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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‘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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[Lee Byong-chul] A nuclear-armed S. Korea?
South Korean officials have recently realized that the United States is likely to try to forbid them from enriching uranium and expanding their country’s missile range, rather than leave these issues on the diplomatic back burner. Indeed, recent discreet talks, in which the U.S. has disregarded South Korean efforts to supplement the controversial U.S.-South Korea Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, which expires in March 2014, suggest that there are reasons to be deeply worried about the alliance’s f
Oct. 4, 2012
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Rethink Osprey deployment
Six of the 12 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft stationed at U.S. Marine Corps’ Air Station Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, were deployed at Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday, and three more Osprey aircraft flew from Iwakuni to Futenma on Tuesday amid Okinawans’ concerns about the aircraft’s safety and protests against its deployment in their prefecture. Eventually all 12 Osprey aircraft are expected to be stationed at Futenma.The Japanese and U.S. governments should not make
Oct. 4, 2012
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Other firms must learn from Sharp’s setback
Even a company with cutting-edge technology and a strong brand will founder if it makes a mistake in the selection and concentration of its business. The setback of Sharp Corp., dubbed a giant of liquid crystal display panels, is a warning for the Japanese manufacturing industry.Amid a financial crisis, Sharp has compiled a rehabilitation plan centering on cutting more than 10,000 jobs and selling its television factories abroad. Highly evaluating the plan, Sharp’s main financing banks have deci
Oct. 4, 2012
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Taiwan an export powerhouse of fraudsters
Long before the recent brouhaha over “Taiwanese laborers” in Australia, Taiwan has been the export powerhouse of fraudsters to the mainland and Southeast Asia. On Sept. 18, the Philippines deported 279 Taiwanese arrested in the country’s biggest crackdown on online fraud. They were accused of impersonating police, prosecutors and bank officials to convince victims in China and Taiwan to transfer money into accounts provided by the syndicate, the Associated Press reported.In an analysis published
Oct. 4, 2012
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[Andrew Sheng] Should Germany exit eurozone?
As we enter the fourth quarter of 2012, two influential commentators have questioned whether Germany should exit the eurozone. Earlier this month, George Soros argued that Germany must either lead or leave the eurozone. This week, Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf also considered the question and argued that Germany will have to pay a high price for her mercantilist policies. The fact that German Chancellor Merkel has come out openly to overrule the Bundesbank president on commitments to the
Oct. 4, 2012
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Dealing with China’s growing maritime power
With tensions rising from competing maritime claims in the East and South China seas, it is not the most tranquil moment for China to launch its first aircraft carrier. Yet countries in the region and beyond should see this as an inevitable milestone in China’s military modernisation.It has taken years to refit the rusting hulk of a Soviet-era Ukrainian vessel into the 300m-long Liaoning. It will take even more years for the warship to become fully operational with an air wing of fighters, proba
Oct. 3, 2012
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[Kim Myong-sik] Honesty best policy, platform
On Dec. 19, Korean voters will choose one from among the three major candidates ― Park Geun-hye, Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo (by the traditional media order). There can be an eventual two-way competition supposing either Moon or Ahn making a last-minute exit, and the field looks extremely hazy at this moment with nearly even possibilities of Park-Moon, Park-Ahn and Park-Moon-Ahn ballots. The campaign headquarters of the three are releasing many known and unknown names mostly from academia as s
Oct. 3, 2012
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[Ban Ki-moon] A call to ambition to meet today’s challenges
Each year at this time, leaders gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to assess the state of the world. This year, I used the occasion to sound the alarm about our direction as a human family.We are living through a period of profound turmoil, transition and transformation. Insecurity, inequality and intolerance are spreading. Governments are wasting vast and precious funds on deadly weapons while reducing investments in people. Too many people in power seem willfully blind to the th
Oct. 3, 2012
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[Meghan Daum] Jesse Ventura, ‘the Body’ politic
Don’t deny it: This presidential race, for all its minor dust-ups, has mostly been a snore, a bloodless standoff between two men who, despite their differences, are both essentially uptight squares whose wives are forever trumpeting how poor they used to be. Thank goodness, then, for the blast of fresh air that is Jesse “the Body” Ventura.Well, maybe it’s not that fresh. Ventura isn’t a new face on the political stage. In 1990, the Navy SEAL-turned professional wrestler ran for governor of Minne
Oct. 3, 2012
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[Eli Park Sorensen] The ultimate nightmare of the modern times
A silent film that has lost none of its haunting significance in today’s climate of global economic anxiety and uncertainty, Charlie Chaplin’s classic “Modern Times” captures the nightmare vision par excellence of the middle class ― social demotion. Released in 1936, the film portrays the hapless character Charlie ― or, the Tramp, Chaplin’s alter ego ― comically and, at times, heroically, struggling to carve out an existence during the Great Depression in America. “Modern Times” came out at a ti
