Those ‘guilty’ in innocent lady’s death
A year ago, when I was working at a previous school, a female teacher’s death left me speechless. I was depressed all day at the sad news. How could she die suddenly with her marriage so close? She should have been walking on air, dreaming of a wonderful honeymoon with her soul mate. Why did […]
NLL as political football
Any further brawl is dirty old electioneering Analysts here have long worried the 18th presidential election would be a proxy war of ghosts: two deceased former leaders. Unfortunately, the premonition seems to be proving right, as ex-Presidents Park Chung-hee and Roh Moo-hyun are coming back in big ways. For nearly two weeks, the governing Saenuri […]
Diplomatic procession as world heritage
The initiatives to make the Joseon Diplomatic Procession a UNSECO World Cultural Heritage are about to begin in Korea and Japan. Korea has nine world cultural heritage sites and one natural heritage site, and Japan has twelve cultural and four natural heritage sites recognized by the internationally renowned organization as of 2012. Commemoration of the […]
Little justice in N. Korea
One of the questions a Korean-speaking visitor to North Korea is likely to encounter in a private conversation with a local is “What happened to the Party and security functionaries of East Germany after reunification?” This question shows one of the most important, and perhaps the defining feature, of the North Korean apparatchik’s collective world […]
Crouching tigers, hidden Christian message
While world media attention was heavily focused on the Olympics this summer, another Olympics of a slightly more wordy nature may have escaped your attention: The Alphabet Olympics, that saw representatives from over 26 nations flock to Bangkok for “The Second World Alphabet Olympiad’’ ― a linguistic marathon, designed to sort out (once and for […]
Magic numbers for Korea’s long-term prosperity
Korea’s economic miracle comes of age. According to U.S. economist Paul Krugman, Korea’s small open economy has entered a low-growth phase owing to the country’s heavy reliance on exports, and negligence in fostering domestic demand and curbing population decline. Indeed, the current stagnant economy is likely to be a long-term trend, not a cyclical phenomenon. […]
Rough waters in NE Asia
Do presidential candidates have sailing strategies? In most countries, presidential elections are about domestic issues, mainly the economy and public welfare. In Korea this year, both voters and candidates can hardly afford to focus solely on the economic wellbeing of individuals. At stake is the entire nation’s diplomatic survival amid the great power shift taking […]
N. Korea’s ‘tax bomb’
Keeping Gaeseong complex benefits both The joint industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong is the only pipeline linking the two Koreas due to their strained relations, especially since President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008. The possible tinderbox for renewed inter-Korean relations after the December presidential election is facing the […]
Welfare and tax increases
Two key words should be fairness, efficiency Like other emerging economies, Korea is moving toward a welfare state, as shown by the competitive pledges presidential candidates are making for various public services free of charge. The problem is financing, more explicitly money, an inconvenient truth most politicians avoid facing. It is welcome in this regard […]
Hangeul, a uniquely Korean Script
It is an immensely positive sign for the nation that a growing number of foreigners are undertaking the study of the Korean language and Hangeul, the Korean alphabet in the wake of “Hallyu” ― the Korean Wave, which refers to the spread of Korean pop culture around the world. Furthermore, the recent international success of […]
Media in Tie-up with The AsiaN 
Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
