Asia

The United States, Russia, and China have cooperated to help deter North Korea from again invading the South and thus preventing Korean tensions to become a devastating hot war. While…

Security cooperation in East Asia lags behind other forms of regional coopera- tion. The relationship among China, Japan, and the United States—the most powerful security actors in the region—exemplifies this…

The news of heightened military readiness in the North on May 25 reverberated through the Republic of Korea’s stock market and foreign exchange markets, prompting South Korea to expend an…

Despite an historic delay and continued opposition in some quarters, passage of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) looks set to proceed quickly through the United States Congress. The…

This episode, Korean Kontext speaks to Phillipe Cousteau JR, chief spokesperson for the USA Pavillion at the 2012 Yeosu Exposition.  With the overall theme of the expo named “The Living…

Our latest edition of Korean Kontext focuses on the recent death of Kim Jong-il and the prospects for North Korea under the stewardship of his son, Kim Jong-un.  In this…

Ever wondered why someone might be motivated to spend their summer vacation  in the DPRK, or interested to learn about the guides that accompany visitors during a stay in North…

In this episode, Chad 0Carroll speaks with “TK” (”The Korean”), the man behind the must-read blog, “Ask a Korean”.  TK has been running his blog for five years and it…

In the early 21st century, global value chains (GVCs) grew longer and became reliant on low-cost countries for assembly, employing just-in-time production methods. These practices were tested during events like the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, many companies shifted their GVC strategies toward a focus on resilience and diversification. As this…

This is the first of two pieces exploring the continental-maritime balance on and around the Korean Peninsula Attention has turned to the re-emergence of a Cold War-like division in East Asia, with China, North Korea, and Russia on one side and the United States, South Korea, and Japan on the other. More recent reports of…

North Korea’s won has fallen in half against the US dollar since July for unclear reasons. An internal North Korean document collected by Daily NK blames perverse psychology for the trouble and warns that the won must be protected from further devaluation, suggesting high-level concerns of destabilizing inflation and a potential new banking crisis. The…

South Korea is facing some challenges as it integrates new digital technologies. A year ago, Seoul unveiled its “Digital Bill of Rights,” which seeks to preserve the rights and freedoms of Korean citizens online. But while it calls for building a “safe and trustworthy digital society,” this goal has been challenged by the rise of…