[Lee Byung-jong] Big tech vs. nation-states

Elon Musk might be one of the richest and most influential people in the world, but he is not untouchable. In Brazil, he recently had to give in to a court order to remove far-right extremists’ accounts from X, the powerful social media platform he owns and runs. Having defied the court order for months in the name of free speech, Musk had to surrender finally as the court blocked the site for 20 million Brazilian users. This case shows how nation-states could rein in the seemingly inv

Sept. 27, 2024

“Wellness: A Strategic Overview of Well Aging”

While we often think of wellness as a singular concept, it is inherently multifactorial, encompassing dimensions such as the physical, mental, emotional and social. These dimensions are interconnected and collectively contribute to our overall quality of life. Life thrives when our bodies maintain homeostasis -- a delicate balance necessary for survival. Homeostasis ensures that bodily systems regulate functions like salt levels, brain pressure and optimal heart rate. Any disruption to this bala

Sept. 26, 2024

[Career Compass] ‘Respect is earned, not given’

I interviewed Eun-Mi Chae, the former CEO of FedEx Korea and currently an independent director of SKC. She broke new ground as the first Korean female CEO in the express transportation industry, successfully leading the company for 16 years. With over 35 years of experience, Chae is a pioneer, an exceptional communicator and an inspiring role model. Q. What was your mindset when you were first appointed as CEO? A. When I was appointed CEO of FedEx Korea, two key pieces of advice shaped my leader

Sept. 26, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] Why do we need bipartisan diplomacy?

In diplomacy, the national interest should be the highest priority. Yet, a country's internal political dynamics can significantly impact its ability to engage in diplomatic issues effectively. The recent controversy surrounding the bid for the Czech nuclear power plant becomes a case study of how internal political strife can undermine diplomatic efforts. The blame game between the ruling and opposition parties in South Korea reflects a lack of bipartisan cooperation in diplomacy. The oppo

Sept. 26, 2024

[Lisa Jarvis] Decriminalization and fentanyl overdose

This month, a brief, ambitious and many would say calamitous experiment came to an end: Oregon rolled back Measure 110, its policy decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. Rather than handing out small fines with a nudge toward treatment, police are once again giving misdemeanors to people who are found with opioids or meth. What can we learn from this first-of-its-kind experiment in the US? Many would argue that it showed us what not to do. But an honest assessment of w

Sept. 26, 2024

[David Fickling] Breaking our plastics habit

Could our unshakeable addiction to plastics be broken? That’s certainly the hope of activists. The US -- birthplace of the modern polymers industry, and the biggest producer of its key feedstocks, oil and gas -- has joined a bloc supporting a worldwide treaty capping plastics production. That could make a United Nations meeting in South Korea in November into a turning point in the material culture of humanity. The harder challenge will be ensuring that an agreement is workable. Whichever

Sept. 25, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] The pleasure of encountering Korean overseas

Recently, on the website AsAmNews, I came across an interesting item entitled, “What are the Asian languages most Americans want to learn?” Out of 42 East and South Asian languages, Japanese topped the list, perhaps due to young Americans’ interest in anime and manga. The second most popular language Americans want to learn was Korean, no doubt thanks to the worldwide popularity of K-pop, Korean cinema and K-drama. That is not all. Amazingly, the same study revealed that Korean

Sept. 25, 2024

[Grace Kao] NewJeans fights Hybe for their survival

To know NewJeans is to love them. I don’t think I’ve ever met a K-pop fan who didn’t like them. My husband and I don’t generally agree on the K-pop groups we like, but we both love NewJeans. The songs are catchy -- my favorite is “Ditto” and his is “Attention.” We both love the orchestra hits in “Supernatural.” My mood improves after hearing their songs. Their concept conveys a retro take on the sweet and charmed world of youth. However

Sept. 24, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] The enemies of liberal democracy

Recently, a headline captured global attention: another assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the US presidency. Fortunately, the attempt failed, and Trump remains unharmed. However, the incident raises serious concerns about the state of democracy today. Why is Trump a target again, and who benefits from this chaos? More critically, what does this say about the health of American democracy and its liberal traditions? This event is not an isolated act of violence;

Sept. 23, 2024

[Lee Kyong-hee] New Right distorts 'comfort women'

Song Sin-do was 16 and had yet to have her first menstrual period when she was tricked into working for a Japanese military “comfort station.” Over seven hellish years, she was impregnated many times and had to give away two babies. When the troops moved to the frontline, she was ordered to accompany them. Amid the echoes of gunfire, she had sex with dozens of soldiers every day. Song was born in 1922 under Japanese rule, in the present-day Daejeon area in South Chungcheong Province.

