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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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East Asia
Diplomatic procession as world heritage
The initiatives to make the Joseon Diplomatic Procession a UNSECO World Cultural Heritage are about to begin in Korea and Japan. Korea has nine world cultural heritage sites and one natural heritage site, and Japan has twelve cultural and four natural heritage sites recognized by the internationally renowned organization as…
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East Asia
Little justice in N. Korea
One of the questions a Korean-speaking visitor to North Korea is likely to encounter in a private conversation with a local is “What happened to the Party and security functionaries of East Germany after reunification?” This question shows one of the most important, and perhaps the defining feature, of the…
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South Asia
Pakistani Farmers Harvest Rice Amid Fear Of Drastic Crop Reduction Due To Heavy Monsoon Rains
Need becomes ‘Mother of Invention’ The delayed but unprecedented heavy monsoon rains had played havoc in Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan in mid of September 2012. Several deaths, destruction of houses and damage to crops were reported from two provinces. The overall losses to growers are estimated to be…
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East Asia
Crouching tigers, hidden Christian message
While world media attention was heavily focused on the Olympics this summer, another Olympics of a slightly more wordy nature may have escaped your attention: The Alphabet Olympics, that saw representatives from over 26 nations flock to Bangkok for “The Second World Alphabet Olympiad’’ ― a linguistic marathon, designed to…
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Column
Magic numbers for Korea’s long-term prosperity
Korea’s economic miracle comes of age. According to U.S. economist Paul Krugman, Korea’s small open economy has entered a low-growth phase owing to the country’s heavy reliance on exports, and negligence in fostering domestic demand and curbing population decline. Indeed, the current stagnant economy is likely to be a long-term…
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Rough waters in NE Asia
Do presidential candidates have sailing strategies? In most countries, presidential elections are about domestic issues, mainly the economy and public welfare. In Korea this year, both voters and candidates can hardly afford to focus solely on the economic wellbeing of individuals. At stake is the entire nation’s diplomatic survival amid…
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N. Korea’s ‘tax bomb’
Keeping Gaeseong complex benefits both The joint industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong is the only pipeline linking the two Koreas due to their strained relations, especially since President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008. The possible tinderbox for renewed inter-Korean relations after the December…
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Column
[Korea Report] Culture shock of living in Seoul ends up making familiar to things Korean
Culture Shock and Homesick are two words that we often hear about when we talk to foreigner living in a country away from their motherland. Despite of all the excitements and adventures in a foreign land, obstacles cannot be disregarded easily. As an Indonesian student, living in Seoul, I am…
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