Economics

In this episode of Korean Kontext, guest host Kyle Ferrier, KEI's director of academic affairs and research, sits down with Korea Society President Tom Byrne. Before joining the Korea Society…

  With the recent retirement by Yi So-yeon, South Korea’s remaining astronaut, many have turned attention to Korea, wondering whether there is a future for its space program. According to Daniel Pinkston of the…

    North Korea has engaged in various forms of economic reforms and marketization attempts such as establishing Special Economic Zones and obtaining Foreign Direct Investment. Yet, many of North…

    In this episode, we talk with Dr. Yiagadeesen Samy of Carleton University on income inequality in South Korea and its affect on Korea’s economy. Dr. Samy is an economist…

Financial issues plagued North Korea in 2024 with Kim Jong Un’s singular success, halting the hyperinflation and currency debasement, suddenly coming unraveled in mid-year. After a decade of price and currency stability, the value of the North Korean won suddenly fell by about two-thirds between July and December. By year’s end, 27,000 won was needed…

It is hard not to be sympathetic to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol as he tries to disentangle likely changes in US economic policies by the second Donald Trump administration. He, like dozens of his peers, is clamoring to come to Washington as soon as possible to influence decisions before they are set in stone.…

South Korea narrowly avoided a technical recession in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 as GDP eked out a disappointing 0.1 percent gain from Q2, according to the Bank of Korea. The increase follows a small decrease in Q2 and a large upturn in Q1. The Q3 data corresponds to about a 0.4 percent gain…

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…

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