Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Digital Simplicity] How much can we pay for subscription-based apps?
When I was watching the dispute unfold this week over a popular note-taking app for Apple’s mobile operating system iOS, I could not help but think about what mobile apps really mean for my digital life beleaguered by a steady rise in total cost. App developer Ginger Labs on Monday announced that it would introduce a subscription pricing model for its popular note-taking mobile app Notability. The announcement itself is not surprising, since app developers often switch from a one-time pur
Nov. 6, 2021
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[Robert J. Fouser] The dangers of ‘Peak Korea’ complacency
As I watched the results of the Japanese election on Sunday, I was reminded again of how Japan has shrunk in influence in recent years. Japanese elections rarely commanded international attention, but Japan was in the news much more than it is today. What happened and why? And what does it mean for South Korea? After its defeat in World War II, Japan worked with US-dominated occupation authorities to implement political and economic reforms that laid the groundwork for recovery and sustained ec
Nov. 5, 2021
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[Doyle McManus] A Frankenbill just might work
Say what you like about Congress‘ squabbling and eternally disarrayed Democrats; they’ve showed in the last few weeks that they deserve to be recognized as the party of ideas. And not just a few ideas; many, many ideas -- maybe too many for one piece of legislation: universal prekindergarten, federally subsidized child care, clean-energy tax credits, even a Civilian Climate Corps, paid for by a newly invented surtax on millionaires. It‘s a good thing they had so many ideas av
Nov. 4, 2021
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[Kim Myong-sik] Roh Tae-woo missed for embracing leadership role
Since gaining independence after World War II, the nation has had 12 presidents. The world admires the postwar history of South Korea as a rare success story, but the fates of our former presidents only remind us what a rugged path we have had to arrive here now. We hate to recount that the first president, Syngman Rhee, died during exile in Hawaii and Park Chung-hee, who took power in a military coup, was assassinated by his close aide. Among their successors, two were jailed for treason, two
Nov. 4, 2021
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[Kim Seong-kon] Two roads diverged: Which road should we choose?
Sometimes we wonder: “What if I took the other path? What would happen, then?” You cannot know the outcome of such a choice, and yet what is certain is that your life would turn out very different. For example, what would happen if you married another person, majored in a different field, or chose another occupation? Your life would be completely different from now. In our lives, we encounter numerous occasions in which we find ourselves at “two roads diverged.” The roa
Nov. 3, 2021
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[Tyler Cowen] Stablecoins won‘t be so stable
Stablecoins have gone from an obscure corner of crypto to near the center of it. Major institutions, such as Mastercard, are now trying to create alternate payment networks based on stablecoin and crypto. I am rooting for such efforts to succeed, but in the meantime I have news for you: Stablecoins aren’t always stable. Unlike a lot of critics, however, I view fluctuating prices for stablecoins as not only acceptable but also desirable. The potential for stablecoins is obvious. Imagine i
Nov. 3, 2021
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Is Asia and the Pacific ready for the global climate stage?
As the leaders of Asia and the Pacific prepare to head to Glasgow for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), they can be sure that our region will be in the spotlight: Many of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change are located here; the seven G20 members from this region are responsible for over half of global GHG emissions; and five of the 10 top countries with the greatest historic responsibility for emissions since the beginning of
Nov. 2, 2021
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[Jean Pisani-Ferry] The path to climate credibility
On Oct. 25, the electric-vehicle producer Tesla’s market capitalization reached $1 trillion -- more than the combined value of the next 10 global car manufacturers. Even after discounting for exuberance, this is a strong indicator of how the threat of climate change is triggering a transformation of capitalism. To be sure, polluters still abound, and green washing is pervasive. But it would be a mistake to dismiss the changeover underway. Governments, however, are not on track to deliver
Nov. 2, 2021
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[Andreas Kluth] China’s hypersonic gliders are a wake-up call
Too bad we as a species don’t have the luxury of worrying about just one existential threat at a time. We’re already rather busy with one -- a pandemic -- and about to talk our heads off about another -- climate change -- at the COP26 convention in Glasgow. Now we’re also reminded of a third, nuclear annihilation. This summer, China apparently tested new hypersonic missile systems -- as recently revealed by the Financial Times but officially denied by Beijing. What’s sho
Nov. 2, 2021
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[Peter Singer] Tax system tilted toward the wealthy
“The taxation system has tilted toward the rich, and away from the middle class, in the last ten years. It is dramatic, and I don’t think it’s appreciated. And I think it should be addressed.” So said the billionaire investor Warren Buffett 18 years ago. He illustrated his claim by surveying his office staff: Although he was then the world’s second-richest person, he was paying a lower percentage of his income in taxes than his receptionist was. Since then, econom
Nov. 1, 2021
