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Tue, June 19, 2018 | 17:44

Opinion > Columnists > Andrew Salmon >

Park needed chaebol lawyers

So, Park Geun-hye’s impeachment has been upheld. What is the fallen president thinking? Perhaps, “Dammit! Why didn’t I employ a chaebol legal team?” Let’s backtrack. Friday’s decision by the Constitutional Court has been greeted with explosions of joy and thunderstorms of back slaps. The court ruling was the culmination of people-power protests that were notable both for their extreme civility and their extraordinary size. The result looks like a boost for democracy, a system that pushes power down to the people. So forgive me for sounding like a curmudgeon if I point to some downsides. The ...

Andrew Salmon | 2017-03-13 17:37

Dark work, well done: killing Kim Jong-nam

The long arm of the North Korean state is bloodied once again. The horrifying (but fascinating) assassination of (mild) regime critic, (ex) ruling-clan member and potential (if unlikely) leadership candidate Kim Jong-nam has transfixed the world due to the astonishing chutzpah with which it was undertaken; 007 creator Ian Fleming never scripted a more compelling hit. At least, this is the assumption. While there is no proven link to the North Korean state yet, the Malaysian murder looks like Pyongyang’s handiwork, for the regime has a formidable record of wet work.

Andrew Salmon | 2017-03-06 15:39

[ROUNDTABLE] Trump to force N. Korea to choose: nukes or survival

Land of extremes, revisited

Talk about getting it wrong. In my last book on Korea, published in 2014, I mused on the changing nature of street politics. My experience of reporting demonstrations, post-2008, was that most featured more cops than protesters. Given that the hardcore of past demonstrators were students - who, amid the present, mature economy, need to study hard to get jobs, leaving little time for protest - I speculated that the day of the Korean mass demo might be over. Buttressing this thought was the ever-expanding bailiwick of the interweb, which enables heated debate without physical protest. Then cam...

Andrew Salmon | 2017-02-27 17:42

Young Koreans: get off your arses

Seoul’s finest natural assets are the mountains that tower over it. They provide Seoulites not just with dreamy vistas, but also with superb urban playscapes and exercise grounds. Crisscrossed with forested hiking trails, they summon the citizenry to get up, get out and get hiking. This is a big plus, for cross-country walking and running are among the best, most natural exercises the human body can perform - and gradients provide an extra challenge. Moreover, local governments citywide have wisely outfitted many hills with public exercise equipment: Pull up bars, leg press machines, and so ...

Andrew Salmon | 2017-02-13 14:43

America's gift to Korea

A distinguished visitor lands in Seoul this week: US President Donald Trump’s most formidable appointment, newly minted Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis. Word is, Mattis is visiting Korea and Japan to reassure them about ongoing American defense commitment, in the wake of alarming statements his chief made on the campaign trail. Seoul and Tokyo will be seeking clarity on Trump’s security stance which has, thus far, been as clear as mud. But with Trump having made crystal clear that he wants allies to cough up more for the protective aegis US forces represent, there will likely be ...

Andrew Salmon | 2017-01-30 15:51

Korea's provocation, Japan's blunder

The placement of a comfort woman statue outside the Japanese consulate in Busan was, in a way - and from the perspective of those who did it - a brilliant tactic. Custom-designed by a minority interest group to humiliate and provoke Tokyo and to reignite a dying controversy, it did exactly that. Let’s backtrack. In December 2015, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, through his foreign minister, made a public apology about the Korean comfort women. It was unequivocal, and widely reported in global media. He also promised governmental compensation - which was subsequently paid, no strings atta...

Andrew Salmon | 2017-01-16 16:04

Punch-worthy plane passengers

After Choi Soon-sil and Park Geun-hye, he is probably the most despised person in Korea at present: I speak not of Kim Jong-un or Shinzo Abe, but of a nameless (though not faceless) Korean Air passenger. His filmed misbehavior has prompted citizens across the land to reflexively clench their fists and hiss, “Oh, you obnoxious, entitled little bastar…” under their breaths. Alas for the scumba…. er, miscreant, also aboard the flight was a dark angel of macho justice: Richard Marx. Formerly known as a warbler of dire 1980s cheese-pop with a ridiculous mullet, Marx unleashed his badass persona a...

Andrew Salmon | 2017-01-02 16:13

1 vs. millions: private president vs. public protesters

In a 2014 book, I characterized Korea as a “Land of Extremes.” Currently, we are witnessing an ironic spectacle that is extreme even by Korean standards.

Andrew Salmon | 2016-12-19 17:36

Candlelit protesters for Nobel Peace Prize?

Why 'Choi gate' doesn't matter

They came by the thousands, then by the millions. They occupied central Seoul to give voice to righteous indignation. They did it with a remarkable display of peaceful and orderly civic disobedience that has few precedents anywhere, ever. Their thunderous demand was simple: “Down with Park Geun-hye!”

Andrew Salmon | 2016-12-05 16:08

'Choi gate' furies, institutional failures

Korea is fuming. In fact, the country is hopping mad.

Andrew Salmon | 2016-11-07 16:30

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