Asia

South Korean–Middle Eastern relations have been neglected in the literature throughout the years, mainly owing to the focus on Korea’s relations with the United States and Asian states and the…

An old Korean proverb says that when two whales fight it is the shrimps whose backs are crushed. Maybe that proverb best describes Korea’s situation on the trade front these…

The Domestic and International Politics of Spent Nuclear Fuel in South Korea: Are We Approaching Meltdown?

Geography alone would give Russia a prominent role in the Korean peninsula. The Russian Federation currently shares a recently demarcated 17-kilometer common border along the Tumen River with the Democratic…

When Kim Jong-il died in 2011, the world held its breath as North Korea entered uncharted waters. No other communist dictatorship in the last century – for that matter no…

On June 25, 1950, North Korea launched a surprise invasion of South Korea and started a war that is still technically ongoing. But it was – as North Korea’s Kim…

The North Korean economy is changing – we know this because of widely reported growth of private markets since the famine of 1990s. But black markets and illicit activities are…

In May, The Korean-born Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was named The National League Pitcher of the Month. When you think of Asians and baseball, you might think first…

What Happened The ruling Democratic Party’s presidential frontrunner, Lee Jae-myung, faced scrutiny over allegations that Seongnam city extended preferential treatment to a private asset management company during his mayorship. Meanwhile, newspapers broke the story that the same company provided the son of opposition lawmaker Kwak Sang-do with an unusually large severance payout of USD 4.2 million when he changed…

Although the South Korean government strongly advised the public to stay home during Chuseok—Korea’s Thanksgiving—it was estimated that the population movement increased by 5 percent during this year’s holiday compared to the last. As the public eagerly waits for Covid-19 to subside and travel restrictions to be lifted, popular Southeast Asian destinations including Thailand’s Phuket…

What Happened In 2019 July, Japan imposed export restrictions on sensitive chemicals which South Korean industries need to produce semiconductors and electronic gadgets. Japan’s export restrictions by Japan and retaliatory public boycotts on Japanese products from Korean consumers have persisted longer than any other disputes before. Two years after the start of this dispute, Korea is less dependent on Japan for…

A popular online joke last week went something like this: “The leaders of South Korea and Moon Jae-in came to New York.” While the band’s global popularity is unmistakable, the fact that members of a Korean pop band were on the floor of the United Nations addressing world leaders remains no less surprising. The band was reprising its…