As Labor Day looms, more Americans than ever don’t know how much they’ll be earning next week or even tomorrow.　This varied group includes independent contractors, temporary workers, the self-employed, part-timers, freelancers and free agents. Most file 1099s rather than W2s, for tax purposes.　On demand and on call — in the “share” economy, the “gig” economy or, more prosaically, the “irregular” economy — the result is the same: no predictable earnings or hours.　It’s the biggest change in the Am

Aug. 28, 2015

“Silk Road” and “Eurasia” are now the hot buzzwords in China and South Korea, with their leaders pushing national projects to restore the ancient trade and cultural route that linked Europe to East Asia.  　Chinese President Xi Jinping proclaimed the “One Belt, One Road” policy in September 2013. It envisages to connect China with Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and even Africa through the land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the sea-based “21st Century Maritime Silk Roa

Aug. 27, 2015

Despite all the odds and dysfunction — including the latest bomb carnage to hit Bangkok — Thailand must not give up its bid for a nonpermanent seat at the U.N. Security Council (2017-2018). In fact, the country should go all out for it.After all, it is not about winning or losing any more. There are three good reasons to gain it: a new foreign minister, an excellent team at the U.N. headquarters plus new and more sensible Thai diplomatic thinking.　First of all, the long overdue removal of Gen. T

Aug. 27, 2015

In 1993, the economists Alberto Alesina and Larry Summers published a seminal paper that argued that central bank independence keeps inflation in check, with no adverse consequences for economic performance. Since then, countries around the world have made their central banks independent. None has reversed course, and any hint that governments might reassert political control over interest rates, as happened recently in India, are met with alarm in financial markets and outrage among economists.

Aug. 26, 2015

A situation I encountered recently on Japanese television was quite baffling.　I was flipping through channels when a familiar logo caught my eye: Samsung’s blue oval. I was curious, so I decided to watch TV Tokyo. 　And was I in for a big surprise.　I had stumbled upon a five-part documentary about how utterly backward Korea was, in particular, Korean firms and the economy.　The broadcaster had managed to get their hands on tapes of Samsung shareholder meetings. The part I caught was about Samsung’

Aug. 26, 2015

I believe women frequently outsmart men thanks to their so-called feminine intuition. For example, a woman instinctively knows when a man is interested in her no matter how hard he tries to hide his feelings. If you steal a glance at a pretty woman in the subway, she will immediately notice that you are checking her out. If you lie to your girlfriend, she will find out. Likewise, if you have an affair, your wife will know about it instantly no matter how hard you try to hide it from her. So give

Aug. 25, 2015

Legal education in Korea has gone through seismic changes since the summer of 2007, when a bill to introduce a new “law school” system was passed in the National Assembly. A roller coaster ride is the term that perhaps best describes the Korean legal education environment since then. The ride has alternated between hopes and frustrations, and vacillated between expectations and disappointment.  　Virtually everything changed. New buildings were built and new curricula adopted. New teaching method

Aug. 25, 2015

NEW YORK — The United Nations will mark its 70th anniversary when world leaders assemble next month at its headquarters in New York. Though there will be plenty of fanfare, it will inadequately reflect the U.N.’s value, not only as the most important political innovation of the twentieth century, but also as the best bargain on the planet. But if the U.N. is to continue to fulfill its unique and vital global role in the 21st century, it must be upgraded in three key ways.　Fortunately, there is p

Aug. 24, 2015

 I spent two months in the U.S. in 2010. I was quite surprised to find that mass media were carrying reports and debates on the deep political polarization between conservatives and the liberals almost every day. There was also a movement to reconcile the two forces, called “No Left. No Right. Forward.” However, the divisive trend has continued, as the ideological division among the presidential candidates within and between the Democratic and Republican Parties shows.　South Korean politics has

Aug. 24, 2015

Hong Kong has prided itself as being the freest economy in the world, but last week Chief Executive CY Leung pronounced that the “positive nonintervention” policy is outdated. Is this the end of the laissez-faire philosophy that has served Hong Kong successfully for the last half century?  　The phrase “positive nonintervention” was attributed to Sir John Cowperthwaite, a financial secretary from 1961-71 and a Scotsman who inherited the moral philosophy of his countryman Adam Smith. His first spe

Aug. 23, 2015

Forty-three years after Richard Nixon made his famous visit to China, that country has seemingly decided to take a page from the former U.S. president’s Treasury Department. As China lowers the value of the yuan, the country’s economic policy makers are mimicking the blase attitude of Nixon-era Treasury chief John Connally, who dismissed international complaints about U.S. monetary policy with a curt remark: “It’s our currency, but it’s your problem.”To be fair, Japan has acted with similar self

Aug. 23, 2015

Netflix just announced it’s offering paid leave for new mothers and fathers for the first year after the birth or adoption of a child. Other high-tech firms are close behind.Some big law firms are also getting into the act. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is offering 22 paid weeks off for both male and female attorneys.Even Wall Street is taking baby steps in the direction of family-friendly work. Goldman Sachs just doubled paid parental leave to four weeks.All of this should be welcome news. Mil

Aug. 21, 2015

For weeks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has painstakingly explained his country’s position on the South China Sea dispute and recent progress in drafting a code of conduct for the area with ASEAN.But the region was not paying attention as it was totally focused on the controversies over land reclamation in the disputed islands among the conflicting parties and the grouping’s collective response.　In the Chinese media, Wang Yi’s remarks made before and during the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in K

Aug. 20, 2015

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II was as expected: A forward-looking speech that referred vaguely to Japan’s role in 20th-century world history that could be construed as apologizing for its wartime wrongdoings or not, depending on the reader.The statement was a clever display of words that hinted at an apology without actually offering one. In reference to those killed during World War II, Abe said, “I express my feelings o

Aug. 20, 2015

As it was widely known that the office of Japanese prime minister had labored a lot to produce an important statement (as a cabinet decision) on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, I gave it close scrutiny after gleaning the full English text from the website of the Japanese Foreign Ministry last weekend. 　Many people had taken keen interest in the document because so much noise was made in Japan over what words it should and should not include regarding Japan’s imperialist aggressi

Aug. 19, 2015

Every year since 1976, the national Arts Council Korea publishes a yearbook on the country’s arts and culture ecosystem, tracing trends and providing valuable information for policymakers. This year’s Arts and Culture Yearbook, released Monday, goes a step further to paint a clearer picture of the cultural life in Korea, introducing for the first time the self-devised Arts Index. 　But the index, the first of such kind developed with the aim of gauging the disparity in arts and culture between Se

Aug. 19, 2015