During a short visit to Kyoto, Japan, on my way to Korea, a taxi driver told me that US President Donald Trump made him nervous because he is so unpredictable. I reassured him that many, if not most, Americans feel the same way. We concluded the short conversation by agreeing Trump is not fit to be president.The problem, of course, is that in a democracy, the people have the final say on the fitness of leaders. The problem for Trump is that he won the presidency in 2016 with a solid Electoral Co

Viewpoints June 4, 2019

When I visited South Korea in the spring of 2018, everybody was talking about the breakthrough with North Korea. A year later, everybody is talking about the economy. Small business owners, in particular, are worried about sluggish consumption and rising costs. People in large firms worry about job security and retirement. Most people believe that South Korea has fallen into a Japanese-style slump that will be difficult to overcome. Since the Korean economy began to grow in 1960s, citizens have

Viewpoints May 21, 2019

Last week, I visited a friend living on top of a steep hill in Seongbuk-dong. The house had a sweeping view of the entire center of the city and of the rest of the neighborhood below. As we talked about the view and the neighborhood, my friend said that many of the houses in the area were empty. He said that the area was slated for redevelopment and that many houses are not rentable because they are in such bad condition. Plans for redevelopment have stalled and property owners are left with hou

Viewpoints May 7, 2019

A few weeks ago, somebody asked me the secret to South Korea’s success. Not being an economist, I couldn’t give an authoritative answer, so I replied by saying simply that Korea invests in its people. An increasingly skilled and talented workforce has allowed Korea to become a leading nation in a range of economic endeavors.Continued growth, however, is not guaranteed. Nations throughout history have risen and fallen in response to economic and technological paradigm shifts. The same holds true

Viewpoints April 9, 2019

The race for Democratic nomination for president in 2020 is almost full. Only the front runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, has yet to declare his candidacy. The race has more women and African-Americans than any in history. The candidates range from age 37 to 77, and they are diverse in ethnic and religious background. The race is the first time since 2004 that the Democrats do not have a dominant front-runner or an incumbent president running.For all its diversity, the race has plentiful

Viewpoints March 26, 2019

Last week, a BBC article from 2017 stating that life expectancy in South Korea would become the longest in the world by 2030 popped up on a social media feed. The article noted that life expectancy for women would reach 90 years and 84 years for men, both the highest in the world. The article praised South Korea for universal access to health care and low obesity rates.The next day, I was organizing some books and found a copy of “Japan as Number One: Lessons for America” by Ezra Vogel, a former

Viewpoints Feb. 12, 2019

The first month of the New Year has been busy in Washington, DC. A 35-day government shutdown over funding for a wall along the US-Mexico border ended with President Donald Trump caving to a united Democratic opposition. One by one, candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination have begun to enter the race. Tensions with China over trade remain high, and Venezuela emerged as a new foreign policy challenge as the US recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate president.Largely lost in the daily barr

Viewpoints Jan. 29, 2019

The past weekend saw another wave of fine dust blanket Korea. Over the past 10 years, the frequency of waves of fine dust has increased steadily, causing people to worry about negative effects on public health. The problem also causes changes in daily life. An elementary school teacher I met last fall told me that schools are eliminating playgrounds because there are so few days when the air is clean enough for children to use them. The South Korean government, meanwhile, has failed to come up w

Viewpoints Jan. 15, 2019

South Korea finds itself in an odd place as 2019 begins. Progress in inter-Korean detente slowed at the end of 2018 after three historic summit meetings between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The economy also slowed at the end of 2018 as business and consumer confidence weakened. The slowing of good news has caused President Moon’s popularity to decline, raising fears that the nation will be left with weak leadership amid growing challenges.To deal with these challeng

Viewpoints Jan. 1, 2019

Two years ago, hundreds of thousands of people holding candles filled Gwanghwamun in support of impeaching then-President Park Geun-hye. The National Assembly voted to impeach Park on Dec. 9, 2016, and the Constitutional Court voted to remove her from office on March 10, 2017. Park was removed from office, and a special election was held on May 9, 2017, which resulted in a sweeping victory for Moon Jae-in. From the impeachment to the election, then-Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn served as acting p

Viewpoints Dec. 18, 2018

Labor strife in South Korea is back in the news, as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions launched a general strike on Nov. 2l. The KCTU also boycotted a meeting of the Economic, Social and Labor Council, a newly expanded presidential commission designed to develop policy consensus on economic and social issues. The KCTU is protesting the bipartisan agreement to relax temporarily the recently established 52-hour limit on weekly working hours.In its protests, the KCTU argued that President Moo

Viewpoints Dec. 4, 2018

The results of the recent midterm elections in the US were as predicted. Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives, and Republicans retained control over the Senate. Democrats did slightly better than expected in the House of Representatives, but Republicans did slightly better in the Senate. The election fit closely with the historical pattern of the party of the incumbent president losing seats but fell short of being a wave election that gave control of both houses of Congr

Viewpoints Nov. 20, 2018

During the last half of October, I stayed in Madrid to practice the Spanish that I had learned in high school and university. Instead of going to a school, I tried self-study and practice while walking around Madrid. Markets and bookstores were particularly good places because they forced me to use Spanish. The visit helped me recover some Spanish, particularly reading, but fluency will require a more intensive effort.On my second day in Madrid, I visited the Prado, one of the world’s most famou

Viewpoints Nov. 6, 2018

The Korean media like international rankings and report on them frequently. During the boom years, Korea’s rankings in gross domestic product growth and per capita GDP made for big headlines, but things have changed now that growth has slowed.In recent years, the standing of Korea’s universities, particularly according to the London-based Times Higher Education World University Rankings, have attracted media attention. The media use the annual results to lament about the low standing of Korean u

Viewpoints Oct. 9, 2018