[Robert J. Fouser] South Korea shifts away from China

This week marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China. Diplomatic recognition grew out of South Korea’s push to improve relations with former Eastern Bloc nations in the run-up to the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988. In the year following the Olympics, communist forces began to collapse in much of Eastern Europe, and South Korea established diplomatic relations with countries there in quick succession. In September 1990, South Korea established diplomati

ViewpointsAug. 26, 2022

[Xiao Wang] Real lesson in Kansas vote on Roe

The results of the vote over a constitutional amendment that could have removed the right to abortion in Kansas gave rise to two common reactions: surprise (that a red state would vote in favor of abortion rights) and hope (that the process could be replicable elsewhere). Neither response, though, tells the full story. The real lesson in Kansas is that direct democracy -- can be a bulwark against extreme positions. But it’s being eroded in many states. The outcome in Kansas shouldn&rsq

ViewpointsAug. 25, 2022

[Kim Myong-sik] To end the vicious circle of political revenge

Prosecutors from Seoul and Daejeon separately conducted search and seizure operations at the Presidential Archive last week to secure materials on two major controversial events during the Moon Jae-in administration. With recent bad memories of political reprisals under the pretext of righting past wrongs, there are concerns that this could mean the beginning of a new round of retaliation after a change of power. They seized presidential documents related to the premature closedown of a nucle

ViewpointsAug. 25, 2022

[Kent Harrington] Trump’s defense will be blackmail

Donald Trump and his Republican Party minions have presented a dog’s breakfast of explanations, evasions, accusations, and lies about the classified documents -- including top-secret files -- that federal agents reclaimed from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago basement this month. But ultimately, Trump’s best defense, if he is criminally charged, will be blackmail. Authorized by Attorney General Merrick Garland, the unprecedented search of a former president’s home was based on a warr

ViewpointsAug. 24, 2022

[Kim Seong-kon] ’K is cool’: Korean food on American menus

Foreigners today are well aware of South Korea’s reputation as an economically successful and culturally influential country. Most especially, many young people across the world are huge fans of K-pop or Korean films and TV dramas such as “Parasite,” “Kingdom,” or “Squid Game.” Aside from the cultural domain, Korean technology, too, is widely known to the world, thanks to Samsung, LG and Hyundai. As a result, today’s Korea has become an internation

ViewpointsAug. 24, 2022

[Samar Al-Bulushi & Lina Benabdallah] Respect Africans to forge strong ties

Last week Secretary of State Anthony Blinken released the Biden administration’s long-awaited Africa strategy during his visit to South Africa. Perhaps the most notable shift in tone during Blinken’s five-day, three-country tour of the continent was his reference to African states as geostrategic players -- a clear response to the fact that America’s staunchest rivals on the continent (China, and increasingly Russia) have gained traction precisely by approaching their African

ViewpointsAug. 23, 2022

[LZ Granderson] Time for Americans to choose country over party

Last week the Biden administration announced what would be included in the 18th package of security aid from the US to Ukraine. Worth $1 billion, it represents “the largest single drawdown of the US arms and equipment to date,” according to Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of Defense for policy. That brings the total to $8.5 billion since Russia invaded in February, which means even as inflation in the US was hitting a 40-year high, there was enough money for war. That’s not a

ViewpointsAug. 23, 2022

[Martin Schram] The Putinization of Chinese President Xi Jinping

In this broiling summer, when we are shaken by threats that could shatter our most globally revered national monument -- America’s cherished democracy -- a menacing development suddenly occurred half-a-world away. We glanced at it. Then we forgot about it amid the nonstop news gush about our domestic disarray. But attention must be paid. Because this could be how the next world war starts, on the other side of the planet, while we are calling each other names here at home. The slow, but

ViewpointsAug. 22, 2022

[Christopher Endy] Tourists have more influence on politics and foreign relations than you think

As the United States sends stockpiles of weapons to Ukraine, another transatlantic mobilization is underway. Freed from two years of COVID restrictions, Americans are once again traveling in large numbers. Market observers have predicted a sixfold increase in American tourism to Europe. If you’re wondering what shipments of weapons and planeloads of tourists have in common, the answer is: Quite a bit. Tourism has long had a way of getting mixed up in international politics. Tourism is ea

ViewpointsAug. 19, 2022

[Lee Kyong-hee] Dokdo’s on-site lesson for multicultural youths

“It was wondrous in a word,” said Kang Ye-jin, a senior at a Seoul art high school. “I found Dokdo so beautiful. It came to me vividly that we must keep the island at all costs.” Like any Korean student her age, Ye-jin has learned about Japan’s contentious claim over the East Sea islets of Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost outpost, also known as Liancourt Rocks. And, of course, she has seen TV footage of the islets. “Honestly,” she said, “I was li

ViewpointsAug. 18, 2022

[Kim Seong-kon] Seek experts’ advice and be prepared

In Korea, many students with academic excellence want to go into law or medicine. Naturally, prosecutors, judges and medical doctors are the super elite of Korean society, and it is not uncommon for them to occasionally occupy important positions in government. However, the problem is that due to the nature of their occupation, they tend to stay in their home countries and, aside from the odd vacation, may not know the world very well. Of course, it all depends on the person, but it is generally

ViewpointsAug. 17, 2022

[Doyle McManus] Consequences of Kabul‘s fall modest

One year ago, as President Joe Biden was withdrawing the last American troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban swept into Kabul and abruptly brought a 20-year, $2.3 trillion US war to an ignominious end. It was Biden’s worst foreign policy failure and prompted warnings that more catastrophes would follow: not only the tragedy of Taliban rule over 38 million Afghans, but a resurgence of international terrorism and a collapse of US influence around the world. “It is hard to overstate th

ViewpointsAug. 17, 2022