The Korea Herald

[Yang Sung-jin] Never underestimate Naver dominance　

South Korean media are pinning their survival hopes on transforming their print-oriented business models into digital-centered alternatives in the coming years. The monopoly of Naver in the news media sector, however, threatens to derail the plan. In fact, Naver dominates not only South Korea’s news media market but also virtually all major digital business sectors, ranging from keyword search ads to webtoons to blogging to online communities to video to entertainment. While Samsung Group, the c

July 19, 2017

[Yang Sung-jin] Never underestimate Naver dominance

[Jonathan Allen] Willingness of Republicans to provide cover for Trump gone

President Donald Trump is losing the Republican Congress.The June 2016 meeting between a Russian lawyer and Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, among others, underscores what was obvious to anyone paying close attention to the election before ballots were cast: Russia wanted Trump to win, and Trump wanted Moscow’s help.Until that meeting was revealed, though, there was a little wiggle room for Trump’s reluctant defenders to dismiss evidence of collusion as circumstantial. Now, the

July 19, 2017

[Mohamed A. El-Erian] What a London cabbie taught me about Uber

Much has been said about Uber’s multiple self-inflicted wounds during a period of very rapid growth and that are now being fixed. The reporting and commentary have tended to cloud the extent to which the company’s innovative approach has transformed urban transportation. Last week, on a trip to London, I was vividly reminded of the next stage of this transformation by a traditional London taxi driver.It is not easy to become a London cabbie. Applicants have to go through four years of training t

July 18, 2017

[Robert J. Fouser] Disappearing side dishes

Shortly before leaving Korea in late June, I met some people who wanted to hear my ideas about globalizing kimchi. I enjoyed the talk, but, as always, argued that cultural transmission is more complex than policymakers assume.I thought about the meeting and, more importantly, Korean food on the long plane ride home. Korean food and I go back a long time. I first ate bibimbap at a counter-top restaurant called Steve’s Lunch in Ann Arbor in the early 1980s. A Korean friend showed me how to stir it

July 18, 2017

[Robert J. Fouser] Disappearing side dishes

[Charles Wyplosz] Is the shine off Macron?

Emmanuel Macron is on a winning streak. Within a year, he has gone from inexperienced political underdog, with no establishment backing, to President of the French Republic and leader of a newly created political party with an impressive parliamentary majority. Can he keep it up?Macron owes his recent success not just to good luck, but also to his ability to build on any break that came his way. For voters who were feeling mistrustful of the political establishment, he managed to provide an appe

July 18, 2017

[Ramesh Ponnuru] Talk of impeachment is premature

Rush Limbaugh says we are witnessing “a silent coup.” The radio host has sometimes been accused of rhetorical excess, but his claim is based on a demonstrable truth.Many of President Donald Trump’s critics would indeed like “to get rid of him,” as Limbaugh says. A large majority of Democratic voters wants impeachment -- wanted it, in fact, well before the revelation that senior Trump campaign personnel decided to take a meeting after being promised Russian support in taking down Hillary Clinton.

July 18, 2017

[Kim Seong-kon] Be lost in Pastland or prosper in Tomorrowland?

If you ask a scientist, “What is a star?” he will probably answer, “It is a gigantic mass of dust located in the universe far away from Earth.” How unromantic! Yet it is the undeniable truth. In the eyes of a scientist a star is nothing but a round shaped mass of dust, earth and rocks orbiting in the universe in the dark. However, if you asked the same question to a poet or a student of literature or the humanities, the answer would be totally different. He will describe a star as the most gorge

July 18, 2017

[Kim Seong-kon] Be lost in Pastland or prosper in Tomorrowland?

[Park Sang-seek] Three threats to Korean democracy: McCarthyism, regionalism, factionalism

When a peaceful transition of power from the Park Geun-hye government to the Moon Jae-In government was successfully completed, following Park’s impeachment and the presidential election within a short period without any violent confrontation between the pro-Park conservative forces and the anti-Park liberal forces, the world, particularly the Western democratic world, was quite impressed. This was mainly because a divided and newly independent non-Western state had not only successfully overcom

July 17, 2017

[Park Sang-seek] Three threats to Korean democracy: McCarthyism, regionalism, factionalism

[Devesh Kapur] Asia’s hierarchies of humiliation

Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff in Doka La -- where the borders of Bhutan, China and India meet -- for almost a month now, the longest such impasse between the two armies since 1962. In a not-so-subtle reference to that last conflict, in which India suffered a disastrous defeat, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Col. Wu Qian warned India to “learn from historical lessons.” But the lessons of history have a peculiar tendency to adapt to the perspective of those ci

July 17, 2017

[Devesh Kapur] Asia’s hierarchies of humiliation

[Mac Margolis] Latin America needs an Emmanuel Macron

Whether as a haven for political exiles or playground for the power elite, Paris has been a cherished destination for Latin Americans. But since the rise of Emmanuel Macron, Francophilia has taken on a whole new meaning. Young, camera-friendly, fiscally sensible and -- most importantly -- unbeholden to legacy parties and their bosses, Macron is a new French leader for disenchanted times. Little wonder the presidents of Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, all struggling in polls, have reached o

July 17, 2017

[David Ignatius] Is there a role for political Islam in modern times?

