Most Popular
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‘Gimflation’ in S. Korea as dried seaweed prices grow on rising global demand
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S. Korea's gender pay gap worst in OECD
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Yoon to resume diplomatic activity via 3-way summit with Japan, China
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South Korea unveils W26tr support program for chip industry
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SM, YG Entertainment’s K-pop groups benefit from troubles at Hybe
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S. Korea to hold rotating presidency of UN Security Council next month
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Student nabbed for biking naked 'due to stress'
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BOK holds rate at 3.5%, ups growth outlook
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Police arrest mastermind behind last year's palace vandalism
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Yoon rejects Lee's proposal for pension reform talks
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[Yuriko Koike] China’s expanding ‘core interests’
TOKYO ― China is now engaged in bitter disputes with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal and Japan over the Senkaku Islands, both located far beyond China’s 200-mile-wide territorial waters in the South China Sea. Indeed, so expansive are China’s claims nowadays that many Asians are wondering what will satisfy China’s desire to secure its “core interests.” Are there no limits, or does today’s China conceive of itself as a restored Middle Kingdom, to whom the entire world must kowtow?So far, C
June 1, 2012
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Help U.S. economy with visas for the brightest
To see the results of self-defeating U.S. immigration policies, you need only open your browser to www.canadavisa.com. There, you’ll see a shrewd neighbor fishing for talent at U.S. expense. At the top of the website, in large print, is the question: “Currently on an H1B Visa or otherwise working or studying in the United States?” There is nothing subtle about the appeal. Canada is seeking skilled foreigners who’ve grown frustrated with the U.S. visa gantlet, which can take a decade for the luck
May 31, 2012
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[David Ignatius] CIA cover erodes trust in vaccines
WASHINGTON ― As an intelligence operation, it must have seemed like pure genius: Recruit a Pakistani doctor to collect blood samples that could identify Osama bin Laden’s family, under cover of an ongoing vaccination program. But as an ethical matter, it was something else. The CIA’s vaccination gambit put at risk something very precious ― the integrity of public health programs in Pakistan and around the globe. It also added to the dangers facing NGOs in a world that’s increasingly hostile to A
May 31, 2012
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Egyptian voters send message to Islamist party
CAIRO ― Last week, Egyptian voters delivered a stunning setback to the Islamist candidate for president, who had anticipated an electoral triumph so great that it would catapult his movement to power throughout the Middle East.True, Mohammed Morsi, the standard-bearer of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party, won the most votes out of a field of 13 in Egypt’s first free presidential elections. But, despite the Brotherhood’s organizational talents, Morsi collected only around a quart
May 31, 2012
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Romney has few fresh ideas on foreign policy
Choosing a worthy president and commander in chief is not a casual task for voters.Those laboring to compare and contrast President Obama and Mitt Romney on war and foreign policy have a vexing assignment.Obama’s record invites approval and stirs frustration at the same time. He is working to leave Afghanistan, but not fast enough. He recently won support from NATO on a 2014 departure date to follow handing over security responsibilities to Afghan forces in 2013.To its credit, the Obama White Ho
May 31, 2012
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Korea and APEC: Changing education paradigms
This past week South Korea hosted the APEC education summit in Gyeongju ― a certain nod to Korea’s recent rise in the international arena with events such as the 2010 G20 summit and the nuclear summit hosted last month. Korea is making waves in respect to its educational system with statements of affirmation from such luminaries as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and U.S. President Obama. There are naysayers from within the “trenches” of Korean education who challenge this grand rhetoric, how
May 31, 2012
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[Andrew Sheng] London whale justifies Volcker rule
While everyone out East were mesmerised by the Bo Xilai mystery, another enigma has been unravelling out West, involving a London whale. On May 10, JPMorgan announced trading losses of $2 billion, the resignation of the head of its chief investment office and the departure of Bruno Iksil, the London-based French trader who made such large and some say fearless bets in synthetic credit default swaps (CDS) that he was also nicknamed the London whale, Voldemort (the wizard nemesis of Harry Potter)
May 31, 2012
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[Park Han-Il] The real blue ocean is off the coast
May 31 is Ocean Day, instituted in memory of Admiral Jang Bo-go. On this day we think about the value and meaning of the sea while remembering Jang, who established Cheonghaejin Base to advance Silla’s sea trade with Asian countries.The sea has been the stage of glory and disgrace for many countries and peoples in world history. Those who held sway over the sea ruled the world, and the maritime power of a country meant its national power. Originally the Korean people held affection for the sea.
May 30, 2012
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[Lee Jae-min] One treaty, two interpretations
When a government negotiates and signs a treaty, lay people have one simple question: how would it affect me? With a little bit of elaboration, the question then can be further divided into two different categories of retrospective queries and prospective ones.A good example of a prospective query is whether I, as an individual, can refer to the treaty as a basis to bring a claim in domestic court on my own accord. This has been one of the key issues in the context of free trade agreement negoti
May 30, 2012
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Is there anybody who can solve school problems?
