AMS / KOREA RESEARCH DESK

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English briefings for reporters, researchers, creators and analysts who need more than a translated Korean headline. Start with the 30-second answer, then follow the numbers, incentives, timeline and original sources.

Public-source researchFact / inference separatedKorean-language source trailsInteractive explainers

Start with a research file

Each route is designed to answer a search question first and expose the deeper mechanism second.

13 research files

FOOTBALL · GOVERNANCEEST. 12 min

Who really runs Korean football?

A sourced route from Son Heung-min and the national team to hiring rules, federation elections, construction interests and public oversight.

  • Claim confidence labels
  • Money and appointment timeline
  • Korean and international sources
Updated 2026-08-10
Open research file →
K-POP · FAN ECONOMYEST. 10 min

Follow the money behind the fandom

Training, album variants, photocards, fan calls, touring and agency economics—connected instead of treated as isolated trivia.

  • Interactive tour budget
  • RESCENE demand case
  • Fan-spending mechanics
Updated 2026-08-10
Open research file →
K-POP · CONTRACTSEST. 9 min

Why can idols leave the agency but stay in the group?

Group trademarks, solo management, scheduling power and the different post-renewal paths taken by BLACKPINK, BTS and TWICE.

  • Group vs solo rights
  • Three contract models
  • Evidence-level labels
Updated 2026-07-29
Open research file →
CHAEBOL · INDUSTRIAL POLICYEST. 9 min

Did conglomerates build Korea alone?

A claim-versus-reality file separating corporate execution from state support, labor, suppliers and public risk.

  • Contribution test
  • Risk and reward split
  • Competing explanations
Updated 2026-08-02
Open research file →
CAPITAL MARKETS · GOVERNANCEEST. 8 min

Why do Korean companies trade at a discount?

Reconstruct affiliate control, then separate governance questions from the market-access frictions MSCI still documents.

  • Control-chain method
  • MSCI accessibility evidence
  • Fact versus inference
Updated 2026-08-02
Open research file →
R&D · LABOREST. 7 min

Does headline R&D spending reach researchers?

Compare national R&D intensity with firm concentration, researcher compensation, patent rewards, authority and exit incentives.

  • Adjustable calculator
  • Official-data baseline
  • Pay versus total R&D
Updated 2026-07-25
Open research file →
WORKPLACE SAFETY · ACCOUNTABILITYEST. 7 min

Why does the warning exist, yet the worker still dies?

Five Korean disasters compared through prior warnings, decision authority, missing barriers and the current legal stage.

  • Case-status matrix
  • Responsibility chain
  • Official verification routes
Updated 2026-08-02
Open research file →
WEBTOONS · CREATOR LABOREST. 8 min

Who carries the workload behind a global webtoon hit?

Platform growth, deadlines, revenue sharing and the bargaining gap between Korean creators and distribution platforms.

  • Creator revenue chain
  • Deadline incentives
  • Platform power
Updated 2026-07-30
Open research file →
K-BEAUTY · PRICEEST. 7 min

What sits between a Korean factory and a $50 serum?

Separate formulation, packaging, distribution, retail and marketing without pretending one markup applies to every product.

  • Adjustable cost model
  • Factory-to-cart flow
  • Residual is not profit
Updated 2026-08-09
Open research file →
GAMES · CONSUMER MECHANICSEST. 8 min

How does a “random” machine control payout?

An interactive route into claw-machine settings, expected cost and the wider mechanics of probability-based monetization.

  • Hands-on simulation
  • Operator economics
  • Japan and Korea context
Updated 2026-07-29
Open research file →
SOCIAL CODE · AGEEST. 7 min

Why can one year of age change a Korean relationship?

A practical history of age ranking, language levels and institutional incentives beyond the one-word answer “Confucianism.”

  • Language and hierarchy
  • Historical mechanism
  • Everyday scenarios
Updated 2026-08-02
Open research file →
HOUSING · STATUSEST. 8 min

How does an apartment brand become a status system?

Housing tenure, brand, school geography and neighborhood sorting explained for readers who only see Korean property prices.

  • Status signals
  • School and location
  • Housing hierarchy
Updated 2026-08-02
Open research file →
MEDIA · HARASSMENTEST. 8 min

How does Korea’s cyber-wrecker economy turn outrage into income?

The monetization, source laundering and platform incentives behind allegation channels and coordinated online harassment.

  • Revenue mechanism
  • Source and claim trail
  • Platform incentives
Updated 2026-07-22
Open research file →

How to read AMS

The editorial sequence is designed for fast quotation without hiding uncertainty.

01 / CLAIMWhat is being said, and by whom?
02 / NUMBERWhat can be measured or reconstructed?
03 / MECHANISMWho gains, who decides and who carries risk?
04 / LIMITWhat remains disputed, inferred or unknown?
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