2004 Posts located
This past year—2007—was another solid one for Korea’s economy. Buoyed by continued strong exports and a pickup in domestic demand, real GDP is estimated to have grown by nearly 5…
The year 2007 demonstrated more clearly than ever that external economic engagement provides a chance to help convince North Korea to abandon isolation and take specific actions toward denuclearization that…
On 30 June 2007, United States Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and Republic of Korea Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong signed the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), an encompassing…
As the first decade of the twenty-first century nears an end, distinct patterns are emerging in the global trading system. The Doha Development Round remains stalled and has begun to…
In this episode, Korean Kontext speaks with Ms. Jie-ae Sohn, President of Arirang TV & Radio, Korea’s first English language international broadcast system. Ms. Sohn worked as the former CNN…
Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons has emerged to be one of the key foreign policy priorities of the Obama administration. Despite efforts among Western powers to form a united…
By the time you read this, the KORUS FTA will have entered the implementation stage. To celebrate, Korean Kontext caught up with two of the main movers-and-shakers behind the deal…
This episode of Korean Kontext has a distinctly British flavor, featuring interviews with two leading Ambassador’s that work closely on UK and Korea related affairs. While recently in London, Korean…
By Mark Tokola On Wednesday, January 21, four Korean workers were crushed to death at the Geochung Shipbuilding Company in Busan when the operator’s cabin broke away from a 40-ton crane. A police officer told the press, “It appears that they were trying to disconnect the cabin without proper safety equipment.” The police will now…
By Andrew Haggard The casual observer may be perplexed by the recent headlines of supposed North Korean hackers effectively bringing Sony Pictures Entertainment’s computer systems to its knees. How does one reconcile NASA photos and satellite images showing the near-entirety of the northern part of the Korean peninsula in utter darkness with the picture of…
By Mark Tokola One thing everyone knows about North Korea is that it is isolated. Visits to the DPRK are controlled and monitored. Few North Koreans are allowed to travel abroad and then only for specific purposes. Because it is heavily sanctioned by the international community, international trade and investment is minimal. North Koreans are…
By Nicholas Hamisevicz During the last week of December, India’s External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj visited Korea to co-chair with her counterpart, Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, the 8th India-Korea Joint Commission meeting, while one month prior South Korean President Park Geun-hye was able to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first…