[Kim Seong-kon] ’Where have all the soldiers gone?’

The 72nd anniversary of the Korean War is just around the corner, meaning that those born in the unforgettable year of 1950 are now 72 years old. It also means that few people in Korea will remember the war that utterly devastated the Korean Peninsula for three years or those who died in wartime. Americans call the Korean War the “forgotten war” because few people seem to remember it. For the Korean people, however, the Korean War must not be forgotten. Embarrassingly, we do not see

June 22, 2022

[Contribution] Solving the paradox in the Han River and the next generation’s right for a future (1)

“The Miracle on the Han River” has been often used to describe South Korea’s rise and leapfrogging from one of the world’s poorest countries in 1950s to one of the richest today. In a single generation, Korea became a leader in technological innovation with global brands such as Samsung going head-to-head with Apple and other major companies. From “Squid Game” to Blackpink, Korean dramas, movies and music are showing no signs of slowing down, breaking new gro

June 21, 2022

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] How the US could lose the new cold war

The United States appears to have entered a new cold war with both China and Russia. And US leaders’ portrayal of the confrontation as one between democracy and authoritarianism fails the smell test, especially at a time when the same leaders are actively courting a systematic human-rights abuser like Saudi Arabia. Such hypocrisy suggests that it is at least partly global hegemony, not values, that is really at stake. For two decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the US was clearly

June 21, 2022

[Trudy Rubin] Failing US allies left in Afghanistan

It has been almost one year since the ugly US departure from Kabul. Yet tens of thousands of Afghans who were promised special immigrant visas (SIVs) -- meant for those who worked for US soldiers and civilians -- remain trapped under terrifying Taliban rule. Even for those eligible for SIVs, it could take years -- if ever -- to be issued one, given the glacial pace of the process. Hunted by name by the Taliban, many applicants may be dead or imprisoned long before their number comes up. As the

June 21, 2022

[Elizabeth Shackelford] To beat Russian influence in Africa, the West must offer something better

Russia’s growing engagement in Africa is gaining attention. The Wagner Group, a shady mercenary organization, is the centerpiece of this activity. Since 2015, it has become an important security player in at least a half-dozen countries across the continent. The Russian government denies any connection, but Wagner is widely believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and doing Russia’s bidding. The US government and European partners have been quick to condemn African g

June 20, 2022

[Robert J. Fouser] Rebuilding the Democratic Party of Korea

After barely winning the presidency in March this year, the People Power Party won a landslide victory over the Democratic Party of Korea in the June 1 local elections. The People Power Party won 12 of the 17 metropolitan mayor and provincial governor seats, including Seoul, which marked a gain of 10 local chief executives. The People Power Party won substantial victories on ballot elections, giving it control of a majority of metropolitan and provincial legislatures and local district, city, an

June 17, 2022

[Wagner, Grinker, Kuipers] Why we need a national day of remembrance for COVID victims

In New York City, a woman opens her laptop to a bar graph showing the number of COVID-19 deaths nationwide each month in 2021 and fixes her gaze on April. She tells a researcher, “My mother is one of them.” The graph helps her see that her mother is “part of something bigger happening to the country,” she says. In the nation’s capital, a man kneels on a patch of grass near the Washington Monument to place a white flag in honor of his brother. He gestures to the fie

June 16, 2022

[Kim Myong-sik] Uneasy look at Yoon’s new office in Yongsan

Last week, I had a pleasant walk with friends along a short trekking course that opened recently around the former presidential mansion. My smartphone walking counter app tracked about 15,000 paces in the two-hour trip, which included a snack of makgeolli and a sundae on the wooden floor of the Okhojeong pavilion near the eastern end of the route. I have to wait to the end of this month to go inside Cheong Wa Dae because I could not make an earlier online reservation. The view of Seoul from the

June 16, 2022

[Slawomir Sierakowski] The Russians who are leaving

In the broader discussion about Russia’s war on Ukraine, an important but overlooked element is the exodus of Russians from their homeland. Though it is impossible to determine the scale of this phenomenon, we can expect the outflow to continue, especially if the United States pursues a policy to lure highly skilled specialists and sustain a Russian brain drain, as US President Joe Biden has proposed. The Russian diaspora could be a key partner in building a new Russia after Vladimir Puti

June 15, 2022

[Kim Seong-kon] Putting an end to hostilities in our society

Multiple opinion leaders have pointed out that hostility was rampant in Korean society during the Moon administration. In order to secure votes and supporters, politicians nurtured hostile feelings toward those who are different from the majority of us, better than we are in some way, or richer than the rest. As a result, hostilities are now endemic in our community, an ordeal with which we have to live every day. Hostilities stem from grudges and resentment against others and thus gravely end

