Big Brother Looming Large Everything the Lee Myung-bak administration touches is turning sour. From North Korea to Dokdo issues, policymakers are making one blunder after another.
The Buck Should Stop There A couple of days ago, I happened to read an article in a newspaper. It instantly piqued my interest because it read like it was written by spin doctors at the top of their game.
Korean Press in Tatters As the candlelit rallies that raged violently for more than two months have waned, the true picture of the Korean press has been acutely revealed. Most newspapers and television networks have twisted and distorted the facts while indulging themselv..
The Eagle (Obama) Has Landed DOKDO Five leaders stand together at a small landing area with a large banner behind reading, ``Victory of Peace,'' in three languages Korean, English and Japanese.
Return to Two-Term Presidency? Sixty years ago today, Korea's Constitution was first created. Since then, it has been revised nine times. The latest change was made about two decades ago to revive direct presidential voting and introduce a five-year presidency that bans the pres..
Lets Get Even With Japan It should be treated as nothing less than a declaration of war against the rest of the world. The choice of weapon in this war started by Japan is not guns, missiles or atomic bombs, but a collective sense of determination emulating that of Jewish ..
How Far Can Reality TV Go? There is not a cloud in the sky, and the cicadas are humming in unison, all telltale signs that the peak of summer has been reached. If one were to compare the seasons to the various stages in a person's life, the marriage of a young couple may wel..
Prime Minister Roh Moo-hyun Call it political osmosis, or perhaps more appropriately, a layman's version of the Toynbian challenge-and-response theory.
Beefing Up Press Control This year marks the 40th anniversary of the death of poet Kim Su-young (1921-1968), one of the most influential modern Korean poets.
The Day Music Died Fukuyama was wrong; Friedman sold us out; Yale should have flunked Bush, but Don McClean was half right.
A Choice: Reform or Status Quo Reform often takes years or ends in failure. Whenever a change of government takes place, the new administration comes out with reform plans. This time is no exception. President Lee Myung-bak, a conservative who took office under the catchphrase o..
McDonalds vs Saewookkang I don't eat McDonald's not because I am anti-American. I went cold turkey on Big Macs and value menus a few months ago after reading Eric Schlosser's 2001 book, ``Fastfood Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.''
Ttaengjeon News No More? Watching prime time nine o'clock news during the 1980s was like a recurring nightmare. Especially in the earlier part of 1980s, the news was always about a pending attack or threat from North Korea, with menacing music and visuals in the background..
Mr. President, Cheer Up! Close your Bible and skip your morning prayers for a day. Hit the snooze button on your alarm clock set for 5 a.m. and ask the first lady to let you stay in bed. Throw the batch of morning newspapers into the dustbin and keep your television switch..
Raging Against Mad Cow Many Koreans are enraged. Every night they vent their anger on the streets, slamming President Lee Myung-bak for mishandling U.S. beef imports.
Memories of Revolution I thought it was all over 20 years ago. At that time, a crowd, its population the size of a small city with most of them in their 20s, would gather in the middle of Seoul and engage in a collective test of strength against small but better-armed ph..
Time for Constitutional Debate Only 100 days into President Lee Myung-bak's five-year term, a debate on constitutional change is burgeoning again.
