Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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What's next for the government's push in quota hike?
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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Woman falls to death from acquaintance's home after exhibiting ‘unexplained' behaviors
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N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-US military drills, warns of 'catastrophic aftermath'
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N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
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‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
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[Robert J. Fouser] Social attitudes toward language proficiency
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How to market Korean tourism to the young
The Korean National Tourism Organization seems to have no concept of how to market Korea overseas to anyone under the age of 40. Although there are problems with its anaemic print advertising, and with its boring and complicated website, the key embarrassment to the organization has got to be its video advertising.In video after video, the KNTO ― and other related organizations ― has tried to sell a Korea nobody overseas is interested in; or at least, nobody who is young enough to want to travel
March 19, 2014
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[Kim Myong-sik] Random thoughts of a worried mind on Japan
Here in Korea and other countries of East Asia that suffered from Japanese imperialist aggression, people often ask why the Japanese do not learn from the German model of historical contrition, best exemplified by Willy Brandt’s “Warsaw Genuflection” in 1970. The answer, I believe, lies in the psychological differences between the two peoples, rooted in their religious cultures.For Germans, their basically Christian faith requires repentance ― for any guilt, sin or crime committed individually o
March 19, 2014
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China’s stimulus is no model for the U.S.
If only America’s leaders were more Chinese. That’s the provocative suggestion made in a paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and it’s sure to elicit a smile among Communist Party bigwigs.Before this goes to Beijing’s head, let’s consider how silly this insinuation by economists Yi Wen and Jing Wu really is ― and how China is a much bigger worry for the world economy than the U.S. is.Was the U.S. response to the 2008 financial crisis state of the art? Far from it. Should law
March 19, 2014
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[Lee Jae-min] Customs rules behind the times
Let’s dial back to 1988. The year 1988 was the year of many changes in Korea. Nationwide preparation for the Seoul Olympics held in September of that year brought the first wave of globalization in the country. That summer, imports of foreign cigarettes were first permitted and the first McDonald’s branch opened in Seoul. It was also July of that year when mobile phone services were first introduced in Korea ― the price of a mobile phone was 4 million won while a “Pony” passenger sedan was 5 mil
March 18, 2014
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Signs of philanthropic revolution in the U.S.
You’ve probably never heard of donor-advised funds, but they are taking over the philanthropic world.It all started as a matter of economics. A million dollars to most of us is a lot of money. But as start-up cash for a philanthropic foundation it’s chump change. A million-dollar foundation can easily cost more to run than it gives away.So an alternative was created by the IRS to give modest philanthropic efforts a cheaper, easier path to existence, bundling them together under an umbrella nonpr
March 18, 2014
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North Korea 2014 meets Rome A.D. 65
Last week, as the Ides of March approached ― the March 15 anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar, a determined but ultimately fruitless attempt by Roman senators to stop their government from sliding toward dictatorship ― the minds of some ancient historians may turn in a seemingly unlikely direction: toward modern North Korea.The dark and menacing regime of Kim Jong-un seems a long way off from the Augustan “Golden Age” of ancient Rome, an era that produced art and literature still a
March 18, 2014
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[Kim Seong-kon] Difference between social piranhas, social pariahs
As we get older and wiser, we try not to make any enemies, whether personal or political. After all, life is too short to spend struggling with and retaliating against our foes. When we grow old, therefore, we want to reconcile with our adversaries, practicing the “forgive and forget” policy. What is the use of being revengeful or harboring a grudge when we await the arrival of the carriage of death? Would it not be better to enjoy emotional serenity and peace, instead of hating someone until de
March 18, 2014
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Crimea won’t be enough to satisfy Putin
There is a grim logic to today’s shotgun referendum in Crimea that leads toward an expansion of Russia’s land grab into eastern and southern Ukraine. Exit polls suggest a massive 93 percent of the region’s voters were in favor of joining Russia, a poll on Crimea’s future that was colored by armed intimidation, a crackdown on opposition media and a nine-day excuse for a campaign. It seems all too likely that Russian President Vladimir Putin, riding a wave of popular support at home for returning
March 18, 2014
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[Michael J. Boskin] Tectonic shift in governance
STANFORD ― Millions of people worldwide watched the athletic achievements at the Sochi Olympics and the opening and closing ceremonies’ majestic portrayals of Russian history and culture. But the cost was immense, the alleged corruption dispiriting, and the contrast with the political situation in nearby Ukraine alarming.After lining up for an Association Agreement with the European Union, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych instead opted for closer ties with Russia, following immense p
March 17, 2014
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A conservative approach to fighting inequality
In Washington right now, the debate over how to address inequality ― whether of income or opportunity ― rages almost daily, as scholars, policy wonks and politicians often far-removed from these problems wrangle over whose solution is best and whose affirmatively do harm.And for Robert Woodson these detached academic notions and political food fights are part of the problem.Woodson, a community development leader, founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise and product of the civil rights
March 17, 2014
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Hiring like Google a bad idea for most companies
Laszlo Bock, the head of human resources at Google, made quite a splash with his announcement last year that the technology firm has changed the way it hires people. Gone are the brainteaser-style interview questions that so many candidates abhorred. But also gone, it would seem, is any concern with discovering how smart applicants really are. “GPAs are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. ... We found that they don’t predict anything,” Bock told the New York Times.
