menu_open Columnists
Soeun Jeon

Soeun Jeon

The Diplomat

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The ‘Resting’ Generation and South Korea’s Youth Recession

As entry-level jobs contract and firms prioritize experience, a growing number of young South Koreans have given up on looking for work altogether.

24.02.2026 7

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

Why South Korea’s Welfare State Fails Its Elderly

Low pension adequacy, restrictive safety nets, and life-course inequality explain why old age so often means poverty in Korea.

17.01.2026 20

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

South Korea’s Digital Divide Is Becoming a Generational Governance Challenge

In South Korea, digital fluency is quietly becoming a condition for participation in all areas of society, deepening generational divides in a rapidly...

02.01.2026 10

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

South Korea’s Labor Model and Its Strategic Consequences

A persistent labor-time gap reflects deeper features of Korea’s economic model rather than cultural habits alone.

23.12.2025 20

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

Gender and the Political Economy of the Asian Sports Media

Representation drives engagement, engagement determines investment, and investment reproduces patterns of representation.

21.11.2025 8

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

South Korea’s Semiconductor Dependence Is Becoming a Structural Economic Risk

Persistent export concentration around memory chips leaves the Korean economy acutely vulnerable to global tech cycles.

13.11.2025 10

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

The Price of Beauty: How South Korea’s Standards Drive Growth and Inequality 

K-Beauty fuels South Korea’s global influence and economic growth, but the same standards driving its success are widening social divides and...

10.10.2025 9

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

Beyond the Miracle: Inequality in South Korea’s New Economy

From soaring household debt to entrenched labor dualism, inequality – not innovation – has become the defining feature of South Korea’s new economy.

19.07.2025 10

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

Lee Jae-myung’s First Challenge: Economic Diplomacy in a Divided Indo-Pacific

Confronted by U.S. trade pressure and a polarized Indo-Pacific, South Korea is recalibrating its economic diplomacy at a moment of strategic...

12.06.2025 8

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

South Korea’s Education Obsession Is a National Emergency

South Korea’s deeply entrenched, hyper-competitive education system pressures children from preschool onward, fueling youth burnout, inequality, and...

07.06.2025 10

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon

South Korea’s 2025 Election: A Test for Gender Equality

South Korea’s 2025 presidential election exposes the country’s deep gender gap in political representation.

20.05.2025 7

The Diplomat

Soeun Jeon