South Korea

It’s been a week since U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced plans to withdraw nearly 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany. In the Asia Pacific, that has brought new attention to talks going on about U.S. forces in South Korea.

The number of coronavirus cases in Hawaii saw some sharp daily increases at the end of last week. Cases are growing steadily in several other parts of the United States. One overseas country that had early success with the virus is now facing a new challenge.

The number of visitors to Hawaii has been creeping higher in recent weeks, and there’s a growing focus on how to enforce the 14-day quarantine. South Korea has been using a method for months that’s now moving to a new level.

Professional sports are on hold all over the world during the coronavirus pandemic. But that is starting to change—with some baseball games in Asia. And now they’re on the air in the United States.

Attention is increasingly shifting to the cautious and limited re-opening of some areas around the world. And there’s great interest on research and development that can help with that goal. A lot of that work is being done in the Asia Pacific.

Congress has now passed another financial aid package that includes help for small business. One country in Asia is taking a different approach — targeting several industrial sectors with companies that are much bigger.

Hawaii’s election schedule is going ahead as planned. The Office of Elections says the primary will be held on August 8th. The elections will be held by mail – but in South Korea this week there was a very different experience — despite the challenging timing.

South Korea appears to be a relative success story when it comes to dealing with COVID-19. On Friday, the number of the cases in the country passed 10,000. But even though South Korea has “flattened the curve” of the spread of the virus, authorities are still increasing their prevention measures.

Passengers arriving at Hawaii airports are now being sent to 14 days of self-quarantine. On the same day that policy took effect in the state, a different kind of airport screening started in South Korea.

Mention Korea these days and most people are likely to think of the coronavirus. But there’s international news on the peninsula this week that’s not directly related to the virus.

Hawaiian Airlines has become the latest carrier to suspend service to South Korea. Increased travel restrictions are part of what has become a rapidly changing picture of daily life in parts of the country.

The Oscar success of the South Korean film “Parasite” has gotten a lot of publicity around the world. An editorial in the South China Morning Post said it “should pave the way for more offerings from different cultural perspectives.” And then there was the reaction from South Korea.

A recent study from the University of Hawaiʻi's Economic Research Organization shows rents in Hawaiʻi are more than 50% higher than the national average. In South Korea's capital, housing costs are also high — but rising even faster.

This week, South Korea’s government announced it will be sending a naval unit to the Middle East. That move has been welcomed by the United States and criticized by Iran. But for South Korea, it’s a form of compromise.

For most Americans, this is a slower than usual week at work. But in the world of diplomacy, this is a busy time — especially in northeast Asia, where the heads of government of Japan, South Korea and China are all meeting this week.

The end of the week brought some troubling economic news for two of Hawaii’s key tourism markets. Both Japan and South Korea have seen slowing business, and policy makers are cautious heading into the end of the year.

Plastic bottles have long been a pollution problem all over the world. But one country in Asia is taking steps this month to clear up some of the issues that have lingered for years.

General Motors and a South Korean company are putting up more than a billion dollars apiece to build a battery factory in Ohio. The plant is a key part of GM’s electric vehicle strategy — and it underlines the presence of South Korean companies in this growing market.