Ambassador Ugo Astuto has served as the European Union Ambassador to the Republic of Korea since September 2025. A career diplomat, he joined the Italian Diplomatic Service in 1991 and has extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy and Asian affairs. He
On 6 July 2026, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) had been selected as the preferred supplier for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP). Through this program, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) intends to
Türkiye and South Korea have long described each other as “brother countries” due to their historical ties and shared memories. In recent years, however, relations between the two countries have entered a new phase shaped not only by diplomacy and
The rapid expansion of the Korean Wave has significantly increased global demand for Korean food products. Indonesia, as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, represents a major export opportunity for South Korea. However, halal certification presents both a regulatory requirement and
South Korea has become one of the world’s leading arms exporters. During 2021–25, it accounted for around 3 per cent of global arms exports, marking a major change from the period when it depended heavily on the United States for
In 2025, South Korea’s cosmetics exports reached a record $11.4 billion, making the country the world’s second-largest cosmetics exporter after France and pushing the United States into third place for the first time. This paper examines how the Korean cosmetics
K-pop, once a niche domestic entertainment industry, has become one of South Korea’s most prominent cultural exports. Its economic impact extends beyond music sales to tourism, cosmetics, fashion, food, technology, and other industries associated with the Korean Wave, or Hallyu.
South Korea’s foreign policy has long been shaped by a structural tension that no administration has fully resolved. The tension is known as the imperative of maintaining the US-ROK alliance as the foundation of national security, and the equally pressing
IntroductionOn 6 July 2026, at HMC Dockyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) had been named the preferred bidder for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), a program valued at up
North Korea’s withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons in 2003 and its first nuclear test in 2006 fundamentally changed the security environment on the Korean Peninsula. Since then, diplomatic negotiations, international sanctions and political pressure have