KoreaTimes(162) - Thoughts of the Times, Opinion, page 1

The Korea Times

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn

Opinion

Thoughts of the Times

Mon, December 16, 2019 | 09:14

US and Hong Kong

US and Hong Kong

The United States government has shown impressive unity in formally, publicly condemning Beijing's suppression efforts in Hong Kong. The police state action is an ominous development reaching beyond the province.

2019-12-15 18:10

NK female soldiers

NK female soldiers

Schools were in recess and students were helping their parents transplant rice saplings. Under the warm sun beams in June 1950, I too bent down with the farmers in the wet field and kept pushing a few clumps of seedlings into the mud.

2019-12-13 17:19

200 beads of gratitude

200 beads of gratitude

Prayer beads like the Rosary (“rosarium” in Latin means “rose garden” or “bouquet of roses”) are used not only by Catholics but also Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims to mark the repetitions of prayer or a mantra. The earliest prayer beads are said to originate from Hindu prayers around 500 BC in India. The English word “bead” derives from “gebed” in Old English and “bede” in Dut...

2019-12-12 17:26

Being octogenarian

Being octogenarian

Bidding farewell to 2019, I know I have lived on this planet for a full 80 years since I was born Oct. 11, 1939. The most-commonly-used measure for population statistics is the life expectancy at birth (LEB). The LEB of Koreans born during 2018 was estimated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to be 82.7 (79.7 for male and 85.7 for female), two years above the average of th...

2019-12-11 17:22

Mosque in Itaewon

Mosque in Itaewon

On Nov. 25, I visited the Seoul Central Masjid (Mosque) (SCM) in Itaewon. I was on an annual fieldtrip from Hanyang University for those taking the Civil Society course with Professor Joseph Yi. The place is a short, 15-minute walk from the Itaewon subway station (exit 3). Going up the hill are stores and restaurants selling halal foods originating from Pakistan, Bangladesh a...

2019-12-10 17:04

Civilizational scourges

Civilizational scourges

I'm sure you can come up with many examples of controlling individuals who want to turn everyone around them into psychological puppets. It's virtually impossible to escape the three scourges of our civilization, namely bullying, hazing and mobbing. The three scourges are personified by individuals who want to break others down psychologically by applying the Kurt Lewin three...

2019-12-09 17:48

Hollywood & third world

Hollywood & third world

I was 13 when I first watched a “Western” movie on screen. It was in a decrepit old theater with benches in the lowest two classes. When the gates opened, stampeding ensued. Some would dive and lie down prostrate on the benches. Those seats were reserved. Disputes arose frequently and one had to avoid being punched for that would mean getting a black eye. Sometimes it meant g...

2019-12-08 16:39

Money and politics

Money and politics

Billionaire business entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg has entered the still-long endurance run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Immediately, he predictably is garnering media attention and blizzard of pointed political attack arrows.

2019-12-06 17:31

Only priest in Bhutan

Only priest in Bhutan

Recently by chance, I met Fr. Kinley Tshering, former provincial superior of Darjeeling Jesuit Province in India, the first and only native Bhutan Catholic priest.

2019-12-05 17:22

'Epidemic corruption'

'Epidemic corruption'

"Corruption is not bad because money and benefits change hands, and not because of the motives of participants, but because it privatizes valuable aspects of public life, bypassing processes of representation, debate, and choice.” (D. F. Thompson)

2019-12-04 16:55

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

WooriBank

Top 10 Stories

DARKROOM

Code of Ethics

Copyright