The Korea Times

South Korea, Australia can learn from each other over nuclear submarine pathways

Australia and South Korea are both acquiring nuclear-powered attack submarines, a parallel step-change in their conventional deterrent capability. Though their discrete pathways to realise this common goal reflect different strategic circumstances and problems, they can still usefully learn from each other’s experience and cooperate. Viewed from Australia, where AUKUS still stirs controversy five years after the tripartite initiative was announced, South Korea’s recently announced framework to acquire nuclear powered submarines is a refreshing contrast. Unlike Australia, which is acquiring 2 different types of nuclear-powered submarine in close partnership with the U.S. and U.K., President Lee Jae Myung’s administration is seeking a largely made-in-Korea solution, with limited assistance from the U.S. To be fair, Seoul had no other realistic choice. Despite claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that Korea’s future nuclear submarines would be built in Philadelphia, following the surprise announcement on the sidelines of last October’s APEC summit in Gyeongju, Seoul has since pi

1d agoBy Euan Graham

South Korea, Australia can learn from each other over nuclear submarine pathways

Guest Columns

Culture to security: The strategic evolution of Korea-Indonesia relations

For many Indonesians, Korea first arrived through the infectious beats of K-pop, the emotional hooks of K-dramas and the overarching phenomenon of the Korean wave, also known as hallyu. The establishment of the Korean Cultural Center in Jakarta in 2011 institutionalized these connections, introducing the Korean language, arts and cinema to a wider Indonesian audience. Today, however, the relationship is entering a fundamentally different phase. President Prabowo Subianto’s historic state visit to Seoul from March 31 to April 2 marked an important milestone in the evolution of bilateral relations. During the visit, both countries agreed to elevate their ties from a Special Strategic Partnership to a Special Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This upgrade signals a deeper, far more calculated commitment to security and economic resilience. The upgrade represents far more than a diplomatic gesture. It reflects a growing recognition in both Jakarta and Seoul that traditional trade frameworks are no longer sufficient to navigate modern geopolitical realities. The state visit yielded 16

1d agoBy Rika Mayasari Harahap

Culture to security: The strategic evolution of Korea-Indonesia relations

Guest Columns

The AI revolution mirrors the green transition

CHICAGO/NEW YORK — The artificial intelligence (AI) race is already generating forces that are transforming the global economy. That makes it surprisingly similar to the green transition, given the potential of both to upend traditional industries, labor markets, and geopolitical balances. Both call for trillions of dollars in upfront investments in exchange for significant benefits over the medium and long term. The promise of AI is that it will cut unnecessary costs, boost labor productivity, and help humans solve previously intractable problems. Equally, the green transition would do nothing less than contain climate change, the mother of all global externalities. It would eliminate the risk of both “climateflation” (higher prices caused by climate-driven supply shocks) and “fossilflation” (when hydrocarbon supply shocks, like the one caused by the current closure of the Strait of Hormuz, reverberate through the world economy). It would also improve public health, increase economic resilience, create jobs, preserve fragile ecosystems, and deliver many additional benefits.

Jun 14, 2026By Adam Michael Bauer and Gernot Wagner

The AI revolution mirrors the green transition

Guest Columns

Reinventing cooperation to fix fragmented world

We stand at a critical moment in history. For decades, the global order was built on the free exchange of ideas and the free flow of capital and goods across borders. Today, that once-interconnected world is increasingly under strain. The world is poles apart, driven partly by shifting geopolitical dynamics, global supply chain disruptions, fierce technological competition and a growing turn toward inward-looking national policies. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran and heightened tensions in the South China Sea — where traditional maritime security concerns are increasingly intertwined with emerging technological and cyberthreats — all these signal a new era of fragmentation and composite warfare. International institutions like the United Nations, once considered the bedrock of global cooperation and conflict resolution, now find themselves hamstrung as countries build walls and close borders in increasingly insular strategies. At the same time, the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry and growing geopolitical tensions have contributed to global frag

Jun 14, 2026By Kang Jeong-sik

Reinventing cooperation to fix fragmented world

Guest Columns

When healing becomes a product

Modern Korean life is fast, efficient and relentlessly demanding. Academic pressure, social expectations and digital overload have created a population that is now deeply familiar with the term “burnout.” In response, a counterculture has naturally emerged — one focused on slowing down, resting and healing. But instead of developing organically, this healing culture has quickly taken on a more commercial, polished and curated form. A K-turn, perhaps. Healing has become a language — appearing everywhere from menus and social media to convenience store shelves. It’s no longer a concept or a suggestion. It has become an industry and it raises an uncomfortable question: Is Korea truly healing, or has healing itself become something to consume? Massages used to be an occasional luxury. Now, many households invest in massaging reclining sofas, often costing between 1 million ($660) and 2 million won. Drinks are branded with words like “detox,” “reset,” “cleansing” or “calming.” Many retreats — often labeled luxury — promise transformations in just a few days. Re

