[Kim Seong-kon] Donning a mask in the pandemic era

Recently, most US states finally lifted the year-long requirement of wearing a facial mask indoors. As a result, you can now freely shop groceries, clothes or miscellanies in a store without donning a mask. It is like “Back to normal again.” Still, however, some people, especially those who have to work indoors all day long, dealing with customers, are still wearing a mask as a precautionary measure. Face-covering masks have changed our lives significantly in many respects, especia

July 21, 2021

[Lee In-hyun] A man who kept his promise of lasting love

It was one hot summer day in 2011. I was a master student at the time and the school was on a summer break. Because I was going to participate in a summer music festival in Aspen, Colorado, I just stayed home to be prepared and ready for the festival. Most of my friends went back to Korea to meet their family and friends. Just a few Korean students decided to stay like myself. Even though I had a good reason to stay, I still missed “home” and my family. One day, a friend gave me ad

July 20, 2021

[Elizabeth Shackelford] US needs better foreign aid

Just this month, we’ve seen political collapse in Haiti and military collapse in Afghanistan. South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, turned 10 years old amid looming famine, rampant corruption and continued violence. Ethiopia’s civil war threatens the country’s very existence. All these disasters have two things in common: In each, the United States has poured in more than a billion dollars in aid in the past 10 years -- substantially more in some cases. And in each, it

July 20, 2021

[Jeffrey D. Sachs, Isabella Massa] The rich world’s debt to island states

Hurricane Elsa’s appearance in the Caribbean this month, far before the usual onset of the Atlantic hurricane season, reminds us of what awaits the world’s small island developing states (SIDS) in the years ahead. These states are already suffering the devastating effects of climate change, and will now need to spend heavily on repairs and measures to build resilience. Rich countries and their fossil-fuel companies contributed overwhelmingly to the problem, so they should help cover

July 20, 2021

[Mark Gilbert] Worry on England's 'Freedom Day'

On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is poised to lift almost all of the remaining restrictions imposed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Even as the delta variant drives a rebound in infections, the government is determined to get customers back into shops, diners back into bars and restaurants, people out and about. I’m going to skip the celebration. For all of the claims that science would dictate the ebb and flow of restraints on civil liberties, the July 19 cessat

July 19, 2021

[Anders Aslund] Vladimir Putin’s dangerous Ukraine narrative

Russian President Vladimir Putin is obsessed with Ukraine -- or, rather, with pretending that Ukraine doesn’t exist. In his annual call-in show on June 30, he claimed that “Ukrainians and Russians are a single people.” He then published an article aimed at justifying that “conviction,” by tracing the two countries’ shared history. It is a masterclass in disinformation -- and one step short of a declaration of war. Putin begins his tale in ancient Rus, where R

July 19, 2021

[Serendipity] What's the rush?

Last week, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee announced two candidate sites in Seoul for a building to house a large collection of art donated by the family of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee.　 A site in central Seoul close to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and the grounds of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan will be considered for the final selection, which will be announced by the end of the year, in consultation with a committee of

July 16, 2021

[Robert J. Fouser] Tokyo Olympics in troubled times

The 2020 Summer Games open in Tokyo a week from today on July 23, a year later than scheduled. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a year delay in holding the games, though many in Japan and elsewhere have argued that they should be canceled. A recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan prompted the government to bring back emergency measures that will prevent spectators from attending events. Athletes will compete in quiet, empty venues. For Tokyo, this marks the second time the city has hosted the Summe

July 16, 2021

[Kim Myeong-sik] Fourth-rate politics hurts Korea’s ‘developed’ status

The UN Conference on Trade and Development has become the latest international organization to recognize South Korea’s developed status among world nations. In a board meeting earlier this month, the UN agency moved South Korea from its Group A list of mostly Asia-Pacific and African developing countries to Group B which consists of states with developed economies. Local newspapers quoted a Foreign Ministry press release pointing out that it was the first time since the establishment of

July 15, 2021

[Adam Minter] Americans’ right to repair

When the Apple II personal computer was shipped in 1977, it came with a detailed manual for upgrading and repairing the device. Parts were readily available from Apple (and, later, other manufacturers), and if Apple owners didn’t want to fix or upgrade at home, they could find plenty of small, competitive repair businesses to do the work for them. That was then. These days, Apple’s products arrive sealed shut, often with proprietary screws. Service manuals, circuit-board schematics

