[Chon Shi-yong] Backwardness of Korean politics

Korean politics, despite the steady progress of democracy and the rule of law in recent decades, has yet to break away completely from the legacies of past authoritarian governments. 　One such legacy is the president keeping powerful agencies like the state prosecution under tight control. Another backward aspect is that the government still does not have qualms about twisting the arms of big businesses. 　There are two current cases that illustrate the backwardness -- the first one surrounding t

Nov. 5, 2015

[Rafia Zakaria] The abandonment of science by the Muslim world

The past achievements of prominent Muslims, particularly Muslim scientists, play an important role in the lives of living ones.　In schools all over the Muslim world, the achievements of one or the other long-dead Muslim scientist, Al Farabi or Ibne-Sina, Al Biruni or Ibn Rushd, are taught to schoolchildren who may be vulnerable to believing that science and Islam do not get along.　It is a half-hearted effort, however; for even while the achievements of Muslim scientists of yore are presented, fe

Nov. 5, 2015

[Lee Joo-hee] Park’s dangerous mission

On Sept. 24, 2012, then-presidential candidate Park Geun-hye walked resolutely onto a podium as the spectators held their breath. The impatient camera shutter sounds added to the eeriness.　It was probably one of the most anticipated press conferences in the year of a fiery presidential campaign, as Park stood in the middle of her party headquarters and apologized for the 18-year dictatorial rule of her late father, former President Park Chung-hee.　It was the first (and possibly only) statement o

Nov. 4, 2015

[Lee Jae-min] Are the oceans up for grabs?

The history of international maritime law has been one of conflicting views between navigating states and coastal states. Freedom of navigation championed by the former has collided with sanctity of sovereignty advocated by the latter. 　These centuries-old terms again appear in the broiling dispute of the South China Sea. U.S. naval vessels have made it clear that it would not respect the buffer of 12 nautical miles of territorial seas of the newly built islands in the ocean. China responds in k

Nov. 3, 2015

[Kim Seong-kon] South Korea 3.0: A nice and friendly nation

When I first visited the United States in the 1970s, I was deeply impressed by the extraordinary friendliness of the Americans. Indeed, they were so nice and friendly that I felt comfortable no matter where I went. When I called a company, for example, the customer service representative was amazingly helpful and friendly. At the time, even airport immigration officers, police officers and Department of Motor Vehicles officials were kind and friendly. So I came to love America wholeheartedly. 　A

Nov. 3, 2015

[David Ignatius] Awkwardness steals the stage

“That’s awkward.” 　This surely was the response of many viewers watching the chaotic, ill-moderated GOP debate Wednesday night. But maybe its weirdness became the debate’s selling point.   　Advertising experts say that awkwardness is a peculiar attribute of the national mood these days. Many television commercials end with a deliberately awkward moment, where the characters make nonsequiturs, or say things that make others uncomfortable, or otherwise look like miscast nerds. 　The point is: awkwa

Nov. 2, 2015

[Jean Pisani-Ferry] Social benefits in the age of personalized services

When it comes to compensation, the company you work for often matters more than how good you are at what you do. In 2013, the average employee of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, earned $383,000 -- much higher than what the best-performing employee in most firms can hope to take home.　Pay differences across companies are considerable. Research by Jason Furman, U.S. President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser, and Peter Orszag, Obama’s former budget director, has found that rising pay differ

Nov. 2, 2015

[Robert Reich] The difference between leaders and demagogues

Among the current crop of candidates for president of the United States, who exhibits leadership and who doesn’t?　Leadership isn’t just the ability to attract followers. Otherwise some of the worst tyrants in history would be considered great leaders. They weren’t leaders; they were demagogues. There’s a difference.　A leader brings out the best in his followers. A demagogue brings out the worst.　Leaders inspire tolerance. Demagogues incite hate.　Leaders empower the powerless; they give them voic

Nov. 1, 2015

[J. Bradford DeLong] The tragic tale of Ben Bernanke

It is difficult to read former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke’s new memoir, “The Courage to Act,” as anything other than a tragedy. It is the story of a man who may have been the best-prepared person in the world for the job he was given, but who soon found himself outmatched by its challenges, quickly falling behind the curve and never quite managing to catch up.　It is to Bernanke’s great credit that the shock of 2007-2008 did not trigger another Great Depression. But his response to i

Nov. 1, 2015

[Ana Palacio] Dealing with despotic temptation

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, when asked about American support for the notorious Nicaraguan despot Anastasio Somoza, purportedly replied, “He may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” Whether or not the quip is apocryphal, it sums up a longstanding Western approach to much of the world -- and one that underpinned U.S. foreign policy throughout the Cold War.But lately an even more troubling sentiment seems to have emerged, with Western leaders willing to settle not for “our

Oct. 30, 2015

[Kim Hoo-ran] Bring out the hanbok from the bottom drawer

Driving through Gahoe-dong, that genteel neighborhood nestled between Gyeongbokgung Palace to the west and Changdeokgung Palace to the east, last weekend, I delighted in seeing a group of girls making their way up the street wearing colorful hanbok, traditional Korean dress.　I gathered from the various designs — one given a modern spin with a skirt that reached only up to the ankle, another with a longer jacket and the other a simplified version of attire worn by court ladies of the Joseon era —

Oct. 29, 2015

[Kim Ji-hyun] Depression hits overseas community

A few years ago, the news of a suicide in Tokyo made its rounds in the Korean community in Japan.　The dead woman was the wife of a man who was dispatched by a Korean firm to Japan. Apparently, she suffered from depression even before she arrived in Tokyo.　Her husband thought a change of scenery might help. He thought wrong.　Cut off from her family, her friends -- basically her entire support structure -- the woman eventually succumbed to her inner demons.  　Her husband had tried, but it was not

Oct. 28, 2015

[Kim Myong-sik] Park’s ill-conceived history textbook reform project

In spring 2017, about a year before the end of her five-year term, President Park Geun-hye will take the first look at new Korean history textbooks for middle and high schools, satisfied with the fruition of a project she had initiated this fall. Or, will she?　It is foreseen that the major candidates for the year’s presidential election, not only from the opposition but also from the ruling party, will have included the scrapping of the new history textbooks in their respective campaign pledges.

Oct. 28, 2015

[David Ignatius] Can Xi Jinping control China’s wave of change?

Some of the luxury boutiques along Des Voeux Road here seemed nearly empty of Chinese customers at times last weekend. With an anticorruption campaign raging on the mainland, this evidently isn’t the moment for Chinese to engage in conspicuous consumption. 　“Party tightens grip on dissenting voices,” headlined the South China Morning Post last Friday. The story reported that the Communist Party’s latest rules had banned golf, gluttony, intra-party cliques and “inappropriate sexual relations.” Th

Oct. 28, 2015

[Kim Seong-kon] Amos Oz inspires Korean writers

Korea and Israel have striking similarities despite their geographical distance. In both cultures, for example, mothers are traditionally predominant and hold the real power, even though their societies are ostensibly patriarchal. 　Both countries value learning and education. Both are devotedly religious. 　The two countries have many things in common in the political sphere as well. For instance, both are labeled as regions of conflict due to persistent ideological or religious clashes between p

Oct. 27, 2015

[Robert J. Fouser] History textbooks and democracy

The Park Geun-hye administration’s proposal to publish state-authored history textbooks unleashed a storm of protest. 　One by one, professors at major universities have issued statements saying that they will not participate in writing the proposed textbooks. 　The pool of qualified writers has become very small, raising the interesting question of whether the administration can continue to push through the plan with so few writers.　History comes in many forms, but the variety taught in schools i

Oct. 27, 2015