The diplomatic machinations that have enveloped Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar may seem like a membership feud in a Persian Gulf club for the wealthy. But their quarrel highlights battles that have been roiling the Middle East since the Arab Spring began nearly seven years ago.The boycott against Qatar announced last month by the Saudis, Emiratis, Bahrainis and Egyptians took the President Donald Trump administration by surprise -- and triggered a mediation effort this week by

July 17, 2017

[Doyle McManus] At long last, smoking Russian gun

The unraveling mystery of whether Donald Trump’s presidential campaign colluded with Russia just produced a smoking gun: those emails from Donald Trump Jr. welcoming an offer from Moscow to supply dirt on Hillary Clinton.This wasn’t a casual meeting between the candidate’s impetuous son and some random peddler of political gossip. Trump Jr. was explicitly offered “sensitive information (as) part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” He recruited two other top aides, campaign Cha

July 17, 2017

[Mohamed A. El-Erian] Asia’s financial crisis still has 5 things to teach us now

Twenty years ago, I was working at the International Monetary Fund in Washington that would scramble -- like almost everyone else -- to understand and respond to cascading financial disruptions that would throw Asia into a deep recession. Important lessons were to emerge from an Asian miracle that was taking an unexpected turn for the worse, with frightening systemic implications.Asia painfully learned, and adapted well, and what it taught us remains valid today for other countries, and not just

July 16, 2017

[Mohamed A. El-Erian] Asia’s financial crisis still has 5 things to teach us now

[Brian F. Carso] Let’s talk about treason and history

Whispers of treason have become bold accusations as the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election turns from simmer to boil. The meaning of treason, though, has always been hard to pin down, in part, because it is found in two distinct realms: law, on the one hand, and the rhetorical life of our democratic republic, on the other.The legal meaning of treason usually comes to mind first. There is only one criminal law in the US Constitution — the Treason Clause. A mere

July 16, 2017

[Brian F. Carso] Let’s talk about treason and history

[Ann McFeatters] Drive toward electric-car future picking up speed

Let’s talk about one of our favorite things: cars. And more specifically, how the internal combustion engine is on the verge of extinction.Not only that, but we’re also being told that in five years we’re going to be driving self-driving cars. OK, that’s not accurate. They will be driving us — or at least a lot of us.Unless you were at the beach and had your head buried in the sand because of worries about Russia’s determination to wipe out democracy on the planet, you undoubtedly heard that Vol

July 16, 2017

[David Bonnet] Japan may cripple its casinos

When Japan’s parliament legalized casino gambling last year, it created a wave of excitement among casino operators and institutional investors. But sensitivities about gambling addiction have now focused the policy discussion on a concept known as responsible gaming. This is industry terminology for programs designed to deter customers with known gambling problems from entering casinos. Although well-intentioned, lawmakers are risking a litany of unintended consequences with these policies.Casi

July 16, 2017

[Justin Fendos] Moon should promote senior employment

A lot has been going on with the new Korean administration. Cabinet appointments have been contentious and public expectations high. A host of economic policies are on the table but one conspicuous absence remains: a plan for enhancing senior employment. The issue is simple. With an aging population, Korean social programs will become more burdened to support seniors. Monthly payments will decrease as people leave the workforce and enter retirement. Premiums for those still working will rise and

July 16, 2017

[Adam Minter] Raising the Great Firewall too high

Will it be R.I.P. for China’s VPNs? On Monday, Bloomberg News reported that the Chinese government had ordered telecommunications providers to block access to individual virtual private networks by Feb. 1. VPNs are popular and widely utilized services that allow internet users to bypass web restrictions. In effect, the new rules would block the most popular means for Chinese netizens to see beyond the so-called Great Firewall.The Chinese government has been moving in this direction for a long ti

July 14, 2017

[Adam Minter] Raising the Great Firewall too high

[Rekha Basu] Trump's denials grow weaker after son’s shifting stories

Donald Trump Jr. is clearly his father’s son. Just look at the evolving strategies he employed to answer questions on meeting with a Russian Kremlin-affiliated lawyer during the presidential campaign: Denial, deflection and finger-pointing.First, the junior Donald said no meetings with Russian officials had been “set up,” and none discussed government policies.Then on Saturday, he said the June 2016 meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya was about the adoption of Russian children. He noted that wasn

July 14, 2017

[Tyler Cowen] Why China may never democratize

Will China ever become democratic? That question has been a staple of geopolitical discussion since the 1990s, and at times many commentators thought a democratic China was not so far away. Today, as restrictions on political speech and opposition increase, hardly anyone thinks this is a realistic scenario. Yet it’s still worth asking why China might never democratize, and what that can teach us about our own political dilemmas.The argument that China will become democratic rested on observation

July 13, 2017

[Tyler Cowen] Why China may never democratize