[Trudy Rubin] Which 2020 Democrats are best on foreign policy?

Although foreign policy has hardly figured in the Democratic primaries, the impeachment trial reminds us it’s time to look at which Trump opponent would make the best commander in chief.Almost any candidate would be preferable to a president who disgraces his office by trying to blackmail a foreign leader into investigating his Democratic opponent. And Trump’s second demand of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy -- to pursue a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Ru

Jan. 21, 2020

[Kim Seong-kon] Joseon era of 19th century vs. 21st century Korea

Many analysts and historians point out that the current political situation of South Korea resembles that of the Joseon era in the late 19th century. To say the least, it would be embarrassing and disheartening if 21st century Korea still could not overcome the traumatic situation it experienced in the late 19th century. Nevertheless, we may be able to obtain some insights and hindsight from the comparison.In the late 19th century, Joseon, which changed its name to Korea later, was helplessly lo

Jan. 21, 2020

[Anjani Trivedi] China spins a trade-deal trap in bad debt market

China is opening the deepest, darkest corner of its strained financial system to American financial institutions. It’s not clear why investors would want to go there, even with their eyes wide open.As part of President Donald Trump’s “phase one” trade deal, China will allow US institutions to apply for asset management company licenses (beginning with the provinces), permitting them to acquire non-performing loans directly from Chinese banks. Previously, foreign investors

Jan. 20, 2020

[Noah Smith] The sitcom that gets America’s working class

Sitcoms are an underrated way of portraying the economic challenges faced by average people. “Atlanta” shows the travails of working-class black Americans navigating a world of hassle, insecurity and poverty. The Canadian program “Kim’s Convenience” depicts immigrant small-business owners and their second-generation children off to a rocky start on their rise into the middle class. Broad economic trends form the backdrop to both of shows -- the loss of dependable ma

Jan. 20, 2020

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] The truth about the Trump economy

As the world’s business elites trek to Davos for their annual gathering, people should be asking a simple question: Have they overcome their infatuation with US President Donald Trump?Two years ago, a few rare corporate leaders were concerned about climate change, or upset at Trump’s misogyny and bigotry. Most, however, were celebrating the president’s tax cuts for billionaires and corporations and looking forward to his efforts to deregulate the economy. That would allow busin

Jan. 19, 2020

[Digital Simplicity] What Cartman missed when he faked Tourette syndrome

When Eric Cartman in the animated TV series “South Park” came up with an evil plan to fake Tourette syndrome, the chief purpose was to say whatever he wanted. He took advantage of the fact that some people with Tourette syndrome have what is called coprolalia, or involuntary swearing. By faking Tourette syndrome, Cartman successfully got away with shouting obscenities, at least initially in the episode titled “Le Petit Tourette” aired in 2007. There’s a typical Sout

Jan. 17, 2020

[Leonid Bershidsky] Libya’s endless war is what happens if US won’t lead

A solution to the civil conflict in Libya is the ultimate hot potato. A series of global and regional powers have tried to bring the warring sides together; Turkey and Russia were the latest to try and fail in Moscow on Monday. Now it’s Germany’s turn, and if it fails as well, the standoff is likely to go on until the collapse of one faction or both. The complex, multisided game playing out in Libya provides a window on how things work in a new, post-Pax Americana world. An assertive

Jan. 16, 2020

[David Fickling] HK could be a loser from trade deal

As the gateway for China’s trade with the world for more than 70 years, Hong Kong might be expected to benefit from the phase one deal that Beijing will sign with Washington on Wednesday. Chances are, things won’t pan out that way. Consider the $200 billion increase in Chinese imports from the US over the next two years that Washington hopes to see as a result of the agreement. Such a rise would involve nearly doubling inbound trade.That’s difficult, but not impossible. China&r

Jan. 16, 2020

[Kim Myong-sik] Sadly reading Moon’s inaugural address again

The bumpy political path of our republic in the 21st century has had two major upheavals involving former presidents: the suicide of Roh Moo-hyun and the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. They resulted from aggravated power contests. Political power has alternated between the right and left, like seasonal winds blowing on this peninsula, northwesterly in winter and southeasterly in summer. Ideological polarization has developed, along with a vicious circle of political vendetta, as rivals fail to ma

Jan. 15, 2020

[Elizabeth Drew ] Trump’s near miss with Iran

The recent tense, dangerous exchanges between the United States and Iran have revealed a great deal about US President Donald Trump’s management of his foreign policy. The main conclusion is that he doesn’t have one. Weighty decisions are made on the basis of gut reactions and often-contradictory impulses -- for example, simultaneously seeking agreement and threatening the use of force. If there is any overarching vision or philosophy, it is that he wants to avoid another long, costl

