Jungu Kang

Development and Cooperation of China's Cultural Sectors: A Regional Approach

On the basis of a comparative analysis, the 31 provinces/municipal cities in China can be divided into four groups, namely, first-, second-, third-, and fourth-tier groups. The first-tier group (i.e. Beijing and Shanghai) has cultural sectors with excellent infrastructure and competitive sub-sectors, such as broadcasting, film, online games and animation. The second-tier group (i.e. Fujian and Sichuan) has a small number of competitive sub-sectors; at the same time, the local governments are actively fostering cultural industries. The third-tier group (i.e. Henan and Tianjin) requires a medium-term approach compared with the previous two groups. Finally, the fourth-tier group (i.e., Jilin and Neimenggu) requires a long-term monitoring and evaluation. In addition, the characteristics of each sub-sector should be carefully taken into account for local-level cooperation in the cultural sectors. In the film and online games sectors, a small number of major players are dominating the market or industry of the country. In such circumstances, regional grouping is not very useful. Strengthening cooperation with major regions, such as Beijing and Shanghai, seems to be a better approach for Korea. In contrast, the level of development of broadcasting or animation industries and markets relies heavily on the support from local governments or relevant companies. Therefore, facilitating cooperation with a number of regions is rec-ommended for these sectors.

The Effects of Trade and Investment Liberalization on Korea's FDI

While most of RTA talks have incorporated rules on industrial tariff and non-tariff barriers, services, and trade remedies in the past, countries now seek to co-operate on other areas of policymaking, such as rules on investment. This article provides detailed analysis on the effects of trade and investment liberalization on Koreas inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by collecting all relevant information on substantive investment provisions contained in all Korea FTAs in force as May 2013 and constructing indices of the extensiveness of investment provisions.

Korea-U.S. FTA in Its Second Year: Current Status of Implementation

Since the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) FTA entered into force on March 15, 2012, both sides have reviewed its status of implementation through various joint committee and working group meetings, and discussed ways to further advance their cooperation on bilateral trade issues for successful implementation. This article provides an overview of the status of implementation of the liberalization commitments made in the KORUS FTA, focusing on the trade in goods, services, investment, and other regulatory areas.

The First Anniversary Evaluation of the Korea-U.S. FTA and Its Implications

Since it was signed in April of 2007, and after undergoing additional negotiations in 2011, the Korea-U.S. FTA finally came into effect as of March 15, 2012, with the completion of the ratification process in the two countries after six years since negotiations began. Some were hopeful while others remained concerned about the KORUS FTA, as it is a high-level and comprehensive FTA that was signed with a mega-economic power. Accordingly, there had been many tough challenges in internal negotiations for the KORUS FTA to become effective. This paper aims to evaluate, however on a limited basis, the effect the KORUS FTA had on the trade and investment in the two countries as of its first anniversary.