Korea Kontext is my newsletter on South Korean politics, the economy, and society. It is written for readers who already follow the country and want to know what a development means, not only that it happened.
Why it exists
English-language coverage of Korea is good at the “what” and thin on the “why.” Wire services and generalist correspondents rarely have room for the institutional history, party factions, and Korean-language debate that explain events in Seoul. Korea Kontext supplies that context and says plainly what I think it adds up to.
How to read it
- Every piece opens with Why it matters: the point and its stakes in a few sentences.
- Pieces on the same running story form a thread. The red line beside each article shows the earlier readings, and the archive lists every thread.
- Korean terms carry their Hangul, and the K-Primer explains recurring names, parties, and ideas.
- The approval tracker follows Gallup Korea’s presidential ratings since democratization.
About me
I am Subin Kim, the editor and publisher of Korea Kontext. I have spent a decade covering the two Koreas for international and local media outlets, including the BBC.
You can reach me at subin [at] koreakontext [dot] com.
Colophon
The site is built with Jekyll, uses the Flexoki color scheme, and is set in Hahmlet and Source Serif 4.