[Kim Seong-kon] ‘The Lost Generation’ in the electronic era

Back when I lived in the US pursuing an advanced degree in the 1970s, Americans frequently exchanged a salutary “Hi!” or “Hello!” when they passed by on the street, even if they were total strangers. Even today, when a baby wakes up in the morning, American parents teach the baby how to greet, by saying “Hi!” with a bright smile. Surely, such warm and friendly greetings, among other things, made Americans among the friendliest people in the world. However, t

Jan. 26, 2022

[Sławomir Sierakowski] Has Biden already surrendered Ukraine?

After a long, mysterious silence, US President Joe Biden has spoken out about the ever-increasing concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. He would have been better off keeping quiet, given his astonishing and dangerous message. NATO officials -- and his own aides -- have had to scramble to redefine the meaning of his words. When asked at a press conference if he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin would attack Ukraine again, Biden said, “My guess is he will move in

Jan. 25, 2022

[Dhondup T. Rekjong] Why is Dalai Lama quiet on China?

At 86, the Dalai Lama is beloved around the globe for his promotion of world peace, religious harmony and the need for climate action. But while the Western world protests China’s human rights abuses, the Dalai Lama is eerily quiet. The spiritual leader of Tibet remains hopeful for a better future for Tibet with China. When the Dalai Lama was asked about the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a November talk organized by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, he s

Jan. 25, 2022

[Lee In-hyun] A symphony for the New Year from the New World

The “New World Symphony” by Dvorak has been performed at the most New Year’s concert series around the world. I think this is why. When I was studying in the United States, I often felt lonely and missed my family and friends who were in South Korea. Whenever I encountered any issues or problems, I had to solve them on my own. Since I was a graduate student, I had to prepare to face the real world. I applied for many auditions and college-level teaching jobs. Despite applying

Jan. 24, 2022

[Frantisek Vrabel] How Facebook became the opium of the masses

In the war on disinformation, the enemy can be hard to determine. Journalists, politicians, governments, and even grandparents have been accused of enabling the spread of online falsehoods. While none of these groups is entirely innocent, the real adversary is more mundane. As Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified late last year, social media’s own algorithms are what makes disinformation accessible. Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has grown from a students’ social net

Jan. 24, 2022

[Elizabeth Shackelford] To fight global corruption, US must address its role in it too

President Joe Biden has declared fighting corruption a core national security interest, and last month, the White House released a strategy to combat corruption globally. These are welcome moves, but to effectively impede corruption around the world, America needs to take a serious look at how our government inadvertently facilitates it too. Corruption, the abuse or misuse of state resources or positions of authority for personal gain, is endemic in many countries across the globe and remains a

Jan. 20, 2022

[Lee Kyong-hee] Gender war? No, it’s a deeper conundrum

Amid the dynamic race to the March 9 presidential election, the fates of two women test our moral compass. One vanished soon after she appeared, and the other virtually stays on track, her mystic presence piquing voter curiosity in novel ways with potential consequences. Last month, when Cho Dong-youn joined the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s campaign committee for Lee Jae-myung as co-chair, her accomplished military career fired up my imagination. A 38-year-old retired Army major an

Jan. 20, 2022

[Nicholas Goldberg] HK a reminder of fragile democracy

Can democracy be snuffed out? You bet it can. Just look at what’s happening in Hong Kong. My last visit there was at the end of 2019, right before the pandemic, during what seems in retrospect to have been the final stand of the pro-democracy movement. In those days, pop-up demonstrations were a regular event, including clashes in the streets between masked activists and police officers. The Hong Kong government was already cracking down on dissent and increasingly siding with Beijing&rs

Jan. 19, 2022

[Kim Seong-kon] Just look up: Need for action is all too pressing

Recently, the American satirical film, “Don’t Look Up,” has been attracting widespread attention. It is a small wonder why. The film features a stellar cast: Meryl Streep is president of the US, and Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio play two astronomers from Michigan State University, who have found a comet big enough to destroy humanity on a direct course to earth. The two astronomers, Kate Diviasky and Randall Mindy, try to warn the US president and the media in vain. N

Jan. 19, 2022

[Martin Schram] Sync or you’re sunk: Perceptions matter

After a half century or so in politics, Joe Biden sure didn’t need to be reminded -- by a pollster, or a political science professor or a media pundit -- of the secret of winning elections. Because this is one secret that every politico knows. Namely: A politician will never be able to convince people that their perceived problems aren’t real -- or aren’t being fixed -- if voters are sure the problem is real because they keep seeing it on the news or encountering it in their d

Jan. 18, 2022

[Antara Haldar] COVID goes to court

The coronavirus is everywhere: in the air, on surfaces, in our respiratory tracts, and, over the past week, at the US Supreme Court. On Jan. 10, key elements of US President Joe Biden’s controversial “vaccine-or-test” mandate provisionally went into force, requiring that all workers at companies with more than 100 employees be vaccinated or tested regularly for COVID-19. With roughly 84 million Americans affected by the mandate, all eyes were on the Supreme Court, which on Jan.

