The Korea Herald

[Lee Kyong-hee] An artist’s life -- checkered and forgotten

Sept 3, 2020

The nation is at war. The war is raging on two major fronts. One is against the invisible coronavirus. The other, much older and deep-seated, divides the country, so accustomed to politicizing and id...
[Tim Culpan] China just called Trump’s bluff on TikTok

Sept 2, 2020

Imagine a bidder wanting to buy KFC, but being told the deal might not include the Colonel’s 11 secret herbs and spices. That’s effectively what Beijing has told the list of US companies keen to purc...
[Kim Seong-kon] Things that make us sad these days

Sept 2, 2020

When German poet Anton Schnack wrote the celebrated essay “Things That Make Us Sad” last century, he referred to sentimental, melancholic objects such as a small dead bird found in the garden, drizzl...
[Anjani Trivedi] The big China disaster you’re missing

Sept 1, 2020

The world’s largest dam is under pressure in the massive flooding that’s wiping away billions of dollars of value in China. The predicament symbolizes a looming crisis for Beijing. Climate change is...
[Jean Pisani-Ferry] Trump’s international economic legacy

Aug 31, 2020

It would be foolish to start celebrating the end of US President Donald Trump’s administration, but it is not too soon to ponder the impact he will have left on the international economic system if h...
[Noah Smith] Abe leaves behind a better Japan

Aug 31, 2020

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, is resigning due to ulcerative colitis. He leaves behind a Japan that is both economically stronger and more socially liberal than the one he inher...
[Digital Simplicity] Doodling as a way to stay calm amid pandemic

Aug 28, 2020

When I was a kid, I enjoyed drawing. I created, in my view, not-so-bad paintings. I won some awards at drawing contests. My classmates said I was talented. I even dreamed of becoming a cartoonist. F...
[Robert J. Fouser] The resurgence of COVID-19

Aug 28, 2020

South Korea’s battle with COVID-19 took a turn for the worse as cases started to jump in the middle of August. Unlike the first wave, which centered on Daegu, the recent spike in cases has been natio...
[Kim Myong-sik] Moon distances Christians in coronavirus politics

Aug 27, 2020

Last Sunday, many Christians in Korea held online worship services from their homes, as requested by the government. Sitting before their computers or holding smartphones, they listened to sermons by...
[Francis Wilkinson] Republicans feed persecution complex

Aug 27, 2020

The Republican National Convention may be built around the cult of personality of Donald Trump, who is stronger, faster, smarter, richer, more magnanimous, truthful and handsome than any human in his...
[Kim Seong-kon] Repondez s’il vous plait!

Aug 26, 2020

When you receive a card that says RSVP, which stands for the French “repondez s’il vous plait,” it means you must reply immediately whether you accept or decline the invitation. The same thing goes f...
[Daniel Moss] There’s apparently no way to tackle coronavirus pandemic

Aug 26, 2020

Many of the governments once lauded for their textbook COVID-19 responses, replete with strict lockdowns, sophisticated contact-tracing apps and clearly articulated policies, got tripped up by someth...
[Andreas Kluth] Epidemic of depression, anxiety

Aug 25, 2020

Of the coronavirus’s many side effects, perhaps the least appreciated are psychological. Those who’ve had a bad case and survived, like people who’ve been in war or accidents, may suffer post-traumat...
[Jeffrey Frankel] Dark heart of gold as an international reserve asset

Aug 25, 2020

The price of gold reached an all-time high of $2,000 per ounce in early August. And while mainstream economists have treated gold as a sideshow since the world abandoned the gold standard in 1971, th...
[Mac Margolis] COVID response brings out Bolsonaro’s inner leftist

Aug 24, 2020

When he took office early last year, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had what looked like a plan: Crush corruption, rescue Brazil from social liberalism and revive the economy from the worst reces...