my timesThe Korea Times
Opinion

Columns

Desk ColumnsGuest ColumnsTribune ServiceColumnists

Desk Columns

Empathy in an era of division

Empathy has emerged as a focus of public interest in Korea, reflecting a growing desire to understand one another in an increasingly polarized society. The steady stream of bestselling books on the subject underscores its significance in public discourse. However, popularity does not guarantee clarity. How well do we actually understand empathy, and what does it ask of us as members of a civil society? Empathy is far more than clasped hands, tearful eyes or the familiar platitude, “I feel your pain.” It is a capacity that integrates emotional attunement with cognitive perspective-taking. While emotional resonance enables us to feel what another is feeling, the cognitive dimension is to mentalize as we step beyond our own vantage point and see the world from another’s perspective. Rightly understood, empathy becomes a foundation of social life, grounded in the recognition of human dignity and a commitment to the well-being of others. Without such an orientation, civic bonds fray, and those vulnerable are pushed to the margins of society. Yet, a growing body of scholarship suggests

3 MIN READBy Ma Kyung-hee

Ghostwriter in the newsroom

Not long ago, a newsroom sounded like a kind of music — clattering keyboards, ringing phones, arguments over a lead. Today, in many digital outlets, that noise has faded to the hum of servers as large language models churn out articles with clinical efficiency. We are witnessing, in real time, the industrialization of the written word. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer confined to transcription or spell-checking. It has become a central architect of what might be called the commodity news ecosystem. As algorithms claim the terrain of the factual — the “what” and the “when” — a deeper question presses in: What becomes of journalism when its pulse is automated, and what, if anything, remains the province of the human reporter? The shift began quietly. For years, organizations like The Associated Press and Reuters have used automation to cover corporate earnings, turning structured financial data into publishable briefs in seconds. But generative AI has expanded the scope from data processing to narrative construction. A 2024 study by the Reuters Institute for the Stud

3 MIN READBy Samuel Len

‘K-shaped’ rally leaves many investors behind

The ongoing stock market rally is supposed to be a source of excitement for investors. But for an office worker in his 50s surnamed Kim, the recent surge in stocks has brought more frustration than joy. The reason is very simple. He does not own shares in Samsung Electronics, SK hynix or other large-cap leaders that have powered the market in recent months. Instead, his portfolio is filled with small-cap stocks that have failed to participate in the bull market run. A bigger problem is that he is still clinging on to his holdings, hoping that someday, their prices will rise. But unfortunately, we all know such rebound never comes. “I could buy the leading stocks even now because I have cash,” Kim said. “But I’m afraid I would be buying at the top. I’d rather wait for a correction, even though I know the rally may not end soon.” He is one of hundreds of thousands of individual investors who have been sidelined by a “K-shaped” rally, in which a small group of dominant companies surge while the majority of stocks lag behind. The benchmark KOSPI index has been on a record-bre

3 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-sik

Washington’s North Korea reckoning

Pyongyang is having its moment. The latest issue of Foreign Affairs, a premier foreign policy magazine that often reflects mainstream debates within the U.S. foreign policy establishment, ran three essays on North Korea, a rare occasion for the publication. Authored by three prominent Asia hands, each essay approached the question from a distinct vantage point, yet together they signal something unmistakable: Washington’s strategic assumptions about the Korean Peninsula are being thoroughly reexamined, and Seoul must take note. Victor D. Cha of Georgetown University and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) makes the case for a “cold peace.” After three decades of failed denuclearization efforts, he argues that Washington can no longer treat complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization as a prerequisite for engagement — arms control negotiations, crisis communication mechanisms and limits on missile production are what is achievable now. Jung Pak, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, explains how that momen

3 MIN READBy Park Jin-wan

Guest Columns

Tribune Service

Columnists

Read more

Kim Sung-woo

Self-reliant China weathers global energy crisis

The escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran has transcended the boundaries of a localized geopolitical skirmish: The physical destruction of infrastructure has triggered a deep crisis in the global energy supply chain, leading to a sustained and painful surge in energy prices. This, in turn, has catalyzed a broader industrial competitiveness crisis, as manufacturing costs and logistics expenses skyrocket across nearly every sector. Furthermore, the disruption in the trade of critical derivatives — such as petrochemicals, helium and fertilizers — is now actively destabilizing the supply chains of essential commodities worldwide. As countries scramble to predict impacts and devise countermeasures, China’s two-pronged strategic response offers significant insights into modern economic resilience and industrial dominance. China’s primary response focuses on achieving energy independence to mitigate the inherent volatility of the global supply chain. While China remains a major importer of crude oil, its overall energy self-sufficiency rate now exceeds 80 p

