Most Popular
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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Court's ruling set to shape path of medical school expansion
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Loans of self-employed swell 50% in four years
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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[Editorial] Medical reform
The government unveiled a set of measures on Sunday to revamp the national health insurance system to raise the compensation for general surgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, emergency physicians, pediatricians and obstetricians in a bid to ease the shortage of doctors in those lifesaving fields. As the dearth of physicians has reached deadly levels in provincial regions, the Ministry of Health and Welfare also plans to announce this week a major increase of the annual medical school admission quot
EditorialFeb. 6, 2024
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[Jan-Werner Mueller] The case for banning anti-democratic candidates
What should democracies do about parties that use elections and other democratic means to destroy democracy itself? One well-established, but not universally accepted, answer is to ban the party before it comes to power. But what about individual politicians? Americans are heatedly debating that question now that various legal challenges have sought to disqualify former President Donald Trump from running for a second term, owing to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. The
ViewpointsFeb. 5, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] Praises, and concerns, over Yoon’s clampdown on borrowings
As we entered February, many of us who resolved to lose weight and achieve a healthier, slimmer body in the new year may be growing restless with the gradual pace of progress. However, it’s important to resist the urge to drastically alter your plan for the remainder of the year in a way that could compromise your health, which is the true objective of these efforts. Similar advice should work for President Yoon Suk Yeol. Having made significant progress in curbing the red-hot surge in the
ViewpointsFeb. 5, 2024
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[Editorial] Gap in economic growth
The US and Europe have long been deemed the twin pillars driving prosperity in the Western world. Recent trends, however, suggest the center of gravity is shifting toward the US, according to a report released by the Bank of Korea. In the report titled “Background and Implications of Differential Growth Trends in the US and Europe," the BOK analyzes the key factors that resulted in different paces of growth in the two economic heavyweights, and offers takeaway points for a Korea that
EditorialFeb. 5, 2024
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[Room Tone] If I were in charge
As a producer in the film and television industry, it's rare for us not to indulge in some sort of imaginative play. What used to be "cops and robbers" in the schoolyard has now evolved into scenarios such as "If I were in charge.” Because, let’s be honest, many of us -- correction, all of us -- producers believe we could successfully oversee a film and TV studio. In that same spirit, I offer my own take on “If I were in charge of a film and television stu
ViewpointsFeb. 2, 2024
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[Doyle McManus] Will ‘double haters’ shape US election?
The general election campaign between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the rematch almost nobody wanted, began ahead of schedule last week. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is still contesting the Republican nomination, but she will need a miracle -- actually, more than one miracle -- to dethrone Trump. The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, declared the former president to be her party's presumptive nominee even though only two stat
ViewpointsFeb. 2, 2024
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[Editorial] Rules of the game
With under 70 days left to the general election on April 10, South Korea's two main parties are yet to decide on the rules of the game. As separate splinter parties formed by former leaders of the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea may or may not join forces, the process of setting election rules is likely to drag on until the last minute. The key question is over the method of proportional representation, through which 47 lawmakers are elected to the 300-member National A
EditorialFeb. 2, 2024
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[Ana Palacio] The good news from Taiwan
International media are brimming with pronouncements that the West is in decline. The institutions that have formed the foundation of the rules-based international order since World War II are on the brink of collapse, we are warned, and the principles that underpin our open societies have been eroded. These claims are not baseless, and there is plenty of reason to pay attention to them. But it is too soon to write off the West, let alone democracy. At the very least, we should wait to see what
ViewpointsFeb. 1, 2024
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[Editorial] Deepfakes pose real threat
Sexually explicit fake images of Taylor Swift, widely believed to have been generated by artificial intelligence tools, spread on social media last week at a dizzying pace, deeply alarming government officials, security experts, actors and many others. The high-profile incident might be blamed on the widely expected side effects of generative AI, which is capable of creating fake photos using real images circulating on the internet. This creates an environment in which "deepfakes," fak
EditorialFeb. 1, 2024
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[Mark Jones] Will 2024 be the new 1933?
