The Korea Herald

[Eli Park Sorensen] Acedia and the fear of an overpopulated planet

Among Dante’s illustrious renderings of the seven deadly sins in his epic poem “The Divine Comedy” (1309-1321), “Acedia” ― or sloth ― seems to have particular resonance today. Drowning in the hellish waters of the river Styx, Dante’s slothful sinners were people with whom the poet himself felt some affinity, and for whom he harbored great pity and sympathy. Sometimes translated to “depression,” or “lack of passion for God,” the word “Acedia” ― as Dante’s English translator Dorothy L. Sayers poin

Viewpoints Sept. 23, 2013

[Eli Park Sorensen] Acedia and the fear of an overpopulated planet

Strong evidence of war crimes in Syria

A decade ago, weak evidence of the crimes of Saddam Hussein helped lead the U.S. and its allies to war in Iraq. Today, strong evidence of war crimes by Bashar al-Assad may help the U.S. and its allies avoid war in Syria.The damning United Nations report that confirms the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons also highlights the importance of the Sept. 14 agreement putting Syria’s chemical weapons on the path to destruction ― and the huge challenges of doing so. It also points to the need to lev

Viewpoints Sept. 22, 2013

[Fidel V. Ramos] Asia’s emerging community

MANILA ― In recent months, China has sparred with the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan over its extravagant territorial claims in the South and East China Seas and the West Philippine Sea. These conflicts have undermined regional security, impeded investment planning, and sparked an undeclared military contest between China and its regional counterweight, the United States.Indeed, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden recently made it clear that the resources and attention that the United States is alloc

Viewpoints Sept. 22, 2013

[Fidel V. Ramos] Asia’s emerging community

The West just doesn’t get Vladimir Putin

U.S. reactions to President Vladimir Putin’s op-ed article in the New York Times last week, from outrage to ridicule, show just how badly much of the Western policy elite are misinterpreting Russia.This is largely the product of dashed and unrealistic expectations that many in the West held after the collapse of communism. They thought Russia would reform itself and become a junior partner to the U.S. in global affairs. Instead, the country was re-established as an authoritarian and fiercely ind

Viewpoints Sept. 22, 2013

In America, not isolationism but skepticism on show

President Obama and his aides were surprised this month by the strength of public opposition to their call for military action against Syria. They shouldn’t have been.Americans have almost always been reluctant to go to war. In 1939, polls showed that most Americans not only wanted to stay out of war against Nazi Germany, they weren’t even sure they wanted to send military aid to Britain ― fearing, perhaps, a slippery slope.Today, Americans have additional reasons to be skeptical. There’s the to

Viewpoints Sept. 22, 2013

[Editorial] Japan’s double standard

The Tokyo government is pressuring Seoul to lift its recently expanded ban on fisheries imports from radiation-hit Fukushima and seven adjacent prefectures. A group of nine Japanese officials visited the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday to officially demand that Seoul withdraw the measure, which they said was not based on scientific evidence.Last week, the Seoul government extended its existing import ban on 50 types of fish to all types of fisheries imports. The measure was designed t

Editorial Sept. 17, 2013

[Editorial] Unproductive talks

It is deeply disappointing that the three-way talks on Monday between President Park Geun-hye and the leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party ended without any agreement. The meeting was arranged to resolve the ongoing political impasse and bring good news before the Chuseok holidays. But the political leaders failed to send a message of hope to a nation weary of partisan wrangling.During the 90-minute talks at the National Assembly, Park and DP leader Kim Ha

Editorial Sept. 17, 2013

[Kim Seong-kon] Korean mother: A cultural icon

Foreigners often wonder, “China and Japan have a number of cultural icons such as kung fu and samurai. Does Korea have any cultural icons?” An American scholar recently suggested the “seonbi” as a cultural icon of Korea. “Seonbi” refers to virtuous scholars who did not seek monetary gain or mundane pleasures during the Joseon Dynasty. The seonbi could be a fine cultural icon of Korea, although similar personas can be found in Chinese history, too. Another good example is the image of the Korean

Viewpoints Sept. 17, 2013

[Kim Seong-kon] Korean mother: A cultural icon

Where 500 retweets can win you 3 years in jail

Say you are a Shanghai-based economist and doubt the veracity of China’s latest trade data. You put out a research report to that effect, one that creates buzz on the Internet and exposes you to something far worse than making a bad call: prison.Or say you are a photographer in Chongqing and circulate images of a politician who loves Rolexes. Bloggers begin buzzing about how a modestly compensated public official could afford a stable of $7,000 watches. You, too, may end up in handcuffs.What if

Viewpoints Sept. 16, 2013

[David Ignatius] The neo-Machiavellian?

WASHINGTON ― What is President Obama doing with his bob-and-weave Syria policy that seemingly bounces between bombing and diplomacy in the space of 15 minutes? The answer tells us some worrying things about the breakdown of America’s old foreign-policy consensus and Obama’s difficulty creating a new one. Look behind the White House veil and here’s what you see: The president correctly believes that in the aftermath of Iraq and Afghanistan, the country is sick of war and mistrustful of politician

Viewpoints Sept. 16, 2013

With love and civility: Debating gay rights and same-sex marriage

Sept. 7, 2013 marked the first major, public wedding ceremony in South Korea for a gay couple. Film director and producer Kimjo Gwang-soo, 48, and long-time partner and film distributor Kim Seung-hwan, 28, were married near Cheonggye Stream with about 1,000 guests in attendance. The wedding was briefly interrupted when a 54-year-old man claiming to be a church elder went up on the stage, sprayed filth from a food container, and shouted, “Homosexuality is a sin. Homosexuality destroys families an

Viewpoints Sept. 16, 2013

[Andrew Sheng] Lehman and the end of the financialization era

The failure of Lehman Brothers on Sept. 15, 2008 marked the beginning of the end of the world’s love affair with financialization. Financialization was one of three mega-trends that swept the world in the last 30 years ― the others being free markets and globalization. Financialization is defined as the growing importance of finance in daily activities, both at the national and global levels. Kids grow up these days wanting to be financial engineers instead of civil engineers. The effect was mas

Viewpoints Sept. 16, 2013

[Andrew Sheng] Lehman and the end of the financialization era

[Seyed Hossein Mousavian] The U.S. with Iran in Syria

PRINCETON ― The prospect of a U.S. military strike on Syria has dimmed following President Barack Obama’s embrace of an international initiative to take control of Syria’s chemical-weapons stockpile. The eleventh-hour U-turn on the push for military action has come against a backdrop of intensifying diplomatic pressure from the international community to avoid escalation of the violence in Syria. And that outcome is not possible without Iran.In a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpar

Viewpoints Sept. 15, 2013

[Seyed Hossein Mousavian] The U.S. with Iran in Syria

Emissions trading and market readiness in South Korea

Emissions trading in Korea has been a long discussed agenda and now it is almost at the final stage of policy preparation. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance report, Korea is the fastest emission growing nation among OECD member states and it is now the seventh-largest greenhouse gas emitter. With a target of reducing emissions from business-as-usual scenarios by 2020, the government is implementing various measures, including a domestic emissions trading system from Jan. 1, 2015. In 2010

Viewpoints Sept. 15, 2013

Sharing Saemaul Undong with the global village

The archives of the Saemaul Undong (or New Community Movement) in the 1970s, which have recorded the course of Korea’s modernization, were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register some months ago. It is the result of the international agency’s high evaluation that the movement is a successful case of the private-public cooperation as a nation development model. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has credited the Saemaul Undong as the modernization campaign

Viewpoints Sept. 15, 2013

Articles by Yu Kun-ha