Ask former residents of Seoul, Korean and foreign alike, what they miss most about the city, many will cite the mountains in and around the city. Indeed, few major cities of Seoul’s size have as many accessible mountains as Seoul. But Seoul has another important natural feature: streams. The streams may not be as flashy as the mountains, but in recent years they have played an important role in improving the quality of life in the city. One of the most accessible and popular streams is t

ViewpointsFeb. 23, 2024

North Korea and Japan are not hiding signs that they recently had behind-the-scenes talks on a possible summit. While the so-called new Cold War structure is being discussed and worries about the potential war breaking are spreading, interest is increasing rapidly in whether the contact between North Korea and Japan could be a critical event that can change the dynamics of Northeast Asia. It remains to be seen whether the two parties can hold a summit, as there are many obstacles. The most signi

ViewpointsFeb. 22, 2024

One way or another, Valentine’s Day week seemed mostly consumed with the complicated courtships of Donald Trump. Anchors with famous faces spent most of the week pinballing between Trump’s criminal and civil cases in courthouses in New York City, Washington, DC, Atlanta and south Florida. They kept us up-to-the-minute on the maneuverings involving 91 charges contained in the four indictments involving America’s 45th president. They include criminal cases focusing on Trump&rsquo

ViewpointsFeb. 22, 2024

Watching the deplorable, childish skirmishes between our politicians these days, experts on the Korean Peninsula wonder if South Koreans are sufficiently aware of their precarious situation in the vortex of unparalleled international crises. If they were, our politicians would not indulge in such pathetic political scuffles, while the future of their country is nebulous at best. In the late 19th century, our ancestors were neither good at reading international change nor at foreseeing what lay a

ViewpointsFeb. 21, 2024

The past 12 years have been extremely good for the ultra-rich. The fortunes of billionaires -- a group comprising the 2,640 wealthiest people on the planet, most of whom are men -- has more than doubled. The wealth gap between the top 0.01 percent and the bottom half of the world’s population has increased by 50 percent since the 2008 global financial crisis. The aftermath of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have been particularly lucrative for the ultra-wealthy as they reaped an enormous w

ViewpointsFeb. 20, 2024

Over the course of an 11-week fraud trial before New York Justice Arthur Engoron, Donald Trump practically begged for a harsh verdict. On Friday, he got his wish and then some. Engoron issued a scathing 92-page decision that ordered Trump and his co-defendants to pay $364 million for defrauding the people of New York. And that gargantuan figure actually understates the price tag: With the addition of prejudgment interest required under New York law, Trump is looking at closer to $500 million. Co

ViewpointsFeb. 20, 2024

"Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." At the 2020 Golden Globes award ceremony, Bong Joon-ho, director of the internationally successful film Parasite, spoke of the one-inch barrier. The one-inch barrier refers to the hurdle of Western, English-speaking audiences when they are faced with watching foreign language films. However, the one-inch barrier that Bong talks about might already belong to the past, now th

ViewpointsFeb. 19, 2024

South Korean stock prices have been on an unexpectedly strong rally in the past several weeks, even without any significant changes to the generally bleak macroeconomic and corporate earnings prospects, and despite the global geopolitical situation deteriorating further. Market players and commentators broadly attribute the rally to growing hopes among investors that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s so-called corporate value-up program, centering around possible requirements on companies

ViewpointsFeb. 19, 2024

People have laid down their lives for love, freedom, justice, the fatherland and more. But nobody has ever died clutching the banner of the Rules-Based International Order. It’s time to junk that cliche, and replace it with something more fitting. That’s not only because the term is an Orwellian linguistic atrocity with all the emotive oomph of a Powerpoint slide. It’s also a shibboleth that, when used by American diplomats in particular, makes US foreign policy look hypocritic

ViewpointsFeb. 16, 2024

If the international community was ever on track toward a more peaceful and just global order, it was during the early post-Cold War years. While global governance was not free of flaws, the risk of a great-power war seemed low, and poverty was declining. Moreover, the initial results of summits dedicated to promoting development and safeguarding the environment raised hopes for breakthrough solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems. But geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty

ViewpointsFeb. 15, 2024

There is a trend in Korean social media lately, called “If I were born in the 1930s,” which has tremendous popularity among young people. Artificial intelligence draws your portrait in elegant 1930s-style suits or dresses with stylish hairdos and hats, which obviously appeals to Korean young men and women who are fond of fashionable trends. Ostensibly, nothing seems to be wrong with it. Yet, Koreans in their eighties and nineties may frown because of what the 1930s means in our his

ViewpointsFeb. 14, 2024