It is easy for me to remember the very first time I set foot on Jeju Island. David Beckham and the rest of England’s 2002 World Cup squad were in Seogwipo to play Gus Hiddink’s Korean team in a World Cup warm-up game at Jeju’s shiny new World Cup stadium. A certain Park Ji-sung scored to equalize Michael Owen’s opener for England and the game finished 1-1. I filmed the whole experience and did the same when I returned to Jeju to watch Brazil thrash China 4-0. On my video camera I managed to capt

There are emerging social challenges facing South Korea that, if not handled skillfully, could lead to larger societal difficulties in the coming years. At the fore is the increasing discontent surrounding the income gap between the rich and the poor. Class conflict was the primary social concern for Koreans according to a survey conducted last year, a view buttressed by increasing unemployment. August saw the highest rate of unemployment since 2010, with more jobs lost than created. For the you

North Korea is history’s most perfected totalitarian state. Ruled by a deified dynastic dictatorship whose record of crimes against humanity is unparalleled, according to the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, no organized resistance against the regime has been reported. Until now.A mysterious group called Free Joseon — or Free North Korea — has broken Pyongyang’s seven-decades-long record of untouchability and trampled on its greatest taboo: The “Supreme Dignity” Kim Jong-un must never be desecra

President Donald Trump wants to strangle the Iranian economy and keep gas prices low for American drivers. The discovery that Russia has been exporting contaminated crude oil means any hopes that he could do both have all but evaporated.Trump decided this month not to renew waivers that let countries buy Iranian oil without violating his sanctions, affecting eight nations that have exemptions expiring on May 2. This drove crude prices higher at a time when gasoline prices were already rising. Ga

It was only a few months ago that the US Federal Reserve was intent on continuing to increase interest rates. But now, some policymakers are even hinting that the next move may be a rate cut, and they may even pursue other forms of policy easing despite equities reaching record highs again. If that is the message Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will provide at his press conference Wednesday following a two-day meeting with policymakers, it would spur equities to even greater heights and drive yields

It has been a decade since the Federal Reserve and other central banks began cutting interest rates to zero -- or even below -- and injecting unprecedented amounts of cash into the global financial system via quantitative easing. And while global stocks are at or near record highs, central banks around the world are increasingly abandoning their hopes of normalizing policy with economic growth slowing. On top of that, public and private debt levels are higher than ever.Some central banks are pre

Russian efforts to influence European elections have received plenty of media attention. But the same cannot be said of interference by conservative Christian groups based in the United States, some with links to President Donald Trump’s administration and his former adviser, Stephen Bannon.As a recent report by openDemocracy has found that America’s religious right spent at least $50 million on “dark money” campaigns and advocacy in Europe over the past decade. And yet, despite obvious grounds