Most Popular
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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[Herald Interview] Mom’s Touch seeks to replicate success in Japan
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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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'Queen of Tears' finale sets record viewership ratings as tvN's most-watched series ending
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[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue
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Seoul to deploy more military doctors to fill med prof void
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Liberal bloc moves to rewrite student rights ordinance
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Bad loans could bust China
The risk of what Nobel laureate Paul Krugman calls “Japanification” ― a semipermanent economic funk ― has haunted China for at least a couple of years now. Last week a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report again asked, “Will China Repeat Japan’s Experience?”Let’s dispense with the suspense: Yes, China very likely will. And the outcome will have far more serious global implications than Krugman’s main worry, which focuses on the chances of stagnation in Europe.China’s “severely under-capitalized f
Sept. 18, 2014
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[Bunn Nagara] Tide of hope with limited perils in East Asia
The old Chinese description of experiencing a perilous phase as “living in interesting times” is familiar enough.So is the expectation that doing so opens up new possibilities. Both apply particularly to East Asia today.Unfortunately, a sense of dread rather than hopes of renewal seems to dominate this anticipation. Much of the negative energy relates to a realignment of naval forces in the region’s maritime zones.What began as former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s naval “pivot” strat
Sept. 18, 2014
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Japan ‘conveniently’ neglects to remember its aggressive past
Eighty-three years ago on Sept. 18, a Japanese Kwangtung Army lieutenant placed dynamite at a small section of Liutiaohu on the South Manchurian Railroad, which was owned and operated by the Japanese, to create a conflagration for which the Chinese would be blamed, thus creating an excuse to attack a Manchurian Army garrison in nearby Beidaying. The purpose of the plot was the conquest of Manchuria.The plot concocted by the Kwangtung Army worked. The Liutiaohu Incident escalated into the Mukden
Sept. 18, 2014
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Should Pakistani entertainment cater to India?
I was once approached by a producer for making a movie.The prevailing notion was that we need to make something that sells well in India. The producers were willing to go to any lengths to ensure that outcome; from hiring Indian actors to outsourcing key production tasks. This got me thinking:Bollywood already makes their own blockbusters, so why would they patronise what would, at best, be our tribute to them? We already have such talented individuals in our own country; why outsource?Waar is t
Sept. 18, 2014
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Did Hamas win this summer’s Gaza conflict?
GAZA CITY ― This summer’s 51-day war on Gaza left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead, over 11,000 injured, and vast areas of devastation that will take years to rebuild. After the third Israeli war on Gaza in less than six years, many Palestinians are questioning the purpose of continuing to fight ― and hoping for a solution that does not increase their suffering. Can Hamas, with its newly acquired position at the forefront of Palestinian politics, provide such a solution?Before the latest war er
Sept. 17, 2014
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[David Ignatius] U.S. boots already on ground
WASHINGTON ― Here’s a national security riddle: How can President Obama provide limited military support on the ground to help “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State without formally violating his pledge not to send U.S. combat troops? The answer may lie in the legal alchemy known as “Title 50.” Title 50 of the U.S. Code regulates the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency. An often-cited passage is section 413b, which deals with presidential approval and reporting of “covert
Sept. 17, 2014
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Obama takes a more hawkish America to battle
By the time U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to the nation Wednesday night, the morning of Thursday, Sept. 11, had dawned in more than half of the world. Listening to this president say, “We cannot erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm,” reminded us of one enduring lesson from 2001: No American president ever will treat casually the anniversary of global terrorism’s greatest coup.Obama’s speech ― explaining why he will press a m
Sept. 17, 2014
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[Kim Myong-sik] Why not raise soju prices after cigarette hike?
