Asia

The purpose of this research is to identify an exchange rate regime that would be suitable for North Korea to achieve its goal of economic reform. To do so, we…

This paper reviews and evaluates the development of Bank of Korea policy in historical and comparative perspective. The historical perspective focuses on the most recent of the three stages of…

During the past decade there has been growing academic interest in the field of nation branding. It is increasingly common for governments to adopt the techniques of brand management in…

In Northeast Asia and the United States during the later months of 2008 a great deal of attention was paid to the health of Kim Jong-il. Rumors of a stroke,…

With worldwide familiarity of Korean pop culture increasing through the viral exposure of Korean musician Psy’s hit record “Gangnam Style”, this episode Korean Kontext speaks to Mark James Russell, author…

In this episode we spoke to B.R. Myers, author of “The Cleanest Race” and regular contributor to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic.  Having been raised…

In this interview Korea Kontext speaks with Dr. Jennifer Lind, assistant professor at the Department of Government, Dartmouth College.  Well known for her work on North Korea and N.E. Asia…

In this episode we spoke to comedian and actor Steven Byrne, of the brand new TBS series “Sullivan and Sons”.  Known as one of the hardest working and energetic comics in…

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.…

What Happened A report from February 2021 identified differences in people’s ability to access private education as a key reason behind differing levels of academic achievement. This achievement gap appears to have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to remote learning. On August 27, the Mayor of Seoul began offering private online education to students to reduce disparities in academic…