After spending a week in South Korea, I can tell you that the threat from North Korea just isn’t top-of-mind for South Koreans. Not a single person I spoke to ever brought up North Korea or Kim Jong Un or military conflict in conversation. As you might have heard elsewhere, the geopolitical headlines that have […]
South Korea
Update on the Korean Peninsula…
A lot has been happening on the Korean Peninsula, both North and South. In our March newsletter we covered the impeachment of South Korea’s former president Park Geun-hye and public fury over political corruption. Since then, former President Park has been arrested; the first liberal South Korean president in a decade, Moon Jae-in, has been […]
The 2-Minute Thought The Distance Between North and South Koreans
Every five years, the East Asia Institute surveys South Koreans on whether they view North Korea as “one of us,” “a brother,” “a neighbor,” “an enemy” or “other.” In 2005, 51% of South Koreans said they saw North Korea as “a brother” while only 15% selected “enemy.” But by 2015, 41% of South Koreans said […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Hard Times for Korea’s Young and Old
Bloomberg South Korea’s population is aging rapidly. In 1980, in the midst of the “Asian miracle,” the average age in Korea was 26. Now it is 40. Low birth rates and long average life expectancies mean that by 2040, a third of the population will be over 65. That’s a lot of senior citizens to […]
Endlessly Striving and Stressed…
Whenever I visit Korea, as I did several weeks ago, the pace of change never ceases to amaze me. Fashion, food, language, and the shape of the skyline are in constant flux. More English phrases and slang pepper everyday conversation. Koreans look taller and more beautiful on each visit. Whole neighborhoods transform. There are more […]
