On Oct. 19, 1987, following three days of decline in the New York stock market, the Hong Kong market dropped 10.5 percent after a rise of 89 percent in the last 12 months. Oct. 19 was Black Monday for New York, which triggered a worldwide stock crash. In US dollar terms, eight global stock markets declined by 20 to 29 percent, three by 30 to 39 percent, and three (Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore) by more than 40 percent. The total losses were estimated at $1.7 trillion or just under 10 percen

Multibillionaires are eccentric. It's common knowledge, like water is wet, fire is hot, "Joker: Folie a Deux" is a terrible film. From Jeff Bezos to Peter Thiel to Richard Branson to Howard Hughes (adjusting for inflation), they do weird things: shoot themselves into space, invest in treatments to "cure" aging, buy islands and wash their hands a lot. It's rare that the other 99.9 percent of us are directly exposed to their world-ownership whims, though we indirect

There were two major events this week that surprised many people watching South Korea, myself included. First, a South Korean novelist won the Nobel Prize in Literature for the first time in the country's history, marking only the second time the country has won a Nobel Prize in any field. Her fans, fellow citizens and the whole world joined together in congratulating the novelist, Han Kang, on being awarded the world’s most prestigious literary prize. Of course, I was among them, but

It is time to really accelerate the greening of the finance sector for our climate, people and our planet. Seoul has experienced its hottest September ever. It was sweltering. Farmers here and in other parts of the world are changing the crops they plant because the weather is now unfavorable for some crops to grow well. For people in poor countries extreme weather events often mean that families are pushed deeper into poverty. I trained as an environmental economist and what we do at the Global

For many young South Korean tourists, Japan is no doubt their favorite travel destination. It's close, cheap and familiar. They can indulge in shopping or enjoy tonkatsu (fried pork chops) or ramen. Yet until recently, they didn’t publicize or brag about their trips to Japan on social media. A strong anti-Japan sentiment caused by diplomatic rows between Seoul and Tokyo kept them from doing so. But all that has changed since their leaders began to mend bilateral relations early last

When Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office, he raised both expectations and concerns in Korea. On the one hand, his recognition of Japan's historical wrongdoing during its colonial period, including 35 years of occupation, offers hope for improving Korea-Japan relations. On the other hand, his foreign policy vision, particularly the proposal for an "Asian NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)," presents significant challenges. While his intentions may be grounded

The Korean Wave, or Hallyu, is one of the most remarkable success stories in soft power and nation branding. With global icons like BTS and Blackpink leading the charge, this cultural phenomenon originated in a newly industrialized, economically struggling South Korea over 30 years ago. While traditional concert revenues are significant, a 2023 report by Allied Market Research revealed that the K-pop events business generated approximately $8.1 billion in 2021, with projections estimating it cou

Has California reached its limit in providing benefits for immigrants living here illegally? That's the indication after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed three bills passed by the liberal Legislature. The state at least has definitely hit an election-year pause. Newsom says publicly he blocked the closely-watched measures for good policy reasons. And those reasons were sound. But it was also good politics for him in the long run, and more immediately for California Democratic ally Kamala Harris. Th

In 2006, I briefly stayed in Buffalo, New York, on my way from the University of California, Berkeley to Harvard. In October that year, a heavy blizzard hit Buffalo so hard that everyone was stuck at home for about a week, suffering through all manner of ordeals, from blackouts and empty refrigerators to road blocks caused by huge piles of snow. The people of Buffalo called the untimely weather calamity “the October surprise,” because a blizzard was not expected in the fall. In the U

The first time Jen Barnett and her now husband Brett Andrews discussed permanently leaving the US was in 2016. Barnett, an Alabama native and Emory University alum, said rising political polarization in the US and a long-standing desire to live abroad pushed them to scout out Vancouver, Canada, as a possible destination -- with Seattle as a possible “blue state” home. But it turned out, neither city felt like a place they wanted to live long-term. So they shelved the idea until 2020