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East Asia
The emperor of Japan
The boy who sat one row behind my desk in our elementary school was called Shimizu. He was born on Dec. 23, Showa 8 (1933), the same day the then Crown Prince Akihito, now the emperor, was born. It was his birthday, a cold December morning. The class teacher, dressed…
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East Asia
Cafe emerges as a favorite spot for Korean students to study
This month, most of Korean University students are facing mid term examinations. Fitting the general image of Asian students being smart and diligent in their studies, Korean students are studying hard to prepare for the exems. In my home country of Indonesia, most of the time, college students are studying at their own…
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East Asia
Tales of Korean Treasures ①
As you go through the country’s National Museum, you feel as if you were passing from one age to another. In this way you leave a face which represents Seoul’s contemporary present to a space which embodies the history of the Korean nation. But in the depths of these ages…
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East Asia
The American/Korean dream
The durable tenant of American mythology is the American dream: lush lawns and well-kept homes, manicured landscaping and gated communities, a crimeless, painless life of upper-middle classdom, of children with good teeth and good schools, husbands (and wives) gainfully employed, and in general, prosperity overflowing with milk and honey. President…
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King or kingmaker?
Tug-of-war has begun over unified candidacy On Monday, 102 celebrities called for the two major opposition presidential nominees to agree on a single candidate. Similar demands will follow until the liberal Moon Jae-in and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo give their consent. From the standpoint of opposition supporters, however, it should not…
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Overseas voting in doubt
Parties must cooperate to introduce viable system Korean citizens living abroad have been granted the vote in the Dec. 19 presidential election, following their inaugural ballot-casting in the April parliamentary elections. But the effectiveness of the overseas voting system is in doubt, because only a fraction of overseas Koreans are…
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South East Asia
[Indonesia Report] Hallyu Wave in Indonesia seems to continue enjoying popularity
Some music critics in Indonesia predicted the Hallyu Wave would be over soon, but it doesn’t seem to be correct. After Mblaq’s successful concert in their tour of “The Blaq” in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, on June this year, Indonesian Hallyu fans were also entertained by another Korean Boy Band, Big…
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West Asia
Time to test Iran
NEW YORK ― Most of the debate about how to address Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear-weapons capacity focuses on two options. The first is to rely on deterrence and live with an Iran that has a small nuclear arsenal or the ability to assemble one with little advance notice. The…
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East Asia
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…
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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…
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