2004 Posts located
During the past several decades numerous discussions about the problems of education in South Korea have been advanced by government officials, education experts, teachers, students, parents, as well as the…
The automobile industry is a dynamic and significant sec-tor in most of the major economies in the world. It is closely related to various other manufacturing sectors such as rubber,…
More than two decades ago, when the USSR still existed and the concept of the world socialist system presumed that all socialist countries were developing as one, I argued (still…
One cannot enter the same river twice. Every time one looks at North Korea, on the surface it appears boringly the same. Its life fl ows in the same predictable…
This week, we delve into how Japan views the security threat from China, and how these perceptions shape Japanese policy. For this, we turn to security expert Dr. Narushige Michishita.…
Last week, North Korea launched its Seventh Worker's Party Congress, a major meeting of regime leaders that has not been convened in 36 years. Although analysts had high expectations for…
In this episode, we take a step back from the Korean Peninsula and take a look at Northeast Asia from the perspective of one of its neighbors – Russia. In…
On May 1, South Korean President Park Geun-hye will travel to Tehran, Iran for a summit meeting with her counterpart, President Hassan Rouhani. This visit will be the first time a…
What Happened The ruling Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung proposed another round of universal payments to help citizens overcome the economic challenges posed by COVID-19. However, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and the government claimed that they do not have the capacity to provide another round of universal relief funds. A nationwide public poll showed that 60.1% of Koreans agree…
Observing the recent success of the TV show Squid Game on Netflix, many commenters suggest that the entry of multinational streaming platforms has been a net positive for Korea’s creative industry. The streaming platform has invested over USD 700 million into projects such as Kingdom and Sweet Home. For smaller Korean content creators, Netflix offers…
Korea’s real GDP increased 1.2% (saar) in 2021Q3, a significant slowdown from the first two quarters of the year, reflecting a decline in private consumption (table below). A tightening of social distancing measures since July, aimed at slowing a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, reduced spending on “consumer-facing services”. For example, demand in the food…
What Happened One of South Korea’s major telecommunications providers KT suffered a nationwide outage on October 25, causing widespread disruptions to daily tasks that require internet connectivity such as virtual classes, food delivery orders, and stock trading. A National Assembly hearing five days before the incident questioned telecommunications providers about the quality of the network services. The government still intends to…