[Lee Kyong-hee] Yoon’s dangerous spin on history

Saburo Ienaga, arguably the most famous historian in 20th-century Japan, waged a more than 30-year fight against his government’s efforts to omit wartime atrocities from school textbooks. “Even if you hide from the Japanese,” he declared, “the people in other countries know about them. The side that inflicted sufferings forgets, but the side that suffered doesn’t forget.” Not necessarily so, one may say, when it comes to the current Korean administration. Ad

Aug. 26, 2024

[Jackie Payne] Tipping point in US presidential election

After a wild few weeks, the top of the ticket is once again set for Democrats and Republicans. Polls show US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck and neck. Over the last several years, we’ve seen presidential elections decided by slimmer and slimmer margins, and 2024 will likely be no different. There’s one thing that links these historically close election results in recent years -- and that’s the voting behavior of America’s moderate w

Aug. 26, 2024

Welcome to the Pride Parade

The sun shone brightly on June 1, as the street between Jonggak and Euljiro 1-ga Stations in Seoul lit up with the colors of the rainbow. Dozens of tents lined the street as thousands of people waved brightly colored signs and celebrated the 25th Seoul Queer Culture Festival. From the smiling faces and exuberant atmosphere, you wouldn’t think such an event would be a wellspring of political controversy. However, despite its quarter-century history in South Korea, the Queer Festival and L

Aug. 23, 2024

Idolization of English pronunciation

Heated debates ensue in Korea whenever K-pop idols like Jang Won-young introduce themselves in English or South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an English speech. The discussion is around an element that supposedly has a large influence in determining the speaker's English proficiency — the public figures’ English pronunciation. Praised are the ones who imitate the smooth American intonation or posh British accent; those who fail to do so are viewed as terrible English s

Aug. 23, 2024

From Manila and Seoul: Have you heard of Kopinos?

As borders become more open around the world, the possibilities for creating connections with people from different countries increase. In this generation, there are a growing number of children with mixed heritage and multiple nationalities. Among these, the term "Kopino" has been coined, combining "Korean" and "Filipino." A moment that has stuck with me my whole life was the first time a complete stranger called me a “Kopino.” At age 12, I had no idea

Aug. 23, 2024

[Robert Fouser] 'Dynamic USA' and 'Welcoming Korea'

The switch from President Joe Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for US president brought an instant change in atmosphere to the campaign for the White House. Former President Donald Trump, who had previously looked younger compared to Biden, suddenly looked old and has struggled to regain his postconvention dominance. Harris, meanwhile, has pulled ahead in the national polls and will get another bounce from this week’s Democratic convention. The change at th

Aug. 23, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] National interest and diplomatic messages

Remarks by President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, on foreign policy have sparked controversies recently. In his Liberation Day speech on Aug. 15, Yoon stressed the importance of unification, saying Korea's independence is incomplete as long as the division continues. The problem is that he said, "The freedom that we enjoy should be expanded to the North Korean region," thus making it clear that he aims for unification by

Aug. 22, 2024

[Dmytro Ponomarenko] Ukraine celebrates 33rd anniversary of independence.

On Aug. 24, Ukraine is going to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of its independence. Although independent Ukraine appeared on the political map of the world relatively recently, the history of the Ukrainian nation goes back more than a thousand years. Deeply rooted in the traditions of the medieval Kievan Rus and later of the Cossack republic, the Ukrainians throughout their long history strived for their own state, free from occupation or colonization by a neighboring people. Nowadays, as Ukrain

Aug. 21, 2024

[Robin Abcarian] JD Vance’s ‘cringey’ view on women

I was minding my own business, living my grandbaby-free postmenopausal life, when I was suddenly confronted with an existential question: What -- to borrow Barbie‘s lament -- was I made for? And why should I care what Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance thinks? Normally, I don‘t engage in evolutionary biology-based navel-gazing. I’ve heard too many sophomoric arguments about how men are biologically programmed to be unfaithful, blah blah blah. I‘m too busy worki

Aug. 21, 2024

[Contribution] Tracking international fugitives: Commitment to global cooperation against cross-border crimes

By Kim Dong-kwon With the increasing globalization of crime and the ease of moving across borders, more criminals are absconding to other countries immediately after committing offenses. Furthermore, criminal organizations operate across multiple nations and quickly move their operation between countries with the intention to disrupt police investigations. In response, the Korean National Police Agency has made significant strides in apprehending and repatriating fugitives. Following the repatri

Aug. 21, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] The older generation in the eyes of the young

