Most Popular
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Now is no time to add pressure on businesses: top executives
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CJ CheilJedang to spur overseas growth with new Hungary, US plants
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Seoul to host winter festival from Dec. 13
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Nationwide rail disruptions feared as union plans strike from Dec. 5
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Blackpink's solo journeys: Complementary paths, not competition
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N. Korea, Russia court softer image: From animal diplomacy to tourism
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Smugglers caught disguising 230 tons of Chinese black beans as diesel exhaust fluid
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[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Jennie, Lisa invited to Coachella as solo acts
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Actor Song Joong-ki welcomes second child in Rome
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Main opposition pushes to ease, not postpone, tax on crypto gains
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[Editorial] Time to catch up -- fast
South Korea posted a trade surplus of $240 million with China, its biggest export destination, in February, the first surplus in 17 months since September 2022, according to government data. It is a welcome sign that the country’s trade balance with China swung to the black helped by a pickup exports of semiconductors. But this reversal in trade may be only temporary, as Korea faces an increasingly uphill battle with China in global trade as well as in technology competition. One depressin
EditorialMarch 6, 2024
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[Cynthia M. Allen] Tech without morality and IVF ruling
I have spent several days reading coverage of the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that recognized extrauterine embryos as children. Then I read the court’s actual decision and found that the two -- the coverage and the ruling -- have almost nothing in common. Headlines decry how the court has effectively “ended in-vitro fertilization” in the state, with breathless reports of clinics closing. Panicked current and prospective IVF parents, even some in Texas are described as &
ViewpointsMarch 5, 2024
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[Editorial] After-school child care
The new school year has now begun, with the fewest ever first graders – about 369,400 – starting the 12-year journey. Typical school hours will begin at 9 a.m. and end around 1 p.m., but many more first graders will be staying in school longer starting this semester. South Korea’s public elementary schools have run after-school child care programs for a select number of first and second graders. Children with both parents working have been given priority, and if there are more
EditorialMarch 5, 2024
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[Mariana Mazzucato, Ilan Strauss] The algorithm and its discontents
In a new lawsuit in the United States against Meta, 41 states and the District of Columbia argue that two of the company’s social-media products -- Instagram and Facebook -- are not just addictive but detrimental to children’s well-being. Meta is accused of engaging in a “scheme to exploit young users for profit,” including by showing harmful content that keeps them glued to their screens. According to one recent poll, 17-year-olds in the US spend 5.8 hours per day on s
ViewpointsMarch 5, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] Chip exports recovery masks deeper issues
South Korea announced robust export figures for February last week, instilling a glimmer of hope that the nation could see an uptick in economic growth this year after enduring one of its lowest rates in modern history. The government emphasized that the surge in semiconductor sales abroad drove the brisk exports in February. On the surface, February's exports grew by just 4.8 percent from a year ago, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. However, the average d
ViewpointsMarch 4, 2024
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[Editorial] No end in sight
The confrontation between the government and doctors intensified over the weekend, with neither side willing to seek a compromise that is urgently needed by patients waiting for delayed surgeries and treatments to resume. Some 20,000 doctors took part in a rally in Seoul on Sunday in protest against the government’s plan to increase the annual medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 starting from next year. “If the government ignores doctors’ efforts, it will face strong resis
EditorialMarch 4, 2024
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[Carl P. Leubsdorf] Ukraine’s battles drag on
Two years after Vladimir Putin sought to wipe it off the European map, Ukraine still stands. But its future remains in doubt. The resistance of House Republicans has stalled the provision of more vital US aid. And the past few months have not been kind to Ukrainian troops on the country’s hundreds of miles of battlefields. That the embattled country still stands is a surprise to both sides -- an unpleasant one to Putin, who was confident his mighty legions could score a quick success, and
ViewpointsMarch 1, 2024
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[Editorial] A country for children
South Korea’s fertility rate, or the average number of births a woman is expected to give in her lifetime, fell to the lowest ever of 0.72 last year. It has continued downhill from 1.24 in 2015. The number of babies born in the country dropped 7.7 percent from 2022 to the fewest ever of around 230,000, according to Statistics Korea. The dwindling fertility rate, which has been getting worldwide attention, has several reasons. The first is the number of marriages, which has plunged from its
EditorialMarch 1, 2024
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[Room Tone] Perfect companion to 'honbap' -- 30-minute shows
As a producer in the Korean television industry, I recognize that my competitors are no longer confined to fellow producers within the industry but rather extend to creators in the domains of YouTube, TikTok and video games. As the founder of Netflix once said, his biggest competitors are video games and … sleep. In this age of on-demand everything, everywhere, all at once, the battle for audience engagement has never been more difficult. I will admit that I now find it difficult to compl
ViewpointsFeb. 29, 2024
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[Chung Chan-seung] The collapse of trust: South Korea's true health care crisis
"Doctor, are you going on a strike too? Then how should I receive treatment from now on? I have respected doctors all this time, but I was so surprised and disappointed to see doctors leaving their patients behind to strike," a patient receiving treatment for panic disorder asked me. Up until now, the patient and I have had a solid mutual trust relationship. If the task were merely about fixing machines, knowledge and skills would suffice. However, the subject of medical art is not a m
ViewpointsFeb. 29, 2024
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[Takatoshi Ito] Japan as No. 4: Wake-up call for Tokyo
Harvard Professor Ezra Vogel’s 1979 book, "Japan as Number One: Lessons for America," became an instant bestseller in Japan. The flattering title certainly helped sales, but it was the book’s central argument – that the Japanese approach to governance and business were superior to others – that really made a splash. At the time, Japan was riding high. Its GDP had grown by about 10 percent annually for most of the 1950s and 1960s, and 4-5 percent during the sec
ViewpointsFeb. 29, 2024
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[Editorial] Real ways to boost value
The South Korean government on Monday unveiled a plan to help companies enhance shareholder value by addressing the so-called “Korea discount” that has plagued the local markets for years. Markets, however, seem unimpressed. The Korea discount is a chronic issue in which Korean shares are undervalued compared with their peers in other markets, reflecting smaller-than-expected shareholder returns and poor corporate governance. Under the “corporate value-up program,” the go
EditorialFeb. 29, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] Why is ‘The Birth of Korea’ in cinemas now?
