Most Popular
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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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[Graphic News] How much do Korean adults read?
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China’s maritime strategy may threaten regional stability
China’s expansion of its maritime interests has been heightening tensions with neighboring countries. All possible measures must be taken to ensure Japan does not crack under coercive Chinese pressure.The Chinese government led by Xi Jinping has set this year as the first year in China’s bid to become a strong maritime power. As China’s military might grows, its expansionist strategy calls for enclosing the East China Sea and the South China Sea and making it a “China Sea.”China has set the goal
Feb. 7, 2013
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Avoid beggar-thy-neighbor approach to exchange rates
Japan’s new government has curiously been put on the defensive for attempting to reflate an inert economy. People talk of Japan’s lost decade but the dip has lasted a generation, dating from the asset crash of the late 1980s. Now Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cash-pumping to weaken the yen and raise exports has been likened by European and some Asian central bankers to the beggar-thy-neighbor currency mania of the 1930s. It is conceded an inflationary contagion across borders is real as the Bank o
Feb. 7, 2013
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Pension reform necessary, but hurts Kuomintang
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou is a courageous man. He has tackled the nation’s soon-to-go-bankrupt pension system, which his predecessor Chen Shui-bian dared not tinker with for fear he would bankrupt his Democratic Progressive Party.One week ago today, after months of growing public fears of the bankruptcy of Taiwan’s pension system, Ma unveiled his pension reform plan to the nation, promising that the system would be safe for 30 years. He said that there should be no more worries thanks to his
Feb. 7, 2013
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[Andrew Sheng] Is a currency war coming?
When Shinzo Abe became Japan’s prime minister on Boxing Day last year, he promised to deliver change. Very shortly thereafter, he announced a 10.3 trillion yen ($116 billion, or 2.2 percent of GDP) stimulus package to end deflation and pressured the Bank of Japan to adopt a 2 percent inflation target. As a result, the stock market index Nikkei jumped 28.3 percent from mid-November to current levels and the yen weakened by 20.1 percent from 75.7 to 90.9, its lowest level in over two years.Such ac
Feb. 7, 2013
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Endless U.S.-style campaigns go bad overseas
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is going American in a big way by setting the next national election seven months from now. The record length of the campaign is bad news for her opponent, Tony Abbott, and may be even worse for the nation’s 23 million people. Turning to a permanent campaign like that of the U.S. is shrewd politics. It puts opposition leader Abbott on the defensive, forcing him to offer more than tired conservative nostrums about the magic of lower taxes, less regulation a
Feb. 6, 2013
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[Park Sang-seek] Multicultural strategy for Korea
The world was alarmed by German Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s remarks against multiculturalism in 2010. The whole world was shocked when a Norwegian committed mass murder and declared war against multiculturalism in 2011. South Korea is rapidly becoming a multicultural society and it is officially committed to a multicultural policy. It is time for the South Korean government and people to discuss the implications of multiculturalism for the future Korea.The debate should first begin with the d
Feb. 6, 2013
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The Boy Scouts vs. the Supreme Court
Can the Defense Department overrule the U.S. Supreme Court? Can the Boy Scouts of America? The short answer is: Of course not. But a full response turns out to be more complicated, and it offers a lesson for thinking about the relationship between constitutional law and the evolving nature of rights. Here’s the lesson. We often think that our rights are established by the Constitution and by the Supreme Court, interpreting that document. True, the Constitution is fundamental, but some of our mos
Feb. 6, 2013
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Clear the smog
The unrelenting smog that is still shrouding central and northern China requires the nation to take more consistent and down-to-earth measures to combat the problem.Policymakers, in particular, must make a thorough assessment of the problem before devising targeted measures to reduce the pollution.The smog, which has repeatedly hit northern cities, such as Beijing, has caused growing concern. Facing growing public complaints, the government has vowed to take measures to solve the problem.We do h
Feb. 6, 2013
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A case for limiting details about killer flu virus
Americans are still in the grip of a scary flu season. Who can forget the alarming headlines about the swift spread and virulence of this year’s bug? Everyone’s still on high alert should someone sneeze or cough on the bus, train, restaurant or office. Violators are dealt with harshly.Now imagine a flu strain exponentially more contagious and more deadly. Fiction? Hardly. In late 2011, a Dutch scientist announced that he had genetically tweaked one of the world’s most deadly bird flu viruses to
Feb. 6, 2013
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[Kim Myong-sik] Park and Suu Kyi: A contrast
It was impressive to watch the two most famous women in Asia meet in Seoul last week. Aung San Suu Kyi, the top opposition leader of Myanmar (Burma), paid a visit to President-elect Park Geun-hye and they exchanged words on freedom and democracy and cooperation between their countries. Beyond their commonness as daughters of great national leaders, however, they shared little with regard to the political path that brought them to where they are today. Logging a total of 15 years under house arre
