Most Popular
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Can Korea break away from apartment fixation?
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Assembly clash looms as opposition pushes vote on W4tr budget cut
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BTS members dominate charts, award shows despite military service
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Inside Korea’s diplomatic failure at Japan’s memorial ceremony
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Hyundai-Kia may face 19% profit loss from US tariffs: report
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[Herald Interview] Director of 'Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born' discusses bringing together viewers across ages, genders
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(G)I-dle confirms full-unit contract renewal at MMA
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Russian defense chief leaves North Korea after high-level talks
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Samsung challenges LG in home appliance subscription market
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Both parties agree to delay crypto tax
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[Editorial] Warning signs
South Korea’s economy is chugging along on the strength of exports of chips, but the path ahead appears rocky with numerous warning signs. The surprise interest rate cut by the country’s central bank last week is also interpreted as a sign for a worse-than-expected economic slowdown. According to government data, Korea’s exports posted on-year growth for the 14th straight month in November. Exports went up 1.4 percent on-year to $56.3 billion last month and imports declined 2.4
EditorialDec. 2, 2024
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[Editorial] Diverse forms of family
In South Korea, where a traditional notion of family has long been espoused by conservative people, the news that actor Jung Woo-sung fathered a child with model Moon Ga-bi outside of marriage has generated a firestorm of gossipy online responses and intense media coverage. Their celebrity status has probably drawn more public attention than necessary, but their decision to go public about having a child without being married to each other has a positive element as it has ignited public debates
EditorialNov. 29, 2024
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[Editorial] Tariff alarm goes off
US President-elect Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Monday that on Jan. 20, as one of his first executive orders, he will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 percent tariff on all products coming into the US. He also said that China will face 10 percent tariffs above any existing tariffs. This shows his will to implement strong protectionist trade policies right from his inauguration day. International trade rules are expected to be jolted. Trump said th
EditorialNov. 28, 2024
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[Howard Davies] Global banking rules finished?
Is it all over for Basel 3.1 (or what is known in the United States as the “Basel Endgame”)? Should we kiss goodbye the Basel Committee and the very idea of global banking-supervision accords that establish minimum capital requirements? Many informed people think so. The committee’s recommendations have long been assailed from all sides, especially the western shores of the Atlantic. In 2023, emboldened -- or perhaps stung -- by the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and a few oth
ViewpointsNov. 27, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] Why Spain, now?: 'A furnace of different cultures'
As a professor, translator and self-appointed cultural ambassador, I have traveled to many countries in my life. One of the best places I have ever visited is Malaga in Spain. Thanks to the generous invitation of Vice Chancellor Victor Munoz and Professor Antonio Domenech, I had a chance to be affiliated with the University of Malaga as a visiting professor for a semester. Thanks to the warm hospitality of Gonzalo Ortiz, the former Spanish Ambassador to South Korea, I also had a chance to visit
ViewpointsNov. 27, 2024
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[Catherine Thorbecke] Hanoi follows Beijing in cyber rules
Vietnam has positioned itself in recent years as an attractive destination for Big Tech companies looking to move away from China. But Hanoi’s policies regarding social media have increasingly been following Beijing’s lead. The Southeast Asian nation is now ramping up already tight controls over online platforms with new rules that will require companies to verify the identities of users and share this information with authorities when asked. If these sorts of digital regulations sou
ViewpointsNov. 27, 2024
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[Editorial] Dispute on commercial law
A dispute has been intensifying over the bill introduced by the main opposition party aimed at revising South Korea’s commercial law as top officials voice conflicting views and the business community expresses strong opposition to the proposed amendment. The controversy started early this year as President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the government would push for an amendment to the law so that “boards of directors can reflect the interests of minority shareholders in a responsible way.
EditorialNov. 27, 2024
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[Lim Woong] AI digital textbook: promise or peril?
