Asia

As the reigning consensus has it, the U.S.-ROK alliance is one of the most successful of its kind in history. The alliance not only succeeded in defending South Korea from…

The history of the first of North Korea’s nuclear proliferation crises has received considerable attention and analysis. The regional implications of a nuclear North Korea were signaled clearly and repeatedly…

The North Korean Nuclear Program and Peace Process: Past, Present, and Future

Economic relations between North Korea and South Korea broke major new ground in 2005. Inter-Korean trade increased by more than 50 percent over the previous year and exceeded $1 billion…

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…

What Happened Parents of elementary school students are pushing for national academic evaluations to be reinstated to know where their children’s education stands compared to the national average. COVID-19 has increased concerns over a widening education quality gap between students. The government attributes this widening gap to students with access to private education and those who do not. Implications: Korean society…

Nearly 300 days have passed since the outbreak of the February coup in Myanmar. Since then, more than 1,250 citizens have been killed and 10,100 arrested while fighting in resistance against the military, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). In response, the international community including the United Nations Security Council, has publicly…

What Happened The ruling Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung proposed another round of universal payments to help citizens overcome the economic challenges posed by COVID-19. However, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and the government claimed that they do not have the capacity to provide another round of universal relief funds. A nationwide public poll showed that 60.1% of Koreans agree…

Observing the recent success of the TV show Squid Game on Netflix, many commenters suggest that the entry of multinational streaming platforms has been a net positive for Korea’s creative industry. The streaming platform has invested over USD 700 million into projects such as Kingdom and Sweet Home. For smaller Korean content creators, Netflix offers…