[Kim Seong-kon] All countries are important to us

No country can survive alone these days. Every country is interdependent and mutually beneficial in one way or another. This is especially true for a country like South Korea, whose economy depends heavily on export and trade, or whose national security largely relies on its allies. It would not be wise for such a country to provoke other countries and make enemies. Enemies, of course, are the exception. It is difficult to be on good terms with hostile countries that threaten you with lethal wea

Sept. 13, 2023

[Andrew Sheng] The unending cycle of war and peace

Are we moving into an escalating phase towards war? With war returning to Europe with armed conflict in Ukraine, coups in Niger, Central Africa, amid the hottest July in recorded history, the heating of climate and war is becoming a toxic mix. The US Director of National Intelligence’s 2021 report on Global Trends 2040 gloomily assessed the prospects as follows: “In coming years and decades, the world will face more intense and cascading global challenges ranging from disease to clim

Sept. 12, 2023

[Antara Haldar] After the demise of Beijing Consensus

For four decades, “Made in China” has been a defining feature of global capitalism. China has manufactured a majority of global exports since 2010, and many countries are emulating its development paradigm. But a wave of disappointing economic news from China has given rise to increasingly gloomy forecasts, with some going so far as to argue that decline is imminent. There has been much speculation about this reversal’s implications for the global economy, but what does it mean

Sept. 11, 2023

[Wang Son-taek] Japan must make chance for Kanto massacre apology

The Japanese remember the Great Kanto Earthquake on Sept. 1 every year. There was a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, and more than 100,000 people died. Koreans remember the same day as the Great Kanto Massacre. Shortly after the quake, Japanese police, military and civilian vigilantes brutally killed over 6,000 Koreans, around 750 Chinese as well as Japanese socialists and others on the left. The Great Kanto Massacre took place in 1923, so this year marks the 100th anniversary. Since it was the centena

Sept. 7, 2023

[Sarah Green Carmichael] Is ChatGPT coming for entry-level jobs?

The first years of my career in media were spent making photocopies, collecting faxes and filing papers. I also opened reader mail, took notes on meetings and ran errands for my bosses -- picking up everything from skim lattes to control-top Donna Karan tights. I’ve been thinking back to those dues-paying days recently due to an onslaught of depressing research about how generative AI could hurt the career prospects of Generation Z, or those born 1997 to 2012. If it transforms or even take

Sept. 7, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] 'My precious' and 'If it’s Him, I will Consider'

There is an image in our collective consciousness that has become indelible, unmistakable: It is when, in the famous fantasy movie, “The Lord of the Rings,” the iconic character Gollum greedily clutches the powerful magic ring at the heart of the story and whispers, “My precious!” Originally, Gollum was a good, peaceful hobbit, but twisted by his greed and obsession with the One Ring, he turned into the monstrous Gollum, a depraved and corrupted creature. The lesson of th

Sept. 6, 2023

[Martin Schram] It’s time to make America’s democracy great again

To tell you the truth, if I do just that, the polls all say that one out of three of you won’t want to hear or read it -- and that you damn well won’t believe it. So let’s start today with the things just about all of us believe. Almost all of us believe that we are on the side of the Patriotic Americans. And way too many of us believe, these days, that those on the other side aren’t true patriots at all -- but fake patriots who are America’s true enemies. We have f

Sept. 6, 2023

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Extreme inequality a fertile ground for retreat of democracy

There has been much handwringing about the retreat of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism in recent years -- and for good reason. From Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former US President Donald Trump, we have a growing list of authoritarians and would-be autocrats who channel a curious form of right-wing populism. Though they promise to protect ordinary citizens and preserve longstanding national values, they pursue policies that prot

Sept. 5, 2023

[Kelly A. Grieco, Jennifer Kavanagh] Biden's backward SE Asia itinerary

When US President Joe Biden visits Vietnam after his stop at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi this month, he is expected to upgrade our two nations’ bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership.” The shift will mark a significant turning for both countries. But it should not come at the cost of skipping the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations around the same time in Indonesia. Biden’s choice to go to Hanoi -- and send Vice President Kamala Harris

Sept. 4, 2023

[Mariana Mazzucato] Rethinking growth and the entrepreneurial state

From high-level policy debates and political manifestos to everyday news coverage, anxiety about economic growth is everywhere. In Germany, the government’s latest budget identifies stronger growth as a top priority. In India, national leaders are eager to reclaim their country’s place as the world’s fastest-growing economy. In China, where the prospect of deflation looms, the government is undoubtedly worried about hitting its 5 percent growth target for the year. In the Unite

