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Opinion

Columnists

Mon, December 16, 2019 | 09:36

Jason Lim

'OK, Boomer' moment in Korea

The Boomers were the authors of the last great story of Korea, the one that tells of the down-trodden but plucky, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps people who achieved wealth and democratization through individual courage and collective struggle. They were the “Just Do It” generation, sacrificing everything so they could “live well for once,” as Park Chung-hee exhorted. They made something out of nothing through sheer will and effort.

2019-12-08 16:40

'3 didn't make it home tonight'

This was the title (my translation) of a powerful storytelling piece by the Kyunghyang Daily, splashed across its front pages, about the fact that an average of three people are killed daily by industrial accidents in Korea. Rather than just reporting the statistics, the Kyunghyang feature tells stories about the individual victims, making them come alive in a three-dimensional way that invites emotional relevance and empathy.

2019-11-24 17:01

Much Tada about Uber

I assume that the name of the van-sharing service, “Tada,” is a take on the Korean word meaning, “Get in,” as in to get in a car. Of course, “Ta-da” is also the word that a magician uses right before they pull off a magic trick, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. In South Korea's case recently, it seems that the magician shouted, “Ta-da!” but failed to pull anything out. There was no magic.

2019-11-08 17:35

Another successful young Korean celebrity committed suicide. Sulli was a 25-year-old actress who made her debut when she was only 11 years old and joined the K-pop girl group f(x) at age 15, leaving the group in 2014 reportedly due to malicious and unfounded online attacks. Ironically and tragically, she was most recently the host of a TV show trying to educate the public about the harms of cyberbullying, even reading out loud some of the online comments that she has had to deal with.

2019-10-25 16:41

Harvard diversity vs. discrimination

As a part of its larger campaign arguing that the consideration of race in the university admissions process violates the Equal Protection Clause, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) sued Harvard in 2014 claiming the university discriminates against Asian-Americans. In her Oct. 1 ruling, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs found in Harvard's favor.

2019-10-11 16:30

'Homo Unicornus'

I am playing on the term, “Homo Economicus,” that refers to the “rational actor” or “economic man” as coined by John Stuart Mill in 1844. The “rational actor” plays a central role in traditional economics, along with “perfect information,” as the key drivers of decision making in a market economy. They are both myths, of course. No such thing exists.

2019-09-27 16:37

Schadenfreude, Korea style

I have to admit that I am surprised at the groundswell of outrage that seemed to take over the Korean society against recently appointed Minister of Justice Cho Guk's alleged hypocrisy. More specifically, outrage against how his daughter managed to do a student internship at a medical lab and be listed as the primary author on a paper that was published in a respected medical journal, which she supposedly used to enhance her college application.

2019-09-15 17:34

Quantifying stakeholder value

Granted, all politics is local, but the myopic and overwhelming focus in Korea on Cho Kuk and his daughter has been pretty blinding. Fortunately for Korea, the world doesn't revolve around Cho, the Seoul National University professor turned senior presidential adviser nominated for the post of justice minister, and the alleged abuses of privilege. Just in the last week or so, there was the G7 Summit, a still-raging Amazon fire, the latest in the Brexit saga, a floating pumice island and so on.

2019-08-30 18:14

Transitional justice in Korea

As I write this column, Korea is celebrating the beginning of its Liberation Day, which, once again, has become all about Japan. In a sense, this is inevitable since Korea is celebrating its independence from Imperial Japan. From another perspective, however, it also shows that Korea still has not grown out of the identity framework originally defined by the trauma it suffered under Japanese colonial rule.

2019-08-18 17:19

Remembering Kent Davy

I didn't know Kent Davy. I never met him. We were merely casual Facebook friends. And it was Facebook that told me that Kent had passed away suddenly from an aggressive form of cancer. He was apparently showing positive responses to new therapy when he suddenly passed. I guess these things happen with cancer, a terrible disease that takes too many loved ones from us too early.

2019-08-02 17:10

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