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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[Herald Interview] Korean adoptees embark on journeys to find roots
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[Bridge to Africa] Africa-Korea partnership: Why it matters for future
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South Korea unveils W26tr support program for chip industry
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S. Korea to hold rotating presidency of UN Security Council next month
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SM, YG Entertainment’s K-pop groups benefit from troubles at Hybe
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Embryo activist: Baby's lawsuit takes on S. Korea climate inaction
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Student nabbed for biking naked 'due to stress'
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Banking burnouts blow away myths of Wall Street glamor
Ever since March, when the New York Times decided to make a cause celebre out of the resignation of Greg Smith, a vice president at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), a cottage industry of first-person Wall Street departure stories has sprung up across the print media and blogosphere. For instance, the Guardian in London has run a series of 60 columns ― titled “Voices of Finance” ― that give current and former Wall Street bankers and traders a chance to anonymously describe what their jobs are reall
May 23, 2012
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[Joseph E. Stiglitz] A breakthrough opportunity for global health
NEW YORK ― Every year, millions of people die from preventable and treatable diseases, especially in poor countries. In many cases, lifesaving medicines can be cheaply mass-produced, but are sold at prices that block access to those who need them. And many die simply because there are no cures or vaccines, because so little of the world’s valuable research talent and limited resources is devoted to addressing the diseases of the poor.This state of affairs represents a failure of economics and la
May 23, 2012
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U.S. can fix Egypt ties if military power eased
U.S.-Egypt ties have become snarled over the past year. Many Egyptians resent the U.S. because it supported the deposed regime of Hosni Mubarak. And the U.S. has struggled for a coherent response to the country’s back-and- forth dance with democracy under transitional military rule. The Egyptian presidential election May 23 and 24, with a runoff June 16 and 17 if necessary, offers a chance to revive the relationship. For the last few months, Egypt’s relationship with the U.S. has been stuck, ove
May 22, 2012
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[Daniel Fiedler] Hiring foreign talent for Korea
Traveling through South Korea these days I am continually impressed by the high level of economic and infrastructure development. South Korea has high speed trains, seamless 3G phone and internet service, modern highways, a sophisticated financial system, and almost everyone effortlessly uses the latest cutting edge technology. South Koreans have pushed their country to the top tier in international rankings of gross domestic product, life expectancy, per capita income and worldwide brand recogn
May 22, 2012
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How competition is killing higher education
Competition, we are constantly told, encourages individuals, institutions and companies to take the risks necessary for innovation and efficiency. But in higher education, competition often discourages risk taking, leads to overly cautious short-term decisions, produces a mediocre product for the price, and promotes excessive spending on physical plants and bureaucracies. The construction arms race on campus is the most visible example of competition run amok. To become more attractive to potent
May 22, 2012
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European countries face time for true austerity
Talks to form a coalition government in Greece collapsed again as a result of the country’s belt-tightening backlash. The country now faces an unpleasant dilemma: agreed-upon austerity measures in exchange for bailout funds, or a messy default and exit from the eurozone. Greece’s deteriorating situation raises many questions about whether austerity is the right path for other struggling European nations trying to avoid this same fate.For several years now, European governments have tried version
May 22, 2012
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[Kim Seong-kon] Is ‘To Sir, with Love’ possible in Korean society?
Despite its many inherent problems, Korea has (or had) two beautiful customs. One is “respecting elders” and the other “respecting teachers.” Unfortunately, the former no longer seems to exist and the latter seems to be on the verge of extinction. In the subway, for example, elderly people are hopelessly pushed over by aggressive, impertinent young people who seem to despise old people. At school, teachers are often verbally insulted or sometimes even physically assaulted by their students. Alas
May 22, 2012
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[David Ignatius] China’s wobbly transition
WASHINGTON ― Perhaps when Chinese leaders began to speak over the last several years about a new “Beijing Consensus” and the triumph of the “China Model,” that was a warning the bubble was about to burst. And we’re seeing that hubris play out now, as China’s leaders struggle with the greatest internal crisis since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. This time, the political machinations have mostly been behind the scenes among the Communist Party elite. The headline event was the purge of Bo
May 21, 2012
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The Facebook founder who unfriended America
Facebook’s initial public offering reminds us of a story. Once upon a time, there was a young man who fled his homeland (Brazil) because his life was in danger (kidnappers). Like so many before him, he came to the United States. There, in the safety of the freest, most dynamic country on earth, he got a superb education (Harvard), the opportunity to exercise his entrepreneurial zeal (Facebook) ― and the protections of the U.S. legal system to safeguard the fruits of his labor. That man is Eduard
May 21, 2012
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Breast-feeding just a cover for titillation
