Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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N. Korea sends economic delegation to Iran amid suspected military cooperation
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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Pakistan eyes Korean investments, suggests potential sectors
Officials and representatives from Pakistan showcased trade and investment potential at the Pakistan-Korea trade and investment conference seeking Korean investments at the Ambassador Hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Attendees shared diverse ideas and business solutions in energy, construction, minerals, agriculture, food processing, textiles, automobiles, information technology and telecommunications to reach out to investors and key figures taking the lead. Underscoring Pakistan’s economic outl
Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2023
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[Wang Son-taek] USS Kentucky and the security dilemma
South Korea was hit by torrential rain last week. The flood killed 47 people and left three missing. All the news was focused on flood damage, and other stories were not the matter of attention. However, many headlines significantly impacted the security situation on the Korean Peninsula as much as heavy rain. The inaugural Nuclear Consultative Group meeting, USS Kentucky‘s visit to Busan Port, a US soldier’s defection to North Korea, and North Korea’s missile launches, all t
ViewpointsJuly 27, 2023
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[Jonathan Bernstein] Third party ‘No Labels’ unhelpful
A group called “No Labels” is moving ahead with the possibility of running a third-party candidate for president next year -- at least if Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the major party nominees. Democrats are livid at the prospect, concerned that such an effort is more likely to help Trump. Some Democrats are even convinced that it’s a deliberate plot to deliver the election to Republicans. Polling shows that neither Biden nor Trump is especially popular -- and that many voters
ViewpointsJuly 27, 2023
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[Editorial] Crypto dispute deepens
In mid-May, Rep. Kim Nam-kuk left the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea after revelations that he had been engaged in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions. But the dispute over the crypto investment is still playing out at the National Assembly -- in an ugly way. There are two interconnected developments that can significantly affect public opinion. First, 11 lawmakers were found to have held virtual assets amid mounting speculation that some of their trades might have caused a conflic
EditorialJuly 27, 2023
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[Editorial] Recurrent random attacks
Few situations would cause more anxiety to the general public than one in which anyone can be attacked suddenly in a defenseless state by a total stranger -- for no reason and regardless of time and place. Such a horrible crime recently occurred on a Seoul street in broad daylight. A 33-year-old man surnamed Cho stabbed one pedestrian to death and injured three others in an alley in a shopping district near Sillim Station in Seoul at around 2 p.m. on July 21. The rampage happened for three or fo
EditorialJuly 26, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] Teachers change the world and our children
Recently in Seoul, an elementary school teacher died by apparent suicide in her classroom, with claims emerging since that she had been dealing with a belligerent parent. The deceased teacher was a 23-year-old young woman who had just begun her career as an educator. In another elementary school in Seoul, a sixth grader beat up his female homeroom teacher, whose injuries will likely take weeks to heal. Embarrassingly, violent assaults on teachers by students and parents are becoming common these
ViewpointsJuly 26, 2023
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[Gearoid Reidy] Fukushima water opposition is steeped in anti-science
Hong Kong is so opposed to Japan’s plan to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant that it’s banning seafood products -- from four of the country’s landlocked prefectures. That sounds a bit off, yes? Tochigi, Gunma, Nagano and Saitama, which have a combined zero kilometers of coastline between them, are among the 10 regions whose aquatic produce will no longer be welcome in Hong Kong’s restaurants once Japan proceeds with its aim to begin releasing the more
ViewpointsJuly 25, 2023
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[Pankaj Mishra] Europe's far right in the ascendant
A global upheaval looms as Donald Trump strengthens his candidacy for the next US presidential elections. Ukraine and its European allies need to start considering the prospect that by the end of next year, they could face a US no longer invested in resisting Russia’s aggression. We should also start bracing ourselves for a geopolitical earthquake in Europe itself. In Spain, which holds national elections on July 23, and across the continent, far-right demagogues are in the ascendant. Prim
ViewpointsJuly 25, 2023
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[Editorial] Protect teachers' rights
South Korean teachers have been confronting a growing number of unruly students and overprotective parents resorting to frivolous lawsuits over legitimate classroom interactions. No wonder, then, many teachers feel overstressed and under extreme pressure, some even reconsidering their choice of profession. Against this backdrop, some 5,000 teachers and education university students took to the streets Saturday, calling for a set of measures to guarantee teachers’ rights and protect them fr
EditorialJuly 25, 2023
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[Gordon Brown] For whom Spain polls: a test for democracy in Europe
