Domestic

With North Korea announcing to the world that it will be attempting to launch a second satellite for 2012, many analysts have been speculating as to why Pyongyang is so…

In this episode we spoke to The Economist’s South Korea correspondent, Daniel Tudor. Having been based in Korea for over a decade, Tudor has just finished writing one of the…

With worldwide familiarity of Korean pop culture increasing through the viral exposure of Korean musician Psy’s hit record “Gangnam Style”, this episode Korean Kontext speaks to Mark James Russell, author…

Korean Kontext caught up with Man Asian literary prize winner Shin Kyung-sook for a chat about her latest novel, “Please Look After Mom”.  Shin became the first woman and South…

North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s parliament, adopted the government budget for the new year at its session February 6-7.  The budget law was approved with a pledge to develop the economy and improve the people’s wellbeing despite the “persevering struggle” against international sanctions and the COVID pandemic. A particularly noteworthy aspect of the…

What Happened: Anti-China sentiments are increasing over allegations that Korean athletes at the Winter Olympics are being treated unfairly to advantage Chinese competitors. In response to widespread discussions on these incidents, candidates in the upcoming presidential election made public comments on these allegations. South Koreans were further infuriated with the display of traditional Korean attire…

What Happened: In January, a man who had defected to South Korea in 2020 returned to North Korea. Subsequently, the South Korean government launched an interagency team to further assist defectors with employment, education, and psychological concerns. Traditionally, the government’s focus has largely revolved around providing defector-migrants with economic assistance. Implication: South Korea’s public policy…

This post was revised on August 21 , 2023 to reflect additional research by the authors. Additional analysis can be found in authors' article Political Polarization in Korea. Korea’s democracy is clearly a success story. Along with Taiwan, it is one of the few Asian countries that transitioned to democratic rule in the 1980s and…

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Please join KEI and KIEP for a discussion about the first 10 years of KORUS and the future of the U.S.-Korea economic relationship.

Please join KEI for a discussion on American attitudes towards the Korean Peninsula after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Please join KEI for a discussion on how COVID-19 has affected the growing rivalry between the United States and China.