2004 Posts located
The year 2008 saw a reversal of a long-lasting policy constellation in the international community visà- vis the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). South Korea, for 10 years…
The year 2008 will be recorded in world history as a year in which the global capitalist system was threatened as a consequence of the U.S.-originated financial turmoil that began…
Following several years of strong expansion, the Korean economy began losing momentum in the second half of 2008 in the wake of the stress engulfing the global financial system. Although…
North Korea’s economy has been on the verge of collapse since the beginning of the second nuclear crisis in 2002 because of the international community’s growing sanctions and pressure. The…
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…
August 24 of this year marked the six-month anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In February, Moscow massed a hundred thousand troops along its border with Ukraine, all the while sanctimoniously proclaiming that it had no intention to invade. Expectations in Moscow were that Russia would quickly overthrow the government led by…
Following his inauguration in May 2022, President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that his administration would devise South Korea’s own Indo-Pacific strategy, which would consequently take the place of his predecessor’s New Southern Policy. The exact details of the strategy are yet to be announced, but South Korea’s past and ongoing foreign engagements provide an initial…
The steep decline in Korea’s fertility rate has created concern. In 2020, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births for the first time, according to census data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety. The Ministry stated that “amid the rapidly declining birthrate, the government needs to undertake fundamental changes to its relevant…
On August 9th, President Biden signed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act to boost U.S. investment in the semiconductor industry and incentivize domestic manufacturers. Some of its major provisions incentivize investment in the United States by major foreign chip manufacturers, namely those from Taiwan and South Korea. Framed as a…