I had a look at the game.
1. Settle by Carse. It's safer, closer, less maintenance, and doesn't overextend ourself [we also get bananas there anyway]. Personally, I'd rather that the settler go to a second city spot in our "personal island" but we've got no galley there.
2. We need a workboat for Queg in 8 turns (when it pops borders) and we also need 1 other worker (we've only got 7, we need 1 more for jungle cities like Carse). I suggest that Rolan, after growing to size 14, build a worker then a workboat. Rolan needs one of its plains hills mined, but the clsoest worker we've got is in Crydee building a plantation that will take 5 turns.
3. Engineering requires the knowledge of Machinery. So we'd have to research Machinery -> Engineering which really jeopardizes our chances at winning Liberalism. The only way I can fathom that we'd succeed in Lib + Engineering is if an ally can gift us a great scientist. Perhaps we need to make a request? Our next great scientist is in 47 turns. As of now I suggest that we research Machinery after paper, but hold off on Engineering until it's necessary.
4. Cities we shouldn't whip in the near future unless it's an emergency: (1) Queg, (2) Land's End, (3) Rolan, (4) Krondor, (5) Crydee, (6) Sethanon
5. I juggled around the tiles in La Mut so it grows to size 8 next turn.
6. As far as attacking Korea ... I think we should just keep our longbowmen, etc. on that forest that is bordering Korea. Korea will not attack that stack so we're pretty much safe on that front. If we can bring about 5-6 extra units with siege, then by all means let's attack, but not now.
Last thing ... Nakor do you know if building a cottage directly on a forest is faster than chopping, THEN cottaging?
Tech situation.