Skip to page content

South Korea

Featured

Commentary
The Day Before the Revolution
April 19 is synonymous in Korea with democracy. Mass demonstrations that day in 1960 led to the collapse of the increasingly corrupt Syngman Rhee government. Today, histories of Korea's democratization movement commemorate the April Revolution as the nation's first mass struggle for democracy.
Apr 26, 2022
Commentary
Will South Korea's New President Reshape Regional Dynamics?
Yoon Suk-yeol has been elected president of South Korea. With a tall order to fill at home and abroad, the Yoon administration has the potential to reshape South Korea's future and relationships in the region. The path that he carves for Seoul in the coming weeks and months will be watched with keen interest marked by hopes and apprehension by his neighbors.
Mar 15, 2022

Explore South Korea

Journal Article
Effect of Child Benefit Payments on Child Outcome Expenditures in South Korea
Using longitudinal data, Korea's child benefit programs are shown to generate positive child outcome expenditures. The effects are higher for lower- and middle-income families, suggesting that policy should target income groups.
May 25, 2023
Commentary
Standing Up to Kim Jong-un's Divide-and-Conquer Strategy
Kim Jong-un is frightened by even the current modest flow of information into the North. He may be prepared to reduce his provocations if those threats lead to the further spread of outside information in the North. At the very least, the ROK and the United States could try such efforts.
Jan 6, 2023
Report
South Korea's Policy Options in Asia: Summary of a Webinar Hosted by the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy
South Korea faces uncertainty over the roles it might play in Asia, especially South and Southeast Asia. An October 2022 webinar examined the strategies and policies available to South Korea.
Dec 15, 2022
Dissertation
Thinking About the Unthinkable: Examining North Korea's Military Threat to China
Examines North Korea's military threat to China.
Nov 8, 2022
Report
The Political Geography of the South China Sea Disputes
Until the early 20th century, the South China Sea was seen as a vital communications and trade passage that was not under the jurisdiction of any country or empire. How did littoral states' claims on its maritime zones and features develop? And what is the likely future of the disputes?
Oct 19, 2022
Commentary
Could K-Pop Help Deter Kim Jong-un's Provocations?
The United States and Republic of Korea could be more specific and creative in seeking to deter Kim Jong-un. The global popularity of K-Pop could be part of the strategy.
Oct 11, 2022
Report
Public Health and Soft Power: The Republic of Korea's Initial COVID-19 Response and Its Implications
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Republic of Korea (ROK) had one of the highest success rates in adopting effective nonpharmaceutical interventions. Can these pandemic response and foundation characteristics be turned into soft power assets for ROK?
Sep 7, 2022
Commentary
Can South Korea Help the World Beat the Next Pandemic?
As the world emerges from the long and devastating COVID-19 pandemic, nations around the world, including the United States, could look to South Korea's near-perfect response as a model for dealing with future public health crises.
Sep 7, 2022
Report
The Risks of North Korean Weapons of Mass Destruction
In addition to its nuclear weapons, North Korea has amassed chemical, biological, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. It has also created an active cyber hacker force. What can the United States and South Korea do to deter and, if necessary, counter these threats?
Aug 29, 2022
Commentary
Yoon Suk-yeol Is Biden's Perfect South Korea Partner
Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea's conservative new president, has shown that he is in lockstep with U.S. President Joe Biden on foreign policy. During Biden's Indo-Pacific trip in May, their conversations in the security domain suggest Yoon's overlapping tenure with Biden heralds a golden era in the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
Jul 5, 2022
Report
Challenges of Deploying Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles on Allied Lands
The United States has been hoping to develop and deploy ground-based intermediate-range missiles to the Indo-Pacific. But what is the likelihood of its treaty allies in the region—Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand—hosting these systems? Are there alternatives to permanent basing?
Apr 28, 2022
Report
What Would a Strategy of Restraint Mean for U.S. Security Policy?
If the United States adopted a grand strategy of restraint in the Asia-Pacific, how would its posture in the region change and how would it determine when to use force? What warfighting scenarios involving the defense of Japan could guide defense planning?
Mar 31, 2022
Blog
Keeping Russians Informed, No-Fly Zone Policy, Telehealth: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how to ensure Russians have access to accurate news about the war in Ukraine, strategic considerations for keeping a no-fly zone option on the table, treating pain conditions among U.S. service members, and more.
Mar 18, 2022
Commentary
What the Media Might Have Missed About South Korea's Elections
The toxicity of the anti-feminist discourse in South Korea does not accurately reflect the gender-related tensions and problems that most Koreans currently face. The obstacles to improving gender equity are more mundane and more ubiquitous than the hyperbole of anti-feminism suggests.
Mar 10, 2022
Journal Article
Decoupling from China: How U.S. Asian Allies Responded to the Huawei Ban
The paper analyzes how Australia, Japan, and South Korea responded to Washington's expectations of mutual support on the decoupling of Chinese technology companies from global supply chains.
Jan 6, 2022
Journal Article
A Dynamic Behavioral Model of Korean Saving, Work, and Benefit Claiming Decisions
We develop a model that captures elements of the South Korean National Pension Scheme and behavioral responses in labor supply, savings and benefit claiming to changes in the public pension system using a sample of married couples nearing retirement.
Dec 21, 2021
Announcement
Erik Mobrand Named RAND Corporation's Korea Policy Chair
Erik Mobrand, a political scientist whose research focuses on political transformation in South Korea and Asia more broadly, has joined the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation as its Korea Policy Chair.
Oct 8, 2021
Commentary
Takeaways from the Biden-Moon Summit: Three Observations on China
North Korea was not the only elephant in the room during the recent U.S.–South Korea summit. In the broader context of U.S. foreign policy priorities and South Korea's geopolitical concerns, China was probably the larger presence.
Jun 7, 2021
Commentary
The Biden-Moon Meetings: Much Ado About Something?
The May summit meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in elicited a wide range of opinion about its value. With diplomacy-first progressives in power simultaneously in both nations for the first time in two decades, even subtle gains may be significant.
Jun 4, 2021

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next

RAND Topic:
South Korea

Topic Synonyms:
Republic of Korea

Research conducted by