Today, Korea is well known and Koreans are popular overseas thanks to Hallyu and cutting-edge technology represented by Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Nevertheless, sometimes Koreans are not welcomed by the international community due to their ignorance of and indifference to global standards. In the eyes of foreigners, Koreans tend to stubbornly stick to their own standards, closing their eyes to radical changes taking place in the world. For example, we persistently keep using the wrong expression “

Last week, I attended the third International Congress of Writers Writing in Korea held at Gyeongju under the auspices of the international P.E.N. Korea Centre. The conference, which brought together 50 writers from all over the world, including both Korean-heritage and non-heritage writers, turned out to be a huge success. At the meeting I met professor Kim Jong-hoe who is an expert on Korean Diaspora. Professor Kim has been traveling to many countries on behalf of Kyung Hee University to award

Koreans are known to be extremely proud of themselves. Perhaps they are too proud to know their place in the world or even in East Asia. Many are so proud of themselves that they have delusions of grandeur, thinking they are one of the smartest peoples in the world. Embarrassingly, however, foreign experts on Korea would not agree with them because of poor decisions the Korean people have made at critical moments in their history. Indeed, we and our political leaders have made astonishingly poor

In his monumental essay, “the American Scholar,” Emerson wrote, “To be great is to be misunderstood.” Indeed, a truly great man can easily be misunderstood by his contemporaries. In English, there is a maxim, “Where everyone is one-eyed, having two eyes is a handicap.” There is a matching maxim in Korea, “How can a sparrow understand eagle’s eye-view?” Perhaps that is why a great man is always alone, surrounded by the people who do not and cannot understand him. In today’s Korea, we urgently nee

Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy is a powerful criticism of contemporary society that is seriously plagued by hate and divided by ideological differences. “Mockingjay,” the last installment of the trilogy, especially illustrates many compelling issues regarding the process of democratization and revolution.In “Mockingjay,” during the uprising of the rebel force against the Capitol, an aircraft bearing Capitol markings drops parcels into the crowd. People shout for joy, assuming the parc

Recently, I read the controversial book “Confucius Must Die for This Nation to Live” by Professor Kim Kyung-il. The book is a de-facto declaration of independence from Confucianism, which has been the predominant and prevalent philosophy in Korean society for the past 600 years. In the book, the author strongly asserts that all social evils and chronic problems in Korean society stem from Confucianism. According to Kim, both China and Japan abandoned Confucianism a long time ago, but Korea unwis

Recently foreign readers wrote me that they would like to know what young Koreans think of the current political climate of the Korean Peninsula and what South Korea can and should do under the circumstances. In their eyes, Korea is now helplessly caught between a rock and a hard place. I conversed with young Koreans only to be disappointed by their indifference and apathy. Their primary concern was to find a decent job and live comfortably in material abundance. As for national security, they s

These days, Korea is roasting under the scorching sun. During the day, Koreans seek refuge in air-conditioned buildings and at night, they toss and turn because of the unbearably high temperature and suffocating humidity. People mutter, “Is Korea burning?”The heat is coming not only from above, but from all sides. South Korea is caught in the crossfire between China, Japan, Russia and the United States these days. The leaders of those four nations are all invariably strongmen who have vowed to m

Generally speaking, Koreans like to belong somewhere and tend to flock together. Perhaps that is why there are so many groups, societies and associations in Korean society. Koreans seem to feel comfortable and gain strength when they belong to a group. There seems no place for lone wolves in Korean society. Unless you belong to a group, you will be a social pariah like a stray dog or an alley cat. Of course, not everybody is the same. There are black sheep even in the Korean community. I, for ex

Haruki Murakami lamented the lack of decency and common sense among the extreme right wing in Japan, in a recent email interview with his Korean publisher, Munhakdongne. He mentioned this while referring to a group of extremely conservative Japanese who had vehemently criticized his recent novel “Killing Commendatore,” which deals with the dark side of modern Japanese history, including the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. “In this age of the internet,” said Murakami, “people still tend to see things only

If you ask a scientist, “What is a star?” he will probably answer, “It is a gigantic mass of dust located in the universe far away from Earth.” How unromantic! Yet it is the undeniable truth. In the eyes of a scientist a star is nothing but a round shaped mass of dust, earth and rocks orbiting in the universe in the dark. However, if you asked the same question to a poet or a student of literature or the humanities, the answer would be totally different. He will describe a star as the most gorge

Recently I read two books that deal with the future of Korea. One was “For Whom This Nation Exists” by Kim Hyong-o, a former National Assemblyman and house speaker. The other was “Korea 4.0 Now” by Kang Tae-jin, a professor of textile engineering and former dean at Seoul National University. While I was reading the two books, I could not but help nod frequently. Both books were well-argued, highly persuasive, penetrating and illuminating. Above all, they were thought-provoking and eye-opening. “

Last week, the LTI Korea Translation Academy held the commencement ceremony for our graduates of 2017. As president of the academy, I was so proud of the students from different nations who wore gorgeous academic gowns and caps, with big smiles on their faces and certificates of graduation in their hands. During my congratulatory remarks, I asked them to always keep three things in mind wherever they go. I told them, “First, I want you to build a cultural and literary bridge connecting the world

This is the National Assembly Hearing season in Korea for Cabinet minister-designates proposed by the new administration. Every day, newspaper reporters thoroughly examine every nook and cranny of the candidate’s past life to find skeletons in his or her closet. Meanwhile, the readers enjoy watching a prominent personality publicly humiliated and feel catharsis as he or she desperately struggles in the quagmire and hopelessly sinks into the pit. Of course, it is necessary to screen our future mi

Foreigners have often pointed out that Koreans do not seem to be appreciative and seem to take everything for granted. In the 19th century, a foreigner, after living in Korea for two years, wrote, “When someone does a favor to them, Koreans take it for granted and forget the favor soon.” Although there may be a danger of stereotyping and hasty generalization, the foreigner’s observation does not seem to be totally groundless. Indeed, we tend to easily forget the favors we have received from othe