Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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[Robert J. Fouser] Leaked US documents offer insight
The recent leak of classified US intelligence documents shocked the military and diplomatic establishment in Washington. On April 13, the FBI arrested Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who leaked the documents in a Discord chat room. Investigations are continuing into how a low-ranking national guardsman had access to the documents and how accessible such information should be moving forward. The leaked documents showed that the US was spying on many co
ViewpointsApril 21, 2023
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[Wang Son-taek] Teixeira case and political correctness
The leak of classified documents from the Pentagon is a global concern. As a Korean citizen whose country has been bugged by the United States, it is a very unpleasant incident. However, as a member of a global village, the incident has an interesting element as the motivation behind the leak is so absurd. In the process of talking to buddies in an internet chat room, Airman Jack Teixeira leaked national secrets to show off. In the past, leaks of confidential information were usually a campaign
ViewpointsApril 20, 2023
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[Lynn Schmidt] Find me an Abraham Lasso
What America needs now is a combination of a modern-day Abraham Lincoln and a real-life Ted Lasso. A leader who will inspire all of us, remind us of the better angels of our nature and who believes in what we can become. Most Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country. In an NBC poll from January, 71 percent of respondents said the country is headed in the wrong direction. It was the eighth time in the last nine NBC News surveys since October 2021 when the wrong-track response has b
ViewpointsApril 20, 2023
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[Editorial] Destructive rental fraud
In a country where tenants often pay a large lump-sum deposit for two years of rent under the unique “jeonse” housing system, landlords’ failure to pay back the deposits in time -- a result of either reckless borrowing or a shameless scam -- can be utterly devastating for cash-strapped tenants, often wiping out the entirety of their assets. A massive fraud case is now shaking up the jeonse lease system and sending shock waves through the nation, with thousands of innocent tenan
EditorialApril 20, 2023
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[Editorial] Apply same yardstick
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has seldom acknowledged allegations unfavorable to it. But regarding alleged vote buying at its national convention in May 2021, its leader Lee Jae-myung apologized five days after the allegations became known. He also asked for a fair and quick investigation. The party has covered up for its lawmakers in corruption allegations, condemning the prosecution for suppressing the party through what it called politically motivated investigations. Lee seems
EditorialApril 19, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] Hidden meanings behind nursery rhymes
Children grow up hearing and singing nursery rhymes. Experts say that many nursery rhymes have a secret meaning, such as a parody of our everyday lives or a satire of historical events. Children may sing nursery rhymes merrily, but some would give them a chill if they knew the origin of the song. We can find a host of internet websites about secret meanings behind English nursery rhymes. For example, “Ring Around the Rosie” is a cheerful song that children sing in a circle before the
ViewpointsApril 19, 2023
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[Gernot Wagner] Will banking busts hurt clean tech?
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month seemed to bode ill for the global clean-energy race. Just as recently enacted US investment packages and the rest of President Joe Biden’s climate dreams were about to take off, the high-tech start-up sector’s bank of choice went bust, and commentators are warning of a looming slowdown in “the transition to clean energy.” Yet, rather than hampering the clean-energy race, this episode should be a teachable moment. Yes, the ini
ViewpointsApril 19, 2023
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French Navy frigate Prairial in Korea
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna reiterates French government priorities and solidarity with Korea during a reception aboard Prairial, the French Navy's Floreal-class frigate docked in Incheon on Saturday. The Floreal-class frigate is the French Navy's light surveillance warship, designed after the end of the Cold War in 1989.
Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2023
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[Editorial] Red flags about leadership
Two polls show that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval ratings have fallen in connection with the presidential office’s poor handling of the leaked US intelligence documents, among other negative factors. Yoon must take the warning signs seriously and try to address the dispute ahead of his upcoming state visit to the US. On Monday, a poll of 2,506 voters conducted by Realmeter from March 10-14 showed that 33.6 percent viewed Yoon’s job performance positively, down 2.8 percenta
EditorialApril 18, 2023
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[Hal Brands] What went wrong in the Afghan pullout?
