The Korea Herald

[Kim Seong-kon] Crisis of the university English department

ViewpointsFeb 15, 2011

With the passage of the bill in the National Assembly for the incorporation of Seoul National University in 2012, the SNU Department of English is under fire once again. Under the new system, all SNU departments will be reformed for greater efficiency, just like a commercial company. The English Department has much work to be done and still seems like a dinosaur: mammoth in size, hopelessly old-fa
The rise of Korean global intrapreneurship

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2011

With more than a decade of past experience as a U.N. officer and senior executive for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, I consider myself a global intrapreneur through trial and error.What is an intrapreneur? Simply put, an intrapreneur is member of an organization that utilizes entrepreneurial methodologies and strategies in order to increase the efficiency of the organizations
[Editorial] New weather czar

EditorialFeb 14, 2011

It is annoying that the new head of the Korea Meteorological Administration is involved in a controversy over his criminal record for a drunken hit-and-run incident. Opposition members of the National Assembly’s Environment-Employment Committee demanded that Cho Suk-joon step down from his new office and blamed President Lee Myung-bak for making yet another flawed appointment to a high office.Cho,
[Editorial] Bidding third time

EditorialFeb 14, 2011

The heavy snowfall over the eastern areas of Gangwon Province poses a serious hazard to the people’s lives in the region but it can be a blessing to PyeongChang, which is making a bid to host the Winter Olympics for the third time. A 14-member delegation from the International Olympic Committee just arrived to conduct its onsite inspection of PyeongChang and nearby venues until Friday. They came d
Getting serious about reducing national debt

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2011

As the nation struggles to revive a stalled economy, the Obama administration and House Republicans are on a collision course over whether to lift the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before it expires on March 4. The two sides must reach agreement within days to avoid stifling the economic recovery that is barely under way.The administration insists that there is no alternative to raising the debt cei
[Kevin Hassett] Laffer curve pays billions if Obama just asks

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2011

The U.S. is about to have the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world because our competitors have noticed that revenue goes up as rates go down. Multinational corporations today nimbly move their profits to the friendliest environment, rewarding tax havens like never before.It looks as if President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are going to miss out on the single biggest poli
[Nouriel Roubini] We live in a G-Zero world, not G20

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2011

NEW YORK ― We live in a world where, in theory, global economic and political governance is in the hands of the G20. In practice, however, there is no global leadership and severe disarray and disagreement among G20 members about monetary and fiscal policy, exchange rates and global imbalances, climate change, trade, financial stability, the international monetary system, and energy, food and glob
[Meghan Daum] Farrah Fawcett’s swimsuit hits the big time

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2011

Surely you noticed this urgent news item over the weekend: The red swimsuit worn by Farrah Fawcett in her iconic 1976 poster has been donated to the Smithsonian’s popular culture history collection. Along for the ride were some of Fawcett’s “Charlie’s Angels” scripts, a Fawcett doll, a hairstyling kit called Farrah’s Glamour Center and, of course, the poster itself.Do such artifacts belong at the
[William Pesek] Roubini’s next crisis is scary food for thought

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2011

Forget Egypt for a moment. Skip the water crisis in China. Look past angst on the streets of Bangladesh. If you want to see how extreme the effects of surging food prices are becoming, look to wealthy Japan.So big are the increases that economists are buzzing about them pushing deflationary Japan toward inflation. Yes, rising costs for commodities such as wheat, corn and coffee might do what trill
[Peter Singer] We need more elephant mothers than tiger mothers

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2011

MELBOURNE ― Many years ago, my wife and I were driving somewhere with our three young daughters in the back, when one of them suddenly asked: “Would you rather that we were clever or that we were happy?”I was reminded of that moment last month when I read Amy Chua’s Wall Street Journal article, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” which sparked more than 4,000 comments on wsj.com and over 100,000 c
[Caroline Baum] Bernanke’s worst nightmare is this man’s boxes

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2011

Ben Bernanke arrived at his office a week ago and came face to face with his worst nightmare.Staring out at the Federal Reserve chairman from page C1 of the Feb. 3 edition of the Wall Street Journal was a photo of a man and his boxes. The man was John Anton, founder and president of Anton Sports. The boxes contained his inventory of T-shirts. Because the price was right, Anton borrowed $300,000 at
English-only in the United States? Press ‘no’

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2011

For years it was a bogeyman for those discomfited by immigration, particularly from Mexico: The United States was evolving into two nations, only one of which would speak English. If it was ever true, which is doubtful, it isn’t now. A 2007 report by the Pew Foundation found that, though only 23 percent of Latino immigrants spoke English very well, the figure rose to 88 percent for their adult chi
[Editorial] Post-Mubarak Egypt

EditorialFeb 13, 2011

Egypt stands at a crossroads following the resignation on Friday of President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the Arab world’s most populous country for the past 30 years with an iron fist. Pro-democracy activists who had boldly protested at Tahrir Square in Cairo since Jan. 25 pulled off a revolution by forcing the dictator to step down. But the key to the nation’s future is not in their hands. It is he
[Alfred Stepan and Juan J. Linz] Egypt government needs a Pharoah?

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2011

NEW YORK ― As Egypt’s revolution hangs in the balance, what factors are most likely to determine the outcome? While all eyes seem to be focused on the army, watching to see which way it will jump, other key questions are being overlooked.Of course, what the army does is hugely important. Splits in a military-supported authoritarian regime can create gaps between the temporary interests of the smal
[Editorial] Global food crisis

EditorialFeb 13, 2011

Global food prices are going through the roof, threatening to push the world into a war over food. Earlier this month, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization said world food prices hit their highest level ever recorded in January and were set to keep rising in the months to come. It is a strong signal that a severe global food crisis is imminent or under way. According to the FAO, its food pr