South Korea

Explore our coverage of South Korea’s politics, economics, business and culture, in articles, charts, podcasts and video


Podcast The Weekend Intelligence

No short-cuts

Why feminism in South Korea is facing a backlash

Leaders

Japan and South Korea are getting friendlier. At last

As the world economy fragments, two export powerhouses see the virtue of chumminess

The Economist reads

Understand South Korea, a success story with a dark side

Five books and a film that explain why the country is a cultural superpower as well as an economic one

Asia

Japan and South Korea are struggling with old-age poverty

Their problems may be instructive for other countries

Culture

Why South Korean pop culture rocks and North Korea’s does not

Dictatorship stifles creativity and joy

Asia

Relations between Japan and South Korea are blossoming

But how long can the good times last?

Asia

North Korea is arming Russia and threatening war with South Korea

Kim Jong Un likes to provoke. The risks of miscalculation are rising

Business

Samsung’s boss avoids prison, again

Lee Jae-yong’s acquittal will benefit him, but not necessary South Korea

Asia

South Korea’s writers and directors play Squid Game

The people behind the country’s TV and film boom are not profiting from it

Asia

South Korea’s ban on praising the North is ridiculous

The government imprisons a dotty fan of Kim Jong Un

Asia

The Korean peninsula is as divided as ever

But rumours of war are overblown

Leaders

The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

It is possible to enact painful economic reforms and still get re-elected

Asia

South Korean politics is one big row about history

Traditional distinctions of left and right scarcely apply to the country

Asia

South Korean chipmakers get a reprieve

But the pressure from geopolitical tension and China’s domestic manufacturing drive will increase

Asia

Virtual influencers are burning up South Koreans’ Instagram feeds

They are cheap to hire, always look great and they don’t bully their colleagues

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