Most Popular
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US girding for possibility of N. Korea taking most provocative military actions in decade near election: NBC
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[Weekender] 'Blood doesn't make family, love does'
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Arrest warrant issued for embattled popera star Kim Ho-joong
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Austin to attend trilateral talks with South Korean, Japanese counterparts in Singapore: Pentagon
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Test finds kids' accessories from AliExpress, Shein to be tainted with toxic chemicals
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NewJeans' new album sells over 800,000 on release day
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S. Korea completes development of L-SAM defense system
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70% of part-timers positive toward robots at businesses
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S. Korea, Japan, China to hold 1st summit in 4 1/2 years to discuss cooperation
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Humble sundae gets haute makeover at Lee Buk Bang
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[Kim Seong-kon] Good intentions, bad outcomes
Due to cultural differences or a lack of foreign language proficiency, we are prone to misunderstanding others or making mistakes despite our good intentions. Such a tendency may result in awkward situations, and yet we should try to understand each other. Recently, for example, many Koreans were upset about the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which grants benefits to electric cars assembled in the US only. The Korean people thought that it would be unfair to Hyundai Mot
Oct. 26, 2022
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[Martin Schram] A little inflation help from the other side
President Joe Biden and his designated message-deliverers just got some crucial, last-minute insights -- from a most unlikely source -- Wednesday night. It made clear how they should be talking about the only issue that almost half of Americans say they really care about in this all-over-the-lot midterm campaign. Yep, we are talking today about the issue you assumed Democratic strategist James Carville made unforgettable with his famous 1992 campaign warning: “It’s the economy, stu
Oct. 25, 2022
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[Kim Sang-kyun] Reasons to stay away from illegal drugs
Last July, in the middle of Gangnam, a posh district in Seoul well known for the global hit K-pop song “Gangnam Style,” a man in his 20s, who took methamphetamine at a drinking party, died in a car accident on his way home. Police found 64 grams of methamphetamine in his vehicle. Recently, a smuggler carrying illegal drugs to South Korea in his stomach died after packets of drugs burst inside him. This was the first time a so-called “body-packer” had been found in South
Oct. 25, 2022
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[Andreas Kluth] Putin is making nuclear warfare new normal
Put aside, if you can, the growing anxiety about Russian President Vladimir Putin going nuclear in his barbaric war against Ukraine. Even if he doesn’t -- and the risk, though real, remains small -- he’s already brought the whole world closer to atomic disaster occurring at some point. That’s because Putin, with his repeated threats to drop nukes on Ukraine or other European countries, has in effect kicked off a new and global arms race in these diabolical weapons. He has pro
Oct. 24, 2022
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[Gi-wook Shin, Seong-hyon Lee] What should the world expect from Xi?
The 104-minute speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the country’s 20th party congress reveals a leader who believes he is on a historic mission to save China’s self-described socialism in the 21st century. Xi’s Oct. 16 speech launched the twice-a-decade meeting, where the national Communist Party appoints its leadership and announces China’s policy direction for the coming years. The address reads very much like a sequel to his previous one five years ago. At that
Oct. 24, 2022
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[Robert J. Fouser] The new park in Songhyeon-dong
After years of sitting behind a wall, the large empty space in Songhyeon-dong opened to the public on Oct. 7 this year. During the Japanese colonial period, the space was used for housing for employees of the Joseon Shiksan Bank. From liberation in 1945 to 1997, it was a housing compound for US diplomats. After the diplomats moved out, Samsung Life Insurance bought the land and then sold it to Korean Air, who planned to develop it into a luxury hotel. As opposition to those plans grew, the City
Oct. 21, 2022
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[Djoomart Otorbaev] Russian elite flood Central Asia
Bishkek’s residents have been confronted with an unusual sight these past few weeks. The streets of Kyrgyzstan’s capital are teeming with tens of thousands of educated men with European features -- Russian citizens fleeing President Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization” of 300,000 reservists to fight his war against Ukraine. The Kyrgyz people and government have welcomed them with open arms. Many other Eurasian cities such as Tbilisi (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan),
Oct. 20, 2022
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[Kim Myong-sik] Leftist opposition needs to revise security framework
If, just if, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration of South Korea decides to go nuclear to counter the nuclear threat from North Korea, it will have to deal first with the leftist opposition inside the country before trying to win support from its allies. Actually, voices are growing in the intellectual community of South Korea, calling for the development of the nation’s own nuclear arms capability as Pyongyang rachets up its saber-rattling these past weeks with the test-firing of missiles of
Oct. 20, 2022
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[Martin Schram] Will Putin’s exit be an off-ramp or trapdoor?
