North Korea was not mentioned, but it was apparent that Chinese President Xi Jinping was warning against possible provocative acts by the recalcitrant regime in the coming weeks.In a joint news conference with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama after their summit in Washington last week, Xi said China was committed to realizing the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in peaceful way. This was a line that had long been repeated by Chinese officials.　But then Xi went a

Oct. 1, 2015

The emission-rigging scandal involving German carmaker Volkswagen is sending shockwaves through the global economy on the heels of a U.S. move on a Fed rate hike and China’s sudden devaluation of its currency.It was not simple corporate fraud. The case appears to now pose a grave threat not only to the auto giant, but also the healthy German economy, which has played a lead role in salvaging Europe from the eurozone debt crisis. The stocks of Volkswagen, the world’s top carmaker with about 270,0

Sept. 30, 2015

The 2015 Andong International Mask Dance Festival is now underway until Oct. 4 at Hahoe Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Throughout the year, a mask dance troupe performs at the famous folk village for tourists. 　The paulownia wood masks that exaggerate the funny expressions of the characters in the Joseon-era satirical song and dance stage are preserved as “important cultural properties.” A “yangban” noble, a monk, a butcher, old and young women and ot

Sept. 30, 2015

Chuseok is a time for family gatherings to thank ancestors for a bountiful fall harvest. People travel long hours to return to their hometowns where their ancestral graves are located. Though less chaotic than in the past, more than half the Korean population travels.　In recent years, Chuseok has become a commercial holiday, as people feel pressured to send gifts. Marketers use a wide range of traditional Korean iconography to push Chuseok gifts with the idea being that every good Korean should

Sept. 29, 2015

Once again, the Nobel Prize season has come. Every year, we anxiously await the news that the Nobel Prize for literature is awarded to a Korean writer at last. And every year, we are disappointed. 　How, then, could we raise the profile of Korean literature overseas? In order to achieve the goal, three things are imperative: great writers, good translators and big-name publishers. As someone who is in charge of translating and publishing Korean literature overseas, I am always on the lookout for

Sept. 29, 2015

The One Belt, One Road initiative is a key focus of China’s foreign policy. As it is the most cherished project of President Xi Jinping, the Beijing government is mobilizing its massive diplomatic and financial resources for the initiative.　The project, which aims to link the countries that were on the ancient Silk Road routes — the land- and ocean-based ones — through transportation and infrastructure networks, started two years ago. It involves about 50 countries in areas as vast as Central As

Sept. 24, 2015

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States marks an important stage in Sino-U.S. relations, the most critical of current geostrategic relationships. It comes at a crucial time in global economics, as the U.S. Federal Reserve debates whether to raise interest rates and the world’s financial markets (and exchange rates) are already reeling from worries stirred up by China’s decision to move the renminbi rate in a more flexible direction.Chinese historians will recall that until the

Sept. 23, 2015

“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” — Kahlil Gibran　Even the best kind of breakup is the worst kind.Even if you were fully prepared to end things with your lover. Even if it’s as clear as day that things are not working out, and even if the break was amicable, getting out of a relationship is never easy. 　And most times, what makes it so difficult may not be the actual farewell itself, but the ensuing sense of loss.　This feeling is often associated

Sept. 23, 2015

South Korea is a nation obsessed with social media, popularly known here as SNS. Young Koreans are busy texting, tweeting and updating their Facebook statuses all day long. The mobile messenger app KakaoTalk, KaTalk in short, has become an indispensable communication tool in Korea. Thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones, even old people now connect with one another on social media. Amazingly, out of Korea’s population of 50 million, as many as 40 million use smartphones.　Lee O-young, the inaugura

Sept. 22, 2015

Foreigners scratch their head when they see the name “Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.” ICT is a technical term that stands for information and communications technologies, and most people do not know what it means. Besides, it is also quite unusual to use an abbreviation in an official title of a government agency. The term “future planning” then adds further confusion -- what is a ministry that plans the future? Again, “future” is a word that few people would expect in the officia

Sept. 22, 2015

The UNHCR has said that approximately 400,000 refugees from Africa and the Middle East will arrive in Europe this year and 450,000 more next year. Asylum seekers in Europe are mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia.In order to find out why these refugees want to go to Europe, rather than to other African and Middle Ea

Sept. 21, 2015

As world leaders prepare to gather next week at the United Nations in New York to ratify the new Sustainable Development Goals and commemorate the U.N.’s 70th anniversary, for many a fundamental question has become inescapable. 　In the face of growing global disorder — including turmoil in the Middle East, waves of migrants flooding into Europe, and China’s unilateral moves to enforce its territorial claims — does the U.N. have a future?　Grounds for pessimism are undeniable. Conflicts rage on, s

Sept. 21, 2015

Maybe Donald Trump plans to buy a foreign policy. Because based on the CNN Republican presidential debate, he doesn’t seem to have one of his own -- other than forming what sounds like a kind of “dictators’ club” with the big guys from Russia and China. 　As for the other Republican candidates in Wednesday night’s debate, they mirrored the foreign policy frustration and disagreement that afflict the country as a whole. They all banged on President Obama’s allegedly weak leadership, but it was har

Sept. 20, 2015

College rankings miss the markAfter heavy lobbying from some of the nation’s most elite institutions of higher education, the president has just abandoned his effort to rank the nation’s 7,000 colleges and universities.So, with college application season almost upon us, where should aspiring college students and their parents look for advice?In my view, not U.S. News and World Report’s annual college guide (out last week). It’s analogous to a restaurant guide that gives top ratings to the most e

Sept. 18, 2015