ECONOMICS ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA
Forging a 21st Century U.S.-Korea Alliance: Identifying Obstacles and Opportunities (audio and transcripts available)
This one-day symposium, co-sponsored by The Hwajeong Peace Foundation of Dong-A Ilbo, addressed a number of issues which factor into the current health and future of U.S. relations with Korea. Featured speakers included U.S. Congressmen Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Ed Royce (R-CA), as well as U.S. Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz. Expert panels explored such issues as freedom, democracy, human rights, market economy, and the implications of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement for future U.S.-Korean ties.
A Book Discussion with Ha-Joon Chang
Ha-Joon Chang, author of Kicking Away the Ladder (2002), challenges conventional ideas of economic orthodoxy and free trade in his most recent publication, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. He examines the past to show that today's economic superpowers–from the U.S. to Britain to his native Korea–all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry.
IRP Gatekeeper Editors Report from Korea (audio and report available)
The International Reporting Project at SAIS (IRP) and USKI discuss the findings of the IRP report, Crossing the Divide: IRP Gatekeeper Editors Cover the Two Koreas. This report was based on a ten-day fact finding mission to Korea, where they interviewed a wide cross-section of leaders in government, politics, business, health, academics, media and other walks of life. This mission coincided with a trip to North Korea by a U.S. technical team sent to dismantle North Korea's nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.
The U.S. in Korea: The Economic Dimension (audio available)
Tami Overby, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (better known as AMCHAM), along with Seok Young Choi, Minister of Economic Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and key U.S. business representatives, analyze the strategic opportunities of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).
State-SAIS Forum (audio and transcripts available)
The U.S. Department of State and the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS jointly hosted The United States and the Republic of Korea: Dialogues on the Relationship, featuring Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless.
Seoul-Washington: Where Do We Stand? (audio available)
Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, discusses the health of U.S.-Korean relations under the Bush Administration including the implications of the vast number of Korean Americans, Koreans entering the U.S. each year, and the KORUS FTA, the largest free trade agreement since NAFTA.