With every generation, we see older people lament that younger people are rude and undisciplined. In the eyes of the old, young people are impudent and insolent, impetuous and impulsive, in short: “enfants terribles.” Historians say that older people have been critical of younger people for the past 2,500 years or so of human history. Nevertheless, what about the image of the older generation in the eyes of the young? To young people, older people may look hopelessly pathetic and dep

Aug. 21, 2024

[James Coltella] Way to fruitful political discourse

My accent as an Englishman in America hasn’t protected me from the whiplash of dating and ghosting. It strikes me that many people prefer to leave silence to do the talking, rather than express an opinion that might not be well received. Yet ghosting is the epitome of bad manners. Surely as a society, we owe it to each other to be honest, giving closure rather than adding confusion? Unfortunately, it appears that ghosting isn’t just a phenomenon in dating. It’s everywhere, incl

Aug. 21, 2024

[Jan-Werner Mueller] Populism‘s lost summer

Think back to late June and early July. The French far right was favored to win a snap parliamentary election. Trumpist judges in the United States were conveniently resolving the legal woes of the former president, who seemed to be gliding to victory after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance. And while Britain was getting a Labor government, a new anti-immigration party led by the chief Brexiteer, Nigel Farage, had made unprecedented gains. Faced with it all, pundits warne

Aug. 20, 2024

[Grace Kao] K-pop’s pursuit on the US Billboard charts

I eagerly waited until midnight on August 20, 2020, for the debut of BTS’ “Dynamite” on YouTube. The music video was released at midnight in my time zone -- Eastern Standard Time -- on a Thursday night. Why didn’t it debut at midnight in Korea? The reason is very simple. New singles are released at 12 midnight Thursday night (or technically Friday morning) Eastern Standard Time because the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart begins its count of weekly sales and streams startin

Aug. 20, 2024

[Rachel Greszler] Universal basic income is no panacea

Do we need universal basic income? Some economists say we do. They claim that UBI -- a taxpayer-funded minimum monthly payment with no strings attached -- would reduce poverty and inequality; improve physical and mental health; and provide financial security so that recipients can earn a degree, launch a business, or care for family members. But we don’t have to take their word for it. A recent UBI experiment has given us some real-world results. Nineteen counties in Texas and Illinois tes

Aug. 19, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] Don’t expect poor domestic demand curing itself

While South Korea's economy appears to sustain growth thanks to robust exports of a few big-ticket items, a slew of statistics released in recent weeks points to a deepening slump in domestic consumption. Against this backdrop, policy authorities seem to lack both the will and the tools to change course. Statistics Korea’s retail sales index fell 2.9 percent in volume terms during the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2023, marking the worst drop in 15 years s

Aug. 19, 2024

[Lee Byung-jong] Living in age of conspiracy theories

Does anybody remember the mad cow disease scare that rocked all of South Korean society 16 years ago? According to the theory, people were supposed to have melted brains if they eat US beef. Massive anti-US beef protests paralyzed downtown Seoul for weeks, crippling the administration of President Lee Myung-bak that tried to assuage the concern with scientific evidence. Fortunately, nobody I know of has died of the disease and people around me very much enjoy US beef now that is cheaper than han

Aug. 16, 2024

[Room Tone] 60 minutes to airtime

It’s a balmy afternoon sometime in 2010, and you and 40 co-workers are gathered at a scenic park on the eastern outskirts of Seoul getting ready to shoot Scene No. 45 of episode 12 of a highly-rated television drama. Despite the tranquil appearance, there is a small and pressing problem: Episode 12 is scheduled to air later tonight. The director of photography (DP) is desperately staring up at the sky; if they don’t finish shooting in the next 45 minutes, they will lose the sun to

Aug. 15, 2024

[Hello India] India and S. Korea: Forging stronger ties for brighter future

As we commemorate the 77th anniversary of Independence Day for India, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all fellow citizens, the vibrant Indian diaspora in the Republic of Korea, and our esteemed Korean friends. This day also marks the 79th anniversary of Liberation Day for Korea, and I wish its people and government continued success, good health and prosperity. Over the years, the ROK has achieved impressive success across all fields of human endeavor, particularly advanced manufacturing, t

Aug. 15, 2024

[Kwang W. Kim] Korea needs a new social contract

In my last essay for The Korea Herald, I introduced the idea of the "Paradox on the Han River." To understand South Korea today, one must squarely face two contradictory realities. One is of incredible success, a rag-to-riches story with global brands, an addictive K-culture and a rising power at the Olympics. Political progress followed this success. Korea is a rare nation in the modern era with a conviction around constitutional democracy. At the same time, Korea’s youth is cha

Aug. 15, 2024