This month marks two years since President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, bringing America’s two-decade war there to an end. One might hope that Washington would be engaged in a searching debate about what went wrong in that conflict. So far, alas, it’s not clear that hindsight is making America much wiser. See, most recently, the Biden administration’s “after action review” of the US withdrawal. That document is not an objective ass
ViewpointsApril 18, 2023
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[Frank Shyong] Taiwanese Americans' lingering dread
As a Taiwanese American, I'm filled with anxiety and dread every time I see Taiwan in the headlines. It's not just that the news is never good for the small island nation that China claims as its own territory, where most of my family still lives. It's also because the issue is so politically tortuous that even smart, well-intentioned people have trouble following the conflict's twists and turns, ongoing for more than half a century. Most recently, when Taiwan President Tsai
ViewpointsApril 18, 2023
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[Editorial] United on populism
Ruling and opposition parties fight each other all the time over everything. However, when it comes to legislation that can win over voters, they are easily united. In a subcommittee meeting of the Strategy and Finance Committee on Thursday, they unanimously passed a public finance law revision bill. Under the existing law, a government-financed project, such as the construction of roads, ports and airports, must undergo a feasibility evaluation if it costs 50 billion won ($38.25 million) or m
EditorialApril 17, 2023
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[Nicholas Goldberg] Does AI mean 4-day workweek is almost here?
I‘d like to work four days a week instead of five. Wouldn’t you? I‘d take Fridays off. The way I imagine it, it’d be just a few years from now. A robot in a butler‘s uniform would serve us drinks in the backyard on what used to be just another workday. I’d toss a ball around with the kids while ChatGPT did their homework for them. Who says the world is going to hell and the future is bleak? Artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and job automation hold out
ViewpointsApril 17, 2023
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[Chang-Tai Hsieh, Jason Hsu] How US should support Taiwan
The stern warnings issued by China ahead of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s tour of the United States and Central America have highlighted the threat that intensifying Chinese pressure poses to the island’s security and stability. But the warnings also underscored the degree to which the ongoing US efforts to “on-shore” semiconductor manufacturing could cripple Taiwan’s economy at a critical time. Taiwan’s security rests on two main pillars: self-governan
ViewpointsApril 14, 2023
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[Editorial] Risks of a deeper slowdown
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered its 2023 economic growth outlook for South Korea to 1.5 percent, marking the fourth straight trimming since July last year. The revised IMF outlook for Korea -- a 0.2 percentage-point drop from its estimate in January -- did not come as a big surprise in consideration of the latest tumult sparked by fears of the banking crisis in the US and Europe, as well as other data pointing to a slowdown in various industrial sectors. The IMF’s 2023 g
EditorialApril 14, 2023
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[Editorial] Excessive goal
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that the previous administration had raised the country’s carbon emission reduction goal too high without listening to industries sufficiently. The Moon Jae-in administration pledged to the international community to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent of the 2018 level by 2030. Han said in a plenary session of the Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth on Monday that the goal is becoming a heavy burden
EditorialApril 13, 2023
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[Lee Kyong-hee] It’s time to remember their sacrifices
“At the mine in Hamborn where I worked, we went 1 kilometer down in a vertical shaft. There we got on a battery car and moved a few kilometers along the horizontal gallery, and then walked about another kilometer to reach the working face. The coal bed face, about 250 meters long, was inclined some 15 to 30 degrees. By this time, even before starting to work, we had already begun sweating in the high geothermal heat.” This is how Kim Tae-woo describes his daily routine as a coal mine
ViewpointsApril 13, 2023
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[Editorial] US spying on allies
The United States has suffered another major classified data leak that allegedly contains spying activities on its key allies, including South Korea. Both countries are now scrambling to minimize the negative impact of the fiasco by claiming that most of the leaked documents were faked and reaffirming their bilateral alliance. But things are likely to become more embarrassing -- if not disturbing -- unless proper steps are taken. It is not the first time that the US has failed to keep its secret
EditorialApril 12, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] Courtesy, common sense and humanity among us
The other day, I was playing music for my granddaughter when the old nursery rhyme “Apples and Bananas” came on. It suddenly occurred to me that the lyrics of this song are an excellent metaphor for the generation gap. “Apples and Bananas” is a song designed for children to practice pronouncing vowels. Therefore, the song switches the spellings and pronunciations continuously. It goes like this: “I like to eat, eat, eat/ Apples and bananas/ Oh I like to ate, ate, at
ViewpointsApril 11, 2023
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[Shang-Jin Wei] A reality check for the renminbi
After years of speculation and false starts, it seems that the internationalization of the renminbi is well underway. On March 29, China and Brazil announced plans to trade using their own currencies, rather than the US dollar. The day before, the China National Offshore Oil Corp. and France’s TotalEnergies completed their first-ever renminbi-denominated liquefied natural gas trade. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that he wants to use the Chinese currency not just for tradin
ViewpointsApril 11, 2023