I spent two years in Korea, '99-'01, stationed there as a young Army officer. Fascinating place. It was not too far removed from their brutal coups and consolidation of power and such, then - those were in the '79-'80 era.

A stunningly modern and promising country, even when I was there. Saw my first Starbucks there, first truly high speed internet, cell phones were slick, and many of us have seen the success of many of their chaebol (business conglomerates) and know their names immediately. Samsung, Hyundai, etc. But there's still some risk there that is hard to characterize, hard to depict, especially for someone who hasn't spent time there.

I remember the tanks traps in the mountain passes, and being within range of probably thousands of artillery pieces (most of Seoul is - think if NYC had a border with Iran around where the boroughs give way to Long Island. The political instability there is a thing, and it doesn't all come from the Kim Jong Undefeated types of the world.