The Korea Times

How to conserve tropical forests

STANFORD — Six months after last year’s United Nations Climate Conference (COP30), the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) has gone from being a headline-grabbing promise to a test of whether climate finance can survive contact with markets, politics, and time. The TFFF’s purpose—conserving tropical forests—is of paramount importance. Tropical deforestation and land-use changes have contributed to nearly one-fifth of the world’s cumulative carbon dioxide emissions since 1850. Tropical forests are also among the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems and home to many Indigenous Peoples and local communities. But tropical countries face opportunity costs when conserving forests, so it falls on northern countries to compensate them for conservation efforts that benefit everyone. Such was the reasoning behind the Brazilian COP presidency’s TFFF proposal. Within the TFFF is a Tropical Forest Investment Fund (TFIF) that seeks to raise $125 billion, part of which will be invested in emerging and developing economies. The hope is that, with sponsor capital, guarantees, and a hig

1d agoBy Bård Harstad

Guest Columns

After K-food’s global success, a question about health

For many Koreans, the global success of Korean food is more than a business story. It is emotional. It carries memories of home, family, school snacks, street markets, late-night meals and, in many cases, a quiet sense of pride that Korean culture has finally become familiar to people far beyond the peninsula. I still remember how Korean food was first introduced to many international viewers through "Dae Jang Geum," also known as "Jewel in the Palace." In that drama, food was not presented simply. It demonstrated care, discipline, seasonality and devotion. The kitchen was not just a place for cooking. It was a space where knowledge, patience and affection were expressed through ingredients. Since then, the global image of Korean food has changed dramatically. In the 2010s, mukbang videos brought Korean eating culture into the digital world. Later, Korean fried chicken, instant noodles, tteokbokki, bibimbap and kimchi have become familiar to people across the world. Today, it is no longer surprising to see international consumers themselves trying extra-spicy Korean instant noodles or

1d agoBy Shin Go-eun

After K-food’s global success, a question about health

Guest Columns

Korea should strengthen defense ties with Southeast Asia

The international order is undergoing rapid transformation. As the U.S.-led unipolar system gradually weakens and China's military and economic influence continues to expand, the Indo-Pacific region has emerged as a focal point for global security. Security tensions surrounding the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait are steadily increasing, prompting regional countries to seek new frameworks of cooperation to safeguard their national interests and security. Under these circumstances, Korea can no longer remain merely a beneficiary of security provided by the U.S. It must expand its role as an active participant and contributor to regional security cooperation. At the heart of this effort lies defense diplomacy. Defense diplomacy is far more than the sale of weapons. It is a comprehensive diplomatic instrument encompassing military cooperation, education and training, technology sharing, industrial collaboration, and the cultivation of strategic trust. Major defence-exporting nations such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom have long used arms exports and military co

1d agoBy Moon Keun-sik

Korea should strengthen defense ties with Southeast Asia

Guest Columns

Bosnia must stand on its own

STOCKHOLM — Bosnia needs a political reboot. More than three decades after the Dayton Accords ended the devastating 1992-95 war, it is high time that the country bear full responsibility for its own future. As part of the 1995 settlement, an international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina was established to help coordinate and implement all the civilian and political provisions of the peace agreement. A massive NATO force would remain responsible for separating the military forces, but it was agreed that an independent political office was needed to bring the country back together. That task fell initially to me as the first in a series of high representatives. My immediate priority was to set up the office and get the country’s institutions working, as outlined in the new constitution that had been agreed in Dayton. So, that is what I did. But the high representative was never supposed to be a permanent institution with powers to intervene directly in the country’s governance. Had any participant in the Dayton talks dared to propose such a thing, the idea would have

2d agoBy Carl Bildt

Guest Columns

Trump’s gesture, Pyongyang’s calculations

As a ceasefire memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war came within reach, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a striking photograph on his social media channel. It showed Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walking side by side during their 2018 Singapore summit. There was no caption, yet the message seemed clear: After Iran, North Korea may be Trump’s next diplomatic agenda. Trump has reasons to revive the North Korean issue. With U.S. midterm elections only four months away, the political outlook for Republicans is uncertain. The prolonged war with Iran has pushed up oil prices, fueled inflation and weakened public support for Trump. If he seeks a dramatic event to shift public attention, few options rival another summit with Kim. Trump has also long sought to portray himself as a peacemaker. Few issues fit that image better than North Korea’s nuclear program. The Nobel Peace Prize may remain an unfulfilled ambition. Trump has repeatedly signaled his willingness to meet Kim again. He did so during last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Korea

