Asia

North Korea is a country easy to approach emotionally. For anyone with even a little twinge of conscience toward human rights, it evokes disgust. For many in South Korea, who…

“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies.” The words of the 19thcentury British statesman Lord Palmerstone seem to resonate in 21st-century Asia. For example, China and…

Since Kevin Rudd and the Australian Labor Party ended Prime Minister John Howard’s 11 1/2 years in office in late 2007, each new government in Canberra has faced a very…

China and India together account for one-third of humanity. Both were advanced civilizations when Europe was in the Dark Ages. Until the 19th century, they constituted the world’s largest economies.…

In this episode, Korea Economic Institute’s Director of Communications Chad 0Carroll speaks with Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations. Having written a number of publications on U.S. relations…

In this episode, Korea Economic Institute’s Director of Public Affairs and Regional Issues Sarah Yun speaks with Dr. Andrei Lankov of Kookimin University. Having written a number of books on…

In this episode, new Korean Kontext presenter speaks with Curtis Melvin, the man behind the NK Econ Watch blog and developer of “North Korea Uncovered”, a Google Map overlay that…

In this episode, we speak with Kevin O’Donnell, who, after decades on a private sector career path, became the first-ever Peace Corps country director for South Korea, followed by a…

Zbigniew Brzezinski described South Korea as a geostrategic pivot on the grand chessboard of Eurasia. When President Yoon stated that South Korea could pursue a nuclear weapons program, he started a game of nuclear chess. South Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons on that chessboard is a strategic plan that requires thinking at least three to…

Political Junkies and anxious U.S. citizens watched in awe last week as the United States House of Representatives put on a five-day spectacle of electing the new Speaker of the House.  This surrealistic extravaganza finally concluded with the 15th vote which took place after midnight on January 7th. The election of the Speaker is usually…

Seoul’s Indo-Pacific Strategy has been broadly welcomed by a number of states in the region who view the platform as further aligning with their strategic outlook. It’s in these states’ interests that the Indo-Pacific Strategy is future proof - it won’t be an easy task. On 11 November 2022 in Phnom Penh, President Yoon Seok…

This is the first in a two part series looking at youth employment in Korea. The employment rate for Korean youth (aged 15-29) is well below the OECD average (Figure 1), with negative consequences for the young people concerned and the economy. Youth unemployment and inactivity have a long-term scarring effect that reduces employment rates later…