Preconditions for Korea-China FTA Korea finally appears to be ready to start negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with China. If signed, the trade pact would have considerable effects on the bilateral political, military, diplomatic, social and cultural relations between the...

Structural Change in Income Distribution The nation’s income distribution in 2011 deteriorated sequentially but was better than 2009, according to Statistics Korea. Korea’s Gini coefficient, an index that gauges income equality, was 0.311 in 2011, a tick worse than the 0.310 in 2010 but b...

The Right Course of Chaebol Reform Election season debate over the reform of chaebol, or family-run large conglomerates, has erupted again. Ahead of the April 11 general elections, both the ruling and opposition parties have issued a flurry of pledges to reform the chaebol. President ...

Water Stress in Korea Today we celebrate the 20th annual World Water Day. This day was formally proposed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992 to increase awareness about the importance of water in the envi...

The Economic Korean Wave in Japan These days, Koreans living in Japan say they find it increasingly convenient to communicate with Japanese people, thanks to the spread of hallyu, or the Korean Wave.