergence of China as an object…

While the use of the term “Indo-Pacific” is relatively new, debates about its use echo longstanding arguments about how the region should be defined: who is in, who is out,…

This week, we have a very special guest who flew in from Paris to talk about Korea's economy. Dr. Randall Jones is head of the Japan/Korea Desk at the Organization…

As Seoul has grown, it has become more and more international. The city has been making an effort to attract more foreign visitors, whether as tourists, students or workers. This…

Over the last 50 years, Myanmar has oscillated between periods of friendship with South Korea and partnership with North Korea. As Myanmar opens to the international community, however, investment and…

Anyone who has spent time in Korea knows the term Yellow Dust. Sand from Mongolia sweeps across China, picking up pollutants and carrying them across borders. Every spring, Koreans bring…

Following its success in containing the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea hoped to be recognized as a global health leader. But a recent survey conducted by KEI and YouGov suggests that fewer Americans see South Korea as an ideal partner in global health challenges than they did in 2020 (52% in 2020 vs. 43…

What Happened A recent survey conducted by the Institute of Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS) at Seoul National University showed that only 44% of South Koreans think that reunification with North Korea is necessary. This is the lowest percentage since the survey began in 2007. The annual survey by the Korea Institute for National Universities (KINU) also…

What Happened Public support for strict social distancing in South Korea fell from 84% support in July to 65% in August. A survey from September showed that 73.3% of South Koreans support the start of the “With Corona” policy in November. The Korean government announced its plan to begin “With Corona” policy in the second week of November. Implications: Public opinion…

Squid Game - the first Korean show to top Netflix’s charts - follows the country’s long cinematic tradition of examining inequality and power relations. The story focuses on a group of indebted people who accept a mysterious invitation to participate in a series of children’s games for a chance to win approximately USD 40 million.…