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[Serendipity] To see, to be seen
A cacophony of images, a riot of colors. That is what I saw at an exhibition in Itaewon, central Seoul, heralded as a hip show. It surely had all the elements of an of-the-moment show: Provocative images, saturated colors, all the glamour of glossy artwork. “Toiletpaper: The Studio” at Hyundai Card Storage in Itaewon is a literal replica of the photography-based magazine Toiletpaper’s Milan studio. The exhibition is touted as the first to ever look inside the studio of Ita
Oct. 29, 2021
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[Tyler Cowen] America’s national mood disorder
America is in a bad mood. Granted, this is a subjective impression, but it is common, and there is no shortage of analyses of it, examining everything from social media to income inequality. I would like to try on for size the simplest possible explanation: If Americans are much more negative than they used to be, it is mostly about politics, and in recent decades political failure has become much more pervasive than it used to be. The result is a kind of national mood disorder. I am not so nai
Oct. 29, 2021
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[Timothy L. O‘Brien] Respond bluntly to Russian hackers
Russian hackers are still rummaging through global computer networks despite headline-grabbing Russian and Chinese attacks over the past several months that should have prompted corporations to tighten security and the White House to take more pointed and forceful action. Sure, some companies have said they want to communicate better about digital breaches and the Biden administration slapped some mild sanctions on Russia last spring. Russia’s response to this tepid pushback? Merriment, i
Oct. 28, 2021
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[Lee Kyong hee] Missing Han Chang-ki, a cultural icon and pioneer
Han Chang-ki led Britannica Korea when South Korean society was on the threshold of rapid economic growth. Modernization was often synonymous with Westernization, and having a set of Encyclopedia Britannica bestowed instant status onto families. Han, in his early 30s, took advantage of the trend, introducing modern marketing strategies in direct consumer sales for the first time in the country. His sales network expanded to include as many as 1,500 personnel at its peak, whom he trained rigoro
Oct. 28, 2021
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[Carlos Lopez] Multinationals’ responsibility for human rights
At the end of October, an intergovernmental working group will meet again to push for an international treaty governing multinational companies’ responsibility for upholding human rights. The working group, created in 2014 by the UN Human Rights Council, holds annual sessions that are attended faithfully by a large cohort of human rights advocates, environmentalists and members of social development organizations. But, while many countries, mostly from the Global South plus China, send rep
Oct. 27, 2021
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[Kim Seong-kon] Waiting for a new leader of South Korea
In March 2022, South Korea will hold its next presidential election. All Koreans are anxiously awaiting the important day when they will have a new leader. Indeed, there is a compelling reason why the Korean people are eager to have an extraordinarily competent leader as their new president. South Korea is now facing an unprecedented series of economic, diplomatic and national security crises on the heels of the ongoing pandemic, intensifying US-China conflicts and the resumption of North Kore
Oct. 27, 2021
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[Spencer H. Kim] North-South: Want success? First think the unthinkable
“We must be able to think about unthinkable things because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.” So spoke the late US Sen. William J. Fulbright, who founded the famous Fulbright scholarships under which so many have been able to study in foreign countries and expand their horizons. Fulbright has always struck me as an unusually wise man. So I try to follow his advice. Let me tell you my conclusion from trying to think the unthinkable: If the US
Oct. 26, 2021
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[Elizabeth Shackelford] Don’t ignore war in Ethiopia
Outsiders often view Africa as one large zone of war, poverty and tragedy. It’s not, but armed conflict is ongoing today in about a dozen of Africa’s 54 countries. While all of these conflicts are tragic, some are more relevant to the outside world than others. Ethiopia’s conflict is one of them. It began in November 2020, and the scale of suffering is massive. With Ethiopia’s size, geography and composition, the conflict could increase exponentially, with potential impl
Oct. 26, 2021
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[Lee In-hyun] Chopin’s fearless love story
Around six years ago, many people interested in classical music received shocking news: a winner of the Chopin International Piano Competition was an unfamiliar pianist named Seong-jin Cho. He was the first Korean to be awarded first prize since the competition was established. The Chopin International Piano Competition is one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world and was made to honor Chopin in 1927. Thanks to this competition, Seong-jin Cho became one of the world’s mos
Oct. 26, 2021
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[Takatoshi Ito] Where will Kishida take Japan?
On Oct. 4, Fumio Kishida became Japan’s 100th prime minister, succeeding Yoshihide Suga, who held the office for only a year. Kishida secured the top job by prevailing in the four-person race to lead the Liberal Democratic Party. On Oct. 31, he and the LDP will face a national election for the House of Representatives, the lower but more powerful chamber of the Japanese Diet. Together with its coalition partner, the Komeito Party, the LDP is expected to win decisively. The latest NHK pol
Oct. 25, 2021