Korean smokers will probably have to pay 4,500 won for a pack of 20 cigarettes from the beginning of 2015, or a little less if a political compromise takes place. A pack will cost roughly the same as a cappuccino or latte in a cafe. Smokers here can take consolation in the fact that they will still be spending less than their counterparts in most other OECD countries, but it’s going to be a heavy blow. The Ministry for Health and Welfare expects a nearly 30 percent reduction in the number of cig
Sept. 17, 2014
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Farewell to the iPod as Apple rings the changes
Quietly, even stealthily, Apple last week brought about that moment that many of its most loyal followers dreaded would happen: It killed off the iPod.Oh, the name lives on for now, attached to a suite of weird late-generation devices ― the Shuffle, the Nano, the Touch ― but when the Apple Store came back online after going dark for the company’s much-hyped new-product launch, the last vestige of its original hard-drive click-wheel iPod was no longer for sale.Few people even noticed the absence
Sept. 17, 2014
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[Robert J. Fouser] National talk on immigration
On Sept. 3, 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his cabinet in a bid to recover lost popularity. After a landslide victory in the 2012 general election, Abe quickly moved to reduce the value of the yen to increase the export competitiveness of Japanese companies. Abenomics, as it came to be known, helped the economy recover after several years of weakness following the 2008 economic crisis.The economy has slowed this year, partly because of an increase in the national consumption
Sept. 16, 2014
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Hirohito key to understanding Japan’s past
NEW YORK ― The completion by Japan’s Imperial Household Agency of the 61-volume record of the life of Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989) has generated much interest and attention in Japan. The entire formidable work was recently opened to limited public viewing, with a plan to publish it over the next five years. But it is already clear that the new record inadvertently reflects Japan’s continuing inability to address some fundamental questions about its past.Having taken a quarter-century to compile,
Sept. 16, 2014
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[Kim Seong-kon] Nightmares in dreamland: Korea in 2020
Last night, I had a troubled sleep, tossing and turning, having one nightmare after another. In my dream I found myself in 2020 on the unified Korean Peninsula. I was overjoyed because the long-cherished dream of unification had come true at last. Soon, however, I found that some radical changes had taken place during the unification process. Among them, South Korea had turned into a communist country due to the large number of pro-North people in the South who naively and paradoxically supporte
Sept. 16, 2014
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West must organize faster to stop spread of Ebola
In the late 1960s, U.S. Surgeon General William H. Stewart said it was “time to close the book on infectious diseases” and “declare the war against pestilence won.”So much has happened in recent decades ― with the eradication of small pox, the development of vaccines against polio and other diseases, and the emergence of new antibiotics ― that the war against infectious diseases seemed won. The AIDS epidemic would prove how tragically wrong that declaration was, and now in West Africa an epidemi
Sept. 16, 2014
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There is no good reason for Scottish independence
The gravest immediate threat to the West’s long-term security does not emanate from Vladimir Putin or from the militants of the Islamic State. Rather, surprisingly, it comes from peace-loving Scots.With polls now showing a majority of Scots supporting independence in the referendum set for Sept. 18, it’s suddenly clear that Scotland might actually break away from Britain. In the words of Lord West of Spithead, former First Sea Lord, “A ‘yes’ vote for Scottish independence would make it more diff
Sept. 16, 2014
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[Shashi Tharoor] Asia’s democratic dark spots
NEW DELHI ― Democracy in Asia lately has proved to be hardier than many might have expected, with free and fair elections enabling the large and divided societies of India and Indonesia to manage important political transitions. But some Asian democracies ― notably, Thailand and Pakistan ― seem to be losing their way.Indians have plenty of experience with changing their government through the ballot box, and this year’s election ― the country’s 16th since independence in 1947 ― was no different.
Sept. 15, 2014
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After Russian tanks rolled in, an act of protest
As Russian forces continue to make their presence felt in Ukraine, I think of the Czech student Jan Palach, who burned himself to death in a Prague square 45 years ago, a few months after Russian troops ended the 1968 “Prague Spring.”The Czechs had no easy time in the 20th century. They entered it as part of the empire of Austria-Hungary and lost thousands during World War I. Woodrow Wilson and the victorious Allies cobbled together the new nation of Czechoslovakia, which managed two decades of
Sept. 15, 2014
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Defending imaginary lines in the sand
The rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East is, to be certain, shocking to Western sensibilities and seems so sudden that it requires an equally swift and shocking response. In Washington, Congress has clamored for and President Barack Obama seems to be promising just that.On the face of it, an American political and military response to the Islamic State would entail air strikes, the likely involvement of special operations units and ― depending upon who is doing the talking ― an effort to
Sept. 15, 2014
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Understanding your own bounty is a real gift
What three gifts you were given at birth? I’m not asking about your accomplishments or achievements. I’m certainly not asking what you made of yourself, but I am asking you to decide from what you were made.What can you speed through faster than anybody else? What are your get-out-of-jail free cards?Most of us wouldn’t be able to claim the way old-time Disney princesses could, that our fairy godmothers awarded us grace, sweet natures and good looks.Off-screen, our gifts are ― shall we say? ― mor
Sept. 15, 2014
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[Trudy Rubin] Threat from Islamic State too big to ignore
Now that President Barack Obama has finally laid out a strategy to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State, there are only two (very big) questions that matter:Is this strategy really necessary?And can it succeed?My answer to the first question is a firm “yes,” but to the second a very shaky “maybe.” Yet I believe Obama has no option but to try.Until the Islamic State in Syria beheaded two American journalists, the president himself didn’t believe the threat merited a comprehensive strategy. In
Sept. 15, 2014
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[David Ignatius] Advantage of reluctant warrior
WASHINGTON ― President Obama certainly didn’t go looking for another war in the Middle East. Indeed, he contorted himself almost to the breaking point to avoid one. But as he explained to the country Wednesday night, he had no choice but to respond with “strength and resolve” to the barbarous Islamic State that is ravaging Iraq and Syria. Obama’s decision to combat the Islamic State offers him a chance to reset American leadership and his own presidency after growing doubt at home and abroad abo
Sept. 14, 2014