Opinion - The Korea Times

Embryonic personhood in Korea

By declaring that a couple could sue a hospital for wrongful death for accidentally destroying their frozen embryos, the Alabama Supreme Court defined an embryo as a child — a person who can die. This goes farther than a fetal personhood, since a fetus is an embryo that has managed to be implanted itself in the uterus, and has undergone seven weeks of development. Anything before then, it’s an embryo. However, the Alabama ruling means that a frozen embryo, which means an egg that’s been fertilized by sperm but not yet successfully implanted in the uterus can still be considered a human person. In short, this ruling cements into case law what the proponents of “Life Begins at Conception” have been proclaiming.

Mar 21, 2024By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

Go to hell, Carolina

As a Duke University alum, I am no stranger to the emotions that accompany a sports rivalry. So, it hurt when Duke lost to the University of North Carolina this past Saturday, but I know that it's a pain that's shared by a few colleagues at work who also share my Duke affiliation. We will make a concerted effort to see each other the first chance we get and commiserate together, vowing to ourselves that we will get them the next time when the game is played at home, solemnly swearing our oath under the college banner that reads, "Go to hell, Carolina."

Feb 12, 2024By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

To Insure Promptitude (T.I.P.)

Apparently, English coffeehouses in the 18th century set out urns labeled “To Insure Promptitude.” Shortened, it spelled, “TIP.” Kind of makes sense when you think about it. Pay more if you want your coffee faster.

Jan 15, 2024By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

BTS and the great equalizer

Today’s world is all about differentiation. This is the most natural and basic instinct that we carry as human beings as social animals who feel the need to constantly compare ourselves to others in order to derive a sense of well-being. In other words, we have to feel superior to others to feel good about our own situations. It’s all about relative ranking.

Dec 28, 2023By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

The $700 million transcendent man

The most exciting sports moment of 2023 has to be the final out at the World Baseball Classic when Shohei Ohtani struck out his Los Angeles Angels teammate and one of the best hitters in baseball, Mike Trout, to propel Japan as the world champions of baseball. It was one of those moments that only sports can produce, an impossible twist of fate that brought the two teammates together to face each other for the honor and glory of their respective nations as the eyes of the world bore into their every single frown, grimace, and, finally, transcendent joy.

Dec 17, 2023By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

Why is it so hard to be thankful?

This is Thanksgiving week. No matter how it may have come about, with pilgrims, American Indians and turkeys and all, it has become a wholesome holiday meant to invoke a sense of thanks for what we have. On the other hand, it’s ironic that we have to have an annual holiday specifically meant to remind us to be thankful, which probably means that we are not usually thankful. We have to be reminded to be thankful for all we have, which is plenty, especially when we live in a highly developed country.

Nov 23, 2023By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

Race change to another (RCTA)

I recently read a fascinating NBC news article titled, “Inside the online world of people who think they can change their race.” The subtitle nicely encapsulates the first part of the article: “Practitioners of ‘race change to another,’ or RCTA, purport to be able to manifest physical changes in their appearance and even their genetics to truly become a different race.”

Nov 12, 2023By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

How did the Koreans and Jews endure?

It’s impossible to not feel affected by the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with photos of innocent men, women and children from both sides dying due to horrible violence, whether they are Jews intentionally butchered by Hamas on that fateful Saturday or Palestinian children buried under the rubble of concrete and steel crumbling after a bomb has been dropped. What suddenly struck me, however, was that the victims looked remarkably similar. If they weren’t distinguished by the types of clothing or delineated by the voice-overs from reporters as the video footage flashed by, I wouldn’t be able to tell who was a Jew and who was a Palestinian.

Oct 26, 2023By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

'Turtle necking' at war through social media

I hate rubbernecking when others do it, especially if it blocks traffic, but I can’t help myself when I come across an accident. I know it’s macabre and hypocritical, but it’s also instinctive to want to see – with my own eyes – the scene of violence and destruction that must have just occurred. Maybe it has something to do with evolutionary biology, which would explain why humuns need to visually consume such graphic violence, the more realistic the better. All I know is that rubbernecking is something that everyone does yet condemn others for doing. It fits in perfectly with my favorite Korean saying: If I have an illicit affair, it’s romance; if someone else has an illicit affair, they are just cheaters.

Oct 12, 2023By Jason Lim

'Turtle necking' at war through social media

Jason Lim

Korean-style parent diplomacy is killing teachers

Over the summer, my 11-year-old boy visited his grandparents in Seoul, where his slightly older cousin lived. Although his cousin, who was in 7th grade, had a summer vacation from late July to mid-August, my son was able to see him only on the weekends, if he was lucky. The cousin, who lives in the ultra-competitive area of Gangnam, had to go to various “hagwons,” or private tuition schools, till 11 p.m. every night. During his summer vacation! This didn’t stop when school restarted. He would go to various hagwons after school until very late at night, six days a week.

Sep 26, 2023By Jason Lim

Jason Lim

Read more

Embryonic personhood in Korea

Go to hell, Carolina

To Insure Promptitude (T.I.P.)

BTS and the great equalizer

The $700 million transcendent man

Why is it so hard to be thankful?

Race change to another (RCTA)

How did the Koreans and Jews endure?

'Turtle necking' at war through social media

Korean-style parent diplomacy is killing teachers

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