South Korea’s plan to roll out the AI Digital Textbook system in 2025 has sparked some controversy. It is an ambitious project, and there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. But the boldness of the idea is matched by the intensity of the concerns it raises. The sheer cost, the way it is being implemented as a national policy and whether AI will truly help or hurt education have left people divided and questioning its viability. The AIDT is not just another digital tex
ViewpointsNov. 26, 2024
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[Grace Kao] K-pop arrives at the Ivory Tower
I have worked as a professor for almost 30 years at two Ivy League institutions -- the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University. Ivy League institutions epitomize the Ivory Tower. We imagine that professors and students discuss rarefied subjects while being disconnected to the reality on the ground. However, I wholeheartedly reject this version of academia. Two weeks ago, I had the immense pleasure of organizing a K-pop conference at Yale University titled "K-pop Production and Consum
ViewpointsNov. 26, 2024
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[Editorial] Lack of sincerity
The Korean government’s boycott of a memorial service held on Sado island in Japan on Sunday for Koreans forced into labor in gold mines on the island during its colonial rule of Korea stemmed from Japan’s lack of sincerity. In order to get the Sado mines inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage list, the Japanese government pledged to exhibit data on former Korean workers and hold an on-site memorial service jointly with the Korean government each year if it consented to the designa
EditorialNov. 26, 2024
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[Andrei Hagiu] Which products will benefit and which will be disrupted by generative AI
Generative AI’s ability to create or improve products and services means it has to potential to commoditize some businesses, while greatly enhancing the competitive advantage of others. In what follows I will discuss the characteristics that make products or services susceptible to disruption by generative AI, and those that make them more resilient. To illustrate, I will then compare Chegg and Duolingo, two businesses which have been impacted very differently by the emergence of generativ
ViewpointsNov. 25, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] What changing US AI policy means to South Korea
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election earlier this month, securing another four-year term as the leader of the world’s most powerful country, has sent shockwaves across the globe and through various sectors on a magnitude and scope not seen in many years. Not only experts and scholars but also the general public, including small retail investors and office workers, have actively debated the changes Trump is likely to bring about when he takes office in two months and
ViewpointsNov. 25, 2024
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[Solomon D. Stevens] Male insecurity and US election
Donald Trump recently said he would protect women, whether they like it or not. What did he mean by this? What is implied by this? It is an important statement and, unfortunately, tells us a great deal about why Trump won the election and his priorities as president. For the last several years, leading Republicans have warned that there is a war on masculinity in America. Indeed, manly men are being replaced, they say, by effeminate men or gay men or -- even worse -- by men who want to become wo
ViewpointsNov. 25, 2024
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[Editorial] Shift in fiscal policy
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has focused on maintaining fiscal soundness as a key economic policy. But its policy showed signs of change last week amid growing concerns about the toxic mix of sluggish domestic demand and a continued slowdown in economic growth. “In the first half of this year, the government has made efforts to revitalize the economy by helping the private sector lead the way,” President Yoon said at an event Friday. “In the second half, the government will
EditorialNov. 25, 2024
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[Editorial] Growth challenge
South Korea’s economic growth, long a hallmark of its transformation, appears increasingly constrained, a negative development that calls for more decisive policy action from the government. The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday projected that the country could post a modest 2 percent expansion for 2025, a downward revision from the 2.2 percent forecast issued just last month. The IMF’s revised forecast clearly signals diminished expectations, illustrating the mounting structu
EditorialNov. 22, 2024
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[Lee Byung-jong] Bromance with President Trump?
Now that former President Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, should President Yoon Suk Yeol practice golf and get used to hamburgers? By indulging in Trump’s favorites, can President Yoon win the US leader's heart and build a bromance with him for the sake of South Korea’s national interests? Unfortunately, these seemingly playful questions have become a serious topic lately in Seoul’s political and diplomatic circles. That is because as the most powerful l
ViewpointsNov. 22, 2024
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[Wang Son-taek] Guidance comes from Moon, not golf
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, leaders worldwide are grappling with the implications. Cooperation with the US president is critical for most countries, as it significantly affects their national interests. For South Korea, this is especially true. On issues of security and trade, collaboration with the United States is not just beneficial -- it is vital. Trump's past remarks, including a suggestion of demanding a $10 billion defense cost-sharing settlement from South Korea,
ViewpointsNov. 21, 2024