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…

The United States and South Korea are close allies, committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and home to advanced industrial economies. Pragmatic cooperation on clean energy technologies would aid their…

For the United States and South Korea, aligning efforts in biotechnology and biomanufacturing within the strategic alliance will support shared goals for technological leadership, economic competitiveness, and supply chain resiliency.…

Although the US-ROK alliance is critical for the security of the Indo-Pacific region, the close bilateral military relationship has not historically extended into outer space. Policies and regulations dating to…

In the past decade, the US and South Korea faced a relatively narrow set of challenges in cyberspace, notably North Korea’s cyber crime facilitating sanctions evasion. In the next decade,…

Asia specialist David I. Steinberg passed away on December 5, 2024, at the age of 96. David had deep roots in the DC-based community of Asianists with the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs and at Georgetown University. David’s wide-ranging responsibilities included over 25 years of service on the board of the Korea Economic Institute of…

The US House of Representatives adopted the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act on November 20. The original act was first adopted by Congress in 2004, but such legislation is valid for only four or five years. Congress must “reauthorize” or adopt new legislation if the provisions are still needed. The original North Korean Human…

Americans will soon elect a new presidential administration, which means potential changes for an array of US policies. In recent years, Washington has aligned its economic policies to coordinate with like-minded partners on supply chains and economic security, advanced technology development and safety, and decarbonization and clean economy standards. With a host of initiatives still…

Every fall, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hosts the world’s top economists, central bank officials, government bureaucrats, and civil society leaders in its Annual Meetings to discuss issues of key concern and calibrate a future outlook on the global economy. There were four main themes in this year’s meeting: moderating inflation, low growth, fiscal stress,…