publications

  • South Koreans struggle to climb property ladder as prices explode

    In a country where real estate accounts for more than 60 per cent of household assets, the increasing unaffordability has resulted in a yawning generational gap in house ownership and wealth. An analysis of the 2020 Korea Housing Survey shows that house ownership nosedives in people younger than 40. read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/4/28/south-koreans-struggle-to-climb-property-ladder-as-prices-soar

  • How South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol Capitalized on Anti-Feminist Backlash to Win the Presidency

    No candidate capitalized on the anti-feminist movement like Yoon Suk-yeol, who narrowly won Wednesday’s election and will become South Korea’s next leader. The populist, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP), worked to appeal to men who are anxious about losing ground to women, and helped turn a fringe online community into a major political…

  • Big shopping complex finds itself in the heart of the race for next S Korean president

    One phenomenon South Korea has seen in the recent years is a slow but evident dissolution of the traditional political regionalism—not because governments’ decades-long effort finally worked but the provincial economies are breaking apart: the traditional model of the provincial politics is no longer working. My latest for Al Jazeera English: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/3/8/as-south-korea-votes-shopping-mall-bid-spotlights-regional-split Provincial politics has…

  • Stock market boom in S Korea calls for better corporate governance to quash ‘Korea discount’

    Despite stellar company performances, the Korean stock market has long suffered a low valuation due to weak corporate governance. The recent market boom may bring about a change. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/2/16/as-house-prices-soar-ordinary-south-koreans-go-all-in-on-stocks

  • Webtoon: Are Korean web comics going to be the next K-pop?

    Webtoon: Are Korean web comics going to be the next K-pop?

    South Korea’s digital-friendly comics, namely ‘webtoon’, have inspired global hit series like All of Us Are Dead, Sweet Home and Hellbound but could they themselves be a cultural phenomenon following K-pop? The following is my original draft for After Squid Game and Kpop, Korean webtoons get moment in the sun which is published on Al…