Economics

    In the mid-1990s, North Korea experienced a famine that by some estimates wiped out 10 percent of the population. Though many at the time thought the regime would…

    On April 8, North Korea withdrew all of its workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, temporarily placing on hold the last form of cooperation between North and South…

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…

In this episode we spoke to B.R. Myers, author of “The Cleanest Race” and regular contributor to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic.  Having been raised…

By Troy Stangarone At a recent international conference in Seoul, South Korean President Park Geun-hye called for a “Eurasia Initiative” to link Europe and Asia via trade, transit, and energy.  However, achieving President Park’s vision will require developing a means of integrating North Korea into the broader Eurasian framework and mitigating the risk of Pyongyang…

By Phil Eskeland Last week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a report[1] on the level of skills among adults in 24 developed countries, including the Republic of Korea and the United States.  There were several interesting analyses, comparing the skill level of adults in these nations based on age, education level,…

By Gerard Krzic Anyone visiting Korea and sightseeing at a rural Buddhist temple usually passes over a stone bridge that crosses a stream or river before entering the main temple grounds.  It has been said that the bridge represents crossing oceans as one moves from the land of daily hardships to the land of enlightenment…

By James W. Fatheree A recent KEI annual seminar provided the U.S. Chamber/U.S.-Korea Business Council (USKBC) with an opportunity to provide our perspective on the economic priorities of both the Obama and Park administrations--where these priorities line up and ways in which our governments and business communities can work together to support policies that foster…

As disruptions in supply chains continue, what practical steps can the U.S. and Korea take to strengthen supply chains against future crises?