Asia

A successful KORUS FTA could position Korea among the top three electronics manufacturing countries, according to a senior researcher from the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics. The Korea Herald cited…

Confucianism has influenced gender roles more than any other factor in Korean society. Traditionally, women’s roles were limited to household matters, and young girls were taught to prepare for their…

For those following developments in the Korean auto industry, the first quarter of 2006 has certainly proven to be anything but mundane. Recent headlines have touted the further expansion of…

There are growing signs that Korea’s economy is growing in a more sustainable manner after a long battle to overcome the depressive effects of household debt problems and a reluctance…

From 1966 to 1981, around 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers lived and worked in South Korea. After returning to the United States, many volunteers wanted a way to share their Korean…

October 2015 will mark 25 years since the official reunification of East and West Germany. Meanwhile, the Korean Peninsula remains divided. South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has referenced Germany many…

The Eugene Bell Foundation has been working in the DPRK for 20 years. Now they focus on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a deadly disease that is incredibly expensive and time-consuming to…

In the recent agreement between Seoul and Pyeongyang to defuse tensions along the DMZ, the two governments included a promise to "vitalize" non-governmental organization (NGO) exchanges in various fields.   …

By Troy Stangarone During the Cold War, Russia served as North Korea’s primary trading partner and provider of security guarantees. As the Cold War came to an end, however, Russia reoriented its foreign policy towards the West and relations with North Korea were downgraded as Moscow sought closer ties with Seoul. That may be changing.…

By Troy Stangarone When scholars and historians look back on the Seoul G-20, it is likely to be seen as a brief interregnum between crises rather than the first post-crisis summit that many world leaders had hoped it would be at the time. Since the Seoul Summit last November, the world has faced growing concerns…

By Sarah K. Yun Soft power is the ability of a country or an actor to obtain what it wants through attraction and charm rather than through hard power and force.  The ultimate goal of fostering soft power is to promote a positive image in order to enhance one’s ability to influence.  Like many nations,…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz In the last year, South Korea and India have upgraded their relationship to a “strategic partnership.” The increased ties between the two countries were kicked off with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s state visit to India in 2010 and followed up by delegations from both countries that built upon economic and cultural…