Pummeled by the coronavirus, China Inc. now faces another disruption: a global shortage of dollars. Chinese companies are looking at $120 billion of debt repayments this year on their US dollar denominated debt. Real estate developers and industrial companies make up three-quarters of the outstanding $233 billion of junk-rated bonds. There’s another $563 billion of higher-rated debt. The question isn’t just whether they’ll be able to pay their debt. It’s worth wondering

March 27, 2020

Reading the news on secret chat rooms on Telegram where videos of sexual exploitation were traded feels like wading through filth. So much so, I consciously stayed away from it as much as possible until Wednesday, when it was no longer possible. Leaving Jongno Police Station in Seoul on Wednesday, Cho Ju-bin stood in front of a photo line for the press. Without a mask or cap to cover his face, there stood the 24-year-old man who is alleged to have blackmailed dozens of women and minors into f

March 26, 2020

History shows that even raging wars do not restrain politicians’ fervor for power. The nation is now at war against the new coronavirus. Guns are not being fired, but so many warriors in imperfect protective gear are fighting an invisible but ubiquitous enemy while casualty numbers are updated on a daily basis. Despite the atmosphere of public desperation and panic, politics goes on in full vigor ahead of parliamentary elections. During the Korean War, President Syngman Rhee carried out t

March 25, 2020

Back in January, I predicted that the spread of the new COVID-19 coronavirus in China would reach a turning point by the second or third week of February. Indeed, the total number of serious and critical cases in the country has been declining since Feb. 22, and there have been no new cases in the last few days other than international travelers arriving in China. Unfortunately, new infections outside China have risen very fast, with potentially disastrous consequences for public health and the

March 25, 2020

When my local supermarket opened for business at 6 a.m. the other day, I had my plan of action in place. The instant the door was unlocked, I hurried to the pharmacy aisle, where I found, to my surprise and delight, three bottles of rubbing alcohol. But now I faced a puzzle. Should I play homo economicus and buy them all? Should I follow the Lockean proviso and leave as much and as good in common for others? Torn by competing priorities, I bought two of the three bottles, leaving the third for

March 24, 2020

Due to the recent coronavirus outbreak, we are now unable to travel to foreign countries freely. Some time ago, however, a South Korean could visit virtually any place on earth and feel at home wherever he went. For example, he could watch Korean movies and television shows on Netflix or Amazon anywhere, anytime. Korean cuisine and groceries were available everywhere. He could even drop by a karaoke room, easily available in many foreign cities, to sing his favorite Korean songs. As someone wh

March 24, 2020

For much of the world, oil wealth is a curse. Endowed with ample reserves of hydrocarbons, the likes of Nigeria, Angola, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Venezuela frittered the benefits away. Only in the Persian Gulf has oil been a nation-building blessing. The discoveries of petroleum in the mid-20th century turned an anarchic, desperately poor region into one of the most affluent places on the planet. Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are all richer than Switzerland. Even Saudi Arabia, Bahrai

March 23, 2020

It would be charitable to describe the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic as sloppy and uncoordinated. Thankfully, there is a model for an epic national comeback. It dates back to the weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941, when President Roosevelt created the War Production Board, one of the most dynamic public-private partnerships in history. The US entered World War II woefully unprepared. It possessed staggering economic power, but almost none

March 23, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak is grabbing global headlines. It first appeared in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China, in December 2019 and spread to East and South Asia -- including South Korea, Japan and Singapore. In only three months, virus infections have spread to almost all countries and territories around the world -- Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. Many countries have tried to prevent travelers from coronavirus hot spots from entering with immigration and flight restrictions. But it

March 23, 2020

South Korea has been recognized internationally for the effectiveness of its response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and impact of the COVID-19 disease. As the number of cases continue to rise in the US, what lessons can America take from South Korea? Drive-through testing: Korea created a highly efficient system of drive-through COVID-19 test centers that have helped the nation of 51 million perform fast and extensive testing. With a capacity to test up to 15,000 patients daily, the expans

March 23, 2020

For the people of a growing number of countries, the coronavirus outbreak is no longer something they read about in the news or on TV as the virus spreads to their cities, communities, and even families. COVID-19 has already evolved into a full-blown global public health crisis: the confirmed cases of infection outside of China grew to over 115,000 as of March 18, with the death toll exceeding 4,700. The World Health Organization has already declared it as a global pandemic. While much attenti

March 22, 2020

About three weeks ago, I watched a news segment online showing Japanese shoppers rushing to buy toilet paper. Shelves were stripped bare quickly across Japan. The reason for the panic buying was allegedly linked to the fatal coronavirus pandemic. A sense of urgency hit my brain. Wait, what if I run out of precious toilet paper at home? If an emergency happens in relation to my bodily functions, should I hail a taxi and speed through the now eerily quiet Seoul streets to go to the office wher

March 20, 2020

Christine Lagarde warned European leaders last week that the COVID-19 epidemic risked pushing the economy into a new 2008-style crisis. So far, the response from politicians to the president of the European Central Bank has been late and insufficient. The elements for a comprehensive response are clear: Governments should unleash a large-scale fiscal stimulus, while the ECB launches a credible and sizeable bond-buying program to ensure there is no adverse market reaction. The euro zone may even

March 19, 2020

President Donald Trump’s intention to persuade China to play by long-established international trade rules is commendable. But focusing on the US trade deficit with China, and imposing tariffs to eliminate it, has proven ineffective. Now, the coronavirus has given Trump an opportunity to shelve that failed strategy and immediately eliminate tariffs on Chinese imports. This shot in the arm will likely be reciprocated by China, stimulate our economies, and give Trump the opportunity to cha

March 19, 2020

Amid the growing concerns of COVID-19 spread in South Korea, international schools are planning and have instituted online learning programs that were rolled out to all students during school closure. Now a global pandemic, international schools in Seoul, are in their fourth week of online learning. Dwight’s online learning program’s stated mission is to harness innovative technologies while keeping its core principles in mind -- personalized learning, global vision, and community,

March 19, 2020

As global supply chains break, airlines slash flights, borders rise within nation-states, stock exchanges convulse with fear, and recession looms over economies, from China to Germany, Australia to the United States, we can no longer doubt that we are living through extraordinary times. What remains in question, however, is our ability to comprehend them while using a vocabulary derived from decades when globalization seemed a fact of nature, like air and wind. For the coronavirus signals a rad

March 18, 2020

Like the eye of a hurricane, the epicenter of coronavirus disease COVID-19 has shifted from Asia to Europe, bringing with it a rising toll of infections, deaths and economic damage. After a messy few weeks in which the region’s leaders seemed incapable of hitting on a common response to the crisis -- which has hit health care, consumer confidence and financial markets all at once -- last weekend marked a turning point. France and Spain announced draconian steps, similar to those seen in v

March 18, 2020