North America

Long before BTS and Psy made their debut, a handful of entrepreneurs were laying the foundations for what would become the Korean Wave in the United States. With Korean pop culture…

Korea today leads the world in autos and electronics, but newly emerging manufacturers and protectionism threaten the country's position as a leading exporter. In search of innovative industries that will…

K-pop had an explosive year in 2018, but it didn't arise from a vacuum. Since 1998, one web community – Soompi – has been sharing the latest information about Korea's…

For the latest episode, Korean Kontext spoke to Korean-American actor James Kyson. Having made waves for his performance as Japanese character Ando Masahashi on hit NBC television series “Heroes”, Korean Kontext…

For the over 1.5 million Korean-Americans living in the United States today, what part do sports play in the American experience? For that matter, what role do sports have in…

By Phil Eskeland Last Friday, an appellate body with the World Trade Organization (WTO) authorized South Korea to levy $85 million in tariffs on U.S. products as compensation for the improper way the U.S. calculated higher import duties on Korean-made large residential washing machines. While the sanctioned indemnity is not as large as Korea initially…

By Phil Eskeland Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted by a wide bipartisan margin for an amendment expressing opposition to a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria and Afghanistan.  Nearly every Republican Senator and more than half of the Senate Democratic Conference supported this amendment.  This vote comes after confusing pronouncements from the Trump Administration…

By Robert R. King Final results on the 2018 U.S. Congressional elections are still being tallied, and as of November 15 two U.S. Senate races and eleven House races have still not been “called.”  The outcome of the congressional elections, however, is clear.  Republicans retained control of the U.S. Senate with a net gain of…

By Troy Stangarone In 1992, Jay Kim was elected from the newly drawn 41st Congressional District in Southern California, becoming the first Korean-American elected to Congress. As Americans go to the polls for the midterm elections, there is a real chance that a Korean-American will be elected to Congress for the first time since former…