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Tue, January 22, 2019 | 13:02

Opinion > Columnists > John Burton >

Singapore Sling

I always thought that a fascinating and enlightening public debate would have been one between Kim Dae-jung, the former Korean president, and Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of modern Singapore, on the merits of democracy in Asia.

John Burton | 2013-10-09 16:50

What happened to green growth?

Each Korean president usually has a signature cause. In the case of President Park Geun-hye, it is creating a “creative economy.” It is a worthy goal because Korea must rely more on high-tech services rather than manufacturing for future growth.

John Burton | 2013-07-17 17:13

The Chinese timebomb

The North Korea nuclear issue dominated the headlines when South Korean President Park Geun-hye met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week. But perhaps they should have spent more time discussing the perilous state of the Chinese financial system, which poses a more immediate threat to the well-being of both countries.

John Burton | 2013-07-03 16:40

Why nations fail

I’ve recently been involved in a project by the Korea Development Institute on how the Middle East can learn from the Korean economic miracle. The study offers a wealth of examples from education reforms to industrial policies to explain Korea’s rapid rise to advanced economic status and how these lessons could be applied to Middle Eastern countries.

John Burton | 2013-06-19 17:09

The creativity gap

It might appear that Korea is already half way to becoming the "creative economy" that President Park Geun-hye wants to achieve during her administration.

John Burton | 2013-06-05 17:17

The other Korean wave

Korea has many types of glamorous models. But the one that excites foreign governments the most is called the "Miracle on the Han."

John Burton | 2013-05-22 17:15

Magic realism in North Korea

Adam Johnson, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Orphan Master’s Son,’’ recently raised eyebrows among North Korean watchers when he described his first and only visit to Pyongyang to conduct research for his book.

John Burton | 2013-05-08 17:11

'Enter the Dragon'

Last week, China and Russia jointly warned against any unilateral foreign military intervention in North Korea over its recent nuclear test in a statement clearly aimed at the United States. The two countries said that any action against North Korea had to be approved by the United Nations Security Council, where China and Russia have veto powers, although there is little indication that the U.S. is contemplating such an action.

John Burton | 2013-02-27 17:09

Is North Korea a paper tiger?

After North Korea conducted its third nuclear test this week following the recent launch of a long-range ballistic missile, it is perhaps appropriate to ask whether these provocative acts are signs of military weakness rather than strength. Is their purpose to cover up the vulnerabilities of the North Korean People’s Army instead of Pyongyang posing an aggressive threat to its neighbors?

John Burton | 2013-02-13 17:05

Park the peacemaker

It was 99 years ago when Europe, at the height of its prosperity and global influence, suddenly plunged into a calamitous conflict. There were many reasons for the outbreak of World War I, although the main cause was that the rise of Germany posed a challenge to the traditional European powers of Great Britain, France and Russia. Nonetheless, the war was avoidable if cooler heads had prevailed following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, an event whose only importance laid in the fact that it provided a pretext for the declaration of hostilities that caught man...

John Burton | 2013-01-30 17:15

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