Varieties of nepotism: Korea
What has been happening in North Korea recently is straight out of the “Hereditary Dictatorship for Dummies” handbook. Kim Jong-un, the pudgy young heir to the leadership of one of the world’s last Communist states, is removing powerful people who were loyal to his father and replacing them with men (it’s always men) who owe […]
One more apology
How many Koreans would sympathize with Lee? After dragging his feet, President Lee Myung-bak apologized Tuesday for corruption scandals implicating his relatives and key aides. In his sixth ― and second concerning irregularities of behavior by the people around him ― public apology, President Lee used far stronger expressions of self-reflection than before, and bowed […]
Mental meltdown
I recently struck up a conversation with a well-known coach who teaches young pro golfers. He told me that what makes the difference between successful and mediocre golfers is entirely mental. He said many young golfers are able to hit balls a great distance with a near-perfect swing. Physically and technically they are superb, but […]
Bad society
LONDON ― How much inequality is acceptable? Judging by pre-recession standards, a great deal of it, especially in the United States and Britain. New Labour’s Peter Mandelson voiced the spirit of the past 30 years when he remarked that he felt intensely “relaxed” about people getting “filthy” rich. Getting rich was what the “new economy” […]
Risky turnabout
Cautious approach needed over DTI rule change The government has opened a Pandora’s box in a desperate bid to revitalize the dormant real estate market. However, the decision to ease debt-to-income (DTI) regulations on mortgages might be a risky choice that could devastate the already-sagging economy. The proposed change was part of measures aimed at […]
Kickoff of primaries
Ideas, views, characters should be fully verified With less than five months to go before the presidential election, two major parties have just begun their primaries. About a month later, both the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) will decide who will be their respective standard-bearers. However, even provided the […]
Who will speak for Rohingyas?
The military junta in Myanmar has been courted by the West in its quest to encourage the democratization process in this bastion of tyranny. However, it is primordial that respect of human rights, especially the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority should remain high on the international agenda. The Rohingyas are the most defenseless religious […]
Ominous rumblings in North Korea
Strange things are happening in North Korea, which is nothing new. This time, however, developments apparently reflect divisions within the leadership of the isolated totalitarian regime. Conceivably, this could spark a renewed Korean War. Ri Yong-ho, a powerful military figure and until recently a close ally of young North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, has been […]
What’s unknowable about N. Korea
As the inner group of the new North Korean leadership is inaccessible, it is impossible to know how and what decisions are made in the North. We only learn about them after they are officially announced. We struggle to understand what led to the decisions and to figure out what the meaning of them is, […]
Arab Spring: good news
The good news about last weekend’s election in Libya, as relayed by the Western media, was that the “Islamists” were defeated and the Good Guys won. The real good news was that democracy in the Arab world is still making progress, regardless of whether the voters choose to support secular parties or Islamic ones. The […]
Media in Tie-up with The AsiaN 
Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