July 15, 2021

[Amal de Chickera] Statelessness in a pandemic

Maijaan Nessa, a 38-year-old Muslim woman, was born in India to Indian parents. She has lived there, in the state of Assam, all her life. But, seven years ago, she was declared a foreigner, arrested, and detained. While she languished in detention, her distraught eldest son died by suicide. Despite this devastating personal tragedy, and the barriers created by poverty and illiteracy, her Bengali Muslim husband and the rest of her family continued to fight for her release until, almost five yea

July 14, 2021

[Kim Seong-kon] Valuable criticisms and encouraging compliments

Sometimes we encounter criticisms and other times compliments. Both are beneficial: From criticisms, we can learn valuable lessons, whereas compliments encourage us to continue what we have been doing all our lives. Looking back upon my life, I have received many notable corrections and encouraging words of praise. When I visited SUNY Buffalo, I proudly told my mentor, professor Marcus Klein, “Some people in Korea think I am an authority on American literature.” He replied with a s

July 14, 2021

[Shang-Jin Wei] The global dangers of rising US inflation

As US inflation continues to accelerate, with consumer prices increasing 5 percent year on year in May, it is not only the US Federal Reserve that needs to remain vigilant. Policymakers around the world -- and in vulnerable economies in particular -- also should prepare for the possibility that US interest rates will rise faster and sooner than most forecasts currently predict. After all, the Fed has raised its inflation forecasts significantly over the last 12 months. At its mid-June meeting,

July 13, 2021

[Noah Feldman] Trump’s doomed Twitter lawsuit

Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuits against Twitter, Google and Facebook for kicking him off their platforms are sure losers, legally speaking. The First Amendment protects people against state action, and tech companies aren’t state actors. Yet Trump’s main argument to the contrary -- that congressional Democrats coerced the platforms into cutting him off by threatening to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act -- deserves close scrutiny. Wittingly or not,

July 13, 2021

[Nicole Pope, Anya Schiffrin] Media capture under guise of combating COVID 　

Since the pandemic began 18 months ago, autocratic governments around the world have tightened their grip on the flow of information. These power grabs are all advanced attempts at “media capture,” a term that covers the multiple ways governments, corporations and other powerful entities seek to influence media output to protect vested interests. In much of the world, including in parts of Central Europe and Latin America, media outlets are controlled by government cronies. But a cr

July 12, 2021

[Djoomart Otorbaev] After Afghanistan falls

On July 2, the US military handed over control of the vast Bagram Air Base to the Afghan government. US troops and their NATO allies are now on track to leave Afghanistan by mid-July, well ahead of US President Joe Biden’s Sept. 11, 2021, withdrawal deadline. According to a new analysis by researchers at Brown University, America’s two-decade war in Afghanistan cost it nearly $2.3 trillion. Now, Afghanistan’s neighbors -- Pakistan, Iran, China, India and Central Asia -- are wo

July 9, 2021

[Nir Kaissar] A living wage for all is attainable

While the US Congress and White House wrangle over spending on infrastructure and social programs, the most pressing problem for the US remains little acknowledged and unaddressed: Tens of millions of people work full-time and can’t afford food, clothes, housing, health care and a proper education for their children. Their struggle is sowing division, fanning political and social tensions and raising doubts in many Americans’ minds about the merits of capitalism and democracy. It d

July 9, 2021

[Lee Kyong-hee] Our humble hero on his anniversaries

Back in the 1980s, new sacks of rice occasionally caught my eye when I visited my mother. “Min-gi grew the rice in Gimje,” she explained. A couple of years later, she said Min-gi was farming in Jeongok, inside the civilian control line south of the DMZ, and battling tuberculosis. At the time, retired Army generals ruled the nation with an iron fist, and they forbid news about anyone on their blacklist. My family was able to stay abreast of Kim Min-gi because he was a close friend of

July 8, 2021

[Meg Griffiths] Tips for return to post-pandemic life

With millions vaccinated, we have begun to imagine what‘s next. For some, the return to work and school will be a relief. For others, it brings a new wave of anxieties. The American Psychological Association reports that half of Americans fear returning to life together, even as they struggle with the mental health impact of isolation. In my role at Essential Partners, I help people live and work better together by building trust and understanding across differences. Recently, friends and

July 8, 2021