Asia

The purpose of this research is to identify an exchange rate regime that would be suitable for North Korea to achieve its goal of economic reform. To do so, we…

This paper reviews and evaluates the development of Bank of Korea policy in historical and comparative perspective. The historical perspective focuses on the most recent of the three stages of…

During the past decade there has been growing academic interest in the field of nation branding. It is increasingly common for governments to adopt the techniques of brand management in…

In Northeast Asia and the United States during the later months of 2008 a great deal of attention was paid to the health of Kim Jong-il. Rumors of a stroke,…

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…

What Happened On February 12, a member of the National Assembly noted that 23.5 percent of all North Korean defectors who received medical attention were treated for mental health issues in 2019. Although the South Korean public-at-large is likely underreporting their mental health needs, the defector community showed significantly higher rates than the societal average (4.6 percent) in…

In recent months, western media reporting has emphasized Kim Jong Un’s emotion-laden comments admitting both North Korea’s failure to meet economic goals and the severe hardships being experienced by its people. These statements have been characterized by some western observers as apologies, contrition and personal admissions of “his” failure. Such characterizations should not lead to…

Earlier this month, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released another report detailing the dire human rights situation in North Korea. Echoing earlier pronouncements, UN investigators cited escapee testimony to say that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed and may be ongoing in…

2020 marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea) and Myanmar (Burma). In less than half a century, bilateral ties went from strained by geopolitical competition and terrorism to a strengthening partnership with economic, development, and diplomatic cooperation.[i] The February 2021 coup in Myanmar—in which the military…