Asia

This paper assesses the potential for South Korea to be a regional leader in advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, and supporting sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. Many…

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy (NSP)—the most recent effort by Seoul to boost relations with Southeast Asian countries and India and diversify its relationships beyond four major…

This paper addresses the U.S.-South Korea alliance in the context of Asia’s evolving security architecture. At the crux of the issue is the Biden administration’s desire to uphold the rules-based…

This paper examines South Korea’s foreign policy towards China before, during, and after the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense dispute to investigate the limits of South Korea’s…

In this episode of Korean Kontext, I have the opportunity to speak with Richard V. Allen, who, in the weeks preceding his official instatement as National Security Advisor to President-elect…

In this episode we hear from author Mike Kim, who speaks with Korean Kontext about his experiences living and working with North Korean refugees on the China-North Korea border. Mike…

We bring the Korean Kontext studio to the U.S. Department of State to speak with Kathleen Stephens, current U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. Ambassador Stephens shares with us her personal…

In this episode we speak with Ambassador John Everard, who served as Ambassador of Great Britain to North Korea from 2006-2008. Ambassador Everard experienced firsthand life as one of only…

This is the second in a two-part series looking at youth employment in Korea. Part 1 can be found here. Korea’s low youth employment rate reflects the mismatch between the education system and the labor market. The mismatch is driven in part by young people’s pursuit of higher education in hopes of obtaining a “Golden…

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…