Once again, the talking- and typing-heads are filling our news screens with double-doming about building an “off-ramp” Vladimir Putin will be willing to take to get out of the Ukraine war. But Putin still doesn’t seem to be looking for an off-ramp. He’s frantically watching out for a trapdoor. It may well be his most likely exit from the Ukraine war he now knows he can’t win. A now panicky Putin fears he might stumble or strut onto an unseen trapdoor that could in
Oct. 19, 2022
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[Kim Seong-kon] K-pop: The power of cultural diplomacy
Travelling around the world these days, we can easily see Korean pop culture's diplomatic power. K-pop and K-film have not only let the world know about South Korea, but also significantly upgraded its international image. Recently, I found out that the most highly rated Netflix movies included two Korean films, “Handmaiden” and “Mother.” Then, I came across an intriguing article in The Guardian, entitled, “Squid Game, Blackpink, kimchi pancakes ... How did S
Oct. 19, 2022
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[Dan Reiter] Lessons of history about how to end Ukraine war
Every war must eventually end. But how will the last chapter of the Russia-Ukraine war read? With a bang, a white flag or a begrudging agreement? Moscow planned for rapid victory, imagining the indomitable Russian army sweeping aside collapsing Ukrainian resistance. But Ukrainian bravery, weapons from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russian military incompetence prevented a swift win. Ukraine, in fact, is now taking back land that Russia had seized. History shows us how other flailing
Oct. 18, 2022
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[James Stavridis] Putin's futile bet on air power
In the rapidly shifting Ukraine war, the growing failure of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ground game is causing him to seek asymmetrical responses. Most visibly, he is turning to what is essentially a terror-bombing campaign against the civilian population of Ukraine. Much like the V2 blitzes Nazi Germany directed against British cities in World War II, these missile attacks will accomplish very little tactically. Instead, they will heighten the already enormous anger and resolve of
Oct. 18, 2022
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[Shang-Jin Wei] Is China's zero-COVID policy worth the cost?
Before COVID-19 vaccines were developed and distributed, China’s strict approach to controlling the virus resulted in fewer deaths and a much lower death rate per million people than in many other countries. But while these successes were impressive in late 2020 and early 2021, effective vaccines and treatments have become readily available since then, leading the World Health Organization to declare that the end of the pandemic is in sight. Yet China has maintained its strict zero-COVID
Oct. 17, 2022
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[Thitinan Pongsudhirak] The end of ASEAN as we know it
As Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand gear up to host major world summits in November, the 55-year-old Association of Southeast Asian Nations is facing an existential crisis, owing to severe internal splits over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Myanmar’s military coup, and other issues. The 2007 ASEAN Charter’s vision of deeper political, economic, security, and socio-cultural integration is no more. Salvaging what’s left will require accepting this reality and regrouping a
Oct. 14, 2022
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[Lee Kyong-hee] The art of apologizing: UK, Germany and Japan
Among the flood of tributes to Queen Elizabeth II that followed her passing was recollections of her 2011 visit to Ireland, the first by a British monarch in a century. It was a trip for healing, though there were doubts about its success. “I was raised in an Irish family baked in bitterness about British oppression,” wrote New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. Her op-ed piece was about the new King Charles III having been overshadowed by his late ex-wife Princess Diana and his moth
Oct. 13, 2022
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[Kim Seong-kon] 3 cheers for 50 years of Literature & Thought
This month, the famed literary magazine Literature & Thought published its 600th issue, commemorating its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1972 by the late professor Lee O-young, the magazine has not only survived, but also thrived for half a century, steering Korean literature in the right direction and significantly contributing to upgrading it from national to world literature. Considering that it is a monthly magazine, the longevity of Literature & Thought amazes us, especially in this e
Oct. 12, 2022
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[Simon Johnson] OPEC’s mistaken move for Russia
On Oct. 5, OPEC+ announced a dramatic reduction in production quotas, by 2 million barrels per day. According to oil ministers, the goal is to boost crude prices and “encourage investment” in the sector -- making it sound like they are doing the world a favor. In fact, this is an extraordinarily harmful step that will push oil prices up -- when the global economy is in a precarious state amid persistent inflation pressures. Americans may first notice the effects at the gas pump.
Oct. 12, 2022
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[Shang-Jin Wei] Liz Truss vs. the Bank of England
Following a week of financial-market turbulence, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss was forced to scrap her plan to abolish the 45 percent top income tax rate for high earners. This U-turn, an attempt to counter a stunning market sell-off that caused the pound to crash and saw the Bank of England launch a massive bond-buying program to prevent “material risk to UK financial stability,” is a necessary first step toward stabilizing the economy. But unless Truss reverses more of the tax cuts
Oct. 11, 2022
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[Peter Singer] Research ethics and nonhuman subjects
In August, Springer Nature, the publisher of 3,000 academic journals, including the Nature portfolio of the world’s most influential science journals, announced new ethics guidance for its editors, addressing the balance between academic freedom and the risk that publication of some research will harm specific groups of humans. The guidance also mentions, though much more briefly, research using animals. There are long-established guidelines proscribing the publication of articles based on
Oct. 11, 2022
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[Elizabeth Shackelford] The hope and warning of Iran’s protests
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody last month sparked the country’s biggest protests in years. Under the rallying cry, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” protesters have ground dozens of cities to a halt. The response from Iran’s authoritarian regime has been swift and harsh, with security forces opening fire on crowds and killing dozens. Though the protesters remain undeterred, it’s hard to imagine how they prevail. When the regime in power has a m
Oct. 10, 2022