Asia

The U.S. pivot to Asia is emerging as one of the organizing principles for Washington’s future foreign policy as it views its own economic destiny becoming increasingly intertwined with the…

For the first time in its history, South Korea is experiencing the challenge of extremely low fertility and a rapidly increasing number of elderly persons. This dramatic shift in population…

When the Internet became accessible to the international public in the 1990’s, it forever revolutionized the way people exchange information and communication. Demands for connection to the virtual world spurred…

Until the recent passing of Kim Jong-il, the world thought of North Korea as a Stalinist, Hermit Kingdom run by a crazy, nuclear weapon-building, grey jumpsuit-wearing dictator known as the…

In this episode we speak with Doug Goudie, Director of International Trade Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Mr. Goudie draws from his experiences to share his perspective…

In this episode we hear from Tami Overby, Vice President for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Ms.…

Now in its tenth year, KEI’s Opinion Leaders Seminar (OLS) is an annual gathering of some of the world’s foremost policymakers and scholars on the U.S.-South Korean alliance. In this…

An exclusive interview with Dr. Alon Levkowitz, author of the most recent edition of the Korea Economic Institute’s Academic Paper Series. His paper, titled “The Republic of Korea and the…

The public sector financed 76 percent of healthcare in OECD countries in 2021 using compulsory health insurance and government programs (Figure 1, Panel A). Korea is an outlier in this regard, as only 62.3 percent of its health expenditures were covered through mandatory financing schemes. The low share of mandatory financing in Korea was offset…

The overwhelming majority of refugees who flee North Korea are generally those who live in border areas adjacent to China and do not have prominent government or economic positions. Few are from Pyongyang because it is very difficult for citizens to travel within the country unless police and internal security officials approve the travel. Meanwhile,…

The Yalu River floods have receded, but Kim Jong-un might still feel underwater. The North Korean won has fallen nearly in half against the US dollar in informal markets this month and similarly against the Chinese yuan, as reliably reported by Daily NK and Asia Press. This development suggests inflation is on the way in…

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s speech on the commemoration of Liberation Day outlined a revised unification vision based on the values of freedom and democracy. To this end, President Yoon committed to enhancing unification education for South Korean youths, raising North Koreans’ awareness of freedom, continuing humanitarian aid to North Korea, and establishing an inter-Korean working group.…