16h agoBy Kim Sung-woo
Self-reliant China weathers global energy crisis
Desk Columns

Empathy in an era of division

Empathy has emerged as a focus of public interest in Korea, reflecting a growing desire to understand one another in an increasingly polarized society. The steady stream of bestselling books on the subject underscores its significance in public discourse. However, popularity does not guarantee clarity. How well do we actually understand empathy, and what does it ask of us as members of a civil society? Empathy is far more than clasped hands, tearful eyes or the familiar platitude, “I feel your pain.” It is a capacity that integrates emotional attunement with cognitive perspective-taking. While emotional resonance enables us to feel what another is feeling, the cognitive dimension is to mentalize as we step beyond our own vantage point and see the world from another’s perspective. Rightly understood, empathy becomes a foundation of social life, grounded in the recognition of human dignity and a commitment to the well-being of others. Without such an orientation, civic bonds fray, and those vulnerable are pushed to the margins of society. Yet, a growing body of scholarship suggests

18h agoBy Ma Kyung-hee
Empathy in an era of division
Tribune Service

Data centers aren’t the enemy — They’re the future

For a bunch of unremarkable warehouses, they’re generating a lot of controversy. Data centers — low-slung facilities that house the server racks and energy systems that underpin the digital economy — have become a heated issue on the campaign trail. Politicians from both parties are pushing bills to restrict them. Some want a nationwide “moratorium.” That would be a historic mistake. About 4,000 data centers now dot the U.S., according to one estimate, with 3,000 more on the way. Global capital expenditure exceeded $450 billion in 2024. Such facilities sustain much of modern life: cloud computing for communications, finance and health care; consumer services such as YouTube, TikTok and Zoom; and, increasingly, the training, fine-tuning and inference processes used by artificial intelligence models. For the areas hosting them, these centers can be a boon. For one thing, they lure tax dollars without consuming much in services; in Virginia’s Loudoun County, they generate nearly half of total revenue, funding schools, tax cuts and more. To support them, utilities often expand

20h ago
Guest Columns

Jerome Powell’s mixed legacy

NEW YORK — Call it one of the biggest turnarounds in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s storied history. When Jerome Powell concludes his two-term tenure as Fed chair on May 15, his legacy is likely to reflect a striking irony: it will have been secured by the man who sought most aggressively to undermine him. History is often written in the shadows of conflict, and Powell’s leadership at the Fed is no exception. The narrative that will likely endure is not one of multiple failures, but of political resilience. Rather than dwelling on a long list of mishaps — significant policy errors, protracted periods of the Fed overshooting its inflation target, poor communication and compliance, supervisory and other lapses — commentators and historians will remember Powell as the chair who became a bulwark against unprecedented attacks on the central bank’s independence. Armed with the overwhelming historical consensus that central-bank autonomy is a prerequisite for long-term economic well-being, Powell went to extraordinary lengths to insulate the Fed from executive overreach. Throughout bo

22h agoBy Mohamed A. El-Erian
Jerome Powell’s mixed legacy
Bernard Rowan

The importance of 'You’re welcome'

The other day, I listened to a YouTube video about how to maximize the potential of customary replies. The speaker stated that the utterance “You’re welcome,” after someone thanks you, is now viewed as a no-no. The video explained that instead one should say, “It’s my pleasure,” or perhaps, “I was happy to help you. I know you’d do the same for me.” This new convention in English usage today seems widespread. I looked a bit on the internet and read related articles going back over a decade. There seem to be two lines of thinking about the loss in utility and value of saying “You’re welcome.” Some think it’s cold and neutral, lacking the energy to motivate a relationship as opposed to saying, “It was my pleasure.” From this view, saying “You’re welcome” comes across as neutral, reflexive, artificial or even cold. Others indicate that an expression of gratitude is an opportunity for its receiver to claim reciprocity or perhaps to build greater energy in the relationship by saying, “Not at all. I know you’d do the same for me.” A third area of thi

1d agoBy Bernard Rowan
The importance of 'You’re welcome'
Tribune Service

Trump’s ballroom vanity project, your bill

U.S. President Donald Trump charged into this destructive crusade without a word to Congress, without a clear rationale for why he was doing it and, now, with a spiraling price tag for the American taxpayers. No, we’re not referring to Trump’s ill-conceived war in Iran — though the description works pretty well there, too. We’re referring to his monstrosity of a planned White House ballroom, which is on track to devolve from a $200 million privately funded vanity project to a $400 million publicly funded security project. As Missourians grit their teeth at astronomical fuel prices thanks to Trump’s unauthorized assault on Iran, they should ask why their junior U.S. senator, Eric Schmitt, is now trying to stick them with the bill for this unauthorized assault on the history and dignity of the White House. Schmitt is co-sponsoring legislation to retroactively give Trump the permission he never bothered asking of Congress — along with public funds he said he wouldn’t need — for construction of his ballroom where the East Wing of White House used to be. The measure, co-spons

May 8, 2026
Jason Lim

Is it Claude or Claudia?

