Most Popular
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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[Salman Haidar] Time for stocktaking after Modi’s election win
Narendra Modi is a largely unknown quantity to India’s partners abroad and they have some catching up to do. Some of the contours of future regional and global dealings of the new government will soon begin to emerge but at this stage one cannot do much more than wait for developments. Spare a thought for Manmohan Singh. He had deep understanding of foreign policy issues and earned international respect for himself and India.Now that the electoral hurly-burly’s over and done, and India has a new
May 22, 2014
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[David Ignatius] A Finland model for Ukraine?
WASHINGTON ― After months of war fever over Ukraine, perhaps the biggest surprise is that citizens there will be voting to choose a new government in elections that observers predict will be free and fair in most areas. This electoral pathway for Ukraine seemed unlikely a few weeks ago, given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and his covert campaign to destabilize the Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine. There were dire warnings of a new Cold War, and even of a ground
May 21, 2014
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Thailand’s military coup can’t be a solution
Thailand’s military leaders are free to claim that Tuesday’s imposition of martial law, which included the occupation of TV stations and the banning of protests on the streets of Bangkok, is “not a coup.” They should not be allowed to pretend that it is a solution.The generals claim that deteriorating security forced their hand, and it’s true that the almost seven-month standoff between the government and protesters had grown dangerously tense. The May 7 ouster of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawa
May 21, 2014
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Stick to the principles!
The tragedy of the sunken Sewol ship shocked people all over the world. The death toll amounts to over 300, and 17 remain missing. Many professional divers, the maritime police and private fishermen hurried to the scene to rescue the passengers at the risk of their own lives. Thousands of volunteers swarmed into Paengmok Port to help the families. How great they are! The grief-stricken families have suffered so enormously that we have no adequate words to offer. Moreover, some family members hav
May 21, 2014
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[Michael J. Boskin] The late Gary Beeker: An economist for the ages
STANFORD, California ― Like many others, I first met the Nobel laureate economist Gary Becker, who died earlier this month, by reading his seminal works “Human Capital and The Economics of Discrimination.” Several dozen outstanding economists have won the Nobel Prize in Economics since Sweden’s central bank began awarding it in 1969, but Becker is among the handful who have fundamentally transformed how economists (and social scientists more generally) think about a wide array of important econo
May 21, 2014
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A life-changing lesson in literature
Every spring, during college graduation season, I think about a former professor who uttered two astonishing sentences that changed the course of my life.I was a disaffected student, attending community college because I didn’t have the grades, the money or the motivation to attend a four-year university. I had no real interest in business ― my major ― but my mother, a typical immigrant, had convinced me it would be the most practical course of study.My parents didn’t know much about college. My
May 21, 2014
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[Robert J. Fouser] A weekend in the hanok village
A short visit to Jeonju over the weekend revealed much about urban policy in Korea today. Jeonju has long been famous for food and traditional arts. In recent years, the revitalized hanok neighborhood has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Korea. The city has also become known for the Jeonju International Film Festival and the Jeonju International Sori Festival.On Saturday afternoon, the hanok neighborhood of traditional-style Korean houses, or “Hanok Village,” as it is offic
May 20, 2014
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What Thomas Piketty doesn’t say
To say that Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” has caused a stir would be something of an understatement. Since its publication (in English) in March, political and economic commentators in the U.S. have talked about little else.The book’s initial reception was ecstatic; a backlash duly followed. This is a good moment to ask what, if anything, has been learned.Piketty’s study of inequality and its consequences has three main parts: first, a detailed history of wealth and ineq
May 20, 2014
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Ralph Lauren’s fading fantasy
It’s been an anxious week for followers of Ralph Lauren Corp.Last Friday the company told analysts that it expects operating margins to narrow this fiscal year. It also announced that retailing star Roger Farah, who’s been serving as executive vice chairman since stepping down as president last year, will retire at the end of the month and leave the company’s board in August.Given Farah’s relative youth ― he was born in 1952 ― the move prompted speculation about his career plans. It also called
May 20, 2014
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[Kim Seong-kon] When ‘love’ becomes the L-word
In the eyes of foreigners, Americans look like very affectionate people who are not reluctant to express their affection freely. Indeed, Americans do not seem to refrain from hugging and kissing in public or habitually whispering “I love you” in their spouse’s ears. These days, many Koreans, too, have become Americanized and thus tend to say “I love you” to their loved ones frequently. In the past, however, most Koreans could not pronounce the phrase without blushing, even to thier husbands and
May 20, 2014
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Hungary’s fight against political radicalism
I am writing in reference to the opinion piece “In parts of Europe, the far right rises again” by Sonni Efron published in The Korea Herald on May 12, 2014. Taking the example of two European countries, Hungary and Greece, the author raises concerns over the rise of far-right parties in Europe.Shortly after his reelection in a fair and democratic process in April, in which the governing center-right party’s previous two-thirds majority had been preserved, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pa
May 20, 2014
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[Robert J. Shiller] Preventing inequality disaster
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut ― Thomas Piketty’s impressive and much-discussed book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” has brought considerable attention to the problem of rising economic inequality. But it is not strong on solutions. As Piketty admits, his proposal ― a progressive global tax on capital (or wealth) ― “would require a very high and no doubt unrealistic level of international cooperation.”We should not be focusing on quick solutions. The really important concern for policymakers every
May 19, 2014
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[Ian Bremmer] Ukraine crisis: Cold war or cool calculation?
