Asia

The Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign has led to the imposition of a nearly comprehensive international sanctions regime targeting North Korea and its nuclear weapons program. With negotiations underway, the…

This paper examines the impacts of global competition in solar panel production and the conflict of domestic interests among solar-related industries in the U.S. on South Korea’s solar-focused renewable energy…

Kim Jong-un’s sudden ascent as leader came at a significant time for North Korea—a year that had coincidentally been long foreshadowed in state media as the “dawn of the strong…

What can the resettlement of North Korean defector-migrants into South Korean society today tell us about Korean national identity and the likely challenges of integrating the two Koreas tomorrow? In…

Not everyone in Korea or foreigners abroad want to hear about national advertising initiatives that focus on mainstream issues like K-Pop, Hallyu or ancient Korean Kimchi culture. Instead, many want…

On January 11, 2013, the Korea Economic Institute of America recently led Washington DC’s celebration of Korean American Day by hosting a luncheon event to honor two Korean Americans for…

With North Korea announcing to the world that it will be attempting to launch a second satellite for 2012, many analysts have been speculating as to why Pyongyang is so…

In this episode we spoke to The Economist’s South Korea correspondent, Daniel Tudor. Having been based in Korea for over a decade, Tudor has just finished writing one of the…

The number of defectors fleeing North Korea and resettling in South Korea remains at very low levels. The number had begun to decline before 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic led Pyongyang to enforce harsher border controls to prevent North Koreans (and others) from entering the country from abroad and potentially bringing the virus with them.…

Korea stands out for its long life expectancy of 83.6 years as of 2021, the second longest among the 38 countries that are members of the OECD. In addition, its avoidable mortality rate (premature death from preventable and treatable causes) was 142 per 100,000 persons, well below the OECD average. Expanded access to healthcare has…

The announcement of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” following the North Korea-Russia summit has raised alarm in South Korean domestic politics. A South Korean presidential official has stated that Seoul will reconsider its policy of not providing lethal aid to Ukraine while a left-leaning media outlet stated that the new partnership indicates the failure of the…

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) discussed serious human rights abuses carried out in North Korea on June 12, with South Korea’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Joon-kook Hwang serving as UNSC president. The roles of North Korea and South Korea at the UNSC meeting highlight the stark differences between the two Korean states…