Does anyone know what a woman looks like when she’s not being watched? Women are more or less poster girls for the Heisenberg principle: It’s like you can never know what we look like when we’re not being observed, because we’re always being observed.We’ve had two examples getting attention in the recent press attempting to establish what women actually look like in our natural habitat. It’s as if we’re wild, exotic creatures ― as if women were as rare as the luminously fragile glass-winged butt
May 21, 2012
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[Nouriel Roubini] Greece must exit from the eurozone
NEW YORK ― The Greek euro tragedy is reaching its final act: it is clear that either this year or next, Greece is highly likely to default on its debt and exit the eurozone.Postponing the exit after the June election with a new government committed to a variant of the same failed policies (recessionary austerity and structural reforms) will not restore growth and competitiveness. Greece is stuck in a vicious cycle of insolvency, lost competitiveness, external deficits, and ever-deepening depress
May 21, 2012
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Greece Must Exit
NEW YORK -- The Greek euro tragedy is reaching its final act: it is clear that either this year or next, Greece is highly likely to default on its debt and exit the eurozone.Postponing the exit after the June election with a new government committed to a variant of the same failed policies (recessionary austerity and structural reforms) will not restore growth and competitiveness. Greece is stuck in a vicious cycle of insolvency, lost competitiveness, external deficits, and ever-deepening depres
May 21, 2012
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The Facebook Founder Who Unfriended America
Facebook’s initial public offering reminds us of a story. Once upon a time, there was a young man who fled his homeland (Brazil) because his life was in danger (kidnappers). Like so many before him, he came to the United States. There, in the safety of the freest, most dynamic country on earth, he got a superb education (Harvard), the opportunity to exercise his entrepreneurial zeal (Facebook) -- and the protections of the U.S. legal system to safeguard the fruits of his labor. That man is Eduar
May 21, 2012
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Measures that work in battle against obesity
Obesity has become a danger far greater than hunger. Yet amid the alarming stories about its harm to America’s health and economy, one bit of information has been drowned out: The percentage of U.S. adults who are obese appears to have plateaued. According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which measures the heights and weights of a representative sample of almost 6,000 Americans, the prevalence of obesity in 2009-2010 was essentially the same as in 2003-2008. Gi
May 21, 2012
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Obama, Romney want to play down gay marriage
Mitt Romney and Barack Obama concur on how to deal with the politics of gay marriage: Keep it below the radar. Both the president and his Republican challenger believe their focus in the fall campaign has to be on the economy and jobs. To spend much time on any other issue ― foreign policy, abortion or gay marriage ― would be a distraction. This is the message both campaigns told surrogates to deliver over the past week. Neither side believes many votes will be changed by the president’s recent
May 21, 2012
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Even $3 trillion can’t buy China love or good PR
China’s $3.3 trillion of currency reserves are a nice thing to have when you want to polish your image. Even if money can’t buy you love, it sure can buy lots of positive buzz. The most-populous nation has been throwing tens of billions of dollars at its prestige deficit for a decade, all part of an effort to enhance China’s soft power, something of which the U.S., for all its crises, has a surplus. Why else would Chinese dissidents head to U.S. shores, or embassies, for shelter? Why do so many
May 20, 2012
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[Robert B. Reich] Of bedrooms and boardrooms
Some want the 2012 election to be about regulating America’s bedrooms. But it really ought to be about regulating the nation’s boardrooms.The bedroom regulators are on the move. Republicans don’t want same-sex marriage. Mitt Romney says he’s against it, as are the voters of North Carolina, who just approved a Republican-proposed amendment to the state constitution banning it. Twenty-nine other states have similar bans. President Obama supports same-sex marriage.Meanwhile, Republicans have introd
May 20, 2012
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Smart girls wear flats, leave heels behind
Not everyone was a big fan of the stiletto. Just like Christian Dior’s voluptuous, bell-shaped skirts, the tall, thin heels drew criticism even at the height of their popularity. In a primer called “The Essential Eve: A Guide to Women’s Perfection,” a doctor advised: “Excessively high heels will always be a source of danger to feet and eventually to health.” Wearing such shoes causes the calf muscles to contract so much, he said, “it becomes almost impossible to walk.” A New York Times headline
May 20, 2012
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Balkans’ stark lessons for a fragmenting Syria
PRISTINA, Kosovo ― Syria is not on the path to peace through the present form of the six-point plan of Kofi Annan, supported by the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.The plan is based on the goodwill of President Assad to stop the repression of political dissent and punitive military actions against communities where an insurrection has arisen over the last year. The plan also presupposes that once the repression and the killing have stopped, a “dialogue on transition” will begin.Th
May 20, 2012
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[Mohamed A. El-Erian] Who is to blame for Greek tragedy?
SEATTLE ― Greece is following the road taken by several other crisis-ridden emerging economies over the past 30 years. Indeed, as I argued earlier this year, there are stunning similarities between this once-proud eurozone member and Argentina prior to its default in 2001. With an equally traumatic implosion ― economic, financial, political, and social ― now taking place, we should expect heated debate about who is to blame for the deepening misery that millions of Greeks now face.There are four
May 20, 2012