Jan. 15, 2020

[Robert J. Fouser] Outlook for the National Assembly election

Rumbling and positioning for the National Assembly election this April will intensify after the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January. The results of the election will impact the rest of President Moon Jae-in’s term and set the stage for the next presidential election in May 2022.Currently, no party has a majority in the National Assembly. President Moon’s Democratic Party is the largest party, but it relies on support from sympathetic minor parties and independents. The large

Jan. 14, 2020

[Kim Seong-kon] True meanings of progressivism and conservatism

People say that today’s South Korea has become a battlefield between progressive and the conservative. The press, too, divides the people into these two categories. When there is an anti-government demonstration, newspapers and TV news programs report, “Conservatives gathered at Gwanghwamun Square to protest.” The headline implies that those who support the current South Korean government are progressives and those who do not are conservatives. However, such a bipolar dichotomy

Jan. 14, 2020

[David Fickling] What ‘Parasite’ misses about inequality in Korea

To judge by “Parasite” -- Bong Joon-ho’s Golden Globe-winning portrait of three Seoul families thrown into queasy proximity by the country’s wealth divide — South Korea is an Asian version of Brazil or South Africa.The poor in Bong’s black comedy are unable to escape the bottom of the heap -- living in overcrowded basement apartments, or even (in a horrifying twist) further below ground. The wealthy enjoy a life of careless riches and open skies on Seoul&rsquo

Jan. 13, 2020

[J. Bradford DeLong] Isn’t a wealth tax common sense?

I was not surprised when leading Democratic primary contenders began endorsing a “wealth tax” along the lines of what has been proposed by my University of California, Berkeley colleagues Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez. What has surprised me is the level of pushback these candidates have received, particularly from those who should be in favor of anything that moves the United States toward a more progressive tax system. When I first began studying public finance, I was taught that

Jan. 13, 2020

[Trudy Rubin] Phase 2 of US-Iran conflict will take place in Iraq

This is a moment -- in the wake of the Soleimani killing and the mild Iranian response -- when everyone needs to take a deep breath.Iranian officials are clearly shocked and debating their options. They will have to factor in the fallout if, as evidence indicates, Iran mistakenly downed a Ukrainian airliner.Whether or not it was necessary or wise to kill Gen. Qassem Soleimani, his death won’t produce World War III. The Iranian response, as I’ve written, will be asymmetric and occur o

Jan. 12, 2020

[Serendipity] Judge a book by its cover, you stand to lose

This sounds rather silly. For a couple of years, I had seen copies of “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles on prominent display at the Kyobo Book Center. On the cover was a black-and-white photo of an elderly man in a suit and a hat leaning ever so slightly over a balcony, appearing to be peering down into the city streets, his back to the viewer.Convinced that it was a spy thriller -- anything with the word “Moscow” seems suspect -- I did not bother to lift up the book

Jan. 10, 2020

[David Fickling] Iran’s freaking out the oil market. It shouldn’t

It’s often said that the best time to buy is when there’s blood on the streets. The best time to sell oil, by contrast, is when the world’s gas tanks look empty. That’s reason to temper the fear and excitement driving the oil market -- even in the face of Wednesday’s Iranian rocket strike on two joint US bases in Iraq, which sparked the biggest intraday rally for Brent crude since a September attack on a Saudi production facility.There are first- and second-order ef

Jan. 9, 2020

[Leonid Bershidsky] Putin now needs to rethink Mideast plan

Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed last week by a US drone in Baghdad, has been credited with persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene militarily in Syria in 2015, a claim the Kremlin denies. Regardless of the truth of that particular story, though, the inevitable escalation following Soleimani’s death has the potential to change Putin’s calculus in the region.Commenting on Soleimani’s demise, the Russian Defense Ministry praised his “indisputable contr

Jan. 9, 2020

[Doyle Mcmanus] Trump’s Orwellian doublespeak on Iran

The US missile strike that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani was a stunning escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran -- an act of open war in a struggle that has been carried out in the shadows for decades.Yet President Donald Trump and his aides oddly called the airstrike a “de-escalation,” as if it were a step toward peace.“We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,” the president told supporters

Jan. 8, 2020

[Kim Seong-kon] Zombies and factional scuffles in “Kingdom”

Netflix’s original series “Kingdom” is a zombie drama set in the Joseon era right after the Japanese invasions of Korea between 1592 and 1598. Adapted from the webcomic “The Kingdom of the Gods,” the series depicts Joseon society presumably in the late 16th or early 17th century when factional brawls were undermining the kingdom. The story unravels an intricate web of power struggles between Prime Minister Cho Hak-ju, the father of Queen Cho, and other Cabinet minis

Jan. 7, 2020