The Korea Herald

[Martin Schram] Show-and-tell, Bibi and Joe

It happens occasionally, but only rarely. All the good options suddenly seem to have failed at once. The only thing left is to just spread your cards across the table -- and play this hand faceup. The truth is, this happens far more at a negotiation table than a card table. Another truth is it has just happened to Israel -- and Israel’s forever kibitzer and guarantor, the United States – in yet another cruel crisis in Gaza. Israel and its staunchest ally must now show their most conv

ViewpointsNov. 20, 2023

[Martin Schram] Show-and-tell, Bibi and Joe

[Editorial] Embarrassing disruption

A system breakdown hit the South Korean government’s major administrative network on Friday, resulting in massive disruptions at civil services across the nation over the weekend and revealing a loophole in the network security of the country’s critical services. The government’s electronic administrative network for public workers, called Saeol, went down Friday morning, and the civil service portal, Government24, also suffered an outage in the afternoon. The network breakdown

EditorialNov. 20, 2023

[Editorial] Collective response

The United Nations Command was established under United Nations Security Council resolutions following North Korea’s invasion into South Korea in 1950. It is still stationed in South Korea, because the Korean War has not ended yet, though 70 years have passed after the signing of an armistice agreement. The US-led UNC has played a major role in protecting the liberal democracy of South Korea from communist North Korean aggressors. It commanded UN Forces during the war and its commander sig

EditorialNov. 17, 2023

[Robert J. Fouser] The shifting conversation about cities

As we move deeper into the 2020s, it feels like the 2010s are fading into history. Among the many trends of the 2010s, interest in cities boomed, sparking an “urban rediscovery” in much of the developed world. Slick magazines like Monocle and Kinfolk portrayed cities as hip playgrounds for in-the-know youth. In South Korea, conversational walks in older neighborhoods became a trend just as social media took off. Social media posts of retro streetscapes dotted with new cafes suddenly

ViewpointsNov. 17, 2023

[Robert J. Fouser] The shifting conversation about cities

[Jude Dumfeh] Is nuance possible in polarized world?

We humans are tempted to attack anything that appears foreign to us. As psychologist Abraham Maslow observed, when you have only a hammer, you’re inclined to look at everything as if it’s a nail. This unfortunate tendency often stems from a lack of nuance. Our world has become more polarized. We tend to see things in black or white, with little ability to handle shades of gray. It seems easy to stay in our silos and hurl attacks in other directions. An ability to see nuance, on the

ViewpointsNov. 16, 2023

[Jude Dumfeh] Is nuance possible in polarized world?

[Editorial] Supporting content industry

South Korea’s video content market is thriving, at least in the video streaming service market, where streaming giants like Netflix continue to produce and distribute globally acclaimed Korean productions such as “Squid Game.” But the boom has also led to unintended developments, including the monopolization of content rights by global streaming firms and deepening financial strains on local platforms, broadcasters and production houses. To find a breakthrough, the government o

EditorialNov. 16, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] Remembering Lee O-young’s legacy

Almost two years have passed since Lee O-young, the great Korean thinker and eminent culture critic, sadly passed away. Last month, Minumsa published his last words in book form under the title, “Reading Lee O-young: Civilization, Culture, and Literature in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Life Capitalism.” In that book, Lee left some invaluable wisdom and insights to his readers who felt lost in the whirlpool of today’s shallow social atmosphere full of fake news and gra

ViewpointsNov. 15, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] Remembering Lee O-young’s legacy

[Editorial] Freedom of choice

The government will relax the current 52-hour workweek -- 40 regular hours and 12 hours of possible overtime -- in certain industries and occupations. It plans to make work hours flexible so that employees in some business sectors and occupations can work longer when they have a lot of work as long as they work fewer hours at other times. The current workweek is too rigid. Making an employee work for more than 52 hours in any single week is illegal in most occupations. There is no exception for

EditorialNov. 15, 2023

[Daoud Kuttabo] Path for Gaza after a cease-fire

The Americans, the Israelis and the Palestinians are in a bind. No one knows who will govern Gaza after a cease-fire, when it comes. The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank city of Ramallah is not willing to enter Gaza on the back of Israeli tanks and without the agreement of Palestinian fighters there. No one else will either. Jordan’s prime minister has categorically denied that his country would play such a role, and the same will hold for almost any other Arab or international forc

ViewpointsNov. 14, 2023

[Daoud Kuttabo] Path for Gaza after a cease-fire

[Daniel DePetris] Pessimism is growing in Ukraine over its war with Russia

Last August, more than two months after Ukraine began its counteroffensive against Russian positions in the east, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about whether the war was degenerating into a stalemate. Sullivan’s answer: no. “We do not assess that the conflict is a stalemate,” he said at the time. “We are seeing (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis.” Fast-forward to today, and the cautious optimism cited by US

