The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation has been in effect for less than a week. It was always clear that a vast number of companies would comply in only the most perfunctory way, at least while the law was being tested. But the big tech companies, sure to face scrutiny, were expected to show a little more rigor. Instead, they appear to be hoping that they won’t get caught or that their lawyers will take care of any complaints.　Most consumers don’t have the time or expertise to c

June 1, 2018

In Korea, there is a saying, “good things are good.” This means that if two sides are in good faith in negotiation, it is better to set aside bothersome details in order to move on. The problems of this phrase are if a “good thing” is also understood as a good one by others and that the impact of untouched details can transpire someday. While President Moon was trying to find the intention behind Trump’s cancellation of the meeting with Kim Jong-un, it is also necessary for him to assess factors

May 31, 2018

It does not make anyone comfortable to acknowledge the realities of an unstable, volatile, and attack-prone American president, but it is important to recognize those realities. He could not let go of North Korea’s uncertainties about a summit and had to cancel -- but then scheduled it back just as impulsively. His pattern of revoking invitations before he can be rejected, or to assault before what he perceives as an assault on him (or his image) has a chance to realize, is well-known.Yet, a his

May 31, 2018

In the last few weeks, the world has become a measurably more dangerous place. The apparent collapse of the North Korea talks, US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear pact, Russia’s threat to shoot down US planes over Syria, and China’s placement of anti-ship and anti-air missiles on its manufactured islands in the South China Sea have all pushed the needle one tick closer to the unthinkable: nuclear war.　So now, more than ever, is the time to think about it -- and plan for it.　America’s primary dom

May 31, 2018

We’re about two months away from elections in Pakistan -- elections that are almost certain to be shrouded in controversy. And, worryingly for Pakistan, it appears that the economy is weakening, just in time for the instability that might follow from the country’s turbulent politics.　Under the outgoing government -- led till last July by Nawaz Sharif, three times prime minister -- the economy had appeared to be doing well. In fact, a new energy seemed to have infused Pakistan’s entrepreneurs and

May 30, 2018

May 6 was a special day for my family. We held a family month festival at our weekend farmhouse in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. To commemorate the event, we erected a banner which read, “Celebrating the 1st Tree Peony Literary Festival in Honor of Peonggang Kim Jeong-kil.” Amid the festivities, the fragrant scent of tree peonies sprang from our garden.Our son declared the opening of the festival, and then told me to explain to the participants how I had come up with this idea. Here’s wha

May 30, 2018

Betty was lying on a gurney in a hospital corridor. She was elderly, frail and shivering with cold. More than that, she was frightened and completely alone.　I took her temperature -- a low temperature being a sign of sepsis in the elderly -- but it wasn’t extreme. She’d been admitted with chest pain and she clutched her chest, starfishing her hand. Betty’s heart wasn’t diseased but it was broken nonetheless: Her husband had died a few weeks earlier of a heart attack. I suspect she hadn’t been ea

May 30, 2018

Just look at that list of investors in Foxconn Industrial Internet’s IPO.　It was obvious that Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings would take minor stakes in the Foxconn Technology Group affiliate’s blockbuster Shanghai listing. Those three are in the bottom tier of cornerstone buyers anyway.　Leading the lineup is the Shanghai State Development & Investment, which is subscribing for 73 million shares, or 3.7 percent of those expected to be sold. Central Huijin Investment, China Rail

May 30, 2018

US President Donald Trump thinks he’s a great negotiator, a brilliant bluffer whose gut instincts are so stellar that ignorance of history and refusal to deal with substantive complexities are irrelevant.　That’s why he bragged he’d win the Nobel Peace Prize for his genius in getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. Except, of course, it didn’t. It’s good his Singapore summit with Kim Jong-un was canceled. The larger picture in this and other major issues is how the American president

May 29, 2018

The 1987 summit between West-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and East-German leader Erich Honecker in Bonn was criticized as a “victory for Honecker” by conservative West-German media.　Honecker had been invited years before by the previous West-German government, and Kohl had renewed the invitation. Honecker had long wanted to accept, but couldn’t get permission from Moscow. Though the GDR-government was increasingly more closed and inflexible in political and ideological terms than their Soviet o

May 29, 2018

Check your calendars. It‘s starting to feel like Jan. 19, 2017.　For all Donald Trump’s bluster on trade, global commerce today doesn‘t look dramatically different from the day before he was sworn in.　US prestige has certainly taken a beating, but Trump hasn’t dismantled the international trading system. That talk of de-globalization looks overblown. Although it‘s hard to keep track of who’s up and who‘s down on Team Trump, it’s tough to say that over the past 16 months hardliners like Peter Nava

May 29, 2018

Europe and Asia have never been so close. Our economies are interconnected; our cultures are interconnected; and our security is connected: we face the same challenges, we confront similar threats, and we share an interest in preserving peace in our regions and international cooperation on a global scale. Today, the foreign ministers of the European Union’s 28 member states have decided that we must enhance our security engagement in Asia and with Asia, as part of a more comprehensive EU-Asia st

May 29, 2018