[Kim Seong-kon] Making the Korean War the “Unforgotten War”

Situated between World War II and the Vietnam War, and overshadowed by the Cold War, the Korean War has inadvertently become the “Forgotten War.” Strangely, people have kept silent about the war and seem to have forgotten it completely. Whenever I see the epigraph “The Forgotten War” at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, I am as heartbroken as I can be because we should remember the Korean War forever. The Korean War was much more than a civil war. Rather, i

June 23, 2021

[Lee In-hyun] His passion for the country -- Sibelius

In South Korea, June is known as the month to commemorate patriots, veterans and service members. During the month, we have two very special national holidays: Memorial Day, honoring those who have fallen serving the country, and Korean War Memorial Day for those who sacrificed their lives fighting for democracy. My mind often feels solemn on this month as the country recognizes our service members, patriots and veterans. For more diverse and professional music studies, I decided to study in th

June 23, 2021

[Trudy Rubin] Biden-Putin summit: No illusions, but Russia put to the test

Rate the US-Russia summit in Geneva as a success for President Joe Biden. If you want to understand why, just look at what Vladimir Putin said back home the day after the summit ended. “I want to say that the image of President Biden, (as) portrayed by our and even the American press, has nothing to do with reality,” Putin told alumni of a Russian management program, by video. (He was referring to constant efforts by Russian state-controlled media, along with Trumpist media, to por

June 22, 2021

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Group of Seven summits are an anachronism

The latest G7 summit was a waste of resources. If it had to be held at all, it should have been conducted online, saving time, logistical costs, and airplane emissions. But, more fundamentally, G-7 summits are an anachronism. Political leaders need to stop devoting their energy to an exercise that is unrepresentative of today’s global economy and results in a near-complete disconnect between stated aims and the means adopted to achieve them. There was absolutely nothing at the G-7 summit

June 21, 2021

[Bill Emmott] Herd immunity is closer than you think

When will the world have vaccinated 80 percent of all adults, the level presumed by scientists to produce herd immunity against COVID-19? Most people’s answer is 2023 or 2024, which suggests deep pessimism about the progress of vaccinations outside the rich world. That is also why pledges at the recent G-7 summit to donate 1 billion doses to poor countries during this year and in 2022 look to some like generous game changers. But despair is the wrong sentiment and self-congratulation by t

June 18, 2021

[Robert J. Fouser] New directions for education policy?

For decades, education has sat at the center of political discourse in South Korea. As the country developed, the center of discourse moved from educating the masses for the needs of a growing industrial economy to preparing for university admission and the high social status that it bestowed. Since the 2010s, however, interest in education has cooled somewhat as other issues have come to the fore. Why is this? And what does it mean? During Park Chung-hee’s long dictatorship from 1961 to

June 18, 2021

[Noah Smith] Global battle for microchip dominance

The world is gearing up for a titanic battle over semiconductors. To secure its position in this most strategic of all industries, the US will have to weigh its strategy carefully and learn the lessons of the past. The right balance of support for both production and innovation will distinguish the winners. Of all modern industries, semiconductors -- i.e., computer chips -- are the most jealously guarded and sought-after by national governments, for many reasons. First of all, they‘re mil

June 17, 2021

[Kim Myong-sik] New age of politics calls for high morality

During an open debate before he was elected chairman of the main opposition People Power Party last week, Lee Jun-seok said he made “several hundred million won (several hundred thousand dollars)” through cryptocurrency trading. Later he reported spending just 30 million won ($27,000), seemingly from these earnings, for his intraparty leadership campaign. It is no surprise that the 36-year-old prodigy in Korean politics who majored in computer science and economics at Harvard Unive

June 17, 2021

[Jon Healey] Can US Congress fix Big Tech?

The internet has been a great unifier, enabling people to join others around the globe in pursuit of common interests. And now, the internet’s largest platform operators -- Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google -- are uniting Democrats and Republicans on the House antitrust subcommittee in pursuit of their common interest: reining in Big Tech’s power. Members of the subcommittee on Friday introduced five bills, each with bipartisan co-sponsors, that aim to bar platform operators from u

June 16, 2021

[Kim Seong-kon] Precious things in these difficult times

Living in these troubled times, we ponder the things that are most precious in life. Some people might think of expensive jewels as precious, such as a diamond ring, a platinum bracelet, or a pearl necklace. Others may pick famous brand name products, such as a Chanel handbag, a Gucci purse, or a Rolex watch. Those who adore expensive cars would treasure a Rolls Royce, a Ferrari, or a Bentley. I addition, there are those who think of political fame and power as a precious thing, such as a minist

