Politics

The roller coaster of relations between Japan and South Korea has taken a sudden jolt with the December 28, 2015 agreement on “comfort women.” Some anticipate a turning point, stabilizing…

While Tokyo and Seoul are often paired as key U.S. allies in Asia, and both alliances are now more solid than ever, their individual alliance dynamics have varied in important…

On December 28, 2015, the Japanese and South Korean governments announced their agreement on the “comfort women” issue. This sudden breakthrough 70 years after the end of WWII and 24…

The Korean economy has faced several crises, such as the ending of the rapid economic growth era in the 21st century, continued stagnation of per capita GDP growth since 2007…

By Gilbert Rozman Much is made of dynastic succession, of long periods when the organs of communist party rule are moribund, and of the military first policy in North Korea. To many, these are incompatible with the communist system. Yet, the meaning of this system keeps changing from Karl Marx to contemporary Chinese rule. Taking…

In this week's Asan Institute for Policy Studies public opinion poll Moon Jae-in briefly opened up a lead over Ahn Cheol-soo after the two progressive announced they would work to merge their campaigns. The the race remains essentially a dead heat. In new data released on the support of key cohorts among progressives, Moon's support…

By Sarah K. Yun  On November 8, China will begin its once-in-a-decade leadership transition at the 18th Party Congress. The current vice president Xi Jinping is expected to be named the general secretary and de facto leader of the country, while Li Keqiang is set to become prime minister, largely overseeing economic policies.  Xi is…

In this week's Asan Institute for Policy Studies public opinion poll Ahn Cheol-soo and Moon Jae-in remain deadlocked in the race for the race to be the progressive standard bearer in the December presidential election. Ahn and Park Geun-hye also remain neck and neck in a hypothetical two way race, with Park leading a three…