-
Downbeat mood at Cheong Wa Dae
The presidential transition team has become the “it” beat among reporters these days as power shifts from outgoing President Lee Myung-bak to incoming President Park Geun-hye. The lively, hectic atmosphere at the Korea Banking Institute (KBI), where the transition team is based, stands in stark contrast to the bleak and depressing…
Read More » -
East Asia
Overbalancing: The Folly of Trying to Contain China
*Author, Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. As the US reorients its foreign policy toward Asia, with the attendant redeployment of military assets to the region, fears are spreading that the American pivot is really aimed at containing the rise of China. Former Australian Prime…
Read More » -
East Asia
Googling sedition in N. Korea
The visit of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt to North Korea this week raises intriguing questions about internet usage there to which we may not get real answers for a long time. Belatedly, North Korea has had to open access to the Internet to highly select elite that includes students at…
Read More » -
East Asia
Suicide is preventable through social care
The recent suicide of former ace baseball pitcher Cho Sung-mo, 39, traumatized the country. His death followed the suicides of his former wife, actress Choi Jin-sil, in 2008, and his brother-in-law, Choi Jin-young, in 2010. Many agree that these suicides were prompted by “anti-fans,” who spread malicious stories online. The…
Read More » -
Number of visitors to Lumbini in 2012 increased, but failed to reach target number
KATHMANDU – Nearly 760,000 visitors, including foreign and domestic, visited Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, in western Nepal, during Lumbini Visit Year 2012. The government had targeted to bring one million visitors during the period. Records at the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) show that the visitors to Lumbini increased…
Read More » -
Prevention of suicide
National efforts needed to take off shameful label Korea is a land of suicides. As of 2010, 33.5 Koreans out of 100,000 took their own lives, the most among 34 OECD member nations for eight straight years and 2.6 times the average suicide rate of that organization. On average, 42.6…
Read More » -
East Asia
Clash of anxieties
On the eve of the Dec. 19 presidential election, I was on my way home by subway. I was sitting on one of the seats reserved for the elderly as it was not crowded. Minutes later a man in his 30s sat in front of me and two elderly men…
Read More » -
East Asia
Another Psy analysis
So many articles try to explain the reasons behind the rise of Psy and the implications of his windfall success as an individual and the significance of his craft on the global scene. Even the New York Times sees something more than a person here (“The Goal in Gangnam: Go…
Read More » -
East Asia
Energy myths
Which of the following statements is true? The United States now has a 100-year supply of natural gas, thanks to the miracle of shale gas. By 2017 it will once again be the world’s biggest oil producer. By 2035 it will be entirely “energy-independent,” and free in particular from its…
Read More » -
East Asia
Korean as second language (KSL)
I have decided to write a couple of columns regarding what I think should be the priority list for President-elect Park Geun-hye. Topping my list is the introduction of a Korean-language learning program a la ESL (English as a second language) or JSL (Japanese as a second language). I promised…
Read More »