Jan. 17, 2022

[Robert J. Fouser] South Korea between power blocs

As fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine mounted, political unrest exploded in Kazakhstan last week, prompting the Kazakhstan government to invite Russia troops into the country to suppress the dissent. Russia is suddenly wielding power and influence in ways reminiscent of the former Soviet Union. The situation is a reminder that power and influence in the world remain in the hands of a few nations that have dominated world affairs for centuries. Since 2016, US New & World Report has publi

Jan. 14, 2022

[Nicholas Goldberg] When an anti-vaxxer dies of COVID

Kelly Ernby was no doubt a good person, a friend to her friends, a companion to her husband, a crime-fighting prosecutor. She presumably had all the decent qualities we usually celebrate after a person dies, when we generally say only the kindest things we can think of. But she was also a vocal critic of vaccine mandates whose posts on social media risked lives, denied science and confused Americans. She was an activist with a mini-megaphone -- an Orange County deputy district attorney, a local

Jan. 13, 2022

[Kim Myong-sik] Moon hurt by defector’s ‘roundtrip’ across DMZ

South Korean defense authorities suffered a serious loss of face at the beginning of the year when a young man crossed the high fences on the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone to escape to North Korea a little more than a year after he made a similar adventure in a reverse direction. The incident tarnished the finale of President Moon Jae-in’s five-year epic of inter-Korean reconciliation. The Defense Ministry identified him as a Mr. X who had “defected” to the South from th

Jan. 13, 2022

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Argentina’s economic miracle amid COVID

NEW YORK -- Although COVID-19 has been hard on everyone, it has not been an “equal opportunity” disease. The virus poses a greater threat to those who are already in poor health, many of whom are concentrated in poor countries with weak public-health systems. Moreover, not every country can spend one-quarter of its GDP to protect its economy, as the United States did. Developing and emerging economies have faced hard financial and fiscal constraints. And because of vaccine nationalis

Jan. 12, 2022

[Kim Seong-kon] 10 propositions for Korea’s presidential candidates

Dear Presidential Candidates of South Korea, We hope you realize that 2022 is a crucial and pivotal year for your country for many reasons. As you know, South Korea is now facing unprecedented crises both internally and externally. Whoever is elected as the next president will therefore face the challenging task of skillfully navigating the “S.S. Republic of Korea” in a stormy sea, sailing the narrowest of straits between Scylla and Charybdis. As such, the Korean people expect yo

Jan. 12, 2022

[Clara Ferreira Marques] Kazakh protests will only tighten Putin’s grip

Protests that began in western Kazakhstan over a sharp rise in fuel costs have turned into days of upheaval, with demonstrators storming government buildings and the airport in Almaty, the country’s largest. That’s bad enough for President Vladimir Putin, who is wary of unrest on Russia’s fringes. But the crisis in what has been one of the region’s most stable countries is not about inflation alone. It’s a more volatile anger over rampant elite corruption, slow chan

Jan. 11, 2022

[Michael R. Strain] Extra benefits for anti-vax jobless?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020 and the federal government began using extraordinary measures to support workers, households and businesses, Republicans have been concerned that expanding the eligibility and generosity of unemployment benefits could slow the recovery and keep workers on the sidelines. So why have a handful of Republican-led states now extended unemployment benefits to workers who have lost their jobs because of failing to comply with vaccine mandates, with other sta

Jan. 11, 2022

[Martin Schram] The Big Truth -- democracy’s secret weapon

President Joe Biden was addressing America from the US Capitol’s Statuary Hall Thursday morning, at a lectern bearing the presidential seal that had been precisely placed in the center of this historic chamber for what would be a most un-festive commemorative ceremony. Biden noted he was standing not far from where, a century-and-a-half ago, a young Illinois congressman, Abraham Lincoln, once sat at desk 191, back when the House of Representatives met in that grand hall. He was also not f

Jan. 10, 2022

[Erwin Chemerinsky] Top court must uphold vax mandates

Under well-established law, the Biden administration’s vaccination mandates are clearly legal. But the politicization of the pandemic and vaccines makes it doubtful whether the Supreme Court will uphold them. Cases involving two regulations that impose vaccination requirements on workers will go before the court on Jan. 7. One rule calls for employers with more than 100 workers to require vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 tests of their employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administ

Jan. 7, 2022