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Opinion

Columnists

On literary translation awards

In 1970, The Korea Times celebrated its 20th anniversary of its foundation as the first English daily in this nation. Around that time, “Snow Country” by Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. To most Koreans, it was shocking news, as the prize had been deemed as targeted to the Western hemisphere. The news inspired editor-in-chief Hong Soon-il with a vision to establish an annual contest for literary translation as a celebration of The Korea Times anniversaries of foundation. Hong thought the best Korean novels needed to be translated...

2017-09-22 17:38

Remembering Rev. Kang Won-yong

The late Rev. Kang Won-yong was a religious visionary. And he had the ability, leadership and luck to translate his ideals into reality. He established the Korea Christian Academy (KCA), which was a religious, academic and influential activist organization, in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. German President Richard von Weizaecker was a good friend of his. One day during a discussion with young women leaders in 1975, he predicted, “In a few years, you will see, the demands and zeal to change the reality of Korean women will explode like a high-pressure steam-pot.”

2017-08-25 17:38

Coding: a ticket to the Future

“Computer code is not a cryptic activity reserved for geniuses and oracles. In fact, in a few minutes you will be writing some computer code yourself!” This is the first sentence in Wiley’s “Coding for Dummies.” I bought the book instead of “Coding for Kids” which looked more difficult to understand against my expectations. But what an analog and anachronic approach this is. Let me tell you the shortcut I found to get into the world of coding.

2017-07-28 17:10

On diplomatic protocol

By Kim Ji-myung Neither the President of Korea nor of the United States seem to care much about diplomatic protocol, by what we have witnessed during their summit in Washington D.C.Before leaving Seoul, Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in asked his staff to reduce the level of protocol required in the seeing-off and welcoming-back processes. The size of the entourage from the Cabinet accompanying him was reportedly kept to a minimum.U.S. President Donald Trump, on his part, also seems to be the last person to pay attention to formalities. Upon their first encounter the two leaders may have...

2017-06-30 16:56

Thoughts on adult guardianship

“Check the family history of would-be in-laws before letting your child get married. Avoid families with members who frequent police stations and courtrooms.” This was a sort of common wisdom told by our elders. Maybe because of such indoctrination, I usually avoid stressful confrontations when they begin, rather than fighting for my rights. In Confucian teachings, ethics and virtue should guide human relations. A seemingly immediate loss in material or physical conflicts may turn out to be a victory in the long run. Settlement by law was always the second-best choice. However, the rustic ag...

2017-06-02 17:23

Talks on Korea behind Korea

It is not clear if Chinese leader Xi said that the Korean Peninsula “actually used to be a part of China.” What’s clear is that it was quoted by President Trump in an interview, and not a verbatim account of Xi’s explanation about Korea. And that the two spoke through interpreters. The White House did not make a clarification after this story belatedly went viral in Korea. Often Western media find the cause of widespread outrage among Koreans either in the undiplomatic expression of statements or in the Koreans themselves, who are particularly sensitive to external conditions amid heightened...

2017-05-05 17:21

Alexa and robot journalism

Alexa came to my house today. I have to wonder, how many of my Korea Times readers know her or not? Alexa is a “smart-machine servant,” programmed with artificial intelligence (AI), residing inside a simple wireless stand-alone speaker-like cylinder. She answers almost any question you can ask, after you simply call her name “Alexa.” I was impressed by her answers that extended beyond the usual simple retrieval of embedded information. When I asked “Alexa, who is the wife of the President of the United States?” she said “The first lady of the United States is Melania Trump.”

2017-04-07 17:36

Ontology for daily life

There are two kinds of people on this earth -- those who know about ontology and those who don't. Meanwhile, world history will soon be remembered as “before the internet” and “after the internet.” The two statements, presented in totally different vocabularies, describe the same world; however, it is no longer the same one we used to know. Machines have begun to understand what people speak or instruct, thanks to the many years of steady tutoring by humans. Terms like semantic web, digital data, autonomous learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and knowledge-sharing have been developed to ...

2017-03-10 17:58

Post-crisis prophecy of unification

“As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it,” said French novelist Saint-Exupery in his 1948 book The Wisdom of the Sands. But human beings want to know the future by nature, especially when that future seems quite uncertain. At present, the global community seems to be threatened by many new risks. Not only in Korea but in the United States, Europe, China and North Korea, the future is by no means clear.

2017-02-10 17:38

A Korean horse-story

“Do you ride horses?” I asked the man next to me, to break the ice. A group of Olympic leaders were on a tour of European cities to promote the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, about a year before the games, and an after-dinner performance of dressage was just about to start for the guests of honor from Korea. The performer sitting on horseback just then was the daughter of the host, a German businessman, and the Olympic-standard riding ground could be viewed through a glass wall from the audience seats inside the dining hall. The young woman was a dressage athlete hoping to compete in the coming...

2017-01-13 16:07

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