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Tue, May 22, 2018 | 22:38

Opinion > Blogs > Imbricated Chaos >

From the prison cells of Guantanamo Bay to Embassy in Seoul

Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command in Hawaii, was slated to startwork as ambassador to Australia this month. Suddenly, out of the blue, the Trump White House announced on April 24 that Harris would be assigned to South Korea.

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-05-12 10:17

The rise in fine dust in Korea and the collapse of governance

Koreans have been bombarded over the past few weeks with non-stop news reports about the responses of former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye to the criminal charges they face for corruption. Although those individuals should be held responsible for their actions, one has to wonder whether the personal self-serving actions of those politicians are the most critical ...

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-04-25 15:24

Upcoming South-North summit and its true potential

South Koreans find themselves in a period of rapid geopolitical change that is pushing them to the very limits of their ability to comprehend and to respond. The situation is made more serious by the general lethargy, and lack of creativity, in government and in industry that has set in over the past decade of conservative rule.

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-04-21 09:54

Fukuyama on how youth should respond to current challenges

The Author interviewed political scientist Francis Fukuyama, best known for his book The End of History and the Last Man, and asked him what advice he had for young people in this age of growing uncertainty.

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-04-14 11:01

Focusing on Korea's true security challenges before, and after, the South-North summit

The strategy behind the South-North summit meetings cannot be progressive. We have gone too far in the rhetoric of confrontation and the literal preparations for war. Unlike previous summits, the talk cannot be focus only on reopening the Gumgang Mountain Tourist Park, or allowing meetings of separated families.

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-04-08 14:24

Seoul: A tale of two cities

On an overcast February afternoon in 1991 my Korean Airlines flight landed at the dreary Gimpo Airport, and I first set foot in Seoul. The rice and vegetables in a bowl that were accompanied with a toothpaste tube full of red hot paste had simply been mysterious. The Koreans' clothing looked quaintly like something out the early 1970s. The ties looked garish and the collars w...

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-04-01 10:33

Getting 'me too' right in Korea

Now that the dust is starting to settle after the hyped up debut of the “me too” movement in Korea, it is time to move beyond attention-grabbing incidents and start to lay the foundations for a meaningful discussion of how we can respond to the concerns of ordinary women in Korea about sexual harassment and abuse. On the bright side, there has been an extremely important shif...

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-03-25 11:35

From blather and seductive images to the pursuit of truth in Korean journalism

Virtually every critical issue facing Korea today is omitted from major Korean major media, or reported on in a marginal or superficial manner. The trend has grown stronger over the past 10 ten years to the point where citizens find it impossible to ascertain the true state of affairs.

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-03-16 17:01

Too good to be true

So the headlines in Seoul yesterday were splattered again with articles expressing tremendous optimism about the remarkable breakthrough so clearly represented by the agreement of U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jung-eun. There was also no small amount of drivel about how thankful President Moon Jae-in is, or should be, for the tremen...

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-03-12 15:20

Operation #MeToo begins

There you have it. South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung was accused on TV of using his authority to force himself on his secretary Kim Ji-eun and was forced to step down immediately, without any formal investigation. The media basked in the glory of serving as the leading force for the liberation of Korean women from the long sexual oppression at the hands of Korea...

Imbricated Chaos | 2018-03-08 14:34

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