The Korea Times

Bike with name could make or break Seoul mayor presidential bid

All “Ttaereungi” bicycles are checked out during evening rush hours in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Oh Young-jinBy Oh Young-jinThe headline requires many disclaimers. First, I am not a particular fan of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. This column in no way is intended to boost his chance of getting elected president, if he makes a bid. Also, my suggestion would be too daunting for any presidential pretender, unless he or she is from the fringes of the political spectrum with a very slim chance of getting elected. Finally, the next presidential election is slated for March 2022. Having said all that, here is how I think a bicycle could propel Park to the presidency. It is no ordinary bicycle, since it has a name and thousands use them daily. Its name is Ttareungyi, or an affectionate name of a bicycle from the sound of its bell in Korean, which is also the name of Seoul's bicycle ride-sharing program.It is convenient, cheap and very popular. In downtown Seoul, Ttareungyi two-wheelers in white and pale green are everywhere, with people old and young riding during morning

Jun 14, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Bike with name could make or break Seoul mayor presidential bid

Opinion

SK's social experiment

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won speaks during a session on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday. Choi stressed the importance of a company’s role in creating social value. Courtesy of SK GroupBy Oh Young-jin SK Group is conducting an interesting experiment to address one big challenge facing World Inc. Recently, SK hosted Social Value Connect 2019 for over 4,000 participants, double the expected number, and started a big debate about how the firms should pay back society. One event preceded the Connect gathering, which merited at least the same level of attention but did not get it because of a technicality. It is about accounting method. The event was related to SK's adoption of “triple bottom line” for its performance in social value or more correctly social returns on investment and environment impact. On the basis of the two years' surveys, the group disclosed its key subsidiaries' results. One notable fact involved SK Innovation, an energy affiliate, which under SK's triple bottom accounting method counted down 1.4 trillion w

Jun 7, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Politics

Ambassador Harris' sense of humor at Royal Asiatic Society party at 'residence'

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris Yonhap By Oh Young-jin U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris has put his sense of humor on public display.Last Saturday, the Royal Asiatic Society Korea held its annual garden party at Harris' Habib House residence. The envoys of the U.S. and the United Kingdom take turns in holding this annual “open house” event. The former U.S. Navy admiral displayed a sense of humor that at times had many guests, me included, in stitches and made his audience think awhile. He put everyone on the block: the audience, the host and himself. The first was Roman general, politician and historian Julius Caesar. As he started a six-minute welcoming speech, Harris reminded the audience of a book report he read about Caesar, saying, “Julius Caesar lived a long time ago. Julius Caesar was a general. Julius Caesar gave a long speech.“His best friend killed him,” Harris said, promising to keep the general in mind while delivering his speech. It was not just fun

Jun 6, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Ambassador Harris' sense of humor at Royal Asiatic Society party at 'residence'

Films

#MeToo sensitivity tests hero director Bong's sexual imagination

Director Bong Joon-ho waves during an appearance at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival last month. Bong won the grand prix Palme d'Or for his film “Parasite” ― a first for a Korean. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin Bong Joon-ho, who has just won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival for his film "Parasite," is facing scrutiny over accusations of “ambushing” an actress for an intimate scene and displaying a perverse sense of sexuality. The ambushing controversy involves veteran actress Kim Hye-ja, the heroine of Bong's 2009 film "Mother." But Kim promptly explained that she had a lapse of memory, director Bong was not at fault and she had apologized to him.It started at last month's meeting with fans, attended by Kim and Bong, when Kim revealed that Bong didn't consult her for a scene in “Mother” in which Won Bin, who played Kim's mentally handicapped son, touched her breasts. "It was the scene in which Won said he wanted to sleep with his mom, came into the room and touched me," Kim said. She said that she let Won touch her, instinctively thinking it was

Jun 6, 2019By Oh Young-jin

#MeToo sensitivity tests hero director Bong's sexual imagination

Politics

US envoy speaks of bilateral ties

U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris, left, and Korea-America Association Chairman Park Jin pose with the plaque of appreciation that was given to Harris after his speech about the two countries' relationship during the lunch hosted by the association at the Plaza hotel in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea-America Association

Jun 4, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Moon, Pentagon chief agree that alliance is ironclad: Pentagon

Opinion

Power shift in foreign policymaking?

National Security Office second deputy chief Kim Hyun-chong, sitting at former U.S. President George W. Bush's left, applauds during the recent memorial service for late President Roh Moo-hyun at his native village of Bongha, South Gyeongsang Province. Korea TimesBy Oh Young-jinA former foreign minister once told me of an incident that I think captures the nature of power: one who has power wants to use it. The incident concerned a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Then Foreign Minister Yoon Yong-hwan berated deputy chief of the National Security Council secretariat Lee Jong-seok. “You could hear a pin drop between bursts of Yoon's criticisms.” A “not-so-anonymous” letter was sent, accusing some Foreign Ministry officials of calling President Roh's aides, the famous bunch from the “386 generation,” “Taliban.” Back in the early 2000s, the 386 generation represented those aged in their 30s who attended colleges in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s, the rebels who saw the downfall of the Park Chung-hee dic

May 31, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Opinion

Mr. Trump, are you watching the Seoul circus?

