1986 Posts located
This chapter examines the nature and motivations of North Korea’s sharp power toward South Korea. Unlike China or Russia, to secure long-term survival, North Korea ultimately needs cooperation from the…
Trade ties between the United States and many East Asian countries have faced a high degree of uncertainty since Donald Trump took office in early 2017. The world is now…
Since entering office in 2017, President Trump has upended longstanding tenets of U.S. trade policy and launched the most aggressive set of new U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions since at…
The U.S.-South Korea relationship has traditionally been characterized as a security alliance, meeting the interests of both countries for a stable Korean Peninsula. Economically, Korea was a major recipient of…
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…
What Happened Following a highly publicized bribery conviction, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was released from prison on parole. This ruling follows the acquittal of two executives at SK Chemical and Aekyung Industrial Co despite the sale of harmful products. In addition to these companies playing an essential role in maintaining a trade surplus, many average Koreans are…
What Happened Late last month, the two Koreas restored communications lines 13 months after Pyongyang cut off all communication lines to Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-Jong warned that conducting an annual summertime U.S.-ROK joint military exercise would hamper efforts to rebuild trust between the two Koreas. Despite the warning, South Korea decided to continue the military exercise…
With the help of social media and internationally popular Korean shows, global interest in Korean skincare and makeup products (collectively referred to as K-beauty) has increased exponentially in the past decade. Today, K-beauty products are readily available to American customers at chain stores like CVS and Sephora. This market transition was not coincidental: it was strongly supported…
On July 27, the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that “the top leaders of the north and the south agreed to make a big stride in recovering the mutual trust and promoting reconciliation by restoring the cutoff inter-Korean communication liaison lines through the recent several exchanges of personal letters.” The hotline was restored at…