Feb. 6, 2013
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U.S. immigration reform plan is a farce
PARIS ― A bipartisan group of senators has just lit a soggy fuse under the immigration debate. The statement of principles tabled by four senators from each party is such an impotent byproduct of compromise that calling it bipartisan is redundant. This manifesto of mediocrity fails to address the biggest immigration problems facing America ― starting with the question of “Why?”Does anyone ever ask WHY there are so many illegal immigrants in America? While it’s understandable that foreign citizen
Feb. 5, 2013
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[Lee Jae-min] Protectionism by currency war
Economic recovery at the expense of your neighbors? The wave of competitive currency devaluation further intensified in the month of January while pessimism grew that the year 2013 would be remembered as the year of a global exchange rates war. In many countries, quantitative easing and the ensuing currency depreciations are touted as the final prescription to boost exports and re-energize sagging domestic economies. Forget about the detrimental fallout for other countries. A blame game has alre
Feb. 5, 2013
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In the year of the snake, shed your skins
As people around the world prepare to ring in the Year of the Snake, here’s a simple way to honor these mysterious, misunderstood animals: Keep them out of your wardrobe. Snakes and other reptiles should not have to suffer and die just for our cold-blooded vanity.According to a recent International Trade Center report, the global trade in python skins ― which is poorly regulated and often illegal ― is threatening these animals’ survival. Half a million python skins are exported each year from So
Feb. 5, 2013
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[Naomi Wolf] Inequality a growing scourge in America
PARK CITY, Utah ― The last documentary film that used dry charts and statistics to make an abstract argument about a global issue and nonetheless became a pop-culture hit was Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.” But the hit of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was a low-key affair called “Inequality for All,” in which Robert Reich, a labor secretary in the Clinton administration, explains how rising income inequality and the demise of the middle class is causing so many Americans to suffer.With P
Feb. 5, 2013
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[Kim Seong-kon] We need able men, not incompetent saints
Although people realize the necessity of parliamentary confirmations for cabinet nominees, they frown upon the process. The reason is obvious. Instead of examining a person’s abilities and qualifications, the hearing committee members tend to viciously bring forth all sorts of allegations and suspicions. During the process, they brutally expose all of the past mistakes and misdeeds of the nominee, thereby turning the supposedly solemn hearing into a scandal-rousing session. Everybody has a skele
Feb. 5, 2013
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[David Ignatius] Syria policy is Kerry’s priority
WASHINGTON ― John Kerry’s first task as incoming secretary of state should be to develop a coherent policy for Syria, where U.S. sanctions are proving counterproductive, the fighting around Damascus is deadlocked, the economy is in ruins and the country is headed toward a sectarian breakup. This grim prognosis for Syria is based on the latest reports provided to the State Department by opposition forces working with the Free Syrian Army. The military situation in Damascus is described as a stale
Feb. 4, 2013
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Spain’s economy needs a bold new approach
If you catch yourself feeling a little more optimistic about Europe’s economic prospects now that the cost of government borrowing has eased, take a look at Spain. With an unemployment rate of 26 percent ― about one in three of all jobless people across the euro area ― Spain is entering its fifth year of recession and the pace of contraction is actually accelerating. The country’s austerity-first approach to budget policy is a main reason. Nobody doubts that Spain needs further economic reform,
Feb. 4, 2013
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Will this immigration reform push go the distance?
Immigration reform is having a “Kumbaya” moment, with support from the White House, a bipartisan contingent in Congress, business and labor. The Republicans are petrified after their dismal showing among the fastest-growing slices of the electorate, Hispanics and Asians; President Barack Obama wants to reward the loyalty of those voters. Business and labor, as well as many politicians, want to fix a totally dysfunctional system. There are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants, 5 percent o
Feb. 4, 2013
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The gun industry targets the children’s market
The gun industry isn’t the first to try to push deadly products into the hands of children.That distinction belongs to the tobacco industry, whose efforts have continued despite federal regulation, medical evidence and decades of efforts to raise social awareness about the horrors of addiction.When government cracked down on gimmicks like “Joe Camel,” loopholes were found, and then enlarged until you could drive a truck full of cigarettes right through them. Never underestimate the motivation of
Feb. 4, 2013
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[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Signs of a new progressive era in America
NEW YORK ― In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan came to office famously declaring that, “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” Thirty-two years and four presidents later, Barack Obama’s recent inaugural address, with its ringing endorsement of a larger role for government in addressing America’s ― and the world’s ― most urgent challenges, looks like it may bring down the curtain on that era.Reagan’s statement in 1981 was extraordinary. It signaled that Ameri
Feb. 4, 2013