On Jan. 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany. To his supporters, it was a day of “national revolution” and rebirth. Germany, they believed, needed the restorative force of an authoritarian strongman after 14 years of the liberal-democratic Weimar “system.” That night, Hitler’s torch-bearing brownshirts marched through central Berlin to mark the dawn of a new era. It was also a triumphant moment in the history of popular deception. Since the Wei
ViewpointsFeb. 1, 2024
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[Editorial] Rush of retakers
Any change related to college admissions is an issue of paramount interest in South Korea, as it concerns not only pupils in middle and high schools, but also hundreds of thousands of high school graduates who plan to retake the annual state-administered exam. The retakers, known as “jaesusaeng” (second-timers), “samsusaeng” (third-timers) and “N-susaeng” (those sitting for the Suneung for the Nth time), are either already enrolled in colleges or are not regis
EditorialJan. 31, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] Overcoming the ‘three S words’ in our traits
In the eyes of foreigners, Koreans are often said to have many admirable, charming character traits, but one also hears of a few negative ones as well, such as having a “short memory,” “shortsightedness” and a “short temper.” These are often known as the “three S words.” As for having a “short memory,” it seems generally true that we tend to forget things too easily. For example, we seem to have completely forgotten how we have survived
ViewpointsJan. 31, 2024
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[Lisa Jarvis] Post-Roe America’s national shame
It’s now been about a year and a half since the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke the constitutional right to abortion. Over that time, new data has been gradually filling in the picture of what access to reproductive health care looks like in much of the US. And the image forming is increasingly grim. Consider a gut-punch of a research letter published this month in JAMA Internal Medicine, in which researchers estimate that nearly 65,000 pregnancies have resulted from rape in the 1
ViewpointsJan. 31, 2024
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[Grace Kao] The appeal of K-pop to Americans
What is the appeal of K-pop to audiences in the United States? I am a fan and researcher of K-pop, so I think and talk to college students and fans of all ages regularly about it. If you do not live in the US, it might be difficult to imagine the level of visibility of K-pop here in the United States. It is not everywhere: We don’t see idols in advertisements and we do not hear K-pop songs in public settings, except perhaps at a Korean restaurant. Still, most Americans have heard of K-pop.
ViewpointsJan. 30, 2024
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[Yvette Wohn] The need to protect intellectual property in K-pop
All able-bodied South Korean men are obliged by law to serve in the military for a minimum of 18 months. The Camp is a commercial Web and mobile application sanctioned by the country’s Ministry of Defense to enable communication between service members and their families, friends, and loved ones. The app provides photos and updates of the soldiers and allows those “waiting on the outside” to send letters to the soldiers and create online communities. Active duty soldiers have l
ViewpointsJan. 30, 2024
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[Editorial] Slow growth concerns
When the Bank of Korea announced last week that the country’s real gross domestic product inched up just 1.4 percent in 2023, the reaction from policymakers and the media remained largely the same: dismay and concern. Although the figure is technically in line with earlier projections from the government and the central bank, it is disappointing that Korea’s economic growth hit the lowest level in three years -- even though there was no profound crisis like the pandemic. The key econ
EditorialJan. 30, 2024
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[Editorial] Politics of hatred
It is certainly one of the most harrowing beginnings to a year. Just 23 days after main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck by a man who approached him asking for an autograph, Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the ruling People Power Party was struck on the head multiple times by a 14-year-old boy on Thursday. The boy, born in 2009, reportedly said he was a criminal minor, but he is not, as the Criminal Act exempts only those under 14 years of age from punishmen
EditorialJan. 29, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] More money to boost child births? Ask babies, not politicians
The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” is generally recognized for emphasizing the significant effort required to ensure a child’s upbringing in a safe environment, but the proverb holds particular relevance for South Korea as it grapples with a desperate battle to halt or, at the very least, slow the decline in birth rates. In a race against time, the South Korean government and provincial administrations are rolling out a range of financial incentives and benefits t
ViewpointsJan. 29, 2024
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[Jieun Kiaer] AI natives: How children should read in our time
The term digital native was coined in 2001 by Marc Prensky. In his article "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," Prensky applied the term to young people who grew up surrounded by computers, mobile phones and other tools of the digital age. The devices and technologies that Prensky was referring to were greatly different to those we use now. We no longer have dial-up internet connections or clunky computers. Our digital experience has undergone dramatic changes. ChatGPT was released t
ViewpointsJan. 29, 2024
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[Editorial] Scrapping outdated rules
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Monday announced it would push for a set of reform measures designed to lift regulations that hinder people’s livelihoods or cause inconvenience. Among the measures, two plans stand out: scrapping a handset subsidy ban and doing away with big retailers’ mandatory Sunday closures. These regulations have long been criticized for their questionable effects while placing extra burden on the public. Behind the government's attempt to abolish the Mo
EditorialJan. 26, 2024