The Korea Herald

[Jieun Kiaer] Hangeul should be at the heart of Hallyu

ViewpointsJan 15, 2024

"I want my country to be the most beautiful country in the world. I don't want it to be the richest country. I don't want my country to invade other countries because I've been heartbroken by invasions. I’m satisfied if we have enough wealth to provide for ourselves and enough strength to keep us safe from invasion. Yet one thing that I deeply wish to have is a culture that has lasting legacy and power." ("My Wish" from Kim Ku, 1876-1949) As I start a new
[A READER`S VIEW]Step back from Hwang hype

OpinionJan 12, 2024

Questions surrounding stem-cell pioneer Hwang Woo-suk have been making the headlines for the past month. Since the MBC-TV program raised ethical issues about Hwang`s research, nationalism devoid of objectivity has been rife, with diverging opinions splattered daily on news pages. The entire society seems to be swept up in self-made fervor from which they cannot swim away. Why is the Hwang issue such a huge deal in South Korea? Is it something that deserves the amount of attention and hype it
[Media Art Now] TZUSOO engenders new cybernetic imagination

CultureJan 12, 2024

When advanced technologies bring about radical changes in society, there is always a collision of utopian and dystopian views. The heated debate last year over generative AI is one example. If you want to learn how to have your own point of view, why not turn to artists of our time, to their “anthropologically” attentive exploration of the contemporary conditions of the world? A group of young, free-spirited Korean artists stands out in this respect. Born digitally and technologica
[Robert J. Fouser] A visit to Osaka’s Koreatown

ViewpointsJan 12, 2024

For the first time in years, I spent the holidays in Japan. One of the highlights of my visit was a long afternoon walk through Osaka’s Koreatown. The area has changed dramatically since my first visit in the mid-1990s. As I walked around, I thought about what the many changes mean and about how the area might change in the future. Located near Tsuruhashi Station in south-central Osaka, the Koreatown here had historically been the largest in Japan. An influx of people from South Korea in t
[Editorial] Help drive up tourism

EditorialJan 12, 2024

Biggest travel account deficit in 5 years highlights need for rethinking tourism
[Takatoshi Ito] When will Japan normalize its monetary policy?

ViewpointsJan 11, 2024

Japan has had a difficult year so far. On Jan. 1, as Japanese families gathered to celebrate the new year, a powerful earthquake shook the Noto peninsula, causing buildings to collapse and forcing mass evacuations. More than a week later, the death toll -- already in the dozens -- continues to rise, as road damage, heavy rains, and landslides impede rescuers’ ability to reach affected villages. The next day, a Japan Airlines plane landing at Tokyo’s Haneda airport collided on the run
[Wang Son-taek] When ‘misreading’ met ‘misleading’

ViewpointsJan 11, 2024

On the earliest days of the new year of 2024, South and North Korean military forces have conducted artillery drills in the West Sea, causing an anxious atmosphere in which residents must evacuate. Notably, there are concerns over the situation since it was right after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made hostile remarks against the South at a plenary session of the Workers' Party late last year. As the South has also made violent remarks against the North, a confrontational structure in wh
[Editorial] Gap in college education

EditorialJan 11, 2024

Eradicate crime in shadow education; level out quality of college education
[Eric Posner] The AI octopus

ViewpointsJan 10, 2024

With long-gestating antitrust cases against Google, Apple and Amazon coming to fruition, many observers think that 2024 could be a turning point for Big Tech. Yet even as authorities press ahead with this litigation, they risk being blindsided by the rise of artificial intelligence, which is likely to reinforce Big Tech’s dominance of the economy. The recent firing and rehiring of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was interpreted as a conflict between cautious board members who worried about the risks
[Kim Seong-kon] Liberal democracy will be at stake in 2024

ViewpointsJan 10, 2024

Experts have pointed out that the year 2024 will continue to pose major challenges from many quarters, from the far-reaching devastation of climate change to the negative impact of artificial intelligence, including a massive rise in disinformation and fake news. For these and many other reasons, democracy will continue to be at stake worldwide. Indeed, hosts of specialists and scholars have recently warned of a worldwide crisis and decline of democracy in the international community. In 2016, f
[Editorial] Build up space projects

EditorialJan 10, 2024

Assembly processes a bill to create Korea Aerospace Administration
[Andreas Kluth] America has new Axis of Evil

ViewpointsJan 9, 2024

Since Feb. 24, 2022, and especially since Oct. 7, 2023, a specter has haunted the world and worried President Joe Biden in particular: Will Russia’s war against Ukraine, or Israel’s against Hamas, draw in other belligerents, perhaps even culminating in World War III? Biden has therefore done everything in his power to support Ukraine and Israel while also keeping the US and its Western allies out of direct confrontations with Russia, Hamas’ backers in Iran, and their Chinese
[Editorial] Wrangling over first lady

EditorialJan 9, 2024

President Yoon’s veto sets stage for extended clash between rival parties
[Shang-Jin Wei] How can the world's growth engine do better?

ViewpointsJan 9, 2024

The global economy demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2023, as the United States defied expectations and managed to avoid a recession. India, Vietnam, and Japan also achieved impressive economic performance given the circumstances. But while these countries have good reasons to be optimistic about 2024, China will most likely be the single largest contributor to global GDP growth this year. This may come as a surprise to many, given the wave of increasingly gloomy forecasts for the Chinese
[Peter Singer] Killing innocents in Israel and Gaza

ViewpointsJan 8, 2024

Last year, I was invited to join other Princeton University academics in viewing a compilation of raw footage from GoPro cameras carried by Hamas gunmen killing civilians in Israel on Oct. 7. Additional video and audio material came from dashboard cameras, traffic cameras, phone intercepts and victims’ phones. The invitation carried a warning that the footage would show horrific violence and murder. I avoid violent movies, so my instinctive response was to decline the invitation. But as so