Oct. 3, 2012
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[Lee Jae-min] A bumpy road for the GGGI
Few Seoulites are aware that the city hosts an inter-governmental “international organization.” The International Vaccine Institute under the United Nations Development Programme, situated near Seoul National University since May 1997, is the first and the only international organization headquartered in Korea. Now, it is time for a second one ― the Global Green Growth Institute.Since its founding in June 2010 by the strong initiative of Korea, the GGGI has been a non-profit think tank located i
Oct. 2, 2012
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The U.S. has good reasons to revive draft
Maybe Charlie Rangel is right in saying that America should bring back the draft, although we get to the same conclusion for different reasons.Rangel believes that reinstatement of the draft is most equitable toward all. He thinks it’s unfair that privileged kids like mine don’t equally share the burden of military service. Actually, I’m starting to think that making them serve is the best way to keep them safe. It sounds counterintuitive, but think about it.Order in Afghanistan is crumbling. So
Oct. 2, 2012
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Japan’s Olympic dreams and economic reality
Tokyo’s mercurial governor, Shintaro Ishihara, gives new meaning to playing the sympathy card. In his dogged pursuit of staging the Olympics, and in his despair at being passed over for the 2016 games, Ishihara got desperate: He tapped into the outpouring of grief after last year’s record earthquake. His pitch for 2020, dubbed the “Olympics for Japan’s Revival,” became an appeal for pity. That gambit may be in vain given Ishihara’s role in bringing Japan and China to the brink of war. The Olympi
Oct. 2, 2012
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If Jesus was married, a lot of guys are in big trouble
The news that a Harvard professor has obtained evidence that Jesus Christ may have had a wife could be a problem for married guys everywhere. Really, how do we measure up?Being the son of God, he’d be perfect. He’d make Ned Flanders look like a slob. The grass would always be cut, the dirty socks always picked up, the toilet seat always down. He would listen. He would not chafe at talks about relationships.(Note: I am fully aware that there were no lawns, socks or toilet seats 2,000 years ago. W
Oct. 2, 2012
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[Kim Seong-kon] Korean wave: From fast food to gourmet cuisine
A few days ago, Guy Sorman, the celebrated French economist, thinker and culture critic, visited Korea to participate in a book festival sponsored by Paju Book City. In his short lecture before the opening ceremony, Sorman assured the audience that globalization will neither harm nor eradicate Korean culture.I cannot agree with him more because, according to the co-evolution theory, cultures constantly merge and one culture is enriched by another, not endangered by it. And yet, many Koreans stil
Oct. 2, 2012
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The fans are the victims of NFL owners’ greed
Those who lost the most Monday night in Seattle weren’t the Green Bay Packers. That was bad enough. The ones who lost the most were the fans who love the game and have made it the premier sport that it is.They lost thanks to the ineptitude of replacement referees who don’t understand the rules of the game and can’t see an interception when it’s right in front of their noses. More important, they lost to NFL owners who spout platitudes about the integrity of the game and then trade integrity for
Sept. 28, 2012
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[Jeffrey D. Sachs] The keys to national prosperity
NEW YORK ― In many of history’s most successful economic reforms, clever countries have learned from the policy successes of others, adapting them to local conditions. In the long history of economic development, 18th century Britain learned from Holland; early 19th century Prussia learned from Britain and France; mid-19th century Meiji Japan learned from Germany; post-World War II Europe learned from the United States; and Deng Xiaoping’s China learned from Japan.Through a process of institutio
Sept. 28, 2012
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U.S. housing market comes out of the woods
After sinking for six awful years, the U.S. housing market finally has bounced off the bedrock: Sales are up, prices have stabilized, more homeowners are keeping up with their mortgage payments. A huge weight on the economic recovery is slowly lifting.In recent days, reports have shown home prices starting to rise. On Tuesday came news that the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index climbed in July, the fourth straight monthly improvement. Prices in the Chicago area rose 2.7 percent in July, better t
Sept. 27, 2012
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[Liah Greenfeld] Roots of China-Japan rivalry
BOSTON ― The anti-Japan protests that continue to roil China are just another indication of the rise of a potent Chinese nationalism. After a century slowly fomenting among Chinese intellectuals, national sentiment has captured and redefined the consciousness of the Chinese people during the last two decades of China’s economic boom. This mass national consciousness launched the Chinese colossus into global competition to achieve an international status commensurate with the country’s vast capac
Sept. 27, 2012
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Outlook for N. Korea’s economic revival uncertain
North Korea is seemingly laying the foundation for future development. But it remains to be seen what results Kim Jong-un’s reform initiatives will produce.The Supreme People’s Assembly ― North Korea’s parliament ― held a one-day session Tuesday. It was the second assembly session held since Kim Jong-un’s regime was inaugurated in April.In the latest session, the assembly decided to extend the term of compulsory education from the current 11 years to 12 years. The reform is reportedly aimed at b
Sept. 27, 2012