In his short story “Entropy” and his celebrated novel “The Crying of Lot 49,” Thomas Pynchon warns us of the possible annihilation of human civilization, using the second law of thermodynamics, also known as the entropy theory. According to Pynchon and the entropy theory, if everything becomes the same without diversity in an isolated system, its molecules will stop moving and the system will be in a steady state of equilibrium. Then the system will be pronounced dead, as the increase of entropy

Viewpoints June 13, 2017

When they put up English signboards or use English expressions, Koreans seldom consult with native speakers of English. As a result, awkward English expressions are rampant throughout Korea. Do they think their English is good enough not to need any proofreading or do they not care about using awkward expressions? “Korea passing” is a good example. Korean reporters and politicians have used this dubious expression when they wanted to point out that Korea was passed over when the United States di

Viewpoints June 6, 2017

The 2017 Seoul International Forum for Literature, held by the Daesan Foundation and Arts Council Korea from May 22 to Thursday, brought together 14 international writers and 36 Korean writers to celebrate world literature. While attending the forum, I had the chance to learn many valuable things from the participating writers’ presentations. In the “Perceiving Us and Them” session, Yu Hua, a famous writer from China, said, “I grew up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. At the time, the ‘us

Viewpoints May 30, 2017

“Go Set a Watchman,” Harper Lee’s sequel to her seminal novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” received mixed reviews. While a few wrote favorable reviews, most reviewers expressed disappointment, especially when compared to “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It may not be undeniable that “Go Set a Watchman” lacks the exquisite quality of the first book. Nevertheless, it has its own strength and charm, especially in its theme. In “Go Set a Watchman,” Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, now 26, returns from New York City t

Viewpoints May 23, 2017

A few weeks ago, I flew to Warsaw to deliver a lecture at the University of Warsaw. As I had anticipated, Polish students, unlike their Korean counterparts, were eager to learn and full of intellectual curiosity. I talked for 1 1/2 hours and yet no one fell asleep or left the lecture hall in the middle. Nobody was texting or checking Facebook either. Polish students were radically different from Korean students who are infatuated with their smartphones. Moreover, I was greatly impressed when I h

Viewpoints May 16, 2017

The 1980s was an apocalyptic decade for the Korean people. It began with the military coup by Chun Doo-hwan who seized and stayed in power until 1988 and ended with the democratization of South Korea after more than a quarter of a century of military dictatorship. Chun’s military regime persecuted political dissidents brutally and, as a result, numerous people were massacred by the Army during the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. At the time, college campuses were chaotic, covered with tear gas, demons

Viewpoints May 9, 2017

One of Aesop’s fables, “The Four Oxen and the Lion,” is a story about a lion that tries to attack four oxen in a field. The oxen warn each other and whichever way the lion approaches he is met by horns and so cannot harm them. One day, the oxen quarrel and graze separately. The lion easily picks them off one by one. The moral of this fable is “United we stand, divided we fall.” Another Aesop’s fable, “The Bundle of Sticks,” also gives the same lesson, but more explicitly. Once there was a father

Viewpoints May 2, 2017