Jun 11, 2026By Han Sang-hee

Guest Columns

POSCO’s debt in Brazil casts shadow over Korea-Brazil partnership

Brazil and Korea maintain a relationship that extends far beyond economic interests. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1959, the two countries have not only deepened their commercial ties but also built a shared development agenda in areas such as technology, energy and culture. Earlier this year, they formally elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership, signing 10 bilateral agreements and an action plan covering the period from 2026 to 2029. The numbers speak for themselves. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $11 billion in 2025, with balanced flows of $5.5 billion in each direction. Korea is Brazil’s fourth-largest trading partner in Asia and its 13th-largest trading partner worldwide. Beyond economic ties, the relationship between these countries is reinforced by strong human and cultural connections. Brazil is home to the largest Korean community in Latin America, with more than 50,000 people of Korean origin and descent. Furthermore, driven by the global expansion of Korean culture, known as hallyu, Brazil has emerged as the world’s

Jun 11, 2026By José Eduardo Cardozo

POSCO’s debt in Brazil casts shadow over Korea-Brazil partnership

Guest Columns

Are Korean boycotts intense but temporary?

SEATTLE — Just over three weeks after Starbucks Korea sparked outrage with its "Tank Day" promotion that coincided with the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, the company is already showing signs of a comeback. Starbucks gift certificates have once again become the most popular item in the cafe category on KakaoTalk's gift service, part of Korea's dominant messaging app, after briefly losing the top position in the wake of the controversy. The development comes despite continuing fallout from the incident, which sparked calls for a boycott, public apologies and a management reshuffle at Starbucks Korea. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin also publicly apologized and recently assumed direct leadership of E-mart, the affiliate that oversees Starbucks Korea. Despite the consequences, the episode revives a familiar question in Korea: Why do so many consumer boycotts appear to follow a similar pattern? The Starbucks controversy is only the latest example. The incident triggered one of the most visible consumer backlashes of the year. Customers shared photos of canceled Starbucks cards and refunde

Jun 10, 2026By Jane Han

Are Korean boycotts intense but temporary?

Guest Columns

Using AI to test policy language

WASHINGTON, DC — Earlier this year, researchers at Anthropic made a remarkable discovery. Studying the internal mechanisms of Claude Sonnet 4.5, the company’s large language model (LLM), they identified what they called “emotion concepts”: internal patterns that correspond to dozens of emotional states and measurably influence the model’s responses in ways that resemble human behavioral patterns. The implications for economic policymaking could be far-reaching. By offering a new way to study how language shapes emotional and behavioral responses, LLMs could help policymakers test how investors, political coalitions, and households are likely to react to policy announcements. Policymakers have long understood that language affects how information is processed. That is why central banks carefully calibrate their forward guidance, while government officials pay great attention to how fiscal-policy and tariff announcements will land with markets and voters. But until recently, there were few tools capable of systematically analyzing how language itself functions as an instrument

Jun 10, 2026By Monica de Bolle

Guest Columns

The right to be alone and the right not to be abandoned

Korea has become remarkably good at making daily life convenient. Food delivery arrives within minutes. Parcels arrive almost before we order. Banking, hospital appointments, shopping and government documents can all be handled on a phone. This convenience is one achievement of Korean urban life, yet in one of the world’s most digitally connected societies, a person can pass through an entire day without speaking to anyone. That is why Seoul’s effort to treat loneliness as a public issue deserves attention. Loneliness should not be dismissed as a personal weakness, a family failure or a private matter that individuals must solve alone. In today’s Korea, it has become part of the social condition itself. In 2024, South Korea had 8.045 million single-person households, accounting for 36.1 percent of all households. Living alone is no longer unusual. It has become one of the country’s most common ways of life. There are many reasons for this change: late marriage, not marrying at all, divorce, aging, migration for work or study, high housing costs and changing ideas about family and

Jun 9, 2026By Shin Go-eun

The right to be alone and the right not to be abandoned

Guest Columns

The key forces now shaping markets and geopolitics

NEW YORK — It’s a fascinating moment for international politics and global markets. The world is in turmoil, primarily because the United States, still the dominant superpower, has become a fundamentally unreliable actor. President Donald Trump is actively pulling apart the international order that the U.S. built and led over the past 80 years. Yet financial markets are riding high, not just in the U.S. but also in East Asia, South America, and much of Europe. Are investors wrong, or is the picture more complex than this seeming contradiction suggests? Though the situation is indeed complicated, three major factors will shape global politics and markets for the next several years. First, there are virtually no political constraints on the accelerating development of artificial intelligence (AI), which is the driving force behind the market rally and, for better and for worse, is set to continue virtually unchecked. The most important technological revolution in history — one that will create both extraordinary opportunities and unprecedented dangers—has arrived during a “geo

Jun 9, 2026By Ian Bremmer

Guest Columns

South Korea, Australia can learn from each other over nuclear submarine pathways

Culture to security: The strategic evolution of Korea-Indonesia relations

The AI revolution mirrors the green transition

Reinventing cooperation to fix fragmented world

When healing becomes a product

POSCO’s debt in Brazil casts shadow over Korea-Brazil partnership

Are Korean boycotts intense but temporary?

Using AI to test policy language

The right to be alone and the right not to be abandoned

The key forces now shaping markets and geopolitics

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