[Wang Son-taek] Trash balloons vs. leaflet balloons

North Korea sent over around a thousand balloons filled with trash, including excrement, to South Korea, scattering them across the country. The garbage itself is filthy, but the base nature of North Korea's actions is even more despicable. This incident is also a disgraceful and embarrassing display of the current state of inter-Korean relations. Why did this humiliating situation occur? How should we respond? A lot of angry South Koreans might think the answer should be to accuse North Ko

ViewpointsJune 6, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Remembering John Barth and the Korean 1980s

Recently, the celebrated American author John Barth passed away, leaving behind his long-lasting legacy of postmodern literature. In his monumental essay, “The Literature of Exhaustion” (1967), Barth declared that literary realism and conventional modes of literary representation had used up their possibilities in the postmodern era of electronic media and pop culture. In his 1982 sequel essay “The Literature of Replenishment,” he proposed “postmodernism” as a

ViewpointsJune 4, 2024

[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Binaifer Nowrojee] More women are needed at the top

Mexico has just elected its first female president, following a rare contest between two women. But while this result represents welcome gains for gender equality, it was an outlier. The broader picture is disheartening. Consider, for example, another recent election. Thirty years after the end of apartheid and the first free vote -- and despite impressive strides (led by women) toward gender equality in other domains -- the people of South Africa still have not had a chance to elect a woman to

ViewpointsJune 4, 2024

[Eric Posner] Rough justice for Trump

Now that a Manhattan jury has convicted Donald Trump of falsifying business records in order to cover up a crime – whether it is an election-related or a tax-related crime is not clear – a host of new questions arise. Will Judge Juan Merchan send the former president to jail before the election in November, and, if so, will Trump nonetheless be reelected and released? If the judge merely fines Trump or puts him on probation, what impact might that have on the outcome? Finally, will

ViewpointsJune 4, 2024

[Grace Kao] K-pop 'fanmeetings' and collective nostalgia

The term “fan meeting” ought to be self-evident. It’s an event where artists meet their fans, but don’t fans and artists meet at a traditional concert? Perhaps one imagines a “meet and greet” event where you pay extra for the opportunity for a photo or to say hello to your favorite artist. In the world of K-pop, a “fanmeeting” (one word) refers to an event with a very unique format. My husband and I just attended the VIXX Starlight 6th Fanmeeting

ViewpointsJune 4, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] Value-up program fails to lift stocks

South Korea’s stock prices fell for the past two consecutive months, pushing the main board’s benchmark index below its starting point for this year and faring worse than many indices in major countries worldwide. Moreover, the disappointing performance of the country’s share prices contrasts with some signs of improving economic growth in recent months. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, fell 2.1 percent in May after losing 2 percent in April. This follows a st

ViewpointsJune 3, 2024

[Daniel DePetris] China’s message to Taiwan’s president

Last week, Taiwan got a new president. Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, was sworn in after a rough and tumble campaign, succeeding his old boss, former President Tsai Ing-wen. Elections in Taiwan are always a sore spot for China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own and regards any expressions of Taiwanese sovereignty as a violation. But Lai’s inauguration is an especially thorny subject for Beijing because the Chinese Communist Party views him as a dangerous instigator of

ViewpointsMay 31, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] Five takeaways from the trilateral summit

The trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan, and China held in Seoul, Korea, earlier this week was the first such event in four and a half years since 2019, and it has significantly positive implications for the resumption of the platform for peaceful coexistence and prosperity among the three countries. It was also a successful diplomatic event for the Republic of Korea, raising expectations for peace and stability in Northeast Asia and restoring Korea-China relations. However, it is ne

ViewpointsMay 30, 2024

[Bradford DeLong] The threat of Trumpflation and a Fed war

Inflation in the US is lower than it was a year ago, and substantial economic weakness elsewhere is driving other central banks toward interest-rate cuts. With little empirical basis to believe that US monetary policy is not restrictive, I continue to believe that in 18 months, the US Federal Reserve will have wished that it had started cutting rates in January 2024. If I am right, the US is not headed for a soft-landing path; it is already on the runway, albeit with a monetary-policy rudder ste

ViewpointsMay 30, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Watching the medical school expansion dispute

Recently, the Seoul High Court overruled a petition by the medical community to block the government’s plan to drastically increase the enrolment quota at medical schools. However, the controversy over medical school expansion will continue in South Korea because people think that it will bring not only medical reform but also ultimately the alteration of the Korean health care system. Those who support the government’s policy criticize doctors for selfishly trying to protect their p

ViewpointsMay 29, 2024

[Jeffrey Frankel] Europe’s carbon border tax

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, officially launched in October 2023, now requires importers to report on the direct and indirect greenhouse-gas emissions embedded in the goods they import. Beginning in January 2026, the EU will start imposing tariffs on imports from countries that do not price carbon at the bloc’s market rate, which could significantly affect carbon-intensive producers among its trading partners. The EU’s new carbon-pricing regime may s

ViewpointsMay 29, 2024

[Ana Palacio] Is Europe too big for further enlargement?

Earlier this month, the European Union celebrated the 20th anniversary of its biggest-ever enlargement, which brought ten new members into the bloc. That event remains a potent reminder of the EU’s potential to advance peace and unity across the European continent. But, at a time of deep internal divisions and an increasingly volatile external environment, the giddy idealism of 2004 seems a distant dream, and the prospects of further enlargement appear uncertain. The promise of EU accessio

ViewpointsMay 28, 2024

[Grace Kao] Did K-pop debut in US with The Kim Sisters in 1959?

K-pop’s first appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart was in 2009, when the Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” hit No. 76. Fifty years earlier, in 1959 The Kim Sisters (Sue, Aija, and Mia) from Korea made their American TV premiere on The Ed Sullivan show. So, is 1959 the year that K-Pop made its debut in the US? Probably not, but we should celebrate the importance of The Kim Sisters in representing Korea to the US. They would eventually appear on The Ed Sullivan Show twenty-one

ViewpointsMay 28, 2024