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The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

SCMP
Asia

The Korea Times

Opinion

Columnists

10. Kim Won-soo

The Olympics: triple salvation and agenda for peace

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics were finally held during this past summer. Under the cloud cast by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was uncertainty until the last minute. Eventually the decision was taken to proceed with the Games but without spectators, something that was unprecedented. Tokyo 2020 was held, both despite and in the midst of the pandemic. It overcame the double hazards of: 1) persistent safety concerns despite one year of postponement due to the pandemic; and 2) negative public opinion in Japan against holding the Games. Both of these were extremely tough to overcome. The...

2021-09-26 15:26

Double deja vu of Afghanistan with volatile future

Afghanistan fell again into the hands of the Taliban, “the day after” the withdrawal of the United States troops began in a manner so abrupt and fast. The speed of the government collapse and ensuing shocks betrayed not only popular expectations of the outside world but also the analysis by the U.S. intelligence community.

2021-08-29 16:34

Untying Gordian knot on Korean Peninsula

Last week South and North Korea resumed operation of cross-border hot lines. The move came as a pleasant surprise after the North unilaterally severed them over a year ago. It was likely intended by Pyongyang as an initial response to the policy review performed by the Biden administration in the United States as well as the following summit between the presidents of the U.S. and South Korea.

2021-08-01 15:37

Getting Multilateralism 4.0 right

The allied powers victorious in World War II, led by the United States, created the United Nations as a universal institution with three objectives: stable peace, sustainable development and universal human rights. The inter-linkage of these objectives, as well as the scale and intensity of the tasks they involve, make clear that they cannot be met by any single country no matter how powerful it is.

2021-07-13 17:15

BTS moment for Korea-US alliance and tasks ahead

The recent summit between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States produced a communique, akin to the thrilling moment when BTS, one of the world's most idolized pop groups from Korea, grabbed multiple Grammy awards. Of course, this summit BTS moment was different from the real BTS saga but it sets the tone of continuity for forthcoming presidencies in Korea for the foreseeable future.

2021-06-06 15:18

Sustainability: agenda for human renewal

April 22 marked the 51st Earth Day, and on that day United States President Joseph Biden hosted his first summit on climate change in line with this year's theme, “Restore Our Earth.” This reflects the mounting concern over the global unsustainability crisis facing humanity. The Earth is suffering from the unprecedented level of abuse by humanity of its natural ecosystems, going beyond renewable natural limits. Each year the gap between the abuses and sustainable limits is widening.

2021-05-09 18:46

Perfect storm of threats against human race

The human race is facing the biggest threat from an unprecedented self-destructive force created by people. Since last year, a group of world-renowned scientists called the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set the doomsday clock at only 100 seconds to midnight, which denotes the biblical moment of self-destruction. This is the worst level seen over the last seven decades since the scientists started the clock in 1947.

2021-04-11 17:59

Korea-Japan relationship: a case for de-politicization of diplomacy

Among all sets of bilateral relationships between the countries in Northeast Asia, the Republic of Korea (ROK)-Japan relationship is by any account the most grossly underperforming. The gap between its potential and the reality is huge. Unfortunately, the gap is growing due to the failure of the political leadership to look forward and lead the public toward the future. This failure has done the peoples of the two countries a great disservice, as the rationale is abundant for a robust ROK-Japan relationship. But the reality is far afield, often afflicted with serious bumps caused by the late...

2021-03-14 17:02

Korean Peninsula and Biden: way forward

The Korean Peninsula faces the perfect storm of uncertainty. At the highest, the U.S.-China relations turn tense as China has caught up very close with the United State in aggregate national power. The U.S. hedging against the rise of China seems inevitable even under the incoming Biden administration.

2020-12-22 16:55

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