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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[Lee Kyong-hee] Tips for a long life from supercentenarians
Hester Ford passed away peacefully at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 17. She was recognized as the oldest living American before she died, though there is a disagreement about her age, 115 or 114. Her obituary said Ford was born in August 1905 (her family claims she was born in 1904) in Lancaster County, South Carolina, to Peter and Frances McCardell. That was the year Theodore Roosevelt began his first full term as US president; the Russo-Japanese war ended with Japan’s une
April 29, 2021
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[Doyle McManus] How do Biden's first 100 days in office compare to Trump's?
A president‘s first 100 days are an arbitrary benchmark, a point of measurement journalists are fond of because it allows us to draw comparisons between the current officeholder and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the last chief executive whose first three months were truly momentous. But in recent times, the 100-day trope has also been taken seriously by presidents -- including both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised that in his first 100 days he wo
April 29, 2021
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[Matthew Yglesias] Bring supply-side economics to health care
Non-pandemic health care hasn‘t been much on the agenda during President Joe Biden’s first 100 days. But reducing health care costs remains a priority for the public -- ranking ahead of addressing racism, crime, immigration or climate change. Democrats‘ wariness of the issue is understandable. The public is passionate about health care, but also risk-averse. Three of the last four presidents (two of them Democrats) wrecked their poll numbers with efforts to enact sweeping cha
April 28, 2021
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[Kim Seong-kon] Korean immigrants resemble ‘Minari’
The critically acclaimed film “Minari” has enthralled international movie critics and viewers lately. This deeply touching film has won a number of prestigious awards already, including the Golden Globe Award for best foreign-language film, and the best supporting actress award at the 2021 British Academy Film Awards. At the 93rd annual Academy Awards in the US, Youn Yuh-jung won the best supporting actress award for “Minari.” “Minari” depicts the experienc
April 28, 2021
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[Maxine Waters] I’m not new to this
The journey to this moment has been painful and so very difficult. Derek Chauvin’s killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis was a shocking and disturbing experience for so many people. On video, Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he took his last breaths. Many of those who joined in the sustained protests last summer did so for the first time because of what happened to George Floyd and were motivated by their newfound understanding of the pain Black people
April 27, 2021
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[David Fickling] The pandemic will be more deadly this year
COVID-19 is going to kill more people in 2021 than it did last year. If you want to see why, look at what’s happening in India. Cases have been surging in the country of 1.37 billion people. Case counts are rising quickly, too. Average infection numbers over the past seven days have run at nearly three times the level two weeks ago, a pace of growth that the US last saw in the early days of the outbreak a year ago. The real numbers may be yet higher. The city of Bhopal used COVID-19 pro
April 27, 2021
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[Liam Denning] Earth Day 2021 courts Americans
The original Earth Day on April 22 in 1970 drew Americans’ attention to their planet. This year’s is designed to draw the planet’s attention to Americans. President Joe Biden’s climate conference, kicking off Thursday, aims to demonstrate that the US is serious about tackling climate change, and showing it can outcompete China in the process. In doing so, though, Biden is also reaffirming his intent to transform the domestic scene with multitrillion dollar infrastructure
April 26, 2021
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[Serendipity] Add color to your life
The blooming of yellow forsythias heralds the long awaited arrival of spring. The golden bells are everywhere, on the sides of Seoul’s numerous rocky mountains, by the Han River and along school fences. The golden yellows are soon joined by the creamy white elegance of magnolia blossoms that, at night, look like candle lights floating midair. All too soon, they fade, the large petals falling to the ground one by one. But don’t despair, there are delicate pale pink cherry blossoms
April 23, 2021
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[Robert J. Fouser] By-elections reveal huge gender gap
The by-elections for mayors in Seoul and Busan ended in landslide defeats for President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party. Winning 57.5 percent of the vote, former Mayor Oh Se-hoon returned to City Hall 10 years after resigning over opposition to free school lunches. In Busan, that Democratic Party candidate won only 34.4 percent of the vote, a huge drop from the 55.2 percent it won in June 2018. Two main currents running against the Democratic Party came together to produce the storm. The f
April 23, 2021
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[Noah Smith] Trump blazed trade trail for Biden
President Joe Biden‘s bid to retool the US economy has me thinking about the parallels with earlier transformational presidents: FDR and Reagan. One of the most interesting aspects of these previous administrations was that the big changes they implemented actually began under their predecessors of the opposite party. Just as Ronald Reagan expanded on Jimmy Carter’s accomplishments, and Franklin D. Roosevelt got a running start from Herbert Hoover, Biden is benefiting from a change i
