Politics

The reunification of the Korean Peninsula has been an important aspiration of the Korean people on both sides of the 38th parallel for nearly six decades. The emotional family reunions…

The papers in this volume address some of the key issues that impacted Korea in 2012 and some important trends that will influence future policies. In the first year following…

The 2012 electi on saw the rising prominence of Korean Americans as an increasingly visible force in U.S. politi cs. This paper discusses key features of the Korean American vote,…

This article outlines and analyzes the various factors that have shaped agriculture and rural life in South Korea. This paper first outlines the historical role of the government, farmers and…

By Juni Kim The fallout from President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment has dramatically altered the state of conservative politics in South Korea. Despite two successive conservative presidencies and holding majority control of the South Korean National Assembly over most of the past decade, conservative politicians are now dealing with two fractured parties and no clear presidential…

By Juni Kim With both the Democratic Party of Korea and the People’s Party selecting their nominees earlier this week, all of the major South Korean parties have finished selecting their candidates ahead of the presidential election on May 9th. Below is a brief overview of the nominees from the major and minor South Korean…

By Troy Stangarone March 25 marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the European Economic Community, the organization that would eventually evolve into the European Union (EU). The earlier European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), founded in 1951, was designed to provide European supranational control over coal and steel, the essential ingredients needed to…

By Juni Kim Since the revision of voting laws in 2009, parliamentary and presidential elections have been open to South Koreans living abroad. The South Korean National Election Commission estimated in 2014 that 2.47 million South Koreans live overseas, and about 1.98 million Koreans are of voting age (19 years and older). Over 158,000 Koreans…