Internal unity and national consensus should be greatly emphasized in the Republic of Korea which, as one half of a divided nation, confronts a most bellicose adversary across a volatile border. But South Korea is torn apart by too many social and political conflicts in which extremist attitudes defy reasonable solution. Elections escalate the differences, with parties making the incorrect assumption that only criticism can help them collect more votes.The central administration, local autonomou

The Internet is all agog these days to speak about the “racist” behavior of some K-Pop stars. Those comments, ranging from outright denunciation to admonition, reflect the rapidly increasing popularity of Korean entertainers, but warn of possible repercussions that could affect their popularity itself.Setting off the recent controversy was Jenny Hyun, a co-songwriter for Girls’ Generation and Chocolat, who made a series of racist tweets about black people. In her blog, she said she was incensed

What a difference four years makes if you’re Hillary Clinton. In March 2008, though she would remain a presidential candidate for several more months and win some big primaries, she was defeated and discredited. Barack Obama was sweeping most contests and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was unacceptable for then-Senator Clinton to try to use controversial rules to wrest the nomination. Obama’s campaign outperformed hers, starting with the Clinton miscalculation that her support for the Iraq W

Apparently, it is reckless to think that India could bring about a rapprochement between Iran and the U.S. That, at least, is the view of some readers of my last column on India’s lenient attitude toward Iran’s nuclear program. They reprimanded me for being naive. For Iran, run by Islamic fundamentalists committed to the destruction of Israel, desires no such reconciliation with the country Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini indelibly called the “Great Satan.” Alas, such a view, which sees fixed essenc

Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law school student Rush Limbaugh called a “slut” and a “prostitute,” is intelligent, poised and coherent. That alone puts her miles ahead of her detractors.She‘s been making the rounds on behalf of her argument that the insurance she pays for at Georgetown (insurance that is not, she says, subsidized by the Jesuit school) should cover prescription contraception for women. When she said all this to Congress, testifying in favor of the Obama administration’s “insurance

March 11 marked the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. During the weekend, protests and rallies took place throughout the world to commemorate the catastrophe and call for a nuclear-free world. In Seoul, some 80 civic groups, including the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, held a rally at the plaza in front of Seoul City Hall, urging the government to shift away from nuclear power. The Fukushima disaster, which is still playing out, has energized the anti-nuclear mo

The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party are renewing their bids to reform the prosecution. Last year, they promoted a comprehensive overhaul of the powerful organization but their campaign bore little fruit due to strong resistance from prosecutors and lack of support from the government. On Tuesday, the DUP unveiled a 10-point reform plan aimed at ensuring the political neutrality of prosecutors, curbing their power, and strengthening the protection of suspects’ rights

The futurist Ray Kurzweil has famously predicted that humanity is approaching a “singularity,” a fateful moment when our technology becomes smarter than us and able to learn faster than we can, when it becomes the principal creator of new technologies and machines race far ahead of us. Humans may effectively fall out of the loop ― a species demoted, if not eliminated. For now, this world remains science fiction, at least at the level of humanity. But finance is flirting with a similar transition

Despite extraordinary election-year pressure, President Obama stood up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week and refused to be dragged into still another war ― this one against Iran.And for that I admire him because, should Israel’s right-wing government make the great mistake of attacking Iran ― as some Israelis leaders are tacitly threatening to do ― the United States is almost certain to be drawn into the fighting.Over several days, Obama repeatedly pledged that he would atta

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned U.S. President Barack Obama that Israel must be “master of its fate” and therefore any decision to attack Iran over its nuclear ambitions is really up to the Jewish state alone.Israel has not, reportedly, made any decision to attack Iran’s nuclear sites but there is no indication from the recent exchanges between the two leaders that Netanyahu is going to back away from the possibility of using a preemptive, unilateral military strike to destr