Author: Kyoung-Hee Moon, Changwon National University

With the number of foreign residents in South Korea exceeding one million as of May 2009, many scholars, journalists, and bureaucrats claim that Korea has become a multiethnic or multicultural society. This idea needs to be put in proper perspective. The total number of foreign residents in Korea, the majority of whom are temporarily visiting migrants or students, accounts for only 2.2 per cent of the country’s total population. In addition, Chinese residents represent, at 57 per cent, the highest share of these foreign residents, and about half of these Chinese residents have Korean ancestry. Korean society is still largely ethnically homogeneous and racially distinctive, and the term ‘multiethnic Korea’ remains an unconvincing descriptor.

In addition, many Koreans are yet to accept that Korea is in the midst of a demographic shift. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Rajiv Kumar, ICRIER

Last week I went back to Seoul after 26 years. The city is transformed and so is the economy. In 1984, when I visited the export processing zones, Masan and Iri contributed at least 60 per cent of total exports from South Korea. Posco had been established as a public sector company to take on established global giants and out-competed all of them despite having to import 100 per cent of its raw materials by relying on latest technology, economies of scale and above all, sheer hard work and dedication. And, at the same time, Korea was reaching full employment levels by furiously expanding labour intensive exports.

The question arose in my mind that if Korea could successfully combine the latest technology with large-scale employment generation, could India do it as well? Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Tobias Harris, MIT

The Hatoyama government’s campaign to revitalize Japan’s bilateral relationships in Asia continues, with Okada Katsuya’s visiting South Korea for the first time as foreign minister for meetings with President Lee and other senior officials.

While Americans are focused on celebrating what is being called the fiftieth anniversary of the US-Japan alliance this year, a more significant anniversary this year may be the 100th anniversary of Japan’s annexation of Korea. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Yoon Young-kwan, Seoul National University, Korea

With the backdrop of global economic crisis, the Korean economy also experienced serious decline. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the economic growth rate fell by 5.1 per cent compared to the previous quarter. However, the economy returned to positive growth in the first quarter of 2009 and recovered to pre-crisis rates of 2.6 percent and 3.2 per cent in the second and third quarters. The Korean economy is recuperating faster than any other OECD country, except Australia, and the IMF expects 4.5 per cent growth in 2010. Though there were some discussions recently inside the government about the exit strategy, President Lee Myung-bak opted for a cautious approach.

In contrast to a positive economic performance, domestic politics in South Korea remained turbulent in 2009 if not more so than in the previous year. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Kihoon Lee

At the U.N. Climate Summit in New York on September 30, 2009, President Lee Myung-bak announced that Korea will adopt a carbon emissions target, with specifics to be presented by the end of the year. Among the non-Annex I countries (signatories to the Kyoto Protocol that do not have binding carbon emission reduction targets), Korea will be the first to voluntarily adopt a target with a timetable.

The target under consideration is quite ambitious. Kim Hyung-kook, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, revealed that  Korea’s carbon target will constitute a 21-30 per cent reduction in 2020 from the ‘Business As Usual’ (BAU) trajectory, Read the rest of this entry »