He is the kind of boy that all girls want to bring home. He is also the kind of young man that all moms want to see their girls bring home. Even President Park Geun-hye wanted him -- he was invited to play host to the president at the recent opening of K-Style Hub, a tourism center in Seoul. Actor Song Joong-ki, the latest Korean pop cultural heartthrob, is the most wanted guy in town. As Army Capt. Yoo Si-jin in the recently concluded KBS2 TV drama series “Descendants of the Sun,” the 30-year-o

China’s critics are united on one point: The country’s central problem is that it’s moving too slowly to embrace free markets. For now, however, the bigger risk lies in moving too fast.It’s important to remember how China reached this point. For any big economy, coordination poses a steep challenge. The problem is particularly acute at early stages of development, when a combination of poverty and a past record of underperformance mean no one has an incentive to invest.What’s required is a big p

When foreign cultures come to Korea, they seem to change to suit the Korean sentiment and the new environment. For example, TGI Fridays is just an ordinary family restaurant in the States. In Korea, however, it is a rather decent, expensive Western restaurant where you can bring valued guests without hesitation. Another example is hotels. Unlike in the States, Holiday Inn is a four-star hotel in Korea and the Marriot Hotel a five-star super luxury hotel. In the States, Chinese restaurants are kn

Two ancient Buddhist statues were stolen by a group of Korean smugglers from two Japanese temples on Tsushima Island in October 2012. The statues were later found in Korea and confiscated by law enforcement agencies. Japan has been asking for the return of the statues. This issue has remained an outstanding item in bilateral relations.There is an international treaty to which both countries are parties, the 1972 UNESCO Convention, which obligates return of stolen cultural artifacts. Japan has be