U.S. President Donald Trump presents the "President's Cup" to the Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament winner, Asanoyama, at Ryogoku Kokugikan Stadium in Tokyo, May 26. AP By Oh Young-jin In South Korea, one big political circus is under way about and over U.S. President Donald Trump, who happens to be visiting neighboring Japan. From its timing, this circs appears to have a target audience of one ― Trump. Trump's three-day visit has been highlighted by a round of golf with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and watching a traditional sumo wrestling match from a ringside seat (Abe had a chair installed for Trump), topped by dinner at a traditional restaurant with their wives. Trump became the first foreign head of state to meet Japan's new emperor, Naruhito. Here on this side of the East Sea, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and political parties are locked in a fierce battle over the disclosure of contents of a 35-minute telephone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and

May 27, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Mr. Trump, are you watching the Seoul circus?

Politics

4-day work week in Korea: SK starts with hope, doubt

SK GroupBy Oh Young-jin SK Group has introduced a four-day work week, the first among big Korean firms. A five-day work week is the norm in Korea as elsewhere in the world. According to SK officials and reports, the shorter work week was implemented as a trial late last year for employees at SUPEX Council and SK Holdings, two key entities that determine the overall future course of one of Korea's leading conglomerates. The two have a combined workforce of 300, a small portion of the tens of thousands of workers in the group's nearly 100 affiliates. Employees working at the two companies get the second and fourth Fridays off, except those who have "indispensable" work to do on those days. SK's four-day work week system reflects Chairman Chey Tae-won's management philosophy of putting employees' happiness first, SK officials said, adding that the workers responded positively to the move.But some doubt whether the initiative will spread to affiliates with large workforces on shifts such as SK hynix, the world's second-largest chip maker, and in energy or chemicals.SK officials reportedl

May 21, 2019By Oh Young-jin

4-day work week in Korea: SK starts with hope, doubt

SK emphasizes social value as key management index

North Korea

'I can't speak English well': Kim had butterflies in stomach before Trump summit

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walk on a boardwalk bridge in the truce village of Panmunjeom during their April summit. Korea TimesBy Oh Young-jin North Korean leader Kim Jong-un confided in President Moon Jae-in that he was worried about his not being able to speak English well before his June 12 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, a former aide to President Moon recently told a Korean newspaper. “I am worrying about my lack of English proficiency,” Kim was quoted by Tak Hyun-min as telling Moon during their 30-minute walk during at the April 27 summit in the truce village of Panmunjeom. Tak's revelation was made during an interview with the progressive Kyunghyang daily newspaper, published on Monday. “I can speak German well,” the North Korean leader told Moon. The Moon-Kim summit took place ahead of the Singapore summit in June. The two walked together for 30 minutes alone on a 50-meter boardwalk bridge erected on the demarcation line (MDL) that separates the two Koreas. There was a lot of speculation as to what the two leade

May 20, 2019By Oh Young-jin

'I can't speak English well': Kim had butterflies in stomach before Trump summit

Opinion

Trump vs. Thanos

Thanos from "Avengers: Endgame"By Oh Young-jin Giving is one thing, taking is another. By that definition, I guess there are many takers out there who pretend that nothing is taken. I am talking about a moral or lesson and, if it belongs to neither category, let's say a comparison, between Thanos, the supervillain from “Avengers: Endgame” and its immediate preceding work of the same franchise, “Infinity War,” and (who else?) U.S. President Donald Trump. Now the chance is that the Russo brothers didn't bother or conspire to make a subliminal connection between one comic book figure transposed on screen and a real person who emerged from a reality show. The two are close enough to each other, for they work in fiction. The directing brothers just wanted to have their movie live up to the comic spirit ― making the Avengers plot as simple as possible despite all distracting trappings ― that good always prevails over evil. The beauty of the simplicity is that people can easily make up their minds whether to like the hero or hate the villain, a relief from the uncert

May 17, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Oh Young-jin

Read more

Bike with name could make or break Seoul mayor presidential bid

SK's social experiment

Ambassador Harris' sense of humor at Royal Asiatic Society party at 'residence'

#MeToo sensitivity tests hero director Bong's sexual imagination

US envoy speaks of bilateral ties

Power shift in foreign policymaking?

Mr. Trump, are you watching the Seoul circus?

4-day work week in Korea: SK starts with hope, doubt

'I can't speak English well': Kim had butterflies in stomach before Trump summit

Trump vs. Thanos

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