The Korea Herald

[Robert J. Fouser] Challenges for cities after pandemic

ViewpointsJun 19, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped New York City in March, articles discussing the future of cities came into vogue. Most articles predicted that the pandemic would change cities “forever” and that lar...
[Robert J. Fouser] What would Biden presidency mean for Korea?

ViewpointsJun 5, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many trends that have been gathering force slowly. The pandemic transformed the tense competition between the US and China into a nascent Cold War. To isolate C...
[Robert J. Fouser] Dealing with labor market duality

ViewpointsMay 22, 2020

South Korea continues its steady march back to normal life as the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. The nation continues to earn international praise for its effective response to the pandemic....
[Robert J. Fouser] South Korea’s political realignment

ViewpointsApr 23, 2020

Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean voters went to the polls to choose a new National Assembly for the next four years. The ruling Democratic Party won a landslide victory, giving it an o...
[Robert J. Fouser] Contribution to post-virus future

ViewpointsApr 8, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic tightened its grip on the world, the focus has remained on slowing the spread to save lives and reduce the burden on strained medical systems. Nearly half the population of t...
[Robert J. Fouser] Lessons from the Spanish flu

ViewpointsMar 10, 2020

Since March began, the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, has spread rapidly around the world, causing broad disruption in its wake. The speed of the spread has caught leaders and public health of...
[Robert J. Fouser] Developing an appropriate response to COVID-19

ViewpointsFeb 25, 2020

As news of the surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Daegu spread, The Drudge Report, a sensationalist site run by investigative reporter Matt Drudge, ran a photo of a thermal imaging devi...
[Robert J. Fouser] Reviving economic growth in South Korea

ViewpointsJan 28, 2020

South Korea’s economy grew 2.01 percent in 2019, just over the government goal of 2 percent. The growth rate is the lowest since 2009, when the world economy was reeling from the effects of the 2008 ...
[Robert J. Fouser] Outlook for the National Assembly election

ViewpointsJan 14, 2020

Rumbling and positioning for the National Assembly election this April will intensify after the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January. The results of the election will impact the rest of Presi...
[Robert J. Fouser] The 2020s, a look ahead

ViewpointsDec 31, 2019

In my last column I looked back on the 2010s in South Korea; this time I look forward and offer some predictions for the 2020s. The predictions highlight the challenges that South Korea will face in ...
[Robert J. Fouser] Looking back at the 2010s in South Korea

ViewpointsDec 17, 2019

In a couple of weeks, we will enter the third decade of the 21st century. For South Korea, the 2010s saw continued progress amid anxiety over the future. The decade began with solid, though not spect...
[Robert J. Fouser] Thinking about language and respect in Italy

ViewpointsDec 3, 2019

A two-week visit to Italy recently revealed much about the state of language in the early 21st century. Apart from sightseeing, I was interested in seeing how much Italian I could learn casually as I...
[Robert J. Fouser] Political turmoil spreads around the world

ViewpointsNov 5, 2019

As the second decade of the third millennium draws to a close, the world seems to be entering an uncertain period of increased political turmoil. From Hong Kong to Barcelona, from Seoul to Santiago, ...
[Robert J. Fouser] Consequences of Trump’s impeachment

ViewpointsOct 8, 2019

The Korean expression “what was bound to come has arrived” best describes the current political situation in the US. It was only a matter of time before the Democratic controlled House of Representat...
[Robert J. Fouser] Democratizing development in Korean cities

ViewpointsSept 24, 2019

Population density remains one of the most controversial topics when discussing cities. The problems of crowded and empty cities are well known, but the problems are different. Crowded cities face th...