Recently, two pieces of international news have pleased and excited the people of Korea. One was about a Korean-American mathematician, June Huh, who received the prestigious Fields Medal, and the other was about a South Korean pianist, Lim Yun-chan, who won the Gold Medal in the famous Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Both winners are young: Huh is 39 and Lim is 18, which made him the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Van Cliburn competition. Huh is the first Korea-born

Viewpoints July 20, 2022

There are things that we take for granted and thus do not appreciate until they are no longer there. In the restroom of Ground, a coffee shop in New London, New Hampshire, there is a sign that says, “You never know what you have until it’s gone. Toilet paper, for instance.” Indeed, we do not realize how important and indispensable it is to have toilet paper until it is gone. Of course, toilet paper is not alone in this. I know someone who has breathing problems due to severe

Viewpoints June 29, 2022

The 72nd anniversary of the Korean War is just around the corner, meaning that those born in the unforgettable year of 1950 are now 72 years old. It also means that few people in Korea will remember the war that utterly devastated the Korean Peninsula for three years or those who died in wartime. Americans call the Korean War the “forgotten war” because few people seem to remember it. For the Korean people, however, the Korean War must not be forgotten. Embarrassingly, we do not see

Viewpoints June 22, 2022

These days, South Korea is enjoying fame as a global leader in many areas. Aside from being one of the top 10 global economies, Korea has internationally acclaimed pop singers, films and television dramas, not to mention advanced technology. Unfortunately, however, Korea is not lucky enough to have great politicians. Our politicians, whose mental clocks appear to have stopped half a century ago, frequently become an embarrassment, especially in the eyes of foreigners. Of course, not all poli

Editorial June 8, 2022

Within a few days, US President Joseph Biden is coming to Seoul to have a bilateral meeting with South Korea’s new leader, President Yoon Suk-yeol. It will be a great opportunity for the two presidents to strengthen the ties between the two countries. Indeed, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki announced, “This trip will advance the Biden-Harris administration’s rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to US treaty alliances with the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Viewpoints May 18, 2022

George Orwell’s prophecy was right, after all. In his 1949 dystopian novel “1984,” Orwell envisioned a world divided into three totalitarian super-states: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Oceania included the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Eurasia referred to continental Europe annexed to the Soviet Union. Eastasia indicated China, South Asian countries and the Japanese islands. Interestingly, today’s world seems to resemble what Orwell predicted after

Viewpoints April 27, 2022

The inauguration slogan of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is “Back to the Republic of Korea.” It resonates with the Biden administration’s slogan, “America is back.” Indeed, both slogans suggest, “Back to normal” or “Back to those good old days.” Many people in Korea thought that something was not quite right for the past five years. Among other things, our political leaders seemed to be indifferent or even unaware of what is actually g

Viewpoints April 20, 2022

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is known as a political novice. Indeed, Yoon was elected president without any prior political career. Although he was prosecutor general, Yoon was not a professional politician, but a public prosecutor under the supervision of the minister of justice. However, such a background can be an advantage for him. Unlike professional politicians who have to consider many factors, Yoon can make a fresh start by boldly changing things. For example, declining to enter Cheon

Viewpoints April 13, 2022

People say, “Things change.” However, “Some things never change,” as the maxim says. It is especially true in Korea. For example, as the Yoon administration is about to launch, people begin talking about the urgency of “normalizing the abnormal” that the previous Moon administration has created for the past five years. They argue that Korea’s diplomacy with China and North Korea or with Japan and the US has been far from normal. They point out that the

Viewpoints April 6, 2022

Now that the Korean people have chosen their new leader, who will steer the country for the next five years. Many Koreans are full of hope and expectation about the upcoming new era in South Korea. While congratulating the winner, I have 10 propositions for a brighter future for South Korea, which President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol might want to consider. First, our political leaders should be mindful not to resemble Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick,” who drags his shi

Viewpoints March 16, 2022

The fateful day of deciding Korea’s future has arrived at last. Today, the Korean people will choose their destiny by electing their new political leader. If we vote for the wrong person, our future will be grim and bleak. If we choose the right person, we might avoid the calamity of utter collapse, if not have the luxury of a bright future. In that sense, the 2022 presidential election will be one of the most crucial ones South Korea has ever had. Unfortunately, the 2022 Korean election

Viewpoints March 9, 2022

When professor Lee O-young sadly passed away last week, Korea lost its precious Polaris, the North Star that has guided her people in the darkest hours of the night. When he was with us, we were already praising him as a legendary person so rarely and extraordinarily gifted that someone like him could appear only once in a century. Now leaving this world after 89 years, he has become a legend again. Professor Lee lived an admirable life with fame and honor. A renowned literary critic and proli

Viewpoints March 2, 2022

I recently came across Oh Yoon-hee’s intriguing novel, “The Eerie Story Club at Samgae Tavern & Inn.” The novel is set in the 18th century in the Joseon Kingdom, at a tavern & inn in Samgae Ferry -- modern day Mapo -- where all sorts of vendors come and go with lurid and strange stories to tell. Part One unfolds with various bizarre stories that the protagonist, Seonnomi overheard from vendors who had dropped in for a drink or a one-night stay. Part Two introduces the

Viewpoints Feb. 23, 2022

In the early 1980s when I began teaching at Seoul National University, I had my students watch George Romero’s legendary film, “Night of the Living Dead” in one of my graduate classes. At that time, very few Koreans even knew what a zombie was. Accordingly, my students at SNU were shocked and appalled at the bone-chilling horror of the first modern zombie film released in 1968. After we watched the movie, I then taught my students how to read the film. For example, I compared

Viewpoints Feb. 16, 2022

Lately, the foreign press has featured some intriguing articles on South Korea’s “Generation MZ,” a term that encompasses millennials and Generation Z, or roughly those born from the 1980s into the 2010s. For example, Bloomberg reported on young people in Korea in their 20s and 30s standing in a long line at 5 a.m. to buy famous brands at a department store. The New York Times, too, in an article called “The New Political Cry in South Korea: ‘Out With Men Haters,&rs

Viewpoints Feb. 9, 2022