Most Popular
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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Legoland Korea Resort to open until 9 p.m.
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[Gearoid Reidy] It’s up to Kishida to achieve Abe’s great unrealized dream
In the specter of Shinzo Abe’s shocking assassination, the party to which he dedicated his life secured a resounding victory in Sunday’s upper house election. Now Fumio Kishida, Abe’s sometimes rival, long-serving foreign minister and now successor, must use his mandate to secure what Abe could never: the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s long-held goal of constitutional reform. The 75-year-old constitution, written by the occupying American army and forbidding Japan t
July 14, 2022
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[Kim Myong-sik] Leadership crisis everywhere in pandemic-hit world
Today, the Middle East no longer stands out amid what’s happening in the rest of the world. In our nearest neighbor, a former prime minister was assassinated in broad daylight. A demagogue former president is ready to announce he is running in the next election as the incumbent sees his approval ratings drop to the lowest point ever in the US. A prime minister resigns after lying about rowdy parties during COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK. And a mentally and physically sick Russian president
July 13, 2022
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[Daniel Yergin] The energy crisis will deepen
Is today’s energy crisis as serious as similar previous ones -- particularly the 1970s oil shocks? That question is being asked around the world, with consumers hit by high prices, businesses worried about energy supplies, political leaders and central bankers struggling with inflation, and countries confronting balance-of-payments pressures. So, yes, this energy crisis is as serious. In fact, today’s crisis is potentially worse. In the 1970s, only oil was involved, whereas this cri
July 13, 2022
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[Kim Seong-kon] Korea ‘In the Shadow of the Moon’
During the Trump era, the world anxiously watched America as it rapidly polarized, sharply divided by two radically different, mutually antagonistic groups. America was not always like this. The United States used to be a country of diversity, from which the strength and greatness of America stems. As Donald Trump marched into the White House, however, those good old days were over, and to the world’s disappointment, America was transformed into a country of division. As a result, on Jan
July 13, 2022
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[Martin Schram] Red flags can’t wave themselves
Red flags will just hang like limp noodles if their flag-wavers go AWOL on breezeless days. Left unattended, those red bits of cloth will signal no warning alert, send no sense of alarm that urgent action is needed to save lives. And the same goes for even our best-intentioned red flag laws -- such as the one the US Congress just approved, touching off a burst of belated bipartisan self-congratulation. Red flag laws can prove every bit as limp and useless as those bits of cloth, if the laws are
July 12, 2022
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[Doyle McManus] After Roe v. Wade reversal, a new war between the states
The polarization of American politics, a trend that began long before Donald Trump ran for president, isn’t running out of steam. If anything, it’s accelerating. Last month it got a boost from a new source: a conservative Supreme Court majority pushing hot-button issues back to the states -- not only abortion, but also gun control and environmental regulation, with others likely to come. Americans were already divided over abortion rights; now, thanks to the court, they get to deba
July 12, 2022
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[Trudy Rubin] NATO ‘not doing enough’ to help Ukraine win, Lithuanian president says
The tiny Baltic country of Lithuania has always been ahead of the curve in predicting Russia’s aggressive intentions. Five decades under Soviet rule, and many more under Russian czars, have left few illusions about Moscow in the elegant Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. Even before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian leaders warned about the risk he posed to Western democracies. Lithuania was the first to wean itself from Russian energy. It sent Stinger missiles to Kyiv eve
July 11, 2022
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[Robert S. McElvaine] Will 2022 turn the clock back to America before 1964?
“The United States is now at one of those historic forks in the road whose outcome will prove as fateful as those of the 1860s, the 1930s, and the 1960s,” Nancy MacLean wrote in her 2017 book, “Democracy in Chains.” History is punctuated by discontinuities that alter its trajectory. The key to the occurrence of such watershed moments is less the leaders than a sociopolitical environment that is receptive to change. The current inflection point has become much more appa
July 8, 2022
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[Contribution] Solving the Paradox in the Han River and the next generation’s right for a future (3)
The future of the Korean Peninsula in the 21st century is likely to be linked to events unfolding in North Korea, according to professor Andrei Lankov at Kookmin University. The North continues to be an existential threat to South Korea (and vice versa). Nearly 70 years of calm, and generations without memories of the war (or even links with the wartime generation), have largely numbed the collective consciousness about North Korea in the South. Public opinion polls today show that the majority
July 7, 2022
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[Lee Kyong-hee] Living on tears of invisible foreign workers
The female sea divers of Jeju are among the symbolic features of the southern island and admittedly its major tourist resource. The “haenyeo” and their age-old ocean harvesting skills are recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Back in the 15th century, however, these stalwart women flabbergasted a new magistrate on his inspection tour by bravely jumping into the cold winter sea, wearing only outfits made of thin cotton. The tender-hearted magistrate hande
July 7, 2022
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[Martin Schram] Republicans, what do you see when you look in the mirror?
