North America

In this episode, Korean Kontext spoke to Korean-American actor Steven Yeun.  Having acted in several high profile TV shows, Yeun’s interest in acting originated during his freshman year at Kalamazoo College after watching…

On Friday January 13, the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) celebrated Korean American day at the Newseum, in Washington, DC.  As part of the celebration, KEI recognized three Korean-American pioneers in…

This episode features a conversation with Sam Yoon, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA). Prior to his work with NACEDA, Sam served on the…

In this episode we hear from Korean-American filmmaker Michael Kang, who made his directorial debut at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with The Motel, which was awarded the Humanitas Prize…

KEI’s 2021 Report on American Attitudes on the U.S.-ROK Alliance and North Korea Policy summarizes results from a survey commissioned by KEI and conducted by YouGov on May 6th to…

This paper addresses the U.S.-South Korea alliance in the context of Asia’s evolving security architecture. At the crux of the issue is the Biden administration’s desire to uphold the rules-based…

The United States is poised to escalate its trade brinkmanship once again. On April 2, the Donald Trump administration is expected to unveil a sweeping new tariff regime under the banner of “reciprocal tariffs,” aimed at countries with significant trade surpluses with the United States—including close allies like South Korea. White House officials purport they…

Shipbuilding is quickly emerging as an area for potential cooperation between the United States and South Korea. The former needs ships, and the latter is a major manufacturer of them, which makes it natural that the two allies would partner on this issue. Ships are critical to facilitating international trade and defending the maritime lines…

The second Donald Trump administration’s rapid start has put South Koreans on alert regarding the implications for managing U.S.-South Korea relations. Under normal circumstances, South Korea’s president would be near the front of the line outside of the Oval Office. But Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law last December and his subsequent impeachment have…

“You should get rid of the CHIP Act and whatever’s left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt. Or any other reason you want to.” This pronouncement from President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress in his second term fully unmasked his administration’s trade 2.0 agenda. If realized, the repeal of the…