Most Popular
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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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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‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
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N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
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[Robert J. Fouser] Social attitudes toward language proficiency
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[Graphic News] How much do Korean adults read?
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Korean firms target EV charging market in US
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[Robert Reich] Are the U.S. boomers doomed?
I was born in 1946, just when the boomer wave began. Bill Clinton was born that year, too. So was George W. Bush, as was Laura Bush. And then the next year, Hillary Rodham. And soon Newt Gingrich (known as “Newty” as a boy). And, also in 1946, Cher. (Every time I begin feeling old, I remind myself she’s slightly older.)Why did so many of us begin coming into the world in 1946? Demographers have given this a great deal of attention, but it’s not that complicated.My father, for example, was in Wor
Feb. 28, 2013
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Ethnic tensions as fragile as ever in Myanmar
The recent military clash between Myanmar government troops and rebel Shan fighters reflects the reality that ongoing negotiations with the armed ethnic group have yielded no effective results for the people or the country.The clash happened despite the fact that there have been many recent truces between the various armed ethnic groups and the government.Yet these ceasefires are fragile and unproductive, and armed battles have not ended. Myanmar thus needs to expand its political space for peac
Feb. 28, 2013
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Treading with care on North Asia’s security
Two issues that featured in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s discussions in Washington last week were of compelling interest to Asia. How he presented to President Barack Obama his view of the territorial dispute with China and how his host reacted was to indicate whether the disputants had more room for maneuver than appeared.Linked to this was how strongly the two men made of the Japan-U.S. security relationship and its relevance to the current situation. It goes without saying that China’
Feb. 28, 2013
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Poor policing on long hair and earrings
There are many problems with law and order in Nepali society, but long hair and earrings are surely not one of them. The Nepal Police’s arrests on Tuesday of more than 700 youths for wearing their hair long and having earrings and studs, is a ridiculous example of an inefficient police force trying to win the sympathy of a gullible population that stereotypes everybody who doesn’t dress and behave like them as criminals. The arrest of the youth is an attack on individual freedom and liberty, and
Feb. 28, 2013
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[John Lee] China’s conception of renewal
SYDNEY ― In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 22, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe informed the audience of officials, experts, and journalists that Japan is “back” and will not stand down in its ongoing sovereignty dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. With Chinese provocations on the rise, U.S. President Barack Obama, Abe’s host, appealed for calm and restraint on both sides.Japan is likely to accede ― grudgingly ― to Am
Feb. 28, 2013
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Berlusconi’s surge shows need for deeper union
The return of Silvio Berlusconi to the Italian political stage sends an unmistakable message to Europe’s leaders: They will have to be a lot more ambitious if they want to hold their currency union together. In parliamentary elections this week, Italian voters handed Berlusconi just enough power to make forming a stable government extremely difficult. In doing so, voters soundly rejected the technocratic policies of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti, whose efforts to raise taxes, cut pensions
Feb. 27, 2013
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[David Ignatius] Time to stop a political DUI
WASHINGTON ― Some of us can recall the helpless feeling of being in a vehicle driven by someone who is intoxicated. If you’re like me, you don’t want to cause a scene unless the driving is really erratic. But there comes a moment when you need to say: Stop the car. You’re going to hurt someone. Hand over the keys. We have a political system that is the equivalent of a drunk driver. The primary culprits are the House Republicans. They are so intoxicated with their own ideology that they are ready
Feb. 27, 2013
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Italy votes for chaos and the euro crisis is back
Italy’s parliamentary election could not have gone worse for the country or the euro area. It is now possible that in the coming months the currency zone’s third-largest economy will need a bailout from international creditors, at a time when Italy will have no government in place to ask for, or negotiate, a rescue. In case you had any doubts, the euro-area crisis is back. As has so often been the case in Italy, the political gridlock has come in the Senate. Neither Pier Luigi Bersani’s center-l
Feb. 27, 2013
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[Lee Jong-soo] Ways to resolve the North Korean conundrum
North Korea’s third nuclear test and its threats to conduct more tests this year have ratcheted up tensions in Northeast Asia, with global repercussions. As Pyongyang seems to be inching closer to possessing the ability to deliver nuclear-tipped intercontinental missiles, a brewing crisis for the global efforts against WMD proliferation and nuclear terrorism threatens regional and global balance of power. A time of crisis such as this calls for prudent and skillful crisis management. The leaders
Feb. 27, 2013
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Western intervention in Syria is long overdue