ViewpointsNov. 14, 2023

[Daniel DePetris] Pessimism is growing in Ukraine over its war with Russia

[Editorial] Tackle slow private spending

South Korea’s private spending remains in a protracted slump, while a growing number of people go on overseas trips, particularly to Japan, where they tend to spend more generously, offering a contrasting snapshot of the country’s consumption trends. Korea’s domestic private consumption stood at $206.53 billion in the second quarter, down $5.25 billion or 2.47 percent from the previous quarter, according to data released by Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party of Korea on S

EditorialNov. 14, 2023

[Editorial] Bad faith legislation

The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea last Thursday passed the so-called Yellow Envelope bill and three bills relating to broadcasting. All of the ruling People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote in protest. The Yellow Envelope bill, a revision to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Act, allows employees of subcontractors to demand that main contractors enter collective bargaining with them and to strike to get their demands from main contractors, even though main contractors a

EditorialNov. 13, 2023

[Bobby Ghosh] No, Gazans can’t rise up against Hamas

“They could have risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’etat.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog ought to know better than to have said that. But those who don’t -- those who had no call to pay attention to Palestinian politics until a month ago -- might be forgiven for asking why Hamas has never faced a serious uprising from within their Gazan redoubt in the 17 years it has ruled the strip. That it has not allows some, in

ViewpointsNov. 10, 2023

[Bobby Ghosh] No, Gazans can’t rise up against Hamas

[Editorial] Policy reversal on paper cups

When the government announced last year it would ban the use of paper cups and other single-use products at restaurants and cafes, there were mixed reactions. Proponents welcomed the eco-friendly move while opponents complained of inconveniences and extra costs. On Tuesday, the government abruptly scrapped the plan that a year prior had sparked different responses from consumers, shop owners and civic groups about its pros and cons. This time, however, people are saying the U-turn was motivated

EditorialNov. 10, 2023

[Doyle McManus] Make plan for ‘years after’ war ends

Last week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken headed for the Middle East to try to keep Israel's war in Gaza from spinning out of control, and to begin talks on what diplomats call "the day after" -- what happens after the shooting stops. Who will govern a shattered Gaza? Who will feed and house its refugees? Who will police its ravaged streets? And perhaps improbably, can the war, however brutal its toll, be turned into an opening for a wider peace? "When this crisis is ov

ViewpointsNov. 9, 2023

[Doyle McManus] Make plan for ‘years after’ war ends

[Peter Singer, Charles Camosy] Definition of death: When do we die?

“What is it you don’t understand? She’s dead, dead, dead.” That is how David Durand, Chief Medical Officer of Oakland’s Children’s Hospital, attempted to convince the family of Jahi McMath that the standard medical tests for brain death had shown that their teenage daughter was no longer alive. The family stood firm in opposing this view, and the hospital eventually allowed them to take her to New Jersey, the only US state that requires hospitals to accommodat

ViewpointsNov. 9, 2023

[Peter Singer, Charles Camosy] Definition of death: When do we die?

[Editorial] Foster competition

The debt-ridden working poor face growing economic distress brought on by high interest rates. President Yoon Suk Yeol told a Cabinet meeting last week that small-business owners had said in his town hall that they spend most of their hard-earned money on paying their debt to banks so they feel like they are slaves to banks. Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Bok-hyun said on Monday, “Banks are likely to reach a record interest income of 60 trillion won ($46 billion) this year. Also in

EditorialNov. 9, 2023

[Editorial] Ban on short selling

Regulators reimposed a ban on short selling on Monday, which resulted in a big jump in stocks -- a sign that the restrictions were taken as a positive development among investors, at least in the short term. The benchmark Kospi ended up 5.66 percent, the biggest increase since March 25, 2020, as the ban on short selling came into effect Monday, but the index dropped 2.33 percent Tuesday on heavy selling by institutions and foreigners. The ban is scheduled to last until June. The question is whet

EditorialNov. 8, 2023

[James Stavridis] What the US should do about Iran

I spent much of my professional life deployed forward in the Arabian Gulf and encountered Iranian naval forces there on many occasions. They were uniformly unprofessional, confrontational, and clearly seized with making life as difficult as possible for both legitimate merchant shipping and naval warships from the many nations with whom the Iranians have intractable differences. They are cowardly in the face of opposing military forces, but dangerous and unpredictable. As I watch the situation i

ViewpointsNov. 8, 2023

[James Stavridis] What the US should do about Iran

[Kim Seong-kon] What we can learn from 'Terminator Genisys'

The 1991 American science fiction film, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” teaches us one valuable lesson: “Appearances are deceiving.” In the movie, a man in a police uniform is, in fact, a T-1000 advanced cyborg that is a ruthless killing machine. Conversely, the man dressed like a motorcycle gangster, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a good cyborg whose mission is to protect John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance against the Artificial Intelligence that t

ViewpointsNov. 8, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] What we can learn from 'Terminator Genisys'