Sept. 23, 2024

[Robert J. Fouser] The soundscape of Korean cities

One of the most interesting things about visiting a new city is its soundscape. For many people, language defines the way a city sounds, particularly if they do not understand the language or languages spoken around them. The soundscape also includes announcements, digital notifications, music, traffic noise and various sounds of nature. What, then, is the soundscape of major cities in South Korea? The easiest city to start with is Seoul, the largest and most dominant city in the country by far.

Sept. 23, 2024

[Andrei Hagiu] Why and how all businesses should consider turning their products into platforms

In the current digital era, businesses are constantly seeking ways to innovate, grow, and maintain a competitive edge. One increasingly popular strategy is transforming products into platforms. This approach involves expanding existing products and services to also enable interactions among customers or between customers and external third-parties. With some creative thinking and careful implementation, this strategy can generate new revenue streams and enhance competitive advantage via network

Sept. 20, 2024

[Frank Pasquale] Industrial policy for the real world:

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has characterized AI as “the most profound technology humanity is working on. More profound than fire, electricity, or anything that we have done in the past." The hype around “existential risk” in AI follows a similar narrative, analogizing it to Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb. Such grand pronouncements have stirred many a corporate board and government agency to develop AI deployment plans. The problem, though, is that it’s not yet clear i

Sept. 19, 2024

[Lee Byung-jong] ‘Out of the Box’ Universities

As the new fall semester begins, I face my new students with both excitement and dread. Excitement because I can find vibrant youth energy and unquenchable academic zeal from their glowing faces. Dread because the world outside our campus is dark and grim, filled with uncertainties. Once they graduate, students will have to grapple with not only the world’s woes, such as wars and climate crisis, but also their personal perils, notably job scarcity. With these mixed feelings, I happened to

Sept. 13, 2024

[Stephanie Pincetl] A summer of extreme heat, wildfire

As Greece attempts to recover from the recent destructive wildfires around Athens, Southern Californians facing our own heat wave should take note of the pattern that enabled them. It should be well-known by now: sprawl into the urban-wildland interface where development collides with nature, the corresponding replacement of grass, shrubs and other plants native to the area with many more trees for shade, then strain on the land thanks to drought, record high heat and wind, intensified by climat

Sept. 12, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] Arrogance is poison

Traditionally, Koreans have respected polite and considerate speech, but recently, we have seen many people speaking arrogantly and presumptuously. A recent case involves Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, whose remarks have ignited controversy. He made unusually frank comments on US elections and foreign policy during a seminar at a private research institute in Seoul. Here are a few of his statements: “If former President Trump wins the US election in

Sept. 12, 2024

[Christophe Andre] Will AI hit employment, raise productivity, and increase inequality?

The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 has raised great hopes that artificial intelligence (AI) can contribute to solving problems in many fields and lift productivity, but also fears that many jobs may disappear, and that income inequality could rise further. AI is commonly seen as a general-purpose technology, like the internal combustion engine, early electricity-based technologies, and computers. Such technologies have the potential to disrupt large parts of the economy, displacing many w

Sept. 11, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] 'Total Recall': Three questions we should ask

The 2012 Hollywood science fiction film “Total Recall” is a remake of the 1990 film of the same title, based on Philip K. Dick’s 1966 short story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” Set on a dystopian Earth devastated by chemical warfare at the end of the 21st century, this movie depicts a grim future that we might very well have to encounter soon. In the movie, the only habitable places on Earth are the United Federation of Britain, or UFB, and the Colony. The

Sept. 11, 2024

[Grace Kao] American redemption vs. Korean punishment for BTS’ Suga

I am a fan of BTS and know many American fans in the BTS Army, as the fan group calls itself. I am also in contact with many K-pop professionals and Korean fans of K-pop. I was in Korea a couple of weeks ago, and it really struck me how different American and Korean perceptions of Suga’s recent drunk-driving controversy were. The bottom line comes down to American beliefs about redemption for past personal transgressions versus Korean beliefs about equity in punishment for celebrities, at

Sept. 10, 2024