Inner voice
“Repent! Repent!” This is the word that I heard coming out from deep within my heart barely two months ago. From then on, it continued to linger for a considerable period of time. Before taking my summer vacation, there was this sincere longing within me, a deep desire to change. So I observed my conscience […]
Time to adopt strong currency policy
Democratizing the economy is a buzzword among the major presidential candidates. They blindly believe taming chaebol will automatically solve Korea’s economic polarization. Furthermore, although they all advocate reforming the over-reaching conglomerates, they have yet to provide a roadmap to kick-starting the economy, which has been growing below its potential growth rate of 3.5 percent. A […]
North Korea defies reform predictions
Pyongyang once again disappointed those predicting it was about to change its ways. For months, experts and major media organizations have proclaimed imminent economic reform, even declaring that “North Korea has virtually abandoned the planned economy.” An unprecedented second Supreme People’s Assembly this year could only mean codification of free market principles, or so it […]
Too frequent shutdowns
Atomic plants’ top priority is safety, not production Officials at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) have been proud of two things: the successful localization of atomic power plants and a very high capacity utilization ratio. Unfortunately, both are causes of concern for the nuclear-wary public. And their worries increasingly appear justified, given the frequent […]
Getting the story straight on Libya
In the public relations business there is said to be a maxim for handling disasters: Get the information out right; get it out first and get it out your way. If that first rule is botched, the other two don’t much matter, and the Obama administration is now paying the political price for that in […]
A one-question campaign quiz on Iran
The first “Debate Week” of the fall campaign has interrupted the traditional majesty of our democratic presidential selection process, in which accusations and insults have been flung, yet again, with the frequency (if not accuracy) of meatballs at a frat-house food fight. Now it is our civic duty to pause and reflect. Especially when it […]
Danger from fallacy of hasty generalization
We are likely to be trapped in the fallacy of hasty generalization in our daily lives, sometimes causing catastrophes. If this fallacy is aggravated by vicious terrorists or religious extremists, it can provoke indiscriminate retaliation collective as hate crimes and vandalism. Islamic fury over the film “Innocence of Muslims” is spreading quickly, targeting symbols of […]
Coming out on Psy
I have a confession to make about Psy, the Korean rapper whose “Gangam Style” is taking the world by storm, the most viewed video clip on YouTube this year, capturing No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Chart (when the paper went to press), topping the British music chart and having Britney Spears do a horse-riding […]
Rebel votes for December
NEW YORK _ With just two months left till voting day, the conservative Saenuri Party is apparently keeping Korean expats high on their priority list by launching a cross-country campaign in the U.S. Based on their calculation, they’ve got this big chunk of voters in the bag. But not so fast, political watchers say. In […]
America’s dilemma in Asia
During anti-Japanese protests in Beijing, a group of about 50 demonstrators surrounded the car of the American ambassador, Gary Locke, chanted slogans about disputed islands, and prevented the vehicle from entering the embassy compound until Chinese security personnel intervened. The incident showed that, in the mind of the Chinese public, the United States was very […]
Media in Tie-up with The AsiaN 
Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