March 17, 2014
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[Jeffrey Frankel] Why the ECB should buy U.S. treasuries
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts ― The European Central Bank needs to ease monetary policy further. Eurozone-wide inflation, at 0.8 percent, is below the target of “close to 2 percent,” and unemployment in most countries remains high. Under current conditions, it is hard for the periphery countries to reduce their costs to internationally competitive levels, as they need to do. If inflation in the eurozone as a whole is below 1 percent, the periphery countries are condemned to suffer painful deflation.T
March 17, 2014
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Democratic pageant in largest democracy
NEW DELHI ― Last week, India’s independent Election Commission announced the dates for the next general election. The world’s largest single exercise of the democratic franchise will take place over a staggering 37 days in nine “phases,” some a week apart, from April 7 to May 12. Some 814 million eligible voters will elect, for the 16th time, a new parliament and government, casting their ballots at more than 930,000 polling stations ― after choosing from an estimated 15,000 candidates belonging
March 17, 2014
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[David Ignatius] In Syria, rebel with a cause
WASHINGTON ― With the Ukraine crisis, any fleeting hope that the U.S. and Russia could soon broker a political settlement in Syria has vanished. The U.S. needs an alternate strategy for strengthening Syrian moderates who can resist both the brutal Bashar al-Assad regime and al-Qaida extremists.A new Syrian opposition leader who may help get the balance right is Jamal Maarouf. He heads a group called the Syria Revolutionaries Front and is the leading moderate rebel commander in the north. I spoke
March 16, 2014
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Alaska’s ‘road to nowhere’ is still a boondoggle
It has been said that nothing dies harder than a bad idea.Nearly two decades ago, while I was serving as U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Alaska’s Sens. Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens wanted to build a 38-mile gravel road in their state, with 11 miles going through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The road would connect the salmon canneries in King Cove, population 948, with a larger airport in the neighboring town of Cold Bay to expand and speed shipping.My boss at the time, President Clin
March 16, 2014
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[Shin On-han] The debts we owe to overseas adoptees
A total of 167,000 Korean children were adopted by families in the United States, Europe and other nations after the Korean War. During this period, it seemed to be much better for them to grow up outside of Korea. I thought that it would be good for them. In fact, some of the early adoptees have become successful government officials, members of congress or famous sports stars.However, my thinking has changed through meeting the overseas adoptees and reading the books they wrote. I totally over
March 16, 2014
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Obama late to the realpolitik table in Saudi Arabia
PARIS ― Later this month, U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here’s hoping he decides to stay home and help his daughters with their homework instead.America’s decreasing influence in the Middle East and Eurasia might be the result of deliberate strategic policy. Or it’s simply ineptitude ― in which case it’s infinitely better for indecisive paralysis to prevail over uninformed proactivity. Either way, it’s not a bad thing.The Middle East is a mess, but what else is new
March 16, 2014
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[Yu Kun-ha] Abe should throw away historical revisionism
Japanese officials are continuing to make contradictory remarks on historical issues, throwing their counterparts in Seoul into confusion and fueling distrust of the incumbent Tokyo government.Their inconsistent comments on such important issues as the sexual enslavement of women from Korea and elsewhere during World War II are hindering their efforts to reset frayed bilateral relations.Worse, they are reinforcing the impression that the current Japanese administration is treacherous, and is try
March 16, 2014
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[Robert Reich] America’s great U-turn
Do you recall a time in America when the income of a single schoolteacher or baker or salesman or mechanic was enough to buy a home, have two cars and raise a family?I remember. My father (who just celebrated his 100th birthday) earned enough for the rest of us to live comfortably. We weren’t rich but never felt poor, and our standard of living rose steadily through the 1950s and 1960s.That used to be the norm. For three decades after World War II, America created the largest middle class the wo
March 14, 2014
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Flotsam and false leads in Flight 370 search
One of the few facts we’ve learned for certain from the international search and rescue mission for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is that the South China Sea is very, very polluted. The disappearance is, above all else, a human tragedy for the families of the passengers and crew, and the state of the sea should in no way distract from the efforts to find them. Nonetheless, the ecological tragedy will have a profound impact on the South China Sea ― and the more than 1 billion people living in its
March 14, 2014