Most Popular
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law
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President Yoon Suk Yeol declares end to martial law after six-hour chaos
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'Is this happening in 2024?' South Koreans in panic, disbelief
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Ruling party leader denounces Yoon's declaration of emergency martial law
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What unfolded on Tuesday night in Seoul: A timeline
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South Korea sees first martial law in over 40 years
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Assembly passes motion to revoke martial law
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Main opposition to push for impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol
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Seoul defense chief calls meeting of key commanders
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Does cross atop Christmas tree at Seoul Plaza reflect religious bias?
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[Editorial] Unreasonable claims
North Korea claimed Friday that South Korean drones infiltrated its airspace over Pyongyang on three occasions this month to drop leaflets criticizing its leader Kim Jong-un. The North showed what it said were photos of a drone scattering leaflets over Pyongyang at night as well as photos of those purported leaflets. Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, said that a horrible catastrophe would happen without fail at the moment of a South Korean drone being spotte
EditorialOct. 15, 2024
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[Lorraine Ali] Elon Musk's courtship with MAGA
Multibillionaires are eccentric. It's common knowledge, like water is wet, fire is hot, "Joker: Folie a Deux" is a terrible film. From Jeff Bezos to Peter Thiel to Richard Branson to Howard Hughes (adjusting for inflation), they do weird things: shoot themselves into space, invest in treatments to "cure" aging, buy islands and wash their hands a lot. It's rare that the other 99.9 percent of us are directly exposed to their world-ownership whims, though we indirect
ViewpointsOct. 14, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] A rare apology for disappointing corporate earnings
There were two major events this week that surprised many people watching South Korea, myself included. First, a South Korean novelist won the Nobel Prize in Literature for the first time in the country's history, marking only the second time the country has won a Nobel Prize in any field. Her fans, fellow citizens and the whole world joined together in congratulating the novelist, Han Kang, on being awarded the world’s most prestigious literary prize. Of course, I was among them, but
ViewpointsOct. 14, 2024
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[Editorial] Han Kang honored
It was more than a pleasant surprise for South Koreans that the Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee announced this year’s Nobel Prize in literature winner on Thursday in Stockholm: Han Kang. Han, who has won a number of fans outside of South Korea with translated works including “The Vegetarian,” has become the first South Korean honored with the world’s most prestigious literary award. It was the second Nobel Prize for the country after then-South Korean President Kim
EditorialOct. 14, 2024
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[CONTRIBUTION] Greening finance sector for our climate
It is time to really accelerate the greening of the finance sector for our climate, people and our planet. Seoul has experienced its hottest September ever. It was sweltering. Farmers here and in other parts of the world are changing the crops they plant because the weather is now unfavorable for some crops to grow well. For people in poor countries extreme weather events often mean that families are pushed deeper into poverty. I trained as an environmental economist and what we do at the Global
ViewpointsOct. 12, 2024
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[Lee Byung-jong] Time for stronger Seoul-Tokyo ties
For many young South Korean tourists, Japan is no doubt their favorite travel destination. It's close, cheap and familiar. They can indulge in shopping or enjoy tonkatsu (fried pork chops) or ramen. Yet until recently, they didn’t publicize or brag about their trips to Japan on social media. A strong anti-Japan sentiment caused by diplomatic rows between Seoul and Tokyo kept them from doing so. But all that has changed since their leaders began to mend bilateral relations early last
ViewpointsOct. 11, 2024
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[Editorial] No-phone policy in school
It is widely known that teachers have trouble drawing attention from students with mobile phones in their hands during classes. Smartphones can be addictive in a way that hinders a variety of activities, works as a distraction and negatively affects mental well-being. In South Korea, there has been a heated dispute about whether schools should restrict the use of phones during school hours to help students focus more on what they are supposed to learn and protect them from overusing social media
EditorialOct. 11, 2024
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[Wang Son-taek] Some issues with the idea of an 'Asian NATO'
When Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office, he raised both expectations and concerns in Korea. On the one hand, his recognition of Japan's historical wrongdoing during its colonial period, including 35 years of occupation, offers hope for improving Korea-Japan relations. On the other hand, his foreign policy vision, particularly the proposal for an "Asian NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)," presents significant challenges. While his intentions may be grounded
ViewpointsOct. 10, 2024
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[Albert Lucius] Tech-enabled entertainment: Lessons from Korean Wave
The Korean Wave, or Hallyu, is one of the most remarkable success stories in soft power and nation branding. With global icons like BTS and Blackpink leading the charge, this cultural phenomenon originated in a newly industrialized, economically struggling South Korea over 30 years ago. While traditional concert revenues are significant, a 2023 report by Allied Market Research revealed that the K-pop events business generated approximately $8.1 billion in 2021, with projections estimating it cou
ViewpointsOct. 10, 2024
