Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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[Media Art Now] Lee Eun-hee renders palpable the mechanics of stress
That digital is immaterial is simply a delusion, but this idea is not easy to dispel. We hold a screen, whether it be a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop, but looking at only the images on it, we are not really conscious of the physical machines. We tend to forget about them or take them for granted. However, the digital world we live in today is reliant on mechanical infrastructure and on natural resources, perhaps more critically so than ever. Think about the digital blackout caused by physical
March 24, 2024
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[Robert J. Fouser] Seoul as a multilingual city
When people think of multilingual cities, big names like New York and London immediately come to mind. Other important global hubs, such as Brussels, Dubai, Singapore, and Toronto are known for their linguistic diversity. But what about Seoul? With 95 percent of its residents being native speakers of Korean who were born in South Korea, Seoul does not give the impression of being a multilingual or multicultural city. At 5 percent, the percentage of residents born abroad is high by historical sta
March 22, 2024
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[Wang Son-taek] Democracy summit and dispute over autocratization
The third Summit for Democracy was held in Seoul for three days from March 18. The event was significant because foreign ministers of major countries gathered to discuss Democracy for future generations and the sensitive problems from cutting-edge technologies, including Artificial Intelligence. In particular, Korea, one of the poorest countries and one of the military dictatorships 50 years ago, is proud to have become a prosperous country and hold a democracy summit. However, according to the
March 21, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] Competition begins from birth in Korea
Few Koreans would deny that South Korea is a highly competitive society. People say that the competition is so stiff that your child should begin preparing for it as soon as he or she turns three years old. Indeed, parents send their three-year-olds to preschool and private academies for piano, violin or art lessons after school. Then, a little later, English-speaking kindergarten awaits your child. When your child enters elementary school, the competition for college entrance has already begun.
March 20, 2024
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[Joseph E. Stiglitz] A big defeat for Big Tech
Last year, US President Joe Biden’s administration infuriated lobbyists representing Big Tech firms and others that profit from our personal data by denouncing a proposal that would have gutted domestic data privacy, online civil rights and liberties, and competition safeguards. Now, Biden’s new executive order on Americans’ data security reveals that the lobbyists had good reason to worry. After decades of data brokers and tech platforms exploiting Americans’ personal da
March 20, 2024
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[Grace Kao] My Korean hospital adventures after breaking ankles
The doctors’ strikes in South Korea reminded me of what happened after I broke both of my ankles in Seoul last April. While there is never a good time or place to break one’s ankles, doing so while traveling abroad is quite a challenge. I was in Seoul giving talks at universities and meeting with people in the K-pop industry. While my friends joked that I should tell people that I fell while working as a backup dancer for a K-pop act, the truth is that I fell from a single missed ste
March 19, 2024
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[Yvette Wohn] Korean modern art needs permanent home
As an art enthusiast living in New York whose pastime is spent traveling to see art, I have never felt more proud to be Korean. Since last year, there have been so many special exhibitions of Korean art and solo exhibits of Korean artists taking place in the US and Europe. Adding to my excitement is the fact that there is more modern Korean art (from the 1860s to the 1970s) on display, which is relatively hard to find outside of Korea. These days, however, there seems to be a surplus of Korean a
March 19, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] Korea’s construction industry slump deepens
South Korea’s economy is widely expected to post a pick-up in growth this year thanks to a recovery in exports after months of extremely poor performance. However, a recent series of data points to the slump in domestic demand worsening, and the construction sector’s troubles are particularly worrying as project-financing loans remain a key risk to the economy. Some of the project-financing loans, which surged in line with the booming property market, especially during the previou
March 18, 2024
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[J. Bradford DeLong] The mystery of US interest rates
In the United States, the long-term real safe interest rate – the inflation-adjusted return on low-risk investments such as Treasuries – is, in addition to “financial conditions,” the key mechanism influencing both the incentive to build and the balance of net exports (owing to its effect on the exchange rate). From early March to mid-May 2022, this metric jumped by more than one percentage point as the bond market realized that the US Federal Reserve would soon curtail i
March 18, 2024
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[Carl P. Leubsdorf] Another key date in US history?
With Donald Trump, everything is often the biggest ever or the grandest ever. His political movement, he often proclaims, is the greatest in American history. And Nov. 5, when he hopes to regain the presidency, “will be the most important day in our nation’s history.” Really? Bigger than July 4, 1776? Or the day Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation? Or the day the Berlin Wall fell, marking the end of the Cold War and portending the collapse of the Soviet Union?
