Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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The future of the Korean legal services industry
The recent Korea-U.S. FTA has not only resulted in a discussion of the pros and cons of such an agreement but a debate regarding the entrance of major international law firms into the Korean legal marketplace. What will be the impact on Korean law firms now that the major U.S. and European law firms announced they will soon open offices in Korea? Most of the international law firms have offices in Hong Kong, Singapore or Shanghai besides the U.S. and Europe and it is questionable if such firms t
April 22, 2012
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Korea-U.S. FTA as opportunity for logistics providers
On March 15, Korea’s free trade agreement with the U.S entered into effect. While public opinion in Korea on the benefits of this agreement is still unsettled, Korean industries like electronics, pharmaceuticals and autos look forward to benefit as they expect an increase in imports and exports between the two countries. Various logistical changes have been implemented in Korea to cope with the effects of the FTA. For example, Korean based airlines like Korean and Asiana Airlines have introduced
April 22, 2012
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[Gordon Brown] Education Without Borders
LONDON ― Every child has a right to an education. Yet millions of children are living in countries where that right is systematically violated as a result of armed conflict. It is time for the international community to stop this state of affairs by getting serious about its responsibility to protect education in all countries, irrespective of the barriers created by armed conflict.Education seldom figures in media reporting from conflict zones. Yet the effects are devastating. In eastern Democr
April 22, 2012
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Chinese elite’s foreign ties pose risks
The downfall of former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai has thrown the spotlight on China’s political elite and their increasing foreign connections.Bo’s political fate was sealed after his wife Gu Kailai was named as a suspect in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, who had business ties with the family and helped Bo’s son gain admission to prestigious schools in Britain.Unlike the cloistered China of yesteryear, many top Chinese politicians and their families now have overseas links. F
April 20, 2012
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[Dominique Moisi] France’s election by default
PARIS ― Rousseau versus Hobbes: on the cover of the French magazine Philosophie, the two leading contenders in France’s upcoming presidential election, the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, are dressed up accordingly. “The real presidential contest” according to the magazine, pits the consensual and contractual vision of Rousseau (Hollande) against the violent “every man is a wolf to his fellow man” vision of Hobbes (Sarkozy).Philospophie’s take on the Fren
April 20, 2012
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New worst-case scenario for once in 1,000 years
A panel of the Cabinet Office announced late last month that if a megaquake occurs in the Nankai Trough, a tsunami higher than 20 meters may hit 23 municipalities in six prefectures stretching from Kanto to Shikoku on Japan’s Pacific side. The prediction represents a worst-case scenario that happens once in 1,000 years.It may be difficult to build perfect defense against such a massive earthquake and tsunami; but, both the central and local governments must make utmost efforts to minimize damage
April 20, 2012
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Realistic discussions needed on restarting nuclear reactors
Discussions on whether to restart the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture appear to have strayed off course.How should the government ensure a stable power supply, a basic requirement for people’s daily lives? We want the government to figure out realistic measures on this issue in a cool-headed manner.Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and other ministers concerned recently held meetings during which they worked out new safety standards for
April 20, 2012
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[Yayan G.H. Mulyana] Action plans for developing nuclear safety and security
In a letter from 1939 to then U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the wake of Germany’s pursuit of uranium-based weapons, Albert Einstein advised the president to secure a supply of uranium ore for the U.S. and expedite the country’s nuclear experiment. Through a series of processes, Einstein’s advice led to the Manhattan Project, which conducted the first nuclear-bomb test. But after knowing that the use of nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki had caused unprecedented horror in terms
April 20, 2012
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Iran’s Last Chance?
The latest round of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program between Iran and the so-called “5+1” group (the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members -- the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China -- plus Germany) has now begun. Following more than a year of deadlock, after negotiations in January 2011 led nowhere, this dialogue is for many the last chance to find a peaceful solution to a nearly decade-long conflict (in which I participated closely from 2006 to
April 20, 2012
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North Korea makes a big leap backwards
In his first public speech yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un praised his father Kim Jong-il’s “military first” policy. He was speaking during celebrations to mark the 100th birthday of his late grandfather and North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung.But the hard truth for the impoverished country is that the regime’s recent missteps have served only to aggravate its isolation.Defying warnings from the global community, Pyongyang conducted its third satellite launch last Friday. The blast-off
April 19, 2012
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[Amar Bhide] Debt reckoning awaits Europe
BOSTON ― Saving the euro, say the sages of the global economy, requires radical steps. The OECD recently called for a large European firewall ― a mega-bailout fund for troubled governments and banks. Others argue for integrating taxes and borrowing in the eurozone and shedding weak members, like Greece, that struggle with a strong currency. But tall firewalls, fiscal union, or homogeneity of membership are neither necessary nor desirable. What is needed are mechanisms that recognize and accommod
April 19, 2012
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Europe needs to reform its social model
Forget Europe’s debt disaster for a moment and look instead at a few numbers that dramatize the underlying problem. Unemployment in the euro area just climbed to a record of almost 11 percent. Do we blame the financial crisis and its aftermath? Europe didn’t do much better before 2008. Even before the crash, the jobless rate was stuck at between 7 percent and 8 percent, not exactly full employment. So Europe’s problem is older than the fall of the House of Lehman. Now slice the data another way.
