Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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[Dominique Moisi] Attacks reveal French division
PARIS ― “One must fight both terrorists and the causes of terrorism with the same determination.” That formula, coined 10 years ago in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, by leaders as diverse as Javier Solana, then secretary general of NATO, and U.S. President George W. Bush, is as valid as ever in the aftermath of the recent killing spree in France.The French state managed to identify and “neutralize” the terrorist in short order, though two key questions linger: Should h
April 1, 2012
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No affiliation doesn’t mean no religion
“The Rise of the Nones” is one of 10 trends changing American life, according to Time magazine’s March 12 cover story. That’s because the “nones” ― those who mark “none” on surveys that ask them to identify their religious affiliation ― are the fastest-growing religious group in the United States.Not surprisingly, the increase in the unaffiliated comes at the expense of America’s mainstream religions, which means that Christianity is taking the biggest hit. Mainstream Protestant churches have lo
April 1, 2012
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High stakes in education: A public policy failure
Korea is sometimes called a one-shot society. More correctly, it is a “high-stakes” society. Korean youth face a colossal tournament consisting of three rounds: advancement to a rigorous high school, a top college and then one of a few renowned corporations. Winners take it all ― enjoying generous compensation and perks including public respect, a five-day workweek, paid holidays, free medical check-ups and maternity leave. The rest of society, notably the “office workers,” must put up with poor
April 1, 2012
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[Michael Boskin] Europe still has difficult decisions ahead of it
BEIJING ― With the likelihood of a contagious sovereign-debt implosion and European bank failures greatly reduced by the Greek debt deal and the European Central Bank’s lending program, it is time to look ahead. Where do the European Union, the eurozone, and the EU’s highly indebted countries go from here? Will Europe be able to roll back its welfare states’ biggest excesses without economic distress and social unrest toppling governments and, in the peripheral countries, undermining already-ten
April 1, 2012
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[David Ignatius] The appeal of a soft landing
WASHINGTON ― Maybe it’s time for Syrian revolutionaries to take “yes” for an answer from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and back a U.N.-sponsored “managed transition” of power there, rather than rolling on toward a civil war that will bring more death and destruction for the region. Syria announced Tuesday that it was ready to accept a peace plan proposed by U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan. The Syrian announcement in Beijing followed endorsement of the plan by China and Russia. The proposal has
March 30, 2012
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Japan needs to tap its hidden strengths ― women
In the year since Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, the nation’s many deficits have been cast in stark relief. The budget deficit is widening as the cost of rebuilding the northeast mounts. The growth shortfall is worrying politicians more than ever and making it hard for Yoshihiko Noda, the sixth prime minister in five years, to keep his job. Deflation is a chronic downer. News that the trade gap disappeared last month was, for now at least, a rare hint that better days may lie ahead.
March 30, 2012
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Administrative certainty is Hong Kong’s best bet
The election of Hong Kong’s third chief executive under Chinese sovereignty followed a well-worn pattern. The candidate favored by Beijing won. Earlier, however, there were some twists to the script. Just when the race appeared to be on auto-pilot, there surfaced revelations one would associate with boisterous democratic contests elsewhere. This will boost the expectations of Hong Kongers to directly elect their leader one day. But the overriding concern now is for administrative certainty so th
March 30, 2012
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World leaders must stop N.K. missile launch
The second Nuclear Security Summit, which is being held in Seoul, is aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism.Top leaders and Cabinet members from 53 countries are participating in the summit, along with representatives from the United Nations and three other international organizations.The summit is considering what specific measures must be taken to prevent potential nuclear menaces from threatening world security.The leaders taking part in the summit must press North Korea, a country with a nucl
March 30, 2012
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Stability is Hong Kong‘s best bet
The election of Hong Kong’s third chief executive under Chinese sovereignty followed a well-worn pattern. The candidate favored by Beijing won. Earlier, however, there were some twists to the script. Just when the race appeared to be on auto-pilot, there surfaced revelations one would associate with boisterous democratic contests elsewhere. This will boost the expectations of Hong Kongers to directly elect their leader one day. But the overriding concern now is for administrative certainty so th
March 30, 2012
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Security and safety nexus
The two-day Seoul Nuclear Security Summit ended on Tuesday, with the leaders of 53 nations signing a document translating the political pledges on combating nuclear terrorism into concrete action plans. The leaders adopted the Seoul Communique at the end of the final session, which emphasized that participating countries have made “substantive progress” on the political commitments made at the first summit, but that sustained efforts are required to “address the issues of nuclear safety and nucl
March 30, 2012
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World leaders must stop North Korea‘s missile launch
The second Nuclear Security Summit, which is being held in Seoul, is aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism.Top leaders and Cabinet members from 53 countries are participating in the summit, along with representatives from the United Nations and three other international organizations.The summit is considering what specific measures must be taken to prevent potential nuclear menaces from threatening world security.The leaders taking part in the summit must press North Korea, a country with a nucl
March 30, 2012
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[David Ignatius] The appeal of a soft landing
WASHINGTON ― Maybe it’s time for Syrian revolutionaries to take “yes” for an answer from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and back a U.N.-sponsored “managed transition” of power there, rather than rolling on toward a civil war that will bring more death and destruction for the region. Syria announced Tuesday that it was ready to accept a peace plan proposed by U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan. The Syrian announcement in Beijing followed endorsement of the plan by China and Russia. The proposal has
March 30, 2012
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Japan needs to tap its hidden strengths ? women
In the year since Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, the nation’s many deficits have been cast in stark relief. The budget deficit is widening as the cost of rebuilding the northeast mounts. The growth shortfall is worrying politicians more than ever and making it hard for Yoshihiko Noda, the sixth prime minister in five years, to keep his job. Deflation is a chronic downer. News that the trade gap disappeared last month was, for now at least, a rare hint that better days may lie ahead.
