The Korea Times - Home

Site Map PDF Subscription Register LogIn
Site Map PDF Subscription Register LogIn

Fri, October 19, 2018 | 08:22

Opinion > Columnists > Jason Lim >

Can Korea Inc. go from good to great?

In his best-selling book "Good to Great," Jim Collins emphasizes the essential presence of a Level 5 leader for a company to go from good to great. The two indispensable and paradoxical characteristics of a Level 5 leader are his deep humility and unshakeable professional will. These characteristics are counterintuitive in that personal ambition and strong ego, two characteristics that often typify effective business leadership that characterize Level 4 leaders, actually obstructs one's rise to Level 5 leadership.

Jason Lim | 2014-08-08 16:43

Korea, the eternal victim

Several years ago, I listened to a well-known Korean expert on foreign policy argue that Korea’s history of non-aggression uniquely qualifies the country to be the leading candidate to be a peacemaker in the region. In other words, since Korea has never invaded any of her neighbors throughout history, no country has any historic bad blood with Korea that would predispose them to distrust Korea. Of course, non-aggression doesn’t mean that Korea never wanted to conquer new territories, but that it never had the war-making capacity to invade neighboring countries. Whatever the reason, Korea as ...

Jason Lim | 2014-07-25 16:29

Geun-hye as the new Gwanghae

In his speech at the Seoul National University, Chinese President Xi Jinping referenced how the Ming Dynasty helped drive Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Japanese army from the Korean Peninsula during the 7-Year's War. While he was trying to point out the historical camaraderie between China and Korea against Japanese aggression, he inadvertently highlighted in stark terms South Korea's choice between a rock and a hard place.

Jason Lim | 2014-07-11 16:04

Korea's CULTural exceptionalism

In his June 17, 2014 article in The Diplomat titled, "The Cults of South Korea," John Power writes about religious cults in South Korea and quotes various experts discussing both the prevalence of, and predilection for, cults in Korean society. This subject was brought about by the Sewol ferry tragedy, in which the authorities have been trying to arrest Yoo Byung-eun, the founder of the Salvation Sect and de-factor owner of the Sewol's operating company since an arrest warrant was issued on May 22.

Jason Lim | 2014-06-27 17:02

There are no gays in Korea

When I was teaching English at a large language institute in Korea in mid-90s, there were several colleagues - both Korean and non-Koreans - who seemed gay. They never actually came out publicly, but it was fairly apparent that they were gay from their everyday demeanor. I realize that you are teetering on the edge of that proverbial slippery slope to assume anything about a person by his or her superficial behavior, but there is such a thing as a "gay-dar." And some guys were just gay, which, growing up in New York City, wasn't something that I was unfamiliar with.

Jason Lim | 2014-06-13 16:53

It may be true that all men are pigs. However, this does not mean that all men are murderers. What made Elliot Rodger kill six people before killing himself last week near the University of California at Santa Barbara campus was not that he was a pig, but that he felt entitled to certain privileges and status without having to work at achieving them.

Jason Lim | 2014-05-30 16:49

Children of Sewol, girls of Chibok

April was a tragic month for children. In Korea, over 300 passengers, mostly students from Danwon High School in Ansan City, were trapped inside a sinking ferry waiting in place with life vests on, as they were told by the crew. They drowned. In Nigeria, more than 200 school girls between 16 and 18 years old were abducted by the Islamist armed group, Boko Haram, from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. They have not yet been found.

Jason Lim | 2014-05-16 15:48

But Korean culture is to blame

When the mainstream media started blaming the Korean culture of obedience as the cause behind the students staying put as the Sewol sank, I thought, "Here we go again," and immediately came up with several reasons why such analysis is as baseless as it is inane. Anyone who's lived in Korea would know that Korean teenagers aren't any less rebellious or independent-minded than their global counterparts. They may show superficial deference to their elders as a part of the larger cultural norm, but that certainly doesn't mean they are all faceless lemmings living in a cult. As far as I know, Jim...

Jason Lim | 2014-05-02 16:27

Adultery site unwelcome here

Recently, the Korean Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) blocked the Korean version of the Canada-based Ashley Madison Internet site in "light of the legal spirit of relevant laws aimed to protect healthy sexual morals, marriage bonds and family life."

Jason Lim | 2014-04-18 17:23

'Ching-Chong Ding-Dong'

To briefly summarize for those who have been living under a rock, The Colbert Report did a skit mocking Daniel Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins, who recently announced the creation of the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation, founded "to provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities for Tribal communities."

Jason Lim | 2014-04-04 16:53

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Hurricane Michael