Park Hee-kwonThere are several definitions of globalization. The commonly used globalization index encompasses four main types of cross-border flows: trade (in both goods and services), information, people (including tourists, students and migrants) and capital. Judging by this index, history shows that over the past 60 years, the trend of globalization has been on the march. After some backpedaling since the 2008 financial crisis, the trend of growing global interconnectedness resumed in 2013.

Foreign Affairs Dec. 29, 2014

With its Internet networks continuing to suffer outages for the sixth straight day, North Korea placed the blame on the U.S. and stepped up its verbal attacks over the weekend amid a hacking row involving the film “The Interview.” As of midday, a number of propaganda websites remained down, including Uriminzokkiri (Among Our People), Ryugyong and Ryomyong. They have servers in Shenyang, Dandong and other Chinese cities. The website of the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North newspaper based in Japan, came

North Korea Dec. 28, 2014

South Korea plans to dispatch a team of officials and has offered military support to Indonesia as a search and rescue operation unfolds after an AirAsia jet disappeared en route to Singapore on Sunday. At least three Koreans were confirmed to be aboard Flight QZ8501 -- a couple in their 30s with an infant girl. They were among the 162 passengers and crew members on the aircraft that lost contact with Indonesia’s air traffic control while flying over the Java Sea from Surabaya about an hour befo

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2014

The U.N. Security Council formally set North Korea’s dismal human rights situation as a standalone item on its agenda for the first time Monday in a landmark vote that heralds a shift in its military-focused discourse and may pave the way to bringing perpetrators to justice. In the rare procedural vote, 11 countries supported the issue’s inclusion, including the U.S., U.K., France and South Korea. China and Russia, North Korea’s only major allies, voted against it, while Nigeria and Chad abstain

North Korea Dec. 23, 2014

Following decades of political and military ties, North Korea and Cuba appear to be taking starkly different paths as Washington seeks a long-delayed reconciliation with Havana while mulling putting Pyongyang back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.Relations between North Korea and the U.S. are quickly plummeting in the aftermath of the communist country’s suspected hack on Sony Pictures, which led to the cancellation of the release of “The Interview,” a film about a plot to kill North K

North Korea Dec. 22, 2014

On any given Seoul subway train on any ordinary weekday morning, the majority of the passengers are engrossed in texting, reading and watching videos on their smartphones.But the gadgets are not the only difference between them and members of the older generation, who used to read newspapers and books on their way to work. Younger Koreans are increasingly becoming addicted not to prime-time KBS dramas, but also to shows like “Misaeng (Incomplete Life)” by cable network tvN. Viewers with increasi

Television Dec. 19, 2014

With a soaring number of migrants in society, Korea should push for affirmative action measures to help curb discrimination, promote coexistence with those from various backgrounds and bring about inclusive growth, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said. The city government has been working with the International Organization for Migration for the first International Migrants Day campaign in Seoul to kick off Thursday, aimed at promoting awareness about migrants by highlighting their contributions to Ko

Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2014

2014 was the deadliest year for migrants. The International Organization for Migration reported that the number of migrants dying on migratory routes, whether at sea or on land, has more than doubled from last year to close to 5,000. In October 2013, 366 migrants died when their boat caught fire and sank off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. Less than a year later, 500 migrants were feared dead after their ship was rammed by another boat near Malta, only days after a different vessel carrying 200 p

Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2014

Full of vigor and yearning for a completely different culture, Sohn Sung-won packed his bags and flew to Egypt to learn Arabic when he was in college. The 1 1/2 years he spent there gave him not only good Arabic skills but also life goals, dreams and visions: he decided to become a diplomat and help bridge Korea and other countries. On Wednesday, the 28-year-old began his career as a second secretary at the Foreign Ministry’s first Middle East division ― with a specialization in Arabic.“My trip

Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2014

Emboldened by a landslide election victory, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is forecast to push ahead with a constitutional amendment for greater military freedom and revisionist foreign and security policies, darkening prospects for a thaw with Seoul. In a snap election Sunday, his Liberal Democratic Party secured a solid majority, with at least 290 seats in the Diet’s lower house. Another 35 went to the conservative party’s coalition partner, the New Komeito Party, giving them more than two

Foreign Affairs Dec. 15, 2014

MATARA/COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Only five years ago, Pavani Punsara Weerasekera, an 18-year-old student at Sujatha College, was seen walking along an all-too-familiar path that would have never set her apart from many of her peers living on low incomes and life chances.But an encounter with a volunteer from the Korea International Cooperation Agency helped her discover her knack for languages and improved her job prospects. As she develops her fluency in Korean, her dream of studying in Seoul and b

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2014

DOMPE/HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka ― Throngs of residents and central and local government officials braved the rain to observe a truck unload the first batch of trash into a newly launched landfill site in Dompe, Sri Lanka. To the majority of the spectators, the event meant an about-face of one small yet unignorable part of their lives: for the first time ever, they will not have to discard garbage in open space and thus fall sick.“Before, for so many years, the people of this locality just dumped the

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2014