March 30, 2012
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Taiwan stands to gain from one country, two areas
We all know what it means to break the law. It is perhaps the most fundamental fact governing our social behavior that we understand the constraints and the pressures to stay within the law and the consequences of not doing so.Kuomintang Honorary Chairman Wu Po-hsiung’s shocking “one country, two areas” remark, believed to be President Ma’s message, is precisely laying the groundwork for cross-strait relations, eliminating surprises and stepping forward from the current “1992 Consensus” toward i
March 30, 2012
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[Jeffrey D. Sachs] A breakthrough at the World Bank
NEW YORK ― Last month, I called for the World Bank to be led by a global development leader rather than a banker or political insider. “The Bank needs an accomplished professional who is ready to tackle the great challenges of sustainable development from day one,” I wrote . Now that U.S. President Barack Obama has nominated Jim Kim for the post, the world will get just that: a superb development leader. Obama has shown real leadership with this appointment. He has put development at the forefro
March 29, 2012
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All Americans lose if health care law is overturned
As much as we’d like to see the U.S. Supreme Court allow the entire federal health-care law to stand, it’s perfectly possible that, when it rules in a few months, the court will toss the whole thing. If it finds that the individual mandate, the requirement that Americans either have insurance or pay a penalty, is unconstitutional, the court may also decide the rest of the law is so inextricably tied to it, everything must go. That would bring the nation back to square one on health-care reform.
March 29, 2012
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Fire up America’s jobs factory with aid for startups
Politicians, even those who vilify corporate America, inevitably laud small businesses. They are right to appreciate the enormous role that entrepreneurship plays in the U.S. economy, but it’s not clear how much public policy can do to conjure up entrepreneurs. Last week, with broad support, the Senate passed an amended version of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (or the JOBS Act). Because the bill had already been passed by the House on March 8, and is supported by the White House, it se
March 29, 2012
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The G20 remains a process
The G20 is at a crossroads and the world is watching. A lack of continuity, legitimacy and credibility are shadowing the G20 in 2012. This year’s Los Cabos Summit takes place only seven months after the Cannes Summit, yet it has a very ambitious agenda: green growth. Last year’s agenda was hijacked by European crisis management. This time, green growth has been criticized as having a lack of clarity in terms of where it is leading to.On the topic of economics and finance, a financial inclusion,
March 29, 2012
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[Itamar Rabinovich] Forging Syria’s opposition as alternative to Assad
TEL AVIV ― Syria’s crisis is now a year old, with close to 10,000 people, mostly civilians, dead ― and no end in sight. The country is at a stalemate: the opposition is unable to topple President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and Assad’s forces are unable to quash the resistance.Both sides are adamant: the opposition is determined to bring down a regime that it views as illegitimate, sectarian, corrupt, tyrannical, and stained with blood, while the regime’s hard-line core believes that by perseverin
March 29, 2012
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Forging Syria’s Opposition
Syria’s crisis is now a year old, with close to 10,000 people, mostly civilians, dead -- and no end in sight. The country is at a stalemate: the opposition is unable to topple President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and Assad’s forces are unable to quash the resistance.Both sides are adamant: the opposition is determined to bring down a regime that it views as illegitimate, sectarian, corrupt, tyrannical, and stained with blood, while the regime’s hard-line core believes that by persevering it will
March 29, 2012