I recently read the fascinating account of how Richard Dawkins, the famous author of the "God Delusion" and highly respected skeptic, spent several days speaking with an artificial intelligence (AI) bot named Claudia and “left with the overwhelming feeling that they are human … These intelligent beings are at least as competent as any evolved organism.” Consciousness in AI bots is too hazardous a topic for me to wade in. I know the shallow nature of my intellectual power too well to want to engage in that type of discussion. However, I did come away with a lingering question: Why did Dawkins call his AI Bot, Claudia? Why did he think it was a girl? This naturally led to the question of what human form comes to my own mind when I engage with large language models (LLMs) like Chat GPT and Claude. I was shocked to realize that I have been visualizing a white male in his 30s, clean cut, highly educated, looking fairly preppy, with little or no facial hair, a full head of light colored hair, maybe horn-rimmed glasses but no sunglasses … and so on. I was literally picturing an idealiz

May 7, 2026By Jason Lim
Is it Claude or Claudia?
Guest Columns

The AI risk we need to focus on

HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA — What is the biggest risk posed by artificial intelligence (AI)? While many would point to the financial system, our attention would be better directed more toward labor markets. Financial concerns are certainly understandable. Even in 2026, the specter of 2008 haunts every conversation about economic risk. When Lehman Brothers collapsed, and the global banking system teetered, governments faced a momentous choice: bail out the banks with public money or watch the financial system implode. In the United States, policymakers chose a bailout, encouraging future risk-taking and enraging taxpayers who bore the cost. But U.S. regulators then spent the following decade building a new line of defense, which is now embedded in the global banking architecture. In the process, they offered a roadmap for addressing any systemic risks now accumulating within the AI industry. To be sure, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) warns that regulatory frameworks designed to monitor AI are still in their early stages. But the risks remain manageable. The AI industry has arrived

May 7, 2026By Lenny Mendonca and Martin Neil Baily
The AI risk we need to focus on
Lee Jong-eun

Geopolitical stalemates require patient statesmanship

The progress of human history has sometimes been depicted by distinguishing the winners from the losers. Rome won; Carthage lost. England won; Napoleon’s France lost. The Allies won; the Axis powers lost. The United States won; the Soviet Union lost. The winners of geopolitical conflicts then shaped the regional or international order according to their preferences. Today, the world is again encountering multiple geopolitical conflicts: Ukraine vs. Russia, Israel vs. Iran, North Korea vs. South Korea, and the United States vs. China. We frequently encounter predictions about which country is winning or losing and what the postconflict consequences will be. At present, however, no major conflict actor seems to be decisively winning or losing. Instead, there appears to be a prolonged geopolitical stalemate. In Europe, the Ukraine war has lasted for over four years. Despite enduring steep war costs, neither country has achieved a strategic breakthrough. Russia has failed in its objective of keeping Ukraine under its sphere of influence, while Ukraine has failed to deter Russia as a mili

May 7, 2026By Lee Jong-eun
Geopolitical stalemates require patient statesmanship
Guest Columns

The EU in a changing world

As we celebrate Europe Day on May 9, this is a good moment to pause and look at how the European Union is evolving in a changing world. We are living through a difficult period in international relations, when the rules-based international system is being severely challenged. As we face these rapidly changing realities, one thing remains rock solid: the European Union will stand firm in its commitment to defend and uphold international law and the UN Charter. The EU is strengthening its resilience. We have moved in this direction in the last few years. We have become more adept at using our strengths: our market, our trading reach, our economic security levers. We are investing in our democratic resilience at home to counter foreign information manipulation. And we have started a generational project, working towards European strategic autonomy. The goal is to make ourselves more resilient and sovereign, from defense to energy, from critical raw materials to strategic technologies. We work to deepen, derisk and diversify our partnerships around the world. In today's world, it is importa

May 7, 2026By Ugo Astuto
The EU in a changing world
previous page
169170171172173
next page

Top 5 stories