Sept. 4, 2023

[Robert J. Fouser] S. Korea and Japan after Camp David

The recent trilateral summit between the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Aug. 18 was heralded as a turning point in trilateral security cooperation. US President Joe Biden hosted South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a summit at the Camp David presidential retreat. The leaders agreed to form a quasi-alliance in the face of the growing threat from China. They agreed to cooperate on a range of security-related issues and t

Sept. 1, 2023

[Lee Kyong-hee] Truth behind the 1923 massacre

Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters in history, the Great Kanto Earthquake, which leveled swaths of Japan’s main island. The tremor and subsequent fires destroyed 40 percent of Tokyo and left 60 percent of the population homeless. Yokohama, the second-largest city, suffered a similar fate. Nationwide, the estimated death toll was 140,000. Today, the cities’ neighborhoods leave no trace of the ruins or lives lost. They also bear little trace of a

Aug. 31, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] What led to the fall of Roman Empire?

In his celebrated book, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” Edward Gibson clarified the reasons why the Roman Empire perished. He wrote that the political and military leaders of Rome “first oppressed the freedom of the republic, and afterwards violated the majesty of the purple.” Then he continued, “The emperors, anxious for their personal safety and the public peace, were reduced to the base expedient of corrupting the discipline which ren

Aug. 30, 2023

[Andrew Sheng] Who will drive Asia’s animal spirits?

Throughout history, humanity’s creativity, innovation and daring have come from “animal spirits,” leading it out of adversity. In his 1936 “General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money,” English economist John Maynard Keynes famously saw that psychology played a great role in economic behavior. “Most, probably, of our decisions to do something positive, the full consequences of which will be drawn out over many days to come, can only be taken as a result

Aug. 29, 2023

[Takatoshi Ito] Is Japan-style deflation coming to China?

Recent economic news from China has triggered the same helpless, sinking feeling that gripped me when Japan’s property bubble collapsed in 1991-92. Will this sense of déjà vu continue, with China apparently heading down the same path of deflation and stagnation on which Japan embarked three decades ago? Earlier this month, Evergrande -- the massive Chinese real-estate developer that defaulted on its debt in 2021 -- filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the United Stat

Aug. 25, 2023

[Wang Son-taek] From Camp Bonifas to Camp David

In the Republic of Korea, Aug. 18 has long been a day to remember. On that day in 1976, US soldiers were attacked at the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom by North Korean soldiers with axes, and two US officers were brutally killed. The US military unit in charge of Panmunjom at the time was Camp Kitty Hawk, which was changed to Camp Bonifas in remembrance of Capt. Bonifas, who was killed horribly in that incident. Forty-seven years later, in Camp David, Maryland, the leaders of South Korea, the

Aug. 24, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] How can South Korea become a big country?

South Korea is a small country in size, yet it has always aspired to be “big.” From slogans that hope for a “greater Republic of Korea” to obsession over a grandiose national image, South Korea has been striving to become and be considered as a country that is larger than life. In order to achieve this, politicians focused on building fancy facilities or hosting international events that could potentially impress the global audience. Yet it is important to note that what

Aug. 23, 2023

[Daniel Davis] Maintain the status quo of Taiwan

Taiwan recently conducted the first-ever “anti-takeover drill” at the island’s main Taoyuan International Airport, reflecting the growing fears that China will soon launch an all-out war to seize Taiwan. Unsurprisingly, China responded by sending 29 ships and planes on missions near Taiwan. Because the risks to the US of getting drawn into such a conflict are high, President Joe Biden’s administration should begin immediately to reassess its regional policies to ensure Am

Aug. 22, 2023

[Daniel DePetris] Why negotiating with Iran to free prisoners matters

Negotiating with Iran is never easy or uncontroversial. But it’s often necessary to solve problems -- or in one case last week, to free Americans who were imprisoned unjustly by the Iranian authorities. On Thursday, the Biden administration announced the beginning of a highly synchronized process that, ideally, will end with the release of five Americans to their families after years of detention. In exchange, the US agreed to release five imprisoned Iranians and unfreeze $6 billion of Ira

Aug. 22, 2023

[Gordon Brown] British Conservatives’ contempt for human rights

For centuries, Britain has prided itself on being a bastion of liberty and the rule of law. British leaders have talked in glowing terms of the “golden thread” that connects the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Bill of Rights of 1689 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) of 1950 and the Human Rights Act of 1998. Thus, the United Kingdom’s human-rights record has been central to successive governments’ efforts to exercise soft power globally. No one has boasted more

Aug. 21, 2023