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 Mark Tokola Short conversations about North Korea generally end with similar conclusions: it is too soon to tell whether Kim Jong-un has successfully entrenched himself; the North Korean economy whether by design or necessity has introduced some market elements; China is growing impatient with North Korea’s unpredictability and belligerency; and Kim Jung-un’s regime is…

By Troy Stangarone For Greeks and European officials alike, the last five years must have seemed like the Greek myth of Sisyphus who was condemned to roll an immense bolder up a hill only to have it roll down and have to start over again for all eternity. In 2010 as the euro crisis began…

This is the third in a three part series looking at the ongoing trade debate in the United States and its impact on Korea. Part one can be found here and part two here. By Phil Eskeland This post was updated on July 24, 2015. This has been an incredibly fascinating past several weeks to anyone who…

This is the second in a three part series looking at the ongoing trade debate in the United States and its impact on Korea. Part one can be found here and part three here. By Phil Eskeland Last month, the U.S. Senate experienced the ups and downs of passing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for the President.  Initially,…

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