A Korean documentary film entitled “The Birth of Korea,” directed by Kim Deog-young, has been the talk of the town lately. The film, which portrays our first president, Syngman Rhee, has reportedly been seen by about 1 million people so far. Especially considering the fact that it is a documentary, not a blockbuster Hollywood film, such a high number of viewers indicates that the film is indeed a huge success. Since Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, Korean left-wing poli
ViewpointsFeb. 28, 2024
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[Natalie Dunleavy Campbell, Stan Adams] US jeopardizing the open internet
Last October, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) abandoned its longstanding demand for World Trade Organization provisions to protect cross-border data flows, prevent forced data localization, safeguard source codes, and prohibit countries from discriminating against digital products based on nationality. It was a shocking shift: one that jeopardizes the very survival of the open internet, with all the knowledge-sharing, global collaboration, and cross-border commerce that it enables.
ViewpointsFeb. 28, 2024
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[Editorial] Young doctors at crossroads
Some 80.6 percent of the nation’s trainee doctors have tendered their resignation, and 72.7 percent, or about 9,000, have left the hospitals in protest of the government’s plan to increase the number of places at medical schools. The worsening shortage of interns and residents for over a week at emergency rooms and operating rooms has led to delays in surgeries and emergency treatments as well as severe fatigue of the remaining medical staff. The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tue
EditorialFeb. 28, 2024
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[Jeffrey Frankel] Americans' pessimism about a strong economy
The United States is in unusually good economic shape nowadays -- no recession in sight. But it seems to be enduring a “vibecession”: public-opinion surveys show broad dissatisfaction with the economy and US President Joe Biden’s stewardship. What explains this disconnect between performance and perception? At least six answers -- some far more credible than others -- have been advanced. The first is that there is no disconnect at all; the positive economic indicators are wro
ViewpointsFeb. 27, 2024
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[Grace Kao] The manifold groups of 'Boys Planet'
Even in the world of K-pop, there are second chances. The Mnet idol audition show “Boys Planet” aired from Feb. 2 to April 20, 2023. It featured 98 male trainees (49 from Korea or the “K Group” and 49 non-Koreans/global trainees or the “G Group”) who would compete for praise from celebrity judges and votes from the viewers in Korea and abroad. The top-ranked nine contestants would debut in a new boy group. Audience members could vote for a limited number of
ViewpointsFeb. 27, 2024
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[Andrew Sheng] Is Asia prepared for deglobalization?
In 2021, the US Director of National Intelligence Report 2040 saw five future scenarios by 2040: shared global challenges, fragmentation, disequilibrium, contestation and adaptation. These five possible outcomes from different structural forces and emerging dynamics comprise (i) a renaissance of democracies (ii) a world adrift (iii) competitive coexistence, (iv) separate silos and (v) tragedy and mobilization. In the post-pandemic condition, which saw a Vaccine Divide and Digital Divide along We
ViewpointsFeb. 27, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] Election a test over growth woes
Events regarding central bank policy meetings attract huge attention not only from professional investors but also from many others outside the financial industry in most countries, including South Korea. This attention is understandable, as their policy decisions -- usually concerning short-term interest rates -- impact everyday economic activities across the country indiscriminately. In addition to the policy decision and its underlying factors, the head of the central bank frequently comments
ViewpointsFeb. 27, 2024
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[Editorial] After 2 years of war
Two years ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sending shock waves throughout the world. On Saturday, the war entered its third year, but there is no sign that the conflict will end any time soon. Worse, uncertainty is only deepening as the US President Joe Biden’s $61 billion aid package is now trapped in a political fight in Washington, as Republicans continue to stall the crucial aid to Ukraine, which is struggling with a shortage of ammunition. As the war drags on, th
EditorialFeb. 27, 2024