Spain’s general election Sunday matters not just for the country’s future but also for the future of Europe. A defeat for socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez would likely propel the extreme right-wing Vox party from back street demagogues to parliamentary power, and if, as is widely expected, Vox and the Popular Party (PP) enter into a coalition government, it will mark the end of Spain’s long aversion to far-right politicians, which has endured since the death of Generaliss
ViewpointsJuly 24, 2023
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[Editorial] Foregone conclusion
The state audit agency announced inspection results last week showing that the previous Moon Jae-in administration's decision to dismantle three weirs and keep two open indefinitely on the Geum and Yeongsan rivers was made in an irrational and biased fashion following a foregone conclusion. From the beginning, there was no room for the possibility of weir management or maintenance. In May 2017, the Environment Ministry formed a four-river project evaluation group under the pretext of restor
EditorialJuly 24, 2023
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[Robert J. Fouser] Korea and global competition for labor
On my recent visit to South Korea and Japan, the topic of foreign migrant labor came up more than on any previous visit. An architect friend in South Korea said that construction would be almost impossible without foreign labor. A Japanese friend in Tokyo said that the service industry would face a severe shortage of workers without foreign labor. As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, interest in other long-standing issues has reasserted itself. In 2021, South Korea joined Japan as one of the few na
ViewpointsJuly 21, 2023
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[Editorial] Seek a new option
A tripartite commission representing labor, business and the general public finally set the hourly minimum wage for next year at 9,860 won ($7.8) Wednesday, up 2.5 percent from this year. It is equivalent to a monthly wage of nearly 2.07 million won. The process for determining the minimum wage is always a painful process, but this year proved to be extremely tough. From the outset, representatives from labor and the general public clashed with each other, resulting in the cancellation of the fi
EditorialJuly 21, 2023
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[Lee Kyong-hee] Gyeongju: archaeology, myths and memories
Summer 1973. The sights and sounds of excavations descended on Gyeongju, turning the entire city into a massive archaeological project. If a Korean movie studio ever decides to make its own version of “Indiana Jones,” they would not have to search much for opening-scene inspiration. The “comprehensive tourist development” of the ancient royal capital of Silla, a pet project of then President Park Chung-hee, triggered the cacophony. Famously called “the museum withou
ViewpointsJuly 20, 2023
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[Editorial] Don't pass the buck
The causes and background of the Osong underpass flooding accident in North Chungcheong Province are coming to light in dribs and drabs. Further details will emerge now that the government has launched its inspection, but facts revealed so far show that the anti-disaster response system was not working properly due to insensitivity to safety and complacency. The flooding of the Gungpyeong-2 underpass tunnel in Osong-eup in the Heungdeok district of Cheongju was a fatal accident that could have b
EditorialJuly 20, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] Demagogy ruins our friendship with neighbors
John F. Kennedy once said, “Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.” Indeed, no one can force us to change such a God-given situation. Having a good neighbor is crucial for having a peaceful life. On the contrary, a bad neighbor is like a recurring nightmare that you have to suffer and endure every day. Therefore, what kind of a neigh
ViewpointsJuly 19, 2023
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[Chris Edelson] Surreal prospect of Trump's reelection
In the wake of Donald Trump’s federal indictment, the former president remains legally eligible to run again -- even if he is convicted, and even (bizarrely) if he is incarcerated, which is unlikely to occur before the election. In a functioning, healthy democracy, Trump would be denied the Republican Party’s nomination. GOP elites would stand together to reject his candidacy and rally behind a nominee who is not facing criminal prosecution related to willful retention of classified
ViewpointsJuly 19, 2023
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[Editorial] Household debt issue
South Korea’s household debt is growing at an alarming pace amid lingering concerns about financial risks that might shoot up depending on a combination of internal and external factors. The debt service ratio, or DSR, for households in Korea stood at 13.6 percent last year, the second-highest among 17 major countries, the Bank of International Settlements said in a report. Australia ranked first with 14.7 percent DSR. The DSR is used as a metric by lenders and borrowers to measure the pro
EditorialJuly 19, 2023
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[Howard Davies] Buffer madness
Speaking at this summer’s European Central Bank Forum in Portugal, Gita Gopinath, the International Monetary Fund’s first deputy managing director, set out what she described as “Three Uncomfortable Truths for Monetary Policy.” But it was the speech itself that often made for awkward listening. Gopinath’s first truth was that “inflation is taking too long to get back to target” and that “sustained high inflation makes bringing down inflation more d
ViewpointsJuly 18, 2023
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[Andrew Sheng] The promises and perils of the tech war
How well or badly is the US-China chip war going? After the Biden administration announced its industrial strategy to revitalize domestic manufacturing, create jobs, strengthen American supply chains and accelerate future industries, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 will give as much as $280 billion over the next decade to support US semiconductor chip industry. Goodbye free markets, hello industrial policy. The outcome of the US-China rivalry hinges on the technology edge and how to use such t
ViewpointsJuly 18, 2023