Asia

South Korea is currently engaged, once again, in a large-scale, expensive modernization of its military that aims to provide the country with a more robust and self-sufficient defense. The timing…

Globalization is a hallmark of the twenty first-century world. As transportation and telecommunications grow in both efficiency and level of performance and as the ambit of the Internet expands, it…

The penetration of the Internet in Korean society is usually seen as a positive development, perhaps even a model for other countries; more efficient bureaucracy, more political figures making use…

In the field of international security, few connections have been made between the Korean peninsula with the Middle East. Traditional regional studies literature focuses on Korean issues within the Asia…

With Washington DC stuck in a snowstorm, please enjoy this episode of Korean Kontext originally published in 2012.   B.R. Myers is the author of “The Cleanest Race” and regular…

Every January, KEI publishes its predictions for the 10 issues to watch for on the Korean Peninsula in the coming year. Then, in December, we revisit our predictions to see…

North Korea watchers have been trying for years to understand the inner workings of the reclusive regime. With the country launching its 4th nuclear test this week, recognizing the structure and…

Every year on January 13, the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) sponsors a luncheon in Washington, DC to mark Korean American Day and recognize the local and national Korean…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz After Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke in 2008, the transition process appeared to quicken the pace to prepare for a North Korea after the Dear Leader. Now that Kim Jong-il has died, the world will see if the pieces were put into the correct spots for a successful transition of power, especially…

By Troy Stangarone The anniversary of China’s formal entry in to the WTO ten years ago this week comes as a mixed blessing for many of its trading partners. China’s entry into the WTO brought the world’s most populous nation into the rules based trading system that is the WTO and created new economic opportunities…

This week reports emerged that hundreds of North Korean nuclear experts are currently working in major nuclear facilities throughout Iran, adding to suspicions that the two countries have been collaborating in the nuclear realm for some time.  This follows on the heels of reports that Iranian technicians were allegedly dispatched to North Korea to assist in…

By Troy Stangarone For the first time this year, Korea has surpassed the $1 trillion mark in annual trade volume, making it just one of nine nations to do so. This milestone comes after years of intensive export lead growth that have transformed Korea from one of the poorest nations in the world into a…