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Tue, June 19, 2018 | 17:44

Opinion > Columnists > Michael Breen >

Because she wasn’t there?

Did she or didn’t she? The dispute over whether the mountaineer Oh Eun-sun lied when she claimed to have reached the summit of Mt. Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas last year has gripped the international climbing community and risks further sullying the reputation of Koreans for cheating.

Michael Breen | 2010-09-02 16:46

Ethics of Cabinet ministers

In their grilling of Cabinet nominees this week, opposition lawmakers worked hard to convince voters that the President's men, and therefore the President, are unfit to rule.

Michael Breen | 2010-08-26 17:07

Tax now for a possible future

When President Lee Myung-bak last weekend proposed a unification tax, he prompted debate about the core issue South Koreans now have with North Korea.

Michael Breen | 2010-08-19 17:14

Reclaiming Friday the 13th

When researchers in Britain some years ago compared traffic accidents on Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th over a number of years, they made an astonishing discovery. While there were fewer cars on Friday the 13th because people chose not to drive on that unlucky day, hospital admissions because of car accidents were significantly higher.

Michael Breen | 2010-08-12 16:39

Fortune-teller and Cheonan

When I asked a skeptical friend recently what he thought about the sinking of the Cheonan, he said he did not believe the government’s claim that the navy frigate was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine.

Michael Breen | 2010-07-29 17:30

Names of mountains

People who live in Seoul know Namsan, the hill that once protected the southern flank of the ancient city and which is now in the center of the modern capital. Some, especially hikers, are familiar with Mt. Bukhan to the north and Mt. Gwanak to the south.

Michael Breen | 2010-07-22 17:42

When a man kills a woman

The murder last week of a Vietnamese woman by her Korean husband, just days after her arrival in Korea, has prompted expressions of outrage and calls for action about the brokered weddings between local men and southeast Asian and Chinese women.

Michael Breen | 2010-07-15 18:38

Is Kim Jong-il talking nonsense?

The National Intelligence Service director Won Sei-hoon recently told lawmakers in a secret session that Kim Jong-il has gone downhill since his stroke two years ago and now shows signs of memory loss and occasionally talks gibberish.

Michael Breen | 2010-07-08 17:08

Looking for biographies

The best way to gain insights on Korea, or any other country for that matter, is through the biographies of its famous sons and daughters.

Michael Breen | 2010-07-01 18:10

Perspectives on Korean War

Sixty years ago today, when North Korean tanks began rumbling through the now DMZ it was the start of the Korean War. Back then the main actors in the bloody drama that unfolded understood events in different ways.

Michael Breen | 2010-06-24 17:39

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