It is yet another morning after. But as you stare at your bathroom mirror, on this Wednesday morning after Tuesday’s hearing, it somehow feels as if you are staring at just another news screen. And this one just keeps looping more bad news you can’t bear to see. Like one-third of Americans, you’ve always been proud to call yourself one of our 45th president’s MAGA Trumpers. You are, of course, the face and politics of that person in your mirror. It is you, a proud Trump
July 6, 2022
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[Kim Seong-kon] Journey to the past through historical fiction
History is a mirror to the present. When something goes wrong in the present, we look back upon the past to see what went wrong earlier. Reading historical fiction, therefore, is a way of making a journey to the past to find out the origin of our present predicament. Oh Yoon-hee’s recently published historical novel, “The Eerie Story Club at Samgae Tavern & Inn, Book III” is a good example. Just like her previously published Book I and Book II of the same title, Book III
July 6, 2022
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[Trudy Rubin] NATO is united on Ukraine but still not doing what is necessary to deter Putin
When it comes to the NATO summit and President Joe Biden‘s performance as global leader, there’s the good news and the bad news. Confronted with the dangerous ambitions of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, NATO appeared more unified than at any time since the Cold War. In fact, Russia‘s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has effectively revived the Cold War. Most NATO members are upping their defense budgets and pledging to upgrade their forces. A new military doctrine will increase
July 5, 2022
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[Takatoshi Ito] America’s watery Indo-Pacific alphabet soup
In May, US President Joe Biden visited South Korea and Japan with the aim of reaffirming America’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific region after the uncertainties and doubts generated by Donald Trump’s presidency. In Tokyo, Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and participated in a summit of the Quad, an informal security grouping that also includes Japan, Australia, and India. The Quad aims to promote and secure a free, open, prosperous, and inclusive Ind
July 5, 2022
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[Antara Haldar] Trump’s lessons for defending the rule of law
A new show currently airing gives fresh meaning to the term reality TV. Call it “American Democracy: Clear and Present Danger.” It should be required viewing. Almost 18 months after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol, a House of Representatives select committee is publicizing the findings of its detailed investigation into the event. The committee has interviewed over 1,000 witnesses and examined 125,000 documents. It has held six hearings so far in June, with a view to tr
July 4, 2022
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[Robert J. Fouser] Taking the lead in renewable energy
The sharp rise in the price of oil over the past year is one of the primary causes of rising inflation around the world. The high cost of oil affects every sector of the economy, making it more expensive to produce and move goods at all points in the supply chain. As prices rise, workers require higher wages, which adds to inflationary pressure. Inflation affects lower income workers and retirees most because the increase in the cost of basic goods, such as food and transportation, often outpace
July 1, 2022
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[Contribution] Solving the paradox in the Han River and the next generation’s right for a future (2)
Last week, I introduced the paradox on the Han River: the rise of Korea’s global success and decline in hope among young Koreans. Here, I will continue to examine Korea’s choices around two pivotal areas facing the next generation -- its economic future and social inclusion. What choices will South Korea make to sustain its economic future? An explicit focus on economic growth, rather than focusing on distribution alone such as advocated by the “degrowth” movemen
June 30, 2022
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[Kim Myong-sik] Keeping North Korea at a controlled distance
Fifty days after the governing power changed in Seoul, the distance between the South and North on the Korean Peninsula clearly looks farther. New right-wing President Yoon Suk-yeol would bring to a close the reconciliatory course toward North Korea that the leftist administration of Moon Jae-in had taken for the past five years. The successful launch of a space rocket from a south coast cape last week was like a bonfire to celebrate the new presidency. It convinced ordinary people here that w
June 30, 2022
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[Kim Seong-kon] ‘You never know what you have until it’s gone’
There are things that we take for granted and thus do not appreciate until they are no longer there. In the restroom of Ground, a coffee shop in New London, New Hampshire, there is a sign that says, “You never know what you have until it’s gone. Toilet paper, for instance.” Indeed, we do not realize how important and indispensable it is to have toilet paper until it is gone. Of course, toilet paper is not alone in this. I know someone who has breathing problems due to severe
June 29, 2022
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[Zev Chafets] Biden’s risky trip to the Mideast is also pointless
President Joe Biden has a politically risky itinerary for his scheduled trip to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia in mid-July. The question is, why he is doing this? The tour is scheduled to begin in Jerusalem, where the president plans “to meet with Israeli leaders to discuss security, prosperity and increasing integration into the great region.” All worthy topics, but not quite in sync with the moment. On Monday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced his resignation. Acco
June 28, 2022