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[George Skelton] Newsom sends clear message about increasing benefits for undocumented immigrants
Has California reached its limit in providing benefits for immigrants living here illegally? That's the indication after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed three bills passed by the liberal Legislature. The state at least has definitely hit an election-year pause. Newsom says publicly he blocked the closely-watched measures for good policy reasons. And those reasons were sound. But it was also good politics for him in the long run, and more immediately for California Democratic ally Kamala Harris. Th
ViewpointsOct. 10, 2024
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[Editorial] Cloud over economy
South Korea maintains a current account surplus, driven by robust exports, but the surplus is declining. The country racked up a current account surplus of $6.6 billion in August, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday. It was the fourth consecutive month in the black. But the August surplus was nearly $2.4 billion smaller than the July surplus ($8.97 billion) and about half of the June figure ($12.56 billion). The central bank expected the current account surplus to continue
EditorialOct. 10, 2024
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[Editorial] Stop-gap measure
The Ministry of Education has unveiled an emergency plan to “normalize” medical school operations to deal with the inevitable gap in education for medical students who have refused to attend classes in protest against the government’s medical reform initiatives, including the increase in medical school enrollment quotas. The ministry said Sunday it will temporarily allow medical students to take a leave of absence on condition that they return to school for the spring semester
EditorialOct. 9, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] Hoping for no 'October surprises' this year
In 2006, I briefly stayed in Buffalo, New York, on my way from the University of California, Berkeley to Harvard. In October that year, a heavy blizzard hit Buffalo so hard that everyone was stuck at home for about a week, suffering through all manner of ordeals, from blackouts and empty refrigerators to road blocks caused by huge piles of snow. The people of Buffalo called the untimely weather calamity “the October surprise,” because a blizzard was not expected in the fall. In the U
ViewpointsOct. 9, 2024
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[Nedra Rhone] Americans ready to flee the country?
The first time Jen Barnett and her now husband Brett Andrews discussed permanently leaving the US was in 2016. Barnett, an Alabama native and Emory University alum, said rising political polarization in the US and a long-standing desire to live abroad pushed them to scout out Vancouver, Canada, as a possible destination -- with Seattle as a possible “blue state” home. But it turned out, neither city felt like a place they wanted to live long-term. So they shelved the idea until 2020
ViewpointsOct. 9, 2024
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[Grace Kao] Why K-pop lip-syncing doesn’t bother me
Lip-synching during stage performances does not bother me. In fact, I sometimes prefer it. I know this is likely a minority opinion. Maybe it’s because I grew up on MTV and also watched shows like “American Bandstand,” “Soul Train,” and British music show “Top of the Pops.” The shows above all featured “live” performances by pop acts, but everyone knew they were lip-synching. Many acts also “played” their instruments on stage with
ViewpointsOct. 8, 2024
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[Antara Haldar] Alberto Fujimori's neoliberalism
The script of Latin American politics too often reads like a “dictator novel,” and on Sept. 11, another chapter drew to a close with the death of Alberto Fujimori. As the president who most defined -- and divided -- modern Peru, Fujimori’s legacy remains a topic of heated debate. One version of Fujimori’s epitaph would commend his economics and condemn his politics, but the deeper lesson his life story offers may be that it is impossible to separate the two. Fujimori&rsqu
ViewpointsOct. 8, 2024
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[Editorial] Strange job change
Kim Dae-nam, a former administrative official at the presidential office who caused controversy by asking an online media outlet to criticize Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party, resigned Monday as standing auditor of Seoul Guarantee Insurance. He is said to have tendered resignation because he does not want to be a burden on SGI, the party and the government. He was criticized for staying on in the job even after an audio recording of his phone conversation with a liberal
EditorialOct. 8, 2024
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[Lee Kyong-hee] Tone-deaf first lady causes chaos
It seems the nation is engulfed in a relentless maelstrom. Unseemly rumors and speculations surrounding Kim Keon-hee, the wife of President Yoon Suk Yeol, continue to boil at a level in which even state governance is disrupted. Yet, the first lady shows no sign of curbing her behavior. Nor does Yoon exhibit anything but single-hearted dedication to protecting her. Yoon’s devotion defies his signature motto of “common sense and fairness” as the nation’s top prosecutor. It
ViewpointsOct. 7, 2024
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[Francis Wilkinson] MAGA could spark 'Fourth Founding'
It has been a long night of terror for American pluralism and democracy. The Republican Party since 2016 has burrowed ever deeper into authoritarian terrain. You don’t have to be a political scientist to register that reality. Democratic political parties aren’t awash in lies and they don’t nominate criminals and coup plotters to leadership. Not so complicated, really. Trumpism is a daily assault on many targets, including basic decency. But among them is optimism. When lies ar
ViewpointsOct. 7, 2024
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[Editorial] Make a decision
The dispute over the introduction of the financial investment income tax has intensified after the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea failed to work out an agreement about its legislative schedule on Friday. The new tax scheme is scheduled to be implemented from January next year, a plan that puts local investors on edge since it could have a sizable impact on their asset management as well as the domestic financial market performances. The consensus is that the tax scheme, which has been
EditorialOct. 7, 2024