[Kim Seong-kon] Microaggressions, zero tolerance and silence

I recently came across an intriguing article entitled “The Coddling of the American Mind” in the September issue of “The Atlantic.” The authors, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, were concerned about the emerging phenomenon of so-called “microaggressions” and “trigger warnings” at American college campuses. They were worried because this new tendency is now being institutionalized, affecting “what can be said in the classroom, even as a basis for discussion.”According to the authors, “Microaggr

Aug. 18, 2015

[John H. Cha] Wind of change: North Korea in transition

The wind of change is being felt on the Korean Peninsula as never before. This wind we feel nowadays is a soft breeze, a culmination of the silent murmurs that have been brewing under their breath, incognito, among the people from the northern regions of the peninsula. This breeze is filled with voices that pine for a better life that would include regular meals, basic medical care, education, and a meaningful future for their children. About 30,000 of them are in the South today and elsewhere,

Aug. 18, 2015

[Robert J. Fouser] Looking at the next 70 years

Aug. 15 marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule. The anniversary forced a look back in time as some took stock of South Korea’s accomplishments while others blamed Japan for not apologizing sufficiently for its past wrongdoings. Few, however, have thought to ponder the next 70 years.What will the world and Korea look like 70 years from now? 2085 seems like the distant future, but assuming life expectancy patterns hold, most babies bor

Aug. 18, 2015

[Justin Fox] China may have no master plan　　

As a long-time consumer of economic commentary about China, I can probably recite the basic narrative underpinning most of it in my sleep: Yes, China’s economy faces challenge X. But the government has a plan for getting past it, the People’s Bank of China has many tools at its disposal and, hey, look at that $3.7 trillion in foreign exchange reserves!　A fine recent example of the genre comes from Zheng Liu of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. His analysis bears the provocative headline

Aug. 17, 2015

[Andrew Sheng] Joining SDR club gives yuan reserve currency status

As gray clouds gather over the horizon, one possible piece of good news is the prospects of the Chinese currency RMB being fully internationalized. Bankers and financial centers from Hong Kong to London salivate at the trillions of dollars of new trading that will come from the RMB becoming a full-fledged reserve currency.  When will that happen? 　One milestone of the RMB becoming fully recognized as a reserve currency is to join the club of being a component currency of the Special Drawing Righ

Aug. 17, 2015

[Shashi Tharoor] Hanging sparks debate on death penalty in India

On July 30, Yakub Memon, a chartered accountant and the brother of a notorious gangster now living in self-imposed exile, was hanged for complicity in the planning and execution of serial bomb blasts that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993. The hanging, India’s first in three years, has prompted reactions ranging from dismay to scarcely concealed bloodlust. And it has intensified the domestic debate over the death penalty.To be sure, no one suggests that India’s judicial system did not function

Aug. 16, 2015

[David Ignatius] Big battle behind China’s turmoil

One way to think about the recent financial turmoil in China is as a parenting dispute between “Xi Dada” and “Yang Ma” -- meaning “Big Daddy Xi” (the nickname for President Xi Jinping) and “Big Mama” (a popular moniker for the People’s Bank of China).Dada and Ma are the two centers of power, political and economic, in a China that is coping with a painful new period of slower economic growth. They work in surprising harmony most of the time, but you could see the strain this summer as China stru

Aug. 16, 2015

[June H.L. Wong] When words don’t mean a thing in a competitive world

Ah Ho, 81, has never read a book in her life. Or a magazine or newspaper or a letter; not even a postcard.　It’s not because she’s indifferent to the written word, she simply can’t. She is, by official definition, illiterate.　UNESCO defines a literate person as “One who has reading ability or can read,” or “One who has formal education and at least some form of informal education.”　The World Bank’s definition is one “who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their e

Aug. 13, 2015

[David Ignatius] Quest for the perfect wave

Escapism has a special lure this summer, if you’re saturated with Islamic State atrocities, the Iran nuclear deal and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. As relief from such weighty matters, I can recommend a magnificently escapist book about surfing called “Barbarian Days.”   　Subtitled “A Surfing Life,” the book is a memoir by New Yorker writer William Finnegan about his pursuit of big, beautiful waves since he was 10. Finnegan is a fine reporter and writer, as New Yorker readers have long k

Aug. 13, 2015

[Kim Ji-hyun] Face the music, old boys

Celebrity chef Baek Jong-won is on fire. The man is currently one of the nation’s most sought-after cuisiniers, hosting several TV cook shows and running a chain of successful diners. The best thing about him is that he actually knows what he is talking about. His recipes are easy to follow and they really work. 　However, while I agree that Baek is a hardworking man who deserved to become famous, I cannot help feeling that he also happened to be in the right place at the right time.Baek came ont

Aug. 12, 2015

[Giorgio Gomel] Migration and memory in Europe

Stories of migrant-laden ships sinking in the Mediterranean while trying to reach the shores of Europe, and of refugees dying at Calais while trying to enter Britain through the Eurotunnel, have lately become ubiquitous in Europe. 　This ongoing crisis should remind us of a painful, and shameful, episode of recent history: the rejection faced by European Jews seeking refuge from the anti-Semitic fury that raged across Europe in the 1930s. Today’s refugees should remind us, too, of those Jews who,

Aug. 12, 2015

[Kim Seong-kon] Aging well and becoming a classic

We all grow old with the passage of time. No one can escape aging or cheat death. Recently, I happened to watch several Hollywood movies that featured once glorious but now aged actors who acted splendidly as though they were still young: Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis among others. Though they looked older with all their wrinkles and frosty hair, and were in supporting roles instead of playing the virile young hero, all of them seemed to have aged gracefully.　As I grow older

Aug. 11, 2015

[Lee Jae-min] New Silk Roads in the making

Since East Asia and Europe are far apart, one idea being floated to galvanize the sluggish economy in both regions is to bring them closer -- physically. Against this backdrop, the construction of “Silk Roads” of the 21st century has suddenly become the new buzzword. Korea and China are now pursuing, with vigor and sincerity, their respective national projects of new Silk Roads.　Korea’s Silk Road plan is the “Eurasia Initiative” that started in October 2013 with President Park Geun-hye’s keynote

Aug. 11, 2015