South Korea
Explore our coverage of South Korea’s politics, economics, business and culture, in articles, charts, podcasts and video
Culture
Han Kang wins the Nobel prize in literature for 2024
The South Korean author offers another example of the country’s cultural clout
Culture
Turn down the K-pop and pay attention to K-healing
The rise of South Korean books about burnout has taken the world by storm
Asia
Private tutoring is booming across poorer parts of Asia
Governments are struggling to keep up with an educational arms race
Asia
Kim Beom-su, the billionaire founder of Kakao, faces trial
But will the tech entrepreneur be seen as “too big to jail”?
Asia
Could Japan and South Korea finally become friends?
Younger generations are less concerned with their countries shared history
Asia
What a Japanese gold mine says about its approach to history
The site, recently declared a World Heritage site, is more contentious than it seems
Asia
What if South Korea got a nuclear bomb?
An America First world will force allies to face uncomfortable questions
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
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