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The Korea Times

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Columnists

Park Moo-jong

Officials wasting time, money on streets

One of the most coveted occupations in the Republic of Korea is undisputedly that of a civil servant, a very stable job. Of late, however, many public officials are not happy because they are too tired to perform their duty faithfully, namely to serve the people as their job title indicates.

2018-11-22 16:39

Outdated annual event

It's over. The die is cast and they have crossed the Rubicon just as Julius Caesar did in leading his army across the northern Italian river on Jan. 10, 49 B.C., 2,067 years ago. Some may think I described too grandly the 600,000 students' taking the annual state-run exam for college entrance in 2019 nationwide yesterday.

2018-11-15 17:47

'Naengmyeon' vs. 'naengjeon'

The latest joke at “naengmyeon” restaurants in Seoul and elsewhere across the country is, “Is naengmyeon gliding down your throat?” Naengmyeon, already a popular icy cold Korean noodle dish in the sizzling heat of summer, has sparked a craze anew in South Korea this autumn, thanks to an outspoken North Korean strongman, adding to the “naengjeon” or cold war on the Korean Peninsula.

2018-11-08 17:45

'Fate of Korean Peninsula changed'

Over the past month, Seoul citizens and visitors to the capital of the Republic of Korea had a rare chance to see a supersized banner hanging on the walls of City Hall.

2018-11-01 17:20

Governor vs. actress

Apart from what politicians do in their usual realm, many of them often become famous, sometimes notorious unfortunately, for something else. Some paid the penalty of fame, not for the job they did, but for the illegal affairs they had with people outside politics.

2018-10-25 17:00

Absurd reality show

It was not a TV comedy show. It was a low-grade reality show our “esteemed” lawmakers produced and starred in during the ongoing annual National Assembly inspection of the administration.

2018-10-18 17:30

Good news vs. bad news

We read or listen to the news pouring in from around the world every morning. Of course, top priority is the news about us, either good or bad.

2018-10-11 16:33

Aged taxi drivers

One of the best ways to grasp what is going on our society is listen to what taxi drivers say. They are often dubbed “street opinion leaders.” As a good gauge of public opinion, their words mirror the people's mind.

2018-10-04 16:02

Too busy to die?

It was five o'clock on a Monday morning of a September day. I went out to a Seoul street in my neighborhood to see how the traffic was there (to write this column). As I expected, the street was already busy with many cars, and buses with more than 10 passengers, dashing to their respective destinations, mostly workplaces.

2018-09-27 17:30

'It's the Education Ministry, stupid'

The headline of this Friday column is “It's the Education Ministry, stupid” as you can see. This could be a sort of series about newly-emerging problems in this society following last week's “It's the statistics, stupid.” The first one was “It's the history, stupid,” three years ago.

Park Yoon-bae | 2018-09-20 17:48

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