April 23, 2021
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[Kim Myong-sik] President Moon must see the writing on the wall
For the reshuffle of Cabinet ministers and Blue House staff announced last week, President Moon Jae-in made more reasonable choices than at any other time in his entire tenure. Notable was the appointment of Lee Chul-hee as the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, a post responsible for taking care of the administration’s relations with the opposition. Lee, 56, had given up running for the National Assembly after serving one term on a proportional representation ticket, e
April 22, 2021
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[David Fickling] The real vaccine crisis
To judge by the headlines, you’d think the most critical immunization issue facing the world is the safety and hesitancy concerns over the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. That debate is genuinely important. Still, it shouldn’t distract from the biggest challenge the world will face over the coming months: the grossly unequal distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries. The development and ramp-up of preventive medicine for the coronavirus are a testamen
April 22, 2021
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[Kim Seong-kon] In search of ‘What My Mom Left Behind’
When we are born, we cannot choose our home and our country. Since these two things determine our destiny, they could be either the best gifts or the worst nightmares to us, depending on the situation. If your parents were destitute, you will know what it is to suffer poverty and will learn not to expect any financial support from them. Likewise, if you were born in a country plagued by war, you may end up being a refugee or a migrant worker wandering foreign lands. Unfortunately, we have no
April 21, 2021
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[Trudy Rubin] Afghan pullout risks humanitarian disaster
When President Joe Biden announced he was ending “the forever war” in Afghanistan by pulling out the last 3,500 or so US troops based there by Sept. 11, my mind flashed to Afghans I know for whom that speech could spell prison or death. I thought of Fawzia Koofi, a female member of the Afghan team negotiating with the Taliban, who was shot several months ago in an attempted assassination and fears for her daughters. And Suraya Pakzad, who runs shelters for battered women. And the fe
April 21, 2021
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[Andreas Kluth] Berlin’s rent controls unconstitutional
As the late Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck memorably put it, “In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city -- except for bombing.” And yet that’s never kept economic populists from passing new rent curbs. One of the most radical such attempts, watched by cities all over the world, was enacted last year in Berlin. This week, however, Germany’s constitutional court ruled that the law is null and void. In the shor
April 20, 2021
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[Slawomir Sierakowski] Biden’s diplomacy of benign neglect
US President Joe Biden is very familiar with both Poland and Ukraine. His decades of service as a United States senator and his eight years as vice president under Barack Obama taught him that the two countries are among America’s most devoted friends and allies. Yet he waited until April 2 -- just as Russian troops were once again massing on Ukraine’s eastern border -- to call Ukraine’s president, and he still has not spoken to his Polish counterpart. Biden’s relative s
April 20, 2021
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[Clara Ferreira Marques] Vladimir Putin is tempting fate
In politics, as in sport, some miscues can be corrected or overcome. But not all of them, even for the world‘s most iron-fisted rulers. Whether borne of hubris or misreading the situation, slip-ups tend to increase as regimes age and the consequences can be unpredictable. Could this be the moment Vladimir Putin opens himself up to unforced errors of the authority-threatening kind? After more than two decades under his watch, Russia has entered a darker, more repressive phase. A bounce in
April 19, 2021
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[Lee In-hyun] Beethoven’s unfailing passion for music
A month ago, I read an article about Lee Bong-ju, one of the legendary marathoners in South Korea. He has been suffering from unknown pain since last year. Many doctors examined him to find a cure for his disease but have failed. Although his current situation is hopeless, he is eager to run again once he is fully recovered. After reading the article, I thought of the similarities between Lee Bong-ju, Lance Armstrong, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Lance Armstrong is also an athlete like Lee Bong-j
April 19, 2021
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[Digital Simplicity] Why web novels draw eyeballs and investors
Munpia, one of the biggest web novel platforms in South Korea, is reportedly in talks with major portals Naver and Kakao to sell a controlling stake. There is no doubt that storytelling matters in the era of digital content and the category of web novels deserves attention, considering its potential as a source for other multimedia content. Munpia, which started as an online community in 2002, now boasts over 100 million page views on the strength of some 400,000 visitors per month. With 47,0
April 17, 2021
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[Lionel Laurent] It really is back to the office this time
People lucky enough to have the option are looking forward to working from home more after the pandemic, polls suggest -- provided they’re not schooling from home at the same time. And polls also suggest employers are looking forward to offering that flexibility. Momentum is building for a “hybrid” workplace, according to experts, which would most likely allow for two to three days per week at home. Still, as vaccine rollouts gather pace and economies reopen, there doesn&rsquo
April 16, 2021