NEW YORK ― With escalating violence in southern and eastern Ukraine and no solution in sight, the Ukraine crisis has become the world’s most turbulent geopolitical conflict since that triggered by the terrorist attacks against the United States in 2001. The U.S.-led sanctions strategy will neither deescalate the tensions between the West and Russia nor bolster the imperiled pro-Western Ukrainian government. But, even with tightening sanctions against Russia and growing violence in Ukraine, there
May 19, 2014
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China follows Japan’s prewar blueprint
For all China’s stern injunctions to Japan to remember wartime history, its bumbling aggression in Southeast Asia suggests it also could use a refresher course.The arrival of a Chinese oil rig in waters claimed by both China and Vietnam is a case in point. Demonstrations in Vietnam over China’s bullying deteriorated into a series of attacks by Vietnamese on foreign businesses, many run by Taiwanese with Chinese workers, that resulted in two dead and scores injured.China, of all countries, should
May 19, 2014
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Is fired NYT editor new Lilly Ledbetter?
Is Jill Abramson, the first female executive editor of the New York Times, who was unceremoniously dumped from her job Wednesday, the professional-class equivalent of equal pay heroine Lilly Ledbetter?Much is still unknown about the circumstances leading up to Abramson’s termination by New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.But at least two well-sourced media reporters, Ken Auletta of the New Yorker, and David Folkenflik of NPR, confirmed that Abramson, 60, who was less than three years i
May 19, 2014
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Should Boston bombing confession stand?
Outside of “24,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn’t usually interrogate a suspect who’s just been shot in the head, pumped full of opioids and shackled to his hospital bed.But that’s what happened to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on April 20 ― and the questioning, by the FBI’s high-value interrogation group, went on with breaks all night and again the following night. Tsarnaev’s jaw was wired shut, one of his eyes was sutured closed, but he communicated via notepad and repeatedly asked for a lawyer
May 19, 2014
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[Robert Reich] Six principles of new populism
We’re five years into a so-called recovery that’s been a bonanza for the rich but a bust for the middle class, which is fueling a new populism. “The game is rigged and the American people know that. They get it right down to their toes,” says Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.Left- and right-wing populists remain deeply divided over the role of government. Even so, the major fault line in American politics seems to be shifting, from Democrat vs. Republican to populist vs. establishment ― those
May 18, 2014
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[Yu Kun-ha] Korea needs thorough reform to shake off gloom
More than one month has passed since the Sewol ferry capsized off the southwestern island of Jindo. At the site of the tragedy, divers are still struggling against strong underwater currents and low visibility to retrieve the bodies of the deceased. Among an estimated 476 passengers on board, only 172 have been rescued, with 286 confirmed dead and 18 still missing. It is difficult to tell when the search and rescue operations will be completed as the Coast Guard intends to keep working until the
May 18, 2014
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Heroic women of Nigeria standing up to Boko Haram
Weeks after the abduction of more than 300 Nigerian schoolgirls taken in a case of mass sex trafficking, the global media finally took note of the crime.Why the shift? Because of the bravery of Nigerian women, who took to the streets to demand that the world pay attention. African women tend to be portrayed as victims ― the raped, the suffering, the poor mothers of the poor girls. But across Africa, women are ending conflicts, reshaping governments and bringing attention to crucial issues. In th
May 18, 2014
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How Obama can justify his Peace Prize
When Nouriel Roubini ranks the geopolitical flashpoints that could rock global markets, Russia’s Ukraine adventure doesn’t top the list. Nor do the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, nor the “arc of instability” from the Maghreb to the Hindu Kush.Dr. Doom’s No. 1 worry? China, which is more than confirming his fears as it bullies smaller Vietnam and the Philippines over disputed territories in the South China Sea. Bloody riots have erupted across southern and central Vietnam after China d
May 18, 2014