The Korea Herald

China’s Xi should take lesson in U.S. creativity

ViewpointsFeb 15, 2012

An executive in the Shanghai office of an American private-equity firm decided to conduct an experiment with two groups of MBA interns. He gave the same project to a team from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and to a team from a leading business school in China. One group of students gave a well-balanced and coherent presentation. The members of the other team took turns upstaging one another for personal glory and ended up with contradictory conclusions. No one should be su
Ensuring Valentine diamond isn’t tainted by blood

ViewpointsFeb 15, 2012

It being the feast of Saint Valentine, today (Feb. 14) is a favored moment to give or receive that ultimate lovers’ gift: a diamond. This year, however, isn’t a good one for those who want to know for sure that the stone’s origins are above reproach. That’s because the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the international regime designed to disconnect human suffering from the rough-diamond supply chain, is losing its sparkle. As the chairman of the process for 2012, the U.S. is positioned to
How far the U.S., democracy have fallen in Egypt

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2012

Nothing better illustrates America’s sliding status in today’s Arab world than Egypt’s decision to try 16 Americans who work for pro-democracy groups there.On the surface, the strange story of this “criminal” case looks far less important than the Syrian government’s repression of its people. But this crisis has the potential to wreck U.S. relations with Egypt, a country that is still considered a key ally. And these charges graphically illustrate the decline of U.S. leverage in the new Middle E
Fairer presidential pardons

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2012

Spurred by a study showing that whites were four times likelier than minorities to receive a presidential pardon, the House Judiciary Committee has asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to explain changes he plans to make in the pardon process. Eliminating disparities is easier said than done, but some reforms are obvious.Although presidents can issue pardons for any reason and without consulting anyone, typically applications are processed by the Justice Department and then forwarded with r
The overlooked legacy of Ronald Reagan: Decency

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2012

Every Republican presidential candidate claims to be the heir to Ronald Reagan’s legacy. For years, Republican partisans have carried Reagan’s memory before them as the ancient Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant. Just invoking his name proved your ideological purity, and would smite the dreaded RINO (Republican in name only).Problem is, those who most fervently claim to adhere to Ronald Reagan’s principles don’t seem to understand Reagan’s greatest principle: decency.Ronald Reagan practi
Romney is dangerously naive on foreign policy

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2012

Mitt Romney appears to have all the foreign-policy savvy of someone who once visited Euro Disney, and it’s freaking me out. Not to say that President Obama is any more knowledgeable on that front, but at least he seems aware of his limitations, outsourcing foreign leadership to the French, the Brits, Hillary Clinton and private contractors.Never has the world been so interconnected, with power and influence becoming decentralized and regionalized. America’s problems ― economic or otherwise ― can
[Daniel Fiedler] Invest in Korea at your own risk

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2012

Once again the democratic party of South Korea, now called the Democratic United Party, is railing against the KORUS Free Trade Agreement. The DUP is promising to repeal the agreement should they gain a majority in the April elections. As an outsider observing this obsession against the agreement, I often wonder if it is simply a political tactic to appeal to their base in the countryside or if it is based on an unfortunate holdover of a more xenophobic past. I wonder whether the DUP will also d
[Editorial] Good and bad judges

EditorialFeb 14, 2012

Korea has about 1,000 judges sitting in the district, appellate and the supreme courts. They were given their robes after passing the state-run judiciary examination and two years of training. Each year, those who earn higher scores in various tests during the training course are appointed as judges and the rest go to the prosecution or directly go into legal practice.Judges are supposed to make rulings in accordance with the law and their conscience. People have believed judges have clearer con
No easy way to halt carnage in Syria

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2012

In 1982, I interviewed Syrian Information Minister Ahmed Iskander in Damascus, shortly after the regime had killed at least 10,000 people in the city of Hama.On his office wall hung a painting of an old Hama neighborhood with one of the waterwheels for which the city was famous. “That is our lovely city of Hama,” he told me calmly. “It‘s perfectly peaceful. You should visit it someday.”He knew that I knew this neighborhood had been leveled to the ground.Back then, under the regime of Hafez al-As
[Kim Seong-kon] Expanding horizons of literary study

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2012

Since the 1960s, literary research has considerably expanded its scope to include cultural studies, and during the process has shed light on the alienated, the marginal and the excluded. Accordingly, students and scholars have embarked on literary studies exploring the possibilities of understanding and communicating with others who are different from us. As a result, professors of English literature now extensively cover minority studies, ethnic studies, women’s studies and gay/lesbian studies,
[Editorial] Nomination wars

EditorialFeb 14, 2012

Up until a few weeks ago, leaders of parties talked about some kind of “bottom-up” process in nominating candidates for the upcoming National Assembly elections. Both Park Geun-hye of what is now the Saenuri Party and Han Myeong-sook of the Democratic United Party mentioned “open primaries” at each district to find fresh personalities who have the respect of constituents and present positive images of their parties.But what we now see at the headquarters of these parties are members of respectiv
The overlooked Reagan legacy: Decency

Feb 14, 2012

Every Republican presidential candidate claims to be the heir to Ronald Reagan‘s legacy. For years, Republican partisans have carried Reagan’s memory before them as the ancient Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant. Just invoking his name proved your ideological purity, and would smite the dreaded RINO (Republican in name only).Problem is, those who most fervently claim to adhere to Ronald Reagan‘s principles don’t seem to understand Reagan‘s greatest principle: decency.Ronald Reagan practi
How far the U.S., and democracy, has fallen in Egypt

Feb 14, 2012

Nothing better illustrates America‘s sliding status in today’s Arab world than Egypt‘s decision to try 16 Americans who work for pro-democracy groups there.On the surface, the strange story of this “criminal” case looks far less important than the Syrian government’s repression of its people. But this crisis has the potential to wreck U.S. relations with Egypt, a country that is still considered a key ally. And these charges graphically illustrate the decline of U.S. leverage in the new Middle E
Romney is dangerously naive on foreign policy

Feb 14, 2012

Mitt Romney appears to have all the foreign-policy savvy of someone who once visited Euro Disney, and it‘s freaking me out. Not to say that President Obama is any more knowledgeable on that front, but at least he seems aware of his limitations, outsourcing foreign leadership to the French, the Brits, Hillary Clinton and private contractors.Never has the world been so interconnected, with power and influence becoming decentralized and regionalized. America’s problems -- economic or otherwise -- c
[VOICE] Does Confucianism have a role in Korea today?

Feb 13, 2012

Some 2,500 years after the death of Confucius ...Does Confucianism have a role in Korea today?The teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius have had a profound influence on South Korea. So much so, that the nation is sometimes referred to as the most Confucian society on earth. An emphasis on family, personal betterment and respect for age and authority continue to feature highly in Korean life to this day, some 2,500 years after the philosopher’s death.Ethicist and director of the Institute fo