AJA Brief - THE AsiaN

US envoy calls for end to NK brinkmanship

United States Ambassador to Seoul Sung Kim urged North Korea’s new leadership Thursday to shift its policies and enhance the lives of its people. “The new leadership of North Korea can move into the 21st century by educating its people, opening up its economy and allowing the talents of the…

Speech fee limit recommended for civil servants

The country’s anti-corruption agency called for restrictions in fees paid to civil servants for speeches made at private firms, especially high-ranking officials. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced a set of recommendations Thursday outlining the appropriate amount for fees depending on the rank of the official. The maximum hourly…

Distorted notions of morality

I was surprised to hear of the furor in the Korean media over the recent news that monks of Korea’s revered Buddhist Jogye Order were caught drinking, gambling and smoking and their actions termed as immoral. Were they really so? The point here is that in today’s materialistic world it…

Anti-racism law

Police have arrested a 17-year-old mixed-race high school dropout on charges of repeated arsons. The youth, born between a Korean father and a Russian mother in 1995, encapsulates the frustration, agony and mental ordeals mixed-racial kids face in pure-blood-boasting Korea. He set fire to three homes in northern Seoul in…

Lifestyle

Achieving shared growth through green ODA

What is needed is the financial and technical support of developed countries to bring in developing countries into this ‘green movement.’ The green economy has been drawing greater attention from the international community. The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), more commonly known as Rio+20, which runs from June 20…

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