Asia

As 2005 wound down, the Six Party Talks appear stalled with the talks likely to resume no earlier than midJanuary. North Korean officials spent December deriding the new U.S. Ambassador…

After a record year in 2004 that saw foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Korea increase by 97.7 percent, 2005 saw a step back with a drop of nearly 10…

Red is a strong color. It is a color of passion, energy, power, and confidence. According to some studies, it can actually produce physical results, such as increasing the rate…

The world is about to experience a demographic revolution. Throughout history, the elderly population (people aged 65 and over) never amounted to more than 2−3% in any country. Today, in…

Although it is happening more rapidly in South Korea, an aging society is a common feature in post-industrial societies around the world. With the number of retirees growing and the…

In March, Seoul suffered from the worst air pollution on record. Enough that the South Korean government has officially designated the problem as a "social disaster." But what is causing…

Over the past few years, Korea and Koreans have experienced incredible political, social, and diplomatic shifts. It is hard keeping up with all these new developments as a Korea Watcher,…

Even before the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, foreign policy practitioners and observers were talking about the difficulties of sequencing international sanctions relief for North Korea…

North Korea’s won has fallen in half against the US dollar since July for unclear reasons. An internal North Korean document collected by Daily NK blames perverse psychology for the trouble and warns that the won must be protected from further devaluation, suggesting high-level concerns of destabilizing inflation and a potential new banking crisis. The…

South Korea is facing some challenges as it integrates new digital technologies. A year ago, Seoul unveiled its “Digital Bill of Rights,” which seeks to preserve the rights and freedoms of Korean citizens online. But while it calls for building a “safe and trustworthy digital society,” this goal has been challenged by the rise of…

South Korea has found itself at the center of forward momentum on the international governance and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI). Korea was one of the first countries to develop a national AI strategy. It also co-hosted the 2024 AI Safety Summit and the second summit on Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) and…

Lawmakers from South Korea’s two major political parties have a notoriously difficult time agreeing on much of anything. However, one issue that enjoys bipartisan support is reforming the country’s espionage law, a proposal now under consideration in the National Assembly. The focus is on updating Article 98 of the Criminal Act as the legislation, in…