June 16, 2021

[Stephen L. Carter] Paying off ransomware criminals shouldn’t be illegal

Lots of companies have lately been victimized by ransomware hackers -- cybercriminals who infiltrate and encrypt IT systems, then demand money to unlock them. In addition to the much-publicized attack on Colonial Pipeline, recent victims have included one of the biggest US meat packers and the Irish health care system. Cyber pirates might have derailed my family’s annual Martha’s Vineyard vacation by targeting the Steamship Authority -- which controls ferry service to the Island -- a

June 15, 2021

[Trudy Rubin] What Biden-Putin summit tests

The most eagerly awaited event in President Joe Biden’s overseas trip to Europe is his June 16 summit meeting in Geneva with Vladimir Putin. This is a high-drama event -- regardless of whether the drama takes place in public. Biden has billed his entire trip as an effort to rally the world’s democracies to the competition with dictators at a seminal moment in history. He will meet Putin only after conferring with America’s closest European allies, and with NATO. “We hav

June 15, 2021

[Charles T. Clark] The trouble with living in denial

I’m a big believer in self-reflection on a personal level, a professional level and a societal level. I firmly believe that if we as individuals and collectively are able to critically think about our failures and shortcomings, we can use them as motivation and as a road map for how to improve. Now I wanted to begin there because it informs how I view this ongoing debate around critical race theory, which seems to have become the latest partisan flashpoint in the “culture wars.&rdq

June 14, 2021

[Allison Schrager] Biden’s trickle-up economics is bound to fail

President Joe Biden’s recently unveiled budget marks a new era in US economic policymaking. Decades of trickle-down tax cuts are out the window; Biden is betting that trickle-up economics will deliver the kind of sustained and equitable growth we all want. But that’s a dangerously shortsighted strategy that in the long term will create far more stagnation than a Reaganomics agenda. Biden is proposing a very large expansion of government spending, to 25 percent of GDP from 20 percent

June 14, 2021

[Digital Simplicity] ‘Project Hail Mary’ and the meaning of ‘cultural things’

Andy Weir’s much-awaited “Project Hail Mary” is certainly a page-turning interstellar tale that sends sci-fi fans on a thrilling space journey. Kirkus Reviews, a US-based book review magazine, hails it as an “unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship.” But when I was reading the novel, switching between text and audiobook on my commute, instead of the matters of survival and friendship, something else kept me thinking about my own experiences.

June 12, 2021

[Nicholas Stern] The investment imperative for the G-7

At the upcoming G-7 summit in Cornwall, the major economies’ leaders have a critical opportunity to agree on a plan that not only drives a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for their own countries, but also speeds the transition to a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient global economy. A key lesson that I trust G-7 governments have learned from COVID-19 is how exposed and vulnerable every country is to global threats, including infectious diseases, climate change and biodive

June 11, 2021

Seizing an opportunity with nudges

Experts say that the coronavirus pandemic has devastated humankind to a level no one had imagined. However, as there is a saying that “every cloud has a silver lining,” we can still learn the lesson that crisis can lead to opportunity. I am so glad to share that my school took this difficult time as an opportunity for the school to grow in a very special way. That’s because my school community was open to changes and approached all the hurdles with an optimistic attitude. Th

June 10, 2021

[Faye Flam] Social media erred in censoring misinformation

Labeling misinformation online is doing more harm than good. The possibility that COVID-19 came from a lab accident is just the latest example. Social media companies tried to suppress any discussion of it for months. But why? There’s no strong evidence against it, and evidence for other theories is still inconclusive. Pathogens have escaped from labs many times, and people have died as a result. Social media fact-checkers don’t have any special knowledge or ability to sort fact fr

June 10, 2021

[Lee Kyong-hee] Park Soo-keun and his message of simplicity

Artists are no strangers to poverty. Great artists died in dire situations –- and despair about their own art. Vincent Van Gogh famously sold a single painting during his entire career. He died penniless and destitute, saying, “The sadness will last forever.” When Paul Gauguin died alone in poverty, he had no idea of the impact that his work would have on the art world. I couldn’t but recall these stories of poignant irony on my recent visit to the Park Soo Keun Museum

June 10, 2021