The Korea Herald

‘Contagion’ lurks just outside office bathroom

ViewpointsSept 20, 2011

A terrible wave of germaphobia is spreading across the world, and all of it can be blamed on “Contagion,” the new thriller starring Matt Damon. “It really bothers me,” said a victim of the new germaphobia. “You don’t really know what it’s like.”Actually, I do. But it was never this bad, until now, t
[Reza Aslan] Yes to Palestine

ViewpointsSept 20, 2011

Later this month, the Palestinian Authority intends to go before the United Nations to request recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Although there is strong backing for the bid, the United States, in the name of supporting Israel, has stated its willingness to use its Security Council ve
[Kim Seong-kon] Americans learning from Asia

ViewpointsSept 20, 2011

We learn from each other. We learn not only from our parents and teachers, but also from our children and students. As a father, I try to convey my experiences to my children whenever necessary, but at the same time, I often learn from them as well. And as a professor, I not only teach my students w
Should conscientious objectors be jailed?

Sept 19, 2011

With U.N. and Korean rights panel calling for Korea to end the practice ...Should conscientious objectors be jailed?Obligations of serviceAll able-bodied Korean men are required to undertake at least 21 months of military service, a measure to maintain a strong military in face of the threat posed b
[Editorial] ‘Knowledge economy’

EditorialSept 19, 2011

Many people still do not know exactly what the Ministry of Knowledge Economy does, three-and-a-half years after it came into being in a government reorganization at the beginning of the Lee Myung-bak presidency. Watching this ministry’s officials scurry for damage control under public wrath over the
[Editorial] Suspension of savings banks

EditorialSept 19, 2011

Announcing six-month suspensions of seven more savings banks Sunday, Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said that the unease over the insolvency of the second-tier lenders would now be put to rest. The tough action followed the suspension and closure earlier this year of n
Tax reform may be the only deficit reduction plan

ViewpointsSept 19, 2011

Last time we looked in on the congressional “supercommittee,” its members were preparing for a sober task: slashing future federal deficits by ― for openers ― more than a trillion dollars. Yet there was reason to hope this designated dozen really could roam the full realm of government spending and
[Zbigniew Brzezinski] Toward universal political culture

ViewpointsSept 19, 2011

WASHINGTON ― A common challenge to all of us is inherent in the ongoing transformation of global politics.Let me begin with three broad assertions, then briefly elaborate on each of them, and conclude by making a modest proposal.― First, global peace is threatened not by utopian fanaticism, as was t
[Virginia Postrel] Harvard’s freshman pledge values ‘kindness’

ViewpointsSept 19, 2011

When the members of the class of 2015 arrived at Harvard College this fall, they encountered a novel bit of moral education. Their dorm proctors ― the grad students who live with freshmen to provide guidance and enforce discipline ― invited each student to sign a pledge developed by the Freshman Dea
[Trudy Rubin] Many Iraqis who helped U.S. still awaiting visas

ViewpointsSept 19, 2011

In July, I wrote about the plight of Iraqis who worked with U.S. soldiers and civilians but face death as “collaborators” when we leave. Their situation remains unresolved.Congress set up a special program in 2008 to grant these Iraqis 25,000 special immigrant visas (SIVs) over five years. Only 3,62
[Graciana del Castillo] Economics of peace in Afghanistan

ViewpointsSept 19, 2011

KABUL ― Suicide bombings, assassinations of top Afghan leaders, brutal attacks on Charikar and other places close to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, and a rapid increase in civilian deaths from drone attacks are jeopardizing the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from the country. So pervasive has
[Editorial] Ruling party in trouble

EditorialSept 18, 2011

Defeatism prevails among members of the ruling Grand National Party. No trace of the gung-ho spirit is found among its members with the Seoul mayoral by-election fast approaching. Few believe they will win the race again this time.The low morale, resulting from a shift in voter sentiment against the
[Editorial] Key aide under probe

EditorialSept 18, 2011

Kim Doo-woo, senior presidential secretary for public relations, resigned from his post on receiving a summons from the prosecutors’ office last weekend ― four months after his name was first mentioned in connection with an insolvent savings bank’ illegal lobbying. An arrested lobbyist for the savin
[Stephen Carter] Google do-gooder discount leaves churches to beg

ViewpointsSept 18, 2011

I am not sure what exactly led Google Inc. to decide to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible by making it harder for religious groups to do their work. But that is the practical effect of a set of changes in pricing policies adopted by the tech giant this year. Until recently, Goo
[David Ignatius] Israel and the Arab street

ViewpointsSept 18, 2011

WASHINGTON ― The expanding confrontation between Israel and its neighbors has been described variously as a “train wreck,” a “lose-lose situation” and a “political tsunami.” It’s all those things, and likely to get worse: For there’s no quick fix by Israel’s ally, the United States. The Obama a