The Korea Times - Article List

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn

Opinion

Columnists

Recently I have been reading a rather unusual book called “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. Bedridden and immobilized by an unspecified disease, the author receives a plant from a friend and is intrigued by a common woodland snail that peeps over the rim of the pot and becomes, in effect, her rescue animal. She reads everything that can illuminate her curiosity about this snail, and the research keeps her focused and comforted in the stillness of her room. She forgets about her immobilized state and her sickness as she shifts her attention to her companion snail.

2019-07-12 17:31

My global family

I spent the first week of June this year among 25,000 Rotarians from 160 countries who were attending the Rotary International Convention (its 110th) in Hamburg, Germany. There are 1.2 million Rotarians in 200 countries, so this represented only two percent of our organization. It was my very first Rotary Convention, and an exciting and moving experience. I had never been surrounded by people from 160 countries. The most diversity I had ever experienced previously was among the 45 or so nationalities at the Union Church in Hong Kong during our stay there 20 years ago.

2019-06-13 18:31

One son and four daughters

When I was engaged to be married to Tim in 1968, he casually mentioned that he would like to have 17 children. Of course, I ignored such a crazy idea and stopped after two daughters (they are now 45 and 42). But maybe he wasn't kidding - over the years I've noticed that Tim truly loves children. I have marveled at his enjoyment of his three grandchildren as a doting grandpa. If we walk down a street, I notice cute dogs, but he smiles sweetly at young children.

2019-05-19 17:29

Breathe in, breathe out

Our daughters gave me an Apple watch last Christmas; I am still learning how to use it. Every day from time to time, this watch vibrates and tells me to stand and breathe. I used to ignore its instructions but now I tend to obey. I recognize the importance of standing and breathing intellectually but I am somewhat self-conscious doing it if I am with others. When my husband and I watch Korean dramas to keep up our modern Korean vocabulary (currently we are enjoying “Second to Last Love”), I don't hesitate to stand and breathe. He knows I am trying to comply with my watch's orders.

2019-04-21 17:40

This month in history

One of the things I do regularly each week is to share with my Rotary Club members in Bal Harbour, Florida an eclectic list of miscellaneous historical events that happened on that day - “today in history.” The recent 100th anniversary of Korea's March 1, 1919 Independence Movement against Japanese occupation inspired me to do the same thing for the month of March. So here is “this month in history.”

2019-03-21 17:17

Chance meetings

These days I tend to look back at my life and become contemplative. Today I thought about all the wonderful people I have as my friends. They are mostly relationships I've made through connections from schools, jobs, places we lived, churches, tennis teams, reading groups, charity work and art leagues etc. But there have been many chance meetings along the way.

2019-02-24 17:29

We are what we think

I try to check myself whenever my thoughts wander and bring to mind anything sad, depressing and discouraging. Thoughts of a friend dying of a cancer, news of a friend's mother's sudden death, a friend's unemployment, an angry e-mail disputing my liberal political stance. It is difficult to combat the flooding thoughts that weigh me down. But I know I must.

2019-01-27 16:58

Since 2002 Art Basel Miami, Miami's annual art fair, has catalyzed the area's explosive growth as a major center of the art world. This international art fair began in Basel, Switzerland in 1970, and in 2017 Hong Kong joined as the third host country. This year in Miami 248 galleries from 34 countries participated. I was delighted to see that more than ten art galleries from Korea participated in this iconic art festival.

2018-12-28 16:53

Power of education

Once a year the Ewha Alumnae Association of North America meets in a city where one of the regional chapters hosts an annual general meeting. This year it was the turn of the Toronto chapter in Canada. About 350 alumnae from Canada and the United States attended this gathering. The International Foundation for Ewha Womans University, a fundraising group for Ewha, always holds its annual meeting at the same time. On Nov. 3, a gala dinner was attended by the two organizations as a joint event. During the banquet, the chair of the Ewha Foundation presented a sizable check to Ewha President Kim ...

2018-11-30 17:23

Finding our voices

Our book club recently read “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Published in 1937, this book met with criticism from black intellectuals as being insufficiently politically aware, and it faded into obscurity until rediscovered by Alice Walker in 1975. Since then it has become an acknowledged classic of American fiction.

2018-10-31 18:27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Code of Ethics