Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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[Nabil Ahmed] Cracks in the New Gilded Age
The past 12 years have been extremely good for the ultra-rich. The fortunes of billionaires -- a group comprising the 2,640 wealthiest people on the planet, most of whom are men -- has more than doubled. The wealth gap between the top 0.01 percent and the bottom half of the world’s population has increased by 50 percent since the 2008 global financial crisis. The aftermath of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have been particularly lucrative for the ultra-wealthy as they reaped an enormous w
ViewpointsFeb. 20, 2024
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[Harry Litman] How verdict will hit Trump empire
Over the course of an 11-week fraud trial before New York Justice Arthur Engoron, Donald Trump practically begged for a harsh verdict. On Friday, he got his wish and then some. Engoron issued a scathing 92-page decision that ordered Trump and his co-defendants to pay $364 million for defrauding the people of New York. And that gargantuan figure actually understates the price tag: With the addition of prejudgment interest required under New York law, Trump is looking at closer to $500 million. Co
ViewpointsFeb. 20, 2024
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[Editorial] Hands off the mouth
The Presidential Security Service has done it again. It looks worse this time, and they should come up with a better response to hecklers -- because there will be more. It happened when President Yoon Suk Yeol was giving a speech at the graduation ceremony of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology in Daejeon on Friday. A man in a graduation cap and gown stood up from the audience and began yelling that Yoon should restore the state budget for research and development, which the gov
EditorialFeb. 20, 2024
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[Editorial] Lethal collision course
The conflict between the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and doctors over the plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota is expected to intensify Monday as doctors are scheduled to take collection action the next day. An escalation in the clash came after the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it would increase the medical school freshmen quota by 2,000 next year -- a drastic increase from the current 3,058 seats -- as part of efforts to resolve chronic shortages of doctors in
EditorialFeb. 19, 2024
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[Jieun Kiaer] Will translation still be necessary in the AI age?
"Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." At the 2020 Golden Globes award ceremony, Bong Joon-ho, director of the internationally successful film Parasite, spoke of the one-inch barrier. The one-inch barrier refers to the hurdle of Western, English-speaking audiences when they are faced with watching foreign language films. However, the one-inch barrier that Bong talks about might already belong to the past, now th
ViewpointsFeb. 19, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] South Korea’s value-up program and its true goals
South Korean stock prices have been on an unexpectedly strong rally in the past several weeks, even without any significant changes to the generally bleak macroeconomic and corporate earnings prospects, and despite the global geopolitical situation deteriorating further. Market players and commentators broadly attribute the rally to growing hopes among investors that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s so-called corporate value-up program, centering around possible requirements on companies
ViewpointsFeb. 19, 2024
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[Andreas Kluth] Ditch the ‘Rules-Based International Order’
People have laid down their lives for love, freedom, justice, the fatherland and more. But nobody has ever died clutching the banner of the Rules-Based International Order. It’s time to junk that cliche, and replace it with something more fitting. That’s not only because the term is an Orwellian linguistic atrocity with all the emotive oomph of a Powerpoint slide. It’s also a shibboleth that, when used by American diplomats in particular, makes US foreign policy look hypocritic
ViewpointsFeb. 16, 2024
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[Editorial] Trump risk at large
South Korea faces a plethora of risks this year, and among the most chilling is Donald Trump’s probable election as US president. Given his history as US president from 2017-2021, the gist of his foreign policy is clear: America will cut its spending on collective defense with its allies, unless they significantly increase their share of the funding. This will likely include less military drills with South Korea and Japan. During a campaign rally last Saturday, Trump complained about what
EditorialFeb. 16, 2024
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[Tobias Bunde, Sophie Eisentraut] No one wins in a lose-lose world
If the international community was ever on track toward a more peaceful and just global order, it was during the early post-Cold War years. While global governance was not free of flaws, the risk of a great-power war seemed low, and poverty was declining. Moreover, the initial results of summits dedicated to promoting development and safeguarding the environment raised hopes for breakthrough solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems. But geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty
ViewpointsFeb. 15, 2024
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[Editorial] Fast-paced AI race
The South Korean government seems to be aware that artificial intelligence increasingly plays a crucial role in diverse technology sectors and it is imperative to invest more in related industries through research and development. In a sign of its awareness, the Ministry of Science and ICT focused on digital transformation and job creation through AI initiatives Tuesday when it unveiled its major yearly plans for this year. As with other state-run policies with budget limitations, however, the S
EditorialFeb. 15, 2024
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[Editorial] A third party
A whirlwind merger among different political parties ahead of the general elections is nothing new in South Korea, but it reached a whole new level this time. Former leaders of the two main parties who are miles apart on the ideological spectrum teamed up amid growing voter disorientation with the rival parties. Four parties and factions led by lawmakers who recently quit the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea agreed to unite as a single party over the Lu
EditorialFeb. 14, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] ‘If I were born in the 1930s’
There is a trend in Korean social media lately, called “If I were born in the 1930s,” which has tremendous popularity among young people. Artificial intelligence draws your portrait in elegant 1930s-style suits or dresses with stylish hairdos and hats, which obviously appeals to Korean young men and women who are fond of fashionable trends. Ostensibly, nothing seems to be wrong with it. Yet, Koreans in their eighties and nineties may frown because of what the 1930s means in our his
ViewpointsFeb. 14, 2024
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[Peter Singer] The competitive edge of doing good
It seems counterintuitive, but in a capitalist economy, doing the most good can provide a competitive edge. I am not referring to businesses that donate a tiny percentage of their profits to charities or tell you that they are reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. I am talking about businesses that donate 100 percent of their profits -- or close to it -- to effective charities that do a lot of good. Newman’s Own, the American food company founded in 1982 by the actor Paul Newman and author A.