2d agoBy Ma Young-sam

Trump’s gesture, Pyongyang’s calculations

Guest Columns

AI sovereignty is about options, not ownership

ÉVIAN — The U.S. government’s sudden decision, on June 12, to restrict foreign access to some of Anthropic’s most advanced models is further confirmation that AI is now a geopolitical issue of the highest order. Until recently, countries competed by building services, infrastructure, and applications on top of frontier artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Now, access to the systems themselves is a strategic concern. The prevailing assumption used to be that AI would follow the logic of globalization. Countries would rely on a handful of frontier models, mostly developed in the United States, while competing in downstream services, semiconductors, data, and applications. Access to the most advanced AI systems was largely taken for granted. But if this assumption no longer holds, the central question is not which model is best, but which can be accessed at all. With frontier capabilities becoming an issue of national security and diplomacy, governments will be tempted to pursue “AI sovereignty” through the development of national champions or domestic alternatives to the lead

Jun 23, 2026By Ren Ito

AI sovereignty is about options, not ownership

Guest Columns

Korea's role at G7 summit in Evian

On the plane heading home from Evian, France, I reflected on a flurry of meetings of the past few days. As a Sherpa preparing the 2026 G7 Summit for the leaders, I could feel the shifting dynamics of global governance. This year’s gathering, hosted by France, included not only the G7 members but also pivotal global actors, such as Brazil and India. Watching the intensive debates among these leaders, it became very clear that Korea’s presence carried a distinct strategic weight. When French President Emmanuel Macron extended his invitation to President Lee Jae Myung to attend the summit in Evian, it reminded me of the recent assertion by Marc Julienne, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the French Institute of International Relations. He noted in an article in November 2025 that opening up the G7 to like-minded democracies such as Korea is essential to protect multilateralism and strengthen global cooperation. We were not there merely to occupy a seat or join a commemorative photo. I felt that the international community now actively seeks Korea's participation to find a co

Jun 23, 2026By Kim Hee-sang

Guest Columns

Learning from the right sovereign wealth funds

NEW YORK — What’s not to love about a sovereign wealth fund? Gulf states’ sovereign wealth funds(SWF), which control roughly $6 trillion in assets, are no longer mere investment vehicles. They have become tools of statecraft, transforming kingdoms and emirates into power brokers and benefactors. Alongside splashy spending on sports and luxury retail — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought the English soccer club Newcastle United, and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) owns the department store Harrods — these funds have poured money into strategic sectors such as AI, logistics, and renewables. They also provide economic support to allies, serving as a foreign-policy lever. The Gulf model is so appealing that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently launched an SWF, and U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish one. But neither Canada nor the United States can match the decades of hydrocarbon surpluses that form the backbone of the Gulf model. A more relevant example would be Latin America, which has run this experiment many times

Jun 22, 2026By Erika Mouynes

Learning from the right sovereign wealth funds

Guest Columns

Peace with Iran is all about Lebanon now

TEL AVIV—The ceasefire that was reportedly just agreed between the United States and Iran reflects U.S. President Donald Trump’s desperation to escape the quagmire that he created. Gone is the muddled array of objectives he touted in the war’s early days. All the Trump administration has reportedly secured in the new agreement is a promise to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war, and plans for new negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, which was already under discussion. But even these pared-down goals might prove unattainable if Israel continues its fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump is already fed up with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was Netanyahu who advised him in 2018 to abandon the nuclear deal then-President Barack Obama had reached with Iran three years earlier, putting Trump on the hook to deliver a better one. Netanyahu also convinced Trump to launch the current war by touting a heady vision of the world’s two most powerful air forces quickly annihilating the Islamic Republic’s military and nuclear installations and t

Jun 21, 2026By Shlomo Ben-Ami

Peace with Iran is all about Lebanon now

Guest Columns

30 years after OECD: Time to move beyond Korea’s developmental state

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Korea’s accession to the OECD. The OECD has assessed that Korea has achieved substantial quantitative growth, with per capita GDP approaching the OECD average, an improvement in addressing inequality and an overall rise in the quality of life, as reflected in longer life expectancy. The Korean economy achieved compressed growth through the developmental state model. In the 1960s, the government protected and nurtured infant industries. In the 1970s, it shifted toward export-heavy and chemical industries, creating an industrial structure centered on family-run conglomerates. Samsung, which began in the fertilizer industry, expanded into electronics. LG built the foundation for its electronics business with the help of the government’s radio distribution movement and import restrictions. Hyundai moved into the automobile and shipbuilding industries, based on national infrastructure construction, while Hanjin, after accumulating logistics experience during the Vietnam War, acquired Korean Air. From the 1980s onward, the government focused on fost

Jun 19, 2026By Lee Nae-chan

Guest Columns

How to conserve tropical forests

After K-food’s global success, a question about health

Korea should strengthen defense ties with Southeast Asia

Bosnia must stand on its own

Trump’s gesture, Pyongyang’s calculations

AI sovereignty is about options, not ownership

Korea's role at G7 summit in Evian

Learning from the right sovereign wealth funds

Peace with Iran is all about Lebanon now

30 years after OECD: Time to move beyond Korea’s developmental state

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