While I studied at teachers’ college, I dreamt of being a good teacher who played a small part in making our society better, and I also wanted to enjoy my free time reading English literature. I vividly remember how elated I was when I became an English teacher at a public school. However, my teacher’s life was very different from what I had expected. I was too busy to talk about a better society while working with accumulated paperwork and teaching textbook English for exams. I could not even f
May 30, 2012
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Korea ― Asia’s rising star
Japan’s economy has been in a deep funk for two decades. China is in desperate need of a new economic and political model. And yet Korea keeps going from strength to strength, and is on track to overtake Japan’s income per capita.Korea’s economic catch-up has been nothing short of miraculous. Its income per capita has jumped from less than 20 percent of Japan’s four decades ago to 90 percent today. The catch-up vis-a-vis the U.S. is equally impressive ― from about 10 percent of U.S. income per c
May 30, 2012
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[Kim Myong-sik] KAIST chief should have got out while going was good
KAIST President Suh Nam-pyo should have left the university when he finished his first four-year term in 2010. If he had done so, he would by now be enjoying the peace of retired life back in Boston, or research at MIT, even though some of the innovations he initiated at KAIST might have fizzled out. “Leave the stage while they applaud” is appropriate advice not only to entertainers but to all public figures. Applause subsides after some time, and if the performer still remains on the stage, he
May 30, 2012
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Korea and APEC: changing education paradigms
This past week South Korea hosted the APEC education summit in Gyeongju -- a certain nod to Korea’s recent rise in the international arena with events such as the 2010 G20 summit and the nuclear summit hosted last month. Korea is making waves in respect to its educational system with statements of affirmation from such luminaries as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and U.S. President Obama. There are naysayers from within the “trenches” of Korean education who challenge this grand rhetoric, ho
May 30, 2012
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[David Ignatius] On Iran, more time for negotiations
WASHINGTON ― It’s a classic case of brinkmanship bargaining: Iran and the West, each seeking to squeeze concessions from the other side, have decided to continue their nuclear negotiations on June 17, a few weeks before a punishing new round of sanctions takes effect. The deadlock was described at the conclusion of Thursday’s negotiating session in Baghdad by Catherine Ashton, the EU’s chief diplomat and the West’s spokesperson: “It is clear that we both want to make progress, and that there is
May 29, 2012
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Ten reasons to believe in European Union
PARIS ― The euro, many now believe, will not survive a failed political class in Greece or escalating levels of unemployment in Spain: just wait another few months, they say, the European Union’s irresistible collapse has started.Dark prophecies are often wrong, but they may also become self-fulfilling. Let’s be honest: playing Cassandra nowadays is not only tempting in a media world where “good news is no news”; it actually seems more justified than ever. For the EU, the situation has never app
May 29, 2012
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Success in enabling trade in a changing world
Global trading patterns have become increasingly intertwined. So too has global prosperity. Rather than products or services simply originating in one country and being sold in another, value is often added by many countries involved in complex supply chains. This means that one country’s success in enabling trade not only plays a significant part in its own overall competitiveness, and by association, prosperity, but also has implications for the competitiveness of other countries. Moreover, si
May 29, 2012
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Is government propaganda resurgent in U.S.?
Did you hear about the new bill that would allow the U.S. government’s official overseas information agency to rebroadcast its content onto American TV and radio? The bipartisan Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 was introduced in Congress last week by Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Adam Smith (D-Washington), both of whom are presumably dissatisfied with their satellite TV package and think more government-produced content would go down better with an after-work beer.Not really. As Thornb
May 28, 2012
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[Joel Brinkley] Youth unfazed by N.K. threat
YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea ― Just down the hill from a South Korean Air Force helipad here sits the air base’s barber shop, encased in glass. The front wall is floor-to-ceiling windows displaying shattered toilets in the men’s room and a gaping hole in the ceiling, wires and rebar still dangling.This barber shop was one of about 30 buildings damaged or destroyed in a North Korean rocket attack in November 2010. Now it’s a museum of sorts.You might think South Korea is keeping this and other
May 28, 2012
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The new Egypt ― don’t give up hope!
CAIRO ― A few days ago, I watched a debate between Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Aboul-fotoh, two of the leading candidates among the 13 running for president of Egypt. This stunning debate went on for more than four hours and was watched by millions of Egyptians and Arabs. Contrary to the perception around the world that Egypt is inexorably sinking into chaos and intolerance, this debate in many ways reflects the hope for a new Egypt following last year’s January 25 revolution.From the time of Ra
May 28, 2012
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Hey, Germany: You got a European bailout, too
In the millions of words written about Europe’s debt crisis, Germany is typically cast as the responsible adult and Greece as the profligate child. Prudent Germany, the narrative goes, is loath to bail out freeloading Greece, which borrowed more than it could afford and now must suffer the consequences. Would it surprise you to know that Europe’s taxpayers have provided as much financial support to Germany as they have to Greece? An examination of European money flows and central-bank balance sh
May 28, 2012