The COVID-19 pandemic had initially shaken South Korea. In the beginning, as we struggled to contain the virus, the number of infections rose quickly, just as other countries later experienced. However, we were able to quickly cope with this seemingly uncontrollable situation. The two main elements of Korea’s success in overcoming this pandemic are a human-centered philosophy (ideology) and a state-of-the-art disease control system. A human-centered philosophy, where human life and human

As a partisan debate rages over whether and how to reopen the country, America is drifting, with no coherent strategy from the White House. States are opening up helter-skelter. President Donald Trump contradicts his experts and rages at perceived enemies, leaving ordinary citizens confused and angry. In a sane world, the Trump team would be assessing models adopted by nations that have handled COVID-19 better than we have. It would be devising an American model to transition to a safe new norm

An effective COVID-19 vaccine, if it ever arrives, should be treated as a public good for the whole of society. Every continent has been struck by the virus, bar Antarctica. But the combination of national self-interest and pressure for the pharmaceutical industry to turn a profit is already triggering a geopolitical bust up over who actually gets access to the vaccine first. It’s a reminder that the spoils of drug research aren’t equally divided. The system is ripe for a rethink.

I had nearly perfect vision. I had no problem reading fine print. I was able to read paperbacks whose font size was deemed too small for average readers. I often read books on the bus or in rooms with poor lighting, which would surely make eye doctors frown. But I was fairly confident about my excellent vision, and I enjoyed the privilege. I bet you have already noticed that in the previous paragraph I used a past tense about my eyesight. As with many other middle-aged people, my eyesight bega

Boris Johnson’s much-anticipated address to the nation Sunday night left many feeling unsatisfied, and others infuriated. For a political team that has often used pithy slogans to devastating effect, the new one unveiled to guide Britain out of the lockdown -- “Stay Alert” -- feels like an epic fail. How does one stay alert and to what, people wondered. Part of the problem was presentational. Johnson’s 13-minute speech was short on details, leaving everyone to wait unti

You might have been under the impression that the European Union has quite enough problems to manage. For one thing, there’s a pandemic going on, causing a recession and a debt crisis that might blow up the currency union. For another, two member states, Poland and Hungary, are going rogue, undermining democracy and the rule of law and increasingly seeking conflict with Brussels. I’m not the only one who’s been wondering whether the EU has a future at all. And now some red-rob

Amid the ever-widening spread of the novel coronavirus, we realize things that we normally would not. For example, we realize we should be grateful to doctors, nurses and health care workers who are willing to take the risk of contagion in order to save their patients from a dangerous virus. Our gratitude should also go to police officers and ambulance staff, who have to respond to emergencies and whose daily assignments expose them to the contagious virus as well. We should be especially grat

While most of the world has been on lockdown from the novel coronavirus, the wars and political machinations of the Middle East have continued. Amid this turmoil, Russia appears to be making steady progress as a regional power. The pandemic and collapse of oil prices have pounded the region’s already fragile countries. The Gulf oil kingdoms are slashing budgets; Iran is hunkered down and trying to keep its leadership alive and its strategic weapons programs intact. America, meanwhile, is

Many states in the US are racing to reopen their economies before measures such as testing, contact tracing and full-time mask-wearing are in place. But one of biggest economic effects of a hasty end of lockdowns won’t be to save businesses; it will be to kick people off of desperately needed government assistance. While almost all other developed nations are seeing their new COVID-19 cases decline as a result of lockdowns and other public-health measures, the US has only managed to reach

For critical weeks in February and early March President Donald Trump claimed COVID-19 would magically disappear by itself or with warmer weather. That didn’t work. So, with the death toll at more than 75,000 and rising, the president needs a new magic formula to deflect public attention from his slow and chaotic response. And to blur the blame for the tens of thousands of new deaths that will stem from reopening the country without a national testing strategy. The miraculous formula? Bl

Governments around the world say they’re engaged in a war against the coronavirus. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the legend of the Mahabharata, fought over 18 days, as he declared, with little warning, a devastating national lockdown. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who always seems to be mentally screening a film of Winston Churchill in World War II, said that “we must act like any wartime government.” Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has long d

The COVID-19 crisis augurs three watersheds: the end of Europe’s integration project, the end of a united, functional America, and the end of the implicit social compact between the Chinese state and its citizens. As a result, all three powers will emerge from the pandemic internally weakened, undermining their ability to provide global leadership. Start with Europe. As with the 2010-12 eurozone crisis, the bloc’s fault line today runs through Italy. Drained over decades of dynamism

The first week of May in South Korea saw the nation come to life as fears of COVID-19 subsided. People took advantage of a series of holidays to go out and enjoy the spring weather. On May 6th, the government’s new guidelines called “everyday distancing” went into effect. The guidelines focus on allowing normal activities with continued social distancing, hand washing, and wearing of face masks. South Korea is not yet free of the pandemic, but it is getting close. Much of Eu

Today is Parents’ Day. In any other year, the day would be celebrated with family dinners, bouquets of red carnations, presents and cash gifts. This year, however, the government is asking people to stay away from the elderly, especially the elderly in care facilities to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The elderly were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, their bodies already weak and with underlying health conditions that made them particularly vulnerable to the h