The concert hall remained eerily quiet as the conductor took his place at the podium. Then, all at once, the solemn sound of “Nimrod” from Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” filled the air. The evocative melody proved cathartic for the audience that had gathered less than a week after a crowd surge in Itaewon left 157 people dead. I saw people silently sobbing, wiping away tears. When the music ended, a minute of silence was observed in tribute to the victims of the countr

When the Sewol ferry sank in April 2014, claiming 304 lives including 250 high school students, it was simply unbelievable that so many precious lives could be lost in coastal waters. The ferry capsized 24 kilometers off the island Jindo on the southwestern coast, but rescue operations were incredulously ineffective. The botched response severely dented public trust in the Park Geun-hye administration and eventually contributed to her impeachment. The Halloween weekend disaster in Itaewon, in wh

Recently, two events in the news shook the world. One was the tragic disaster in Itaewon that took away the lives of 156 people, including 26 foreigners from 14 countries, who died in a crowd crush while celebrating Halloween in Seoul. The other one was the violent assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, by a man with a hammer. Pelosi is now recovering from a skull fracture. After the Itaewon tragedy, many people are taking to the streets in anger and grief. A num

Fighting for the high ground on contentious political issues inspires a partisan twisting of the English language. Take this Oct. 19 news from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that “officers arrested 175 unlawfully present noncitizens with multiple DUI convictions.” “Unlawfully present noncitizens” is how our Department of Homeland Security describes illegal (a synonym for unlawful) aliens (the legal term for noncitizens). In line with open-borders advocates, DHS now c

In recent weeks, several members of the Glasgow Financial Alliance on Net Zero -- a group of 450 financial institutions -- have quit over concerns about the cost of delivering on their climate commitments. In dropping out, they have given the lie to the notion that private financial institutions can lead the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. What the transition really needs is more ambitious states that will go beyond market-fixing to become market shapers. The market-led approach is roote

As the Fed raised interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday for the fourth time this year, financial markets are beginning to shake. Basically, the interest rate hikes in response to higher inflation is a reversal of nearly two decades of generally declining global interest rates, higher asset bubbles and not surprisingly, anemic growth. The Bank for International Settlements has just issued a paper looking at the policy implications of exchange rate swings. The US dollar index has broadl

For the second time in my life, the threat of nuclear war is keeping me up at night. The first occasion was in 1983, when as a child, I sneaked out of my bedroom to watch the TV movie “The Day After.” That movie gave me a healthy appreciation for what a nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia might look like. Now, almost 40 years later, that fear has returned, as Russian President Vladimir Putin issues threats of nuclear use, seemingly to compensate for the poor perform

The sound was unmistakable -- and potentially shattering. It was yet another reverberating sound of silence at a time when we needed to hear everyone speak out in condemnation. Thankfully, this time it was not a total silence. But it was an inexcusable silence from far too many famous names from one political party -- the Republicans. A violent attack had just occurred at the San Francisco home of the Democratic speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Only by the grace of God, it didn’t end

The deadly crowd crush during Halloween celebrations in Itaewon on Oct. 29 shocked the nation to its core. The death toll amounted to at least 156, including 26 foreigners from 14 countries. Hundreds of others were injured and thousands across the nation are dealing with trauma. Nearly all the dead were young people who had gathered in narrow alleys lined with bars and clubs to celebrate Halloween. As the nation mourned, attention turned to questions about how such a deadly crowd crush could h

With deepest grief for the victims of the Saturday night disaster in Itaewon, I just wish for the political peace that followed the tragedy to last longer, although it is feared to be brief. After the right-wing conservatives retook power from the leftists with the thinnest margin ever in the March presidential election, South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties have been engaged in a war of attrition with increasingly virile words of incrimination while the nation faces worsening econom

Authoritarian movements are rising in democracies around the world, in ways not seen since the 1930s. And contrary to the title of a famous dystopian novel from that era, it can happen here. In lots of small ways, it’s already happening. In Missouri, one state official is trying to dictate what library patrons can read, while another is demanding to see journalists’ emails. In Florida, people are being arrested for voting. In red states around the country, legislators energized by th

Over the eight months since Russia invaded Ukraine, public support for US military aid to Kyiv has been remarkably solid and mostly bipartisan. A large majority of Americans (73 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos survey this month) favor continued help for Ukraine, and Congress, with support from both parties, has approved more than $65 billion in aid. But cracks in the consensus have begun to appear, and the divided government that’s likely after the midterm elections will almost surely worsen th

The 2022 US midterm elections are just around the corner. The outcome of the election on November 8 is crucial for both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party because it will heavily influence the next presidential election in 2024. Therefore, election campaigns are rampant these days. On their front yard lawn, homeowners set up pickets bearing the names of senators and representatives they support. YouTube subscribers, too, encounter election campaign ads before they can watch the main s

High inflation, rising interest rates, falling currencies and volatile energy prices, together with an economic slowdown and post-pandemic budget woes, may increase pressure on the ASEAN+3 -- the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, together with China, Japan and South Korea -- to scale back efforts to mitigate climate risk. While this policy shift may make fiscal sense, it is a mistake that could have grave repercussions for the region and ultimately lead to slower econom