Free trade agreements (FTAs) are proliferating in the Asia-Pacific region. For the first time, South Korea is pursuing such accords as part of a strategy to restructure its economy and sustain the recovery from its 1997-98 economic crisis. Should it open talks with its largest trading partner, the United States? This study examines the economic and political benefits and challenges of pursuing bilateral FTA negotiations, the impact of a prospective pact on other trading partners, on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and on the multilateral trading system.

Koreans living in the United States have generated an increase of about 15 to 20 percent in trade between the United States and Korea. This is one of the surprising conclusions reached in this special report, which, upon the 100th anniversary of the migration of Koreans from their homeland, looks at the impact of the 6 to 7 million people who make up this diaspora on both South Korean and overseas economies. No country in history has ever succeeded in building a developed and high-income economy without participating in the global economy; globalization is imperative for economic success. And one of the largest elements of globalization, in addition to international trade and investment, is migration. In The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy, experts hold up South Korea as one of the most dramatic examples of that experience, having gone from being a poor, underdeveloped country fewer than 40 years ago to becoming a postwar economic success story. This report also looks at South Korea's role as a regional trading partner and its present and future relations with North Korea.