How to lure more foreign visitors
In front of the main office of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Seoul stands a small stele that is engraved with words by late President Park Chung-hee, the father of President-elect Park Geun-hye. It reads “For the Promotion of Tourism,” and the date shows the commemorative stone slab was set up in March 1973. […]
Smaller Cheong Wa Dae
What matters most is to select ‘good people’ President-elect Park Geun-hye’s vision for her new presidential office structure, unveiled Monday, can be summed up as slimmed down and simplified. This direction is reflected well in the fact that the title of the bureaucratic unit at Cheong Wa Dae will be changed from the Office of […]
The end of pasta?
PRAGUE ― Scare stories have been an integral part of the global warming narrative for a long time. Back in 1997, Al Gore told us that global warming was making the El Nino winds stronger and more severe. That has not happened. Greenpeace and many others have told us for years that we will see […]
Kickbacks for doctors
The government is stepping up its crackdown on the long-standing practice of offering and receiving kickbacks in the medical community. Yet it remains to be seen whether the illegal practice will be uprooted this time, given that it is endemic and deep-rooted. A joint investigation team of prosecutors, police and health officials are summoning about […]
Presidential transition team
When President-elect Park Geun-hye announced her presidential transition team, each member surprised many people. Some were not so well-known or surprise picks that went against people’s expectations. What caught my eye was a critical article pointing out that four of the 24 members were “children of the Yushin regime,” those whose fathers or fathers-in-law were […]
Samsung comes of age
You don’t have to hang around Samsung Electronics for long before the word “innovation” is mentioned. Samsung people love to use it; I am not sure you can even have a chinwag with them without the “i” word cropping up. Personally, I have never been convinced. Certainly, Samsung is a well-run company, a zero-to-hero success. […]
Rule of law in China
China’s new leader Xi Jinping gave a major address recently in which he pledged to curtail power and investigate violations of the law so as to protect the rights of Chinese citizens. “No organization or individual has the special rights to overstep the constitution and law, any violation of the Constitution and the law must […]
Dying alone
Last week, the skeleton of a man was found in the southeastern port city of Busan about six years after he apparently committed suicide. The man, identified only as Kim, was 49 when he hung himself at a rented house in 2006. Kim, an unmarried manual laborer, had lived alone since his mother died in […]
Koreans shouldn’t romanticize ‘Les Miserables’
The movie “Les Miserables,” which was adapted from Victor Hugo’s novel by the same name, has become a hit this year in Korea. The late Hugo might find it puzzling that his fictional work is influencing the Korean society today. About five million Koreans watched the movie. Hugo’s novel, which was first published in 1862, […]
Oil spill compensation
Moon Seung-il earned his living by running fishing boats for weekend anglers in Taean County along the west coast. On Dec. 7, 2007, a Samsung Heavy Industries barge struck a crude oil tanker passing there, causing the country’s worst oil spill and driving him out of business. Moon filed a claim of 13 million won […]
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