June 15, 2022

[Adam Schiff] Give drivers a gas tax holiday. Tax windfall profits from oil companies instead

At the gas station near my home in Burbank, California, gas prices last week were an astronomical $6.50 per gallon ($1.72 per liter), much higher than the nationwide average of $4.67, and just above the statewide average of $6.19 per gallon. Filling up the tank can cost a shocking $100. Working families cannot afford this, and it doesn’t have to be this way. The reasons for high gas prices are many and intertwined. Our economy’s rapid recovery from COVID-19 has led to a surge in dem

June 14, 2022

[Trudy Rubin] The critical battles for Ukraine and for America are being fought right here, right now

Americans are being tested right now about the kind of country and world they want to live in. At home -- as children are slaughtered with easily acquired assault weapons -- members of the US Congress must decide whether they prefer the rule of law or the law of the jungle. Abroad, the Biden administration, and the American public, must decide whether the strong US support for Ukraine will be continued for the long haul as Vladimir Putin breaks all the rules that have kept peace in Europe sinc

June 14, 2022

[Peter Singer] How Australia revived the political middle

Like many other democracies, Australia has experienced growing political polarization in recent years, particularly during the last nine years of the conservative government, led by the Liberal Party, in coalition with the smaller, rural-based National Party. That is why the result of the federal election in May could hold important lessons for other polarized polities. Consider the outcome in Kooyong, the safest of all Liberal seats. The electorate covers some of Melbourne’s most affluen

June 13, 2022

[Jordan Gans-Morse] Conditions for negotiating with Putin

Three months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and calls for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are growing. The leaders of the European Union’s three largest member states -- Germany, France and Italy -- have all recently issued statements calling for a cease-fire, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underscoring the need for this to come “as quickly as possible.” Italy and Hungary sought -- unsuccessfully -- for the EU to call for an immediate cease-fi

June 10, 2022

[Lee Kyong-hee] Cultural leverage to better neighborly ties

As President Yoon Suk-yeol’s foreign policy advisers attempt to mend fractured relations with Japan, they will likely sense a palpable change in the dynamics; they will realize they have more leverage than their predecessors. They can thank, in part, Korea’s ascent on the global stage, its popular culture being a huge boon. Though the cultural dimension may have its limits and needn’t be a zero-sum factor, perhaps it can serve as an alternative pathway to smoother relations.

June 9, 2022

[ionel Laurent] Sanctions fatigue is next obstacle in confronting Putin

The momentum behind Western sanctions against Vladimir Putin is flagging. Even as the European Union toasts its toughest restrictions yet against the Russian war machine -- including a partial ban on oil imports -- concessions are mounting, from exempting pipeline crude to removing Putin’s favorite cleric from the sanctions list. Hungary’s Viktor Orban, an admirer of Putin, is clearly playing a big role in splintering the united front. But the risk of fatigue and waning morale goes

June 8, 2022

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Getting deglobalization right

The World Economic Forum’s first meeting in more than two years was markedly different from the many previous Davos conferences that I have attended since 1995. It was not just that the bright snow and clear skies of January were replaced by bare ski slopes and a gloomy May drizzle. Rather, it was that a forum traditionally committed to championing globalization was primarily concerned with globalization’s failures: broken supply chains, food- and energy-price inflation, and an intel

June 7, 2022

[Robert J. Fouser] Masks create sense of security

Each weekend last month brought ever larger crowds to popular areas in Seoul and other big cities in South Korea. Many remaining COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted earlier as cases fell sharply in April, but people still felt cautious. The lifting of the outdoor mask mandate in early May combined with warm weather and a continued drop in cases gave people confidence to get out and spend time with family and friends. By month’s end, Seoul looked and felt much like it had in 2019, except

June 3, 2022

[Kim Myong-sik] Disturbing anti-intellectualism in politics

Most South Korean adults must probably know what the “586 Generation” means. If you are a foreigner unfamiliar with Korean politics, let me explain. It refers to the bunch of midcareer politicians who were born in the 1960s and entered college in the turbulent 1980s, so naturally who now are in their (late) 50s. The 586 Generation, or just “586” for short, emerged as a group occupying a big turf in Korean political topography when many people who were active in pro-democ

June 2, 2022

[Doyle McManus] To deter China on Taiwan, Biden needs to reassure

Last week, in an unscripted moment, President Joe Biden warned bluntly that if China invades Taiwan, the United States will come to the island’s defense. “We’ve made a commitment,” Biden told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo. Including military action? “Yes,” he replied. That isn’t what US policy on Taiwan says -- not officially, at least. The White House and State Department hurriedly tried to walk back the president’s words. “O

June 2, 2022