March 15, 2024
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[Career Compass] Mentor is invaluable asset. Get one, or more
Is having a mentor a good idea? I want to try it but don’t know much about how the relationship works. Where do I find a good mentor, and what do I discuss with the mentor? Yes, having a mentor is an invaluable asset. A mentor is hugely beneficial for both professional and personal growth. Think of a mentor as an advisor, a supporter and a confidant. Mentors lend their ears, share their experiences and offer wisdom to help you overcome challenges and achieve your goals. However, like a
March 14, 2024
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[Noelle Lenoir] Can UNRWA officials be prosecuted?
There is growing evidence that some employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have been involved in terrorism-related activities in Gaza. If true, and if the problem turns out to be more widespread than is currently known, the implications would be profound. An official UN body being complicit in war crimes would be one of the greatest scandals in the organization’s history. According to an Israeli intelligence document, a dozen UNRWA emplo
March 14, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] ‘Home is where the heart is’
What is “home”? The English word “home” has diverse meanings. It refers to not only “home,” but also “house,” “hometown” and “homeland.” English-speaking people also use expressions, such as “homeless,” “home for sale,” “high school homecoming” or “homecoming queen.” Well-known English phrases include: “There’s no place like home,” “Home, sweet home&rdqu
March 13, 2024
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[Reed Galen] Why Trump can’t win
Donald Trump was the unlikeliest of American presidents. When he launched his campaign in 2016, the closest he had come to executive authority was pretending to fire contestants on a business-themed reality show. As ridiculous as it seemed, the image of Trump sitting behind a massive boardroom table uttering his imitable catchphrase -- “You’re fired” -- convinced millions of American voters, including many who hadn’t voted previously, that he was a man who knew how to get
March 12, 2024
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[Grace Kao] What are American BTS Army events like?
“BTS finds you when you need them most.” Army, the name of BTS’ fandom, is likely the largest and most devoted fandom in K-pop. While non-K-pop fans may envision Army as primarily young women who scream and cheer at concerts, fans in fact come from many backgrounds. This is particularly true of American BTS fans, who also find comfort both through the community of fans and the content BTS provides. Earlier this year, I attended two BTS Army cup sleeve events in Connecticut, a s
March 12, 2024
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[Jieun Kiaer] Could better English education boost Korea’s birth rate?
I read recently that the average birth rate per woman in South Korea has fallen to 0.72 despite $270 billion in government incentives. Although there are undoubtedly multiple reasons for this, as someone specializing in language education, I began to question whether English language teaching might be a contributing factor. The expression “English Fever,” has often been linked to the well-known phenomenon among South Korean parents who traditionally perceive education as the pathway
March 11, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] Worrying signals from 2023 GDP data
South Korea’s economy grew 2.2 percent in real terms during the final quarter of last year compared to the same period in 2022, marking an acceleration from a 1.4 percent rise in the third quarter and bringing growth for the entire of 2023 to 1.4 percent, according to revised data released by the country’s central bank last week. The headline figures looked fine overall, with growth accelerating in the October-December period compared to the preceding quarter, defying fears that Asia
March 11, 2024
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[Robert J. Fouser] Conditions for dealing with South Korea’s baby bust
South Korea’s low fertility rate made the news again recently after a government report predicted that the rate would fall to a new low of 0.72 children per woman in 2023. The country’s fertility rate is already the lowest in the world, despite a spate of recent policy initiatives to address the issue. The rate is expected to fall below 0.70 in 2024, which is far below the replacement rate of 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population without any immigration. Though the lowest in the
March 8, 2024
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[Wang Son-taek] Election schedules and provocations of North Korea
With April's general election about a month away, predictions of more provocations from North Korea have increased. They say that North Korea is carrying out armed provocations to cause social chaos in South Korea ahead of the general election. Although large-scale South Korea-US joint military drills in March or an annulment of military agreement between the South and the North in November last year are direct factors in heightening military tensions, interpretation using the possible conn
March 7, 2024
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[Gernot Wagner] What does Trump mean for the climate?
It is easy to see how Donald Trump’s election to a second term would negatively affect the world’s climate -- and not just the political one. During his first term, more than 125 US environmental rules and policies were rolled back. Trump returning to the White House would be significantly worse for the environment and public health, and the damage would be harder to reverse. However, the technological revolution and fundamental market forces driving the low-carbon transition are too
March 7, 2024