Children cry watching the TV news as a dozen piglets and their mother are shown being dumped into a hole in a farm in a foot and mouth disease-infected area. Internet users are saddened to read the diary of a young man in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, who had to kill and bury 121 cattle because a truck that visited his farm the day before was found to have earlier stayed in a confirmed FMD-infected pla

Viewpoints Jan. 18, 2011

The downfall and flight of Tunisian President Ben Ali last week sent a warning to autocratic rulers in the Middle East and elsewhere. Kim Jong-il in faraway North Korea is a certain candidate for dethroning by popular revolt and signs of the regime’s desperation can be seen during the first weeks of the New Year.After making pleas to South Korea for the resumption of dialogue almost every other da

Editorial Jan. 17, 2011

Two old women whom the international media had called “former comfort women for the Japanese imperial army” died last week, ending their long hard lives. The deaths of Kim Seon-yi at a hospital in Ulsan on Thursday and Im Jeong-ja in Masan on the same day left 76 women of similar experiences alive. Kim was 83 and Im was 89.Last year, which marked a century since Japan’s annexation of the Joseon Ki

Editorial Jan. 17, 2011

The time is ripe for Japan and South Korea to enhance the quality of their security cooperation, without confining it to the field of defence exchanges.Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and his South Korean counterpart Kim Kwan-jin agreed in their meeting on Jan. 10 in Seoul that the two countries would work more closely, given a series of military provocations by North Korea and other destabilisi

Viewpoints Jan. 16, 2011

Korea was designated an “aging society” in 2000, the year in which those aged 65 or older accounted for more than 7 percent of its total population for the first time. The demographic group, which grew to 10.7 percent in 2009, is projected to break though the 14 percent mark in 2018, pushing Korea into an “aged society.”The transition from an aging society to an aged society, which is accelerating

Editorial Jan. 14, 2011

Nothing is more appropriate than the “better late than never” idiom in evaluating the central bank’s latest rate increase.As the global financial crisis was setting in three years ago, the Bank of Korea slashed its benchmark rate on several occasions ― from 5.25 percent in August in 2008 to a historic low of 2 percent in February 2009. But it took post-crisis action at a snail’s pace, despite warn

Editorial Jan. 14, 2011

Today (Jan. 10) marks Coming-of-Age Day, when 1.24 million people born in 1990 start a new chapter in their life. We hope they will take a firm first step into adulthood while retaining their self-awareness and recognizing their responsibility as adults.Nevertheless, many of them will be apprehensive about what their future holds amid the job market’s “ultra-ice age” caused by the protracted anemi

Viewpoints Jan. 14, 2011

 During his preview of Indonesia’s 2011 foreign policy, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa rightly highlighted the demanding schedule of the next 12 months. As chair of ASEAN for 2011, Indonesia will host more than 300 meetings at various levels. The meetings will cover various areas of cooperation of the 10-member grouping, including trade, investment and defense. Mingled among the multiple ASEAN

Viewpoints Jan. 14, 2011