Syria is fast becoming the new Somalia ― a nation whose central government wields little control over the bulk of the country while feuding sects and gangs fight each other as well as the thoroughly discredited president, Bashar al-Assad.Meanwhile, just as in Somalia, vast numbers of Syrians are suffering and dying.The United Nations says more than 70,000 Syrians have been killed since the conflict began almost two years ago. At least 2 million people are now homeless, in many cases because thei
Feb. 27, 2013
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Higher U.S. minimum wage is imperfect idea
U.S. President Barack Obama is seeking to resurrect an idea that he set aside during his first term: Raise the minimum wage to help lift working families out of poverty. The proposal, which would take the minimum to $9 an hour from the current $7.25, is far from ideal. Still, it’s the right thing to do. A better way to keep people working and out of poverty would be to expand the earned income tax credit, a program that makes direct payments to low-wage workers through the income-tax system. The
Feb. 26, 2013
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[Daniel Fiedler] Waiting for food outside Costco
When standing outside a Costco, a Homeplus or a Lotte department store on a Sunday afternoon in South Korea, one can watch car after car pass by with a bevy of bemused drivers looking askance at the closed doors. There is always the same look of wonder on their faces that in South Korea, which is ostensibly a capitalist nation, the government interferes so directly in the ordinary workings of business. You would think South Koreans would be used to it by now; after all, the government has been i
Feb. 26, 2013
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Korea’s new president can’t be daddy’s girl
The life of Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s just-inaugurated first female president, has so far been bookended by two larger-than-life men of debatable success. The first is her father, Park Chung-hee, the dictator who ruled the nation for 18 years until his assassination in 1979. The second is Lee Myung-bak, her predecessor who spent the last five years in the Blue House, Korea’s presidential residence, and a fellow member of her New Frontier Party. Park must deal with their shortcomings in revers
Feb. 26, 2013
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A way out of the North Korean impasse
North Korea’s third nuclear test on Feb. 12 underscores the fact that little has changed surrounding one of Asia’s most worrisome flashpoints. For the past 20 years, North Korea has conducted a string of missile and nuclear tests. Each time, the tests have been roundly condemned by members of the global community, but apart from two agreements (in 1994 and 2007) to halt Pyongyang’s advance towards a nuclear-tipped missile, the country continues its long march to deploying such a weapon. Put diff
Feb. 26, 2013
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[Kim Seong-kon] Living in an affluent but socially poor society
With South Korea’s growing affluence, the Korean people are now more concerned with public etiquette and aiding others than ever before. For instance, people honk less frequently than before on the streets, stand in line for the subway and buses in an orderly fashion, and behave politely in everyday life. Koreans have even begun to help less developed countries through various programs administered by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, recognizing the favors their country once received
Feb. 26, 2013
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In sports and life, impulse to cheat is strong
“Cheat, cheat, never beat.” Remember that catchy, foreboding maxim drilled into us as kids?It’s comforting to believe cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Unfortunately, there’s ample evidence that cheating is rampant in almost every sphere of American life. And for every reported story of cheaters getting busted ― be they professional athletes who use banned substances or those who illegally manipulate markets for profit ― you can bet there’s at least one case of somebody who escaped det
Feb. 25, 2013
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[Howard Davies] Models of financial regulation
PARIS ― In the early phases of the financial crisis, it was fashionable to argue that the United States’ system of regulation needed a fundamental structural overhaul. Differences of opinion between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had obstructed effective oversight of investment banks and derivatives trading (only the U.S. believes that it makes sense to regulate securities and derivatives separately).Indeed, the plethora of separa
Feb. 25, 2013
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When presidents can’t wait and act on their own
Quiz question: Of the last seven U.S. presidents, which one issued, by a large margin, the most executive orders per year? Answer: Jimmy Carter. Gerald Ford is second, Ronald Reagan is third, Bill Clinton is fourth, and George H.W. Bush is fifth. George W. Bush and Barack Obama bring up the rear and are essentially tied. The numbers are revealing, because executive orders are the most formal steps that presidents can take to make policy on their own, and yet no one would rank Carter as the most
Feb. 25, 2013
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Time to reduce dangers of nuclear weapons
President Obama devoted only one sentence to U.S. nuclear weapons in his recent State of the Union speech, which was filled with a long list of proposals for his second term. While he has a lot on his plate for the next four years, the time has come for a major overhaul of U.S. nuclear weapons policy.The Cold War ended more than 20 years ago, but the United States still maintains some 5,000 nuclear weapons in its arsenal, with roughly 2,000 of these deployed on missiles or bombers. These weapons
Feb. 25, 2013
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[Gary Milhollin] North Korea shows dangers of half-deal with Iran
Negotiators from the world’s major powers sit down with Iran this week for more talks on its nuclear program, just weeks after North Korea tested another nuclear weapon. If the connection between these two events isn’t obvious, it should be: North Korea’s nuclear saga is a cautionary tale for anyone attempting to bargain with the Islamic Republic. Back in the 1980s, when suspicions were first raised about North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the country’s leadership was keen to distract attention wi
Feb. 25, 2013