The Korea Herald

[Andrew Sheng] The knowledge economy and Internet use in Asia

ViewpointsSept 6, 2012

How big is the impact of the Internet’s potential on Asia, including the impact on development of the knowledge economy?We all have a sense that the information and communications technology (ICT) industry has transformed social media, education and the way business is done. But we are not sure what is the best way to use the knowledge economy to propel our future growth.In 1973, American sociologist Daniel Bell predicted the arrival of the post-industrial society by 2000, with a world dominated
[Editorial] Nearing the brim

EditorialSept 5, 2012

One of the intractable problems that the incumbent government has failed to address is the construction of an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel rods. The project should have already started in light of the fact that the temporary at-reactor spent fuel pools, which currently store all fuel rods discharged from the nation’s 22 nuclear reactors, are nearly full.But the current administration did not bother to tackle the urgent problem throughout its term. All it did was to launch an a
[Editorial] Shortage of doctors

EditorialSept 5, 2012

Should the entrance quotas of domestic medical colleges be expanded or curtailed? The Ministry of Health and Welfare says student enrollments at medical schools need to be increased as physicians are in short supply. Yet practicing doctors argue exactly the opposite.According to a report released by a Yonsei University research institute, Korea is suffering a shortage of medical manpower. A comparison of doctor-population ratios among OECD countries clearly shows this. In 2010, Korea had two phy
[Richard Weitz] The NATO global hub

ViewpointsSept 5, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC ― What should an alliance do when its leading member and dominant pillar decides to shift its focus to the other side of the world? NATO leaders have been grappling with this question since U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement of his administration’s “pivot” to Asia last year compelled them to examine the alliance’s global role.NATO leaders have examined their approach to managing relations with countries, such as China and Russia, that still view NATO as a potential threat
Unglamorous but effective ways to create jobs

ViewpointsSept 5, 2012

We keep hearing that the U.S. presidential election is all about jobs. So why aren’t we getting more concrete ideas from the candidates about how to create more of them? That’s a trick question; we know there are no easy answers. Declaring that you will produce 12 million jobs in your first term by lowering taxes, boosting domestic energy production and cutting government spending, as Republican nominee Mitt Romney does, isn’t convincing. Nor is President Barack Obama’s promise to lower unemploy
Obama must remake political persona

ViewpointsSept 5, 2012

There still are Kennedy Democrats; there are Clinton Democrats. There are fewer Obama Democrats. This reflects more the president’s style than his substance; he’s in the mainstream of his party, so popular that any primary challenge was out of the question. Yet he remains strangely unfamiliar to some core constituencies. If Barack Obama is reelected, the biggest challenge won’t be ideological: He’s not the left-winger his opponents depict. The economy will be the dominant issue, events will shap
How far will India bend before China?

ViewpointsSept 5, 2012

The Indian government will once again demonstrate to the world that it is no longer an independent entity. China’s defence minister General Liang Guanglie started his three-day visit to Mumbai yesterday to discuss revival of joint military exercise and more confidence building measures between both countries. The first exercise was held in China in 2007 and the second in India in 2008. This is the first visit by a Chinese defence minister in the past seven years. Both governments will discuss wa
[Kim Myong-sik] Reflections on nation at restored royal houses

ViewpointsSept 5, 2012

Geoncheong-gung, King Gojong’s private residence in Gyeongbok Palace, must have an increased number of visitors these days as the recent spats with the Japanese over Dokdo and the sex slavery during World War II should have raised people’s historical consciousness. As the volumes of Japanese and Chinese travelers coming to the palace ― one of the main tourist attractions in Seoul ― are growing steadily, some tour guides bring their groups to the place located in the rear part of the palace compo
[Editorial] No talk on growth

EditorialSept 4, 2012

The Korea Development Institute, the leading government-funded economic think tank, publishes a report on the nation’s economic outlook twice a year ― in May and November. Based on the November report, the administration sets up its New Year economic management plan in December. If necessary, it revises the plan in June, this time based on the KDI’s May report.But the KDI is scheduled to publish an interim report later this month, a rare exception, which speaks volumes about the nation’s weakene
[Editorial] Strategy torn apart?

EditorialSept 4, 2012

The presidential primaries of the main opposition party are running out of steam, dashing the party’s hopes of getting attention and praise from the electorate and deepening the schism between the frontrunner and the three other contenders. It looks as if the Democratic United Party was being torn apart in an undue power struggle in the midst of the primaries.The turnout of registered voters is declining. The turnout in Ulsan peaked at 64.2 percent on Aug. 26, one day after the first primary on
GOP foreign policy shows it’s easy to talk tough

ViewpointsSept 4, 2012

Having read the GOP’s foreign-policy platform, with its slashing critique of the president, I can already say this: A Mitt Romney foreign policy would likely wind up looking much like Obama’s. Despite a call for another “American century” in which we possess the “strongest military and strongest economy,” a President Romney would soon confront the realities of today’s world.For starters, a hefty part of the GOP’s foreign-policy platform, and its call for global leadership, focuses on boosting th
[Lee Jae-min] Global issues, local verdicts

ViewpointsSept 4, 2012

Why do they always have Mr. Foreman, instead of Mr. Smith or Mr. Brown, in a jury trial? That was a small mystery in my mind following the Korean subtitles of Hollywood movies. The Korean subtitles translated “Mr. Foreman,” as it appeared in a judge’s famous question of “Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached the verdict?” as if it were a last name of one of the jurors. It was not until long afterwards that I realized who this Mr. Foreman was: It is a special term referring to a head juror.Amusingly,
Shintaro Ishihara provokes Japan’s neighbors

ViewpointsSept 4, 2012

Shintaro Ishihara, governor of Tokyo, is sending a survey team to the Senkaku Islands on Sunday in defiance of a Japanese government order on visits without permission.Ishihara couldn’t get permission, but his team is visiting three of the eight tiny islets called the Tiaoyu or Diaoyu Islands which both Taiwan and China claim as their inherent territory. The visit is to pave the way for him to buy the islands to defend against the People’s Republic of China in lieu of lame duck Prime Minister Yo
In Tehran, NAM gets a new lease on life

ViewpointsSept 4, 2012

Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inaugurated the summit of Nonaligned Movement leaders in Tehran with a blistering attack on the “dictatorship” of Western countries at the United Nations Security Council. The Iranians then had to listen stony-faced to Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi, the first Egyptian head of state to visit Iran since 1979, as he stressed the need for a united opposition to their ally, the murderous Syrian regime. Over several decades NAM summits, includi
[Kim Seong-kon] Pipers in group-oriented society

ViewpointsSept 4, 2012

It is well known that Korean society is highly group-oriented and interdependent. Perhaps that is why in Korea individuality is often ignored or regarded as something selfish and thus incompatible with the community spirit.Habitual gatherings at City Hall Square to watch the national soccer team is a good example of Koreans’ affinity for group activities. According to reports, on the night of the soccer game between Korea and Japan at the London Olympics, approximately 30,000 Korean soccer fans