ViewpointsFeb. 14, 2024
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[Grace Kao] Are pets replacing kids in Korea?
I must confess that I have always had cats. I have no children. However, at least for me, my cats were not a cause or consequence of a child-free life. My husband and I both love cats and we cannot imagine our lives without our furry family members in our household. In fact, our lives with our non-human companions are typical of the average American household. In 2022, the US Census Bureau reported that 70 percent of US households included pets. In contrast, the proportion of households with chi
ViewpointsFeb. 13, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] Rescuing South Korea Inc. from complex crisis
Zombies have risen as a prevalent theme across various media platforms, including movies, TV shows, books and art, often serving as metaphors for societal issues and symbolizing the breakdown of social order. Moreover, they spark discussions about economic concepts, such as "zombie companies." A "zombie company" is a term used to describe a firm that persists in operation despite being unable to meet its debt obligations with its operating profits. These entities lack financi
ViewpointsFeb. 13, 2024
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[Editorial] Hasty push for platform act
Regulators around the world are keen to keep dominant market players from abusing their overwhelming power to eliminate smaller and nascent rivals. South Korea’s top antitrust regulator attempted to legislate an act to prevent such unfair practice, only to face fierce protests -- even from small startups the agency had intended to protect. Last week, the Fair Trade Commission publicly admitted it needs more in-depth and extensive discussions with industries and stakeholders in pushing the
EditorialFeb. 13, 2024
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[Career Compass] Effective communication key
This is a question I often get asked. Typically, I respond, “Your English is already good enough. Don’t worry and just try it. You will learn by doing.” Despite my sincere encouragement, I usually fail to convince them. “Oh, you are just saying that to make me feel better. You don’t understand because your English must be good,” they say. But I do understand. When I was asked to write this column for The Korea Herald, I had a similar doubt. My first question t
ViewpointsFeb. 10, 2024
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[Editorial] Greater cause
Medical schools across the country will admit 2,000 more students starting from the next school year, raising the total annual quota to 5,058, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. The planned increase in the number of people trained as physicians comes as South Korea suffers from a deadly shortage of doctors outside the greater Seoul area and in life-saving specialties such as pediatrics, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and emergency medicine. The government plans to revise t
EditorialFeb. 10, 2024
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[Robert J. Fouser] An argument for more smoking booths
On a recent visit to Seoul, I noticed something that had never caught my attention before: smoking in outdoor nonsmoking areas. As a nonsmoker, I try to avoid secondhand smoke, but I began to look at smoking areas after noticing groups of smokers in front of a restaurant with a no-smoking sign on the side of the building. The sidewalks near the restaurant also had a sign stating that smoking was prohibited and punishable by a fine. I wondered what caused people to ignore the sign, even at the ri
ViewpointsFeb. 9, 2024
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[Editorial] Diverging trends
South Korea’s policymakers on Wednesday received two positive signals that share largely the same conclusion: A recovery in exports continues to ease the economic slowdown. The first piece of good news came from the Bank of Korea, whose preliminary data shows the country recorded a current account surplus for the eighth month in a row in December, helped by an increase in trade surplus and dividends from overseas. The second piece of upbeat news was reported by the state-run Korea Developm
EditorialFeb. 9, 2024