Asia

South Korea is currently engaged, once again, in a large-scale, expensive modernization of its military that aims to provide the country with a more robust and self-sufficient defense. The timing…

Globalization is a hallmark of the twenty first-century world. As transportation and telecommunications grow in both efficiency and level of performance and as the ambit of the Internet expands, it…

The penetration of the Internet in Korean society is usually seen as a positive development, perhaps even a model for other countries; more efficient bureaucracy, more political figures making use…

In the field of international security, few connections have been made between the Korean peninsula with the Middle East. Traditional regional studies literature focuses on Korean issues within the Asia…

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…

What Happened Music streaming giant Spotify will launch a localized service in South Korea in the first half of 2021. The share of users listening to K-pop has increased by more than 2,000% in the last six years and the company hopes to add more artists to their platform. Spotify will compete with local music streaming services such as Kakao’s Melon…

What Happened After a 7-year trial, the Seoul court ruled on January 8 that the Japanese government must pay reparations to 12 Korean women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during WWII. The Japanese government claimed the legal case should be dropped based on state immunity, a doctrine that makes states immune to civil suits…

By Robert R. King The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service a few days ago published a working paper updating and reassessing international food security in the decade 2020-2030 in light of the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The report focuses on 76 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin American which are most…

What Happened On January 20, Moon Jae-in announced he would replace Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha with special advisor Chung Eui-yong. There has been some speculation from the opposition People Power Party that Kang’s dismissal is in response to negative comments towards the incumbent foreign minister from Pyongyang. The Blue House stated that Chung was nominated to facilitate a closer relationship with…