Asia

Both India’s and South Korea’s strategic choices are deeply influenced by the rapidly evolving Indo-Pacific construct, particularly amid a mounting U.S.-China rivalry. With India’s “Look/Act East” policy and South Korea’s…

The New Northern Policy, proclaimed by the South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Vladivostok in September 2017, is designed to boost economic cooperation between Russia and South Korea. However, two…

The Trump administration’s increased emphasis on the cost of the U.S.-South Korea alliance has called into question its appreciation of Seoul’s contributions and raised concerns about the future of the…

South Korea’s deliberate liberalization of migration controls has facilitated the entry and stay of new types of residents from various ethnic, political, and national backgrounds. With this demographic shift comes…

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…

The visit by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to South Korea earlier this month created a few ripples. No major announcements were made, and the two leaders pledged to continue efforts to bolster ties. In South Korea, the opposition Democratic Party issued a somewhat ritual denunciation of the Yoon Suk-yeol government for “undermining national interest…

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign position to implement tariffs of up to 10 percent—or even 20 percent as his pronouncements have suggested—has grabbed the attention of the international business community. It was also featured prominently in the first and possibly only debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Already, analysts are concerned about the…

Several important economic figures released by the South Korean government last week suggest that the overall economy is in good shape. One perplexing trend, however, is the less sanguine numbers reported on the general perception and sentiment about the country’s macroeconomic performance. This seeming discrepancy is worth examination because “feelings” about the economy can affect…

On August 13, South Korea and Vietnam celebrated the completed construction of the Vietnam-Korea Cooperation Center for Smart City and Construction Technology (VKC) in Hanoi. The VKC is symbolic in that it represents renewed bilateral cooperation following the COVID-19 pandemic and because it has withstood a shift in South Korean administrations. The center was initially…