April 19, 2012
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HOPE epitomizes marvels of a voluntary society
At the risk of using one too many Annie references (which is to say, one), it’s natural, upon becoming aware of the hard-knock life which orphans face, to suggest that someone should help them. Most of the time, however, this “someone” means “someone else,” whether it be the government, corporations, rich people, or simply “anyone but me.”Such was not the reaction of Joohwan Baek, who, upon becoming aware of the challenges faced by Korean orphans, as well as the barriers facing foreigners who wi
April 19, 2012
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[Eli Park Sorensen] Poetry and barbarism at heart of civilized world
“It is barbaric to write poetry after Auschwitz,” the German philosopher and critic Theodor W. Adorno wrote in 1949. Adorno wanted to point out that Auschwitz presented a dilemma to writers: on the one hand, they were called upon to articulate and represent an event that could not be passed over in silence. Silence itself seemed to border on the criminal. On the other hand, to articulate the horror of an event like the Holocaust possibly exceeded what could legitimately be expressed in language.
April 19, 2012
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The marvels of a voluntary society
At the risk of using one too many Annie references (which is to say, one), it’s natural, upon becoming aware of the hard-knock life which orphans face, to suggest that someone should help them. Most of the time, however, this “someone” means “someone else,” whether it be the government, corporations, rich people, or simply “anyone but me.”Such was not the reaction of Joohwan Baek, who, upon becoming aware of the challenges faced by Korean orphans, as well as the barriers facing foreigners who wi
April 19, 2012
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Germany Reformed Its Social Model. Europe Can, Too
Forget Europe’s debt disaster for a moment and look instead at a few numbers that dramatize the underlying problem. Unemployment in the euro area just climbed to a record of almost 11 percent. Do we blame the financial crisis and its aftermath? Europe didn’t do much better before 2008. Even before the crash, the jobless rate was stuck at between 7 percent and 8 percent, not exactly full employment. So Europe’s problem is older than the fall of the House of Lehman. Now slice the data another way.
April 19, 2012
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North Korea‘s big leap backwards
In his first public speech yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un praised his father Kim Jong-il’s "military first" policy. He was speaking during celebrations to mark the 100th birthday of his late grandfather and North Korea‘s founder Kim Il-sung.But the hard truth for the impoverished country is that the regime’s recent missteps have served only to aggravate its isolation.Defying warnings from the global community, Pyongyang conducted its third satellite launch last Friday. The blast-off
April 19, 2012
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[Nouriel Roubini] Europe’s short vacation from crisis
NEW YORK ― Since last November, the European Central Bank, under its new president, Mario Draghi, has reduced its policy rates and undertaken two injections of more than 1 trillion euros of liquidity into the eurozone banking system. This led to a temporary reduction in the financial strains confronting the debt endangered countries on the eurozone’s periphery (Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland), sharply lowered the risk of a liquidity run in the eurozone banking system, and cut financ
April 18, 2012
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Egypt Brotherhood’s mission for democracy
Two weeks ago, a Muslim Brotherhood delegation from Egypt came to Washington to convince skeptics that Islam and democracy can coexist.The question of what Islamist political parties will do after they take power is central to the Mideast’s future. Such parties have won elections in Tunisia and Egypt, and look likely to take power in Libya and, ultimately, in Syria.Egypt, with its large population and peace treaty with Israel, is the crucial test case.The visiting Egyptians, all members of the B
April 18, 2012
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Is new channel for Asia from an Asian perspective?
Singapore television, which helped Lee Kuan Yew defeat his left-wing foes and stay in power for 50 years, plans to go worldwide 24 hours a day from next year.The global push by the state-owned Channel News Asia (CNA) to extend its reach from Asia to cover the United States and Europe is an ambitious project, given the adverse cable news market.Last week, America’s CNN (Cable News Network), despite its vast resources and experience, reported a ratings drop of up to 50 percent in the first quarter
April 18, 2012