The Asia Foundation Predictions for 2021

The Asia Foundation’s 18 country representatives offer their predictions of the stories that will dominate the news from the Asia-Pacific in the coming year. In Korea, a highly unequal K-shaped recovery is occurring, with starkly opposite realities between North and South Korea at one level, and within South Korea at another. If the year just passed had a lesson, it must be the futility of predictions. What seasoned prognosticator in 2019 foresaw a viral pandemic that would derail the lives and prosperity of millions of people around the world in 2020? What seer saw in their crystal ball the dramatic and violent chaos that would unfold while members of the U.S. Congress met on Capitol Hill to certify the election of Joe Biden as the next president? The world expressed shock and dismay. These events were as unforeseen as they were momentous. Yet, to set goals, to devise strategies—to live our lives—we must look ahead, and after a year of events that changed development ..

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Future of Work: Implications for Asian Development Cooperation

Advanced technologies like automation have utterly transformed economies, livelihoods, labor markets, and workplaces throughout Asia. Hundreds of millions of laborers have been lifted out of poverty as new technology applications created new jobs and industries. At the same time, millions were left behind without access to vital technologies and infrastructure, support for up-to-date skills training, equitable social protections or pro-labor regulations. Within this context of significant opportunity and challenge, South-South, Asian, and triangular development cooperation can play a pivotal role. This volume focuses on the challenges posed to Asian workers and economies by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the new practices transforming the workplace, workers, and work. The chapters in this volume present expert perspectives from government, civil society, academia, policy bodies, and multilateral agencies on how Asia’s stakeholders can and should navigate the rough waters caused by disruptive change to achieve produc..

North Korean Entrepreneurs in South Korea

The Asia Foundation is launching a ground-breaking report on North Korean refugee entrepreneurs in South Korea. This captures the voices of 131 entrepreneurs portraying their challenges while pointing to a more optimistic and hopeful vision of the North Korean refugees living in South Korea. In the foreword, Dr. Andrei Lankov writes: “The growing North Korean refugee community in the South can be seen as a testing ground which can give us some foresight and warning about what is likely happening in North Korea now, and what is probably going to happen there in the future. Thus, this research and its findings are extremely important for everyone who cares about North Korea and I highly recommend it for everyone to read carefully.” Please find the attached PDF to see the report.