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…

This paper elucidates how Washington and Seoul cooperate on AI and quantum technologies, both recognized as critical emerging technologies essential to their national interests. Technology cooperation is denoted as government-to-government…

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…

President Trump announced Ohio Senator J. D. Vance as his running mate last week ahead of the Republican National Convention. This gives a clearer direction to what his second administration’s economic policies may look like, while also imparting a greater weight to the effects it would have on Vance’s heartland base. The first Trump administration…

A $32 million subsidy to Hyundai Mobis, a subsidiary group of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group that specializes in auto parts manufacturing, from the Biden administration on July 11 is set to help secure US electric vehicle (EV) supply chains. It came as part of  $1.7 billion in Domestic Automotive Manufacturing Conversion grants from the…

I recently traveled to Dallas, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma to give talks on my new book on the US-South Korea alliance. It is increasingly difficult for me to travel around the United States without discovering new aspects of American interactions with the Korean Peninsula. As KEI fulfills our mission of promoting knowledge and understanding about…

The world is in a technology revolution surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Companies are competing to scoop up the best AI talent, and each is looking to be the first to shore up partnerships with the top firms. Among others, Meta with Dell to cooperate on Llama 2; Apple with Google to incorporate their Gemini AI;…