President Moon Jae-in marks two years in office Thursday, and his presidency faces daunting challenges on many fronts -- from North Korea to the economy to political and social polarization. Indeed, South Koreans are giving Moon relatively poor grades for his performance as chief executive. The latest public opinion survey conducted by Gallup Korea provides insight into the decline of the Moon presidency since he took office at the peak of the public’s outrage against ousted former President Par

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

New Japanese Emperor Naruhito formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne Wednesday a day after the abdication of his father Akihito. Japan bid the Heisi (achieving peace) era adieu and hailed the Reiwa (beautiful) era.However, a new era has not dawned yet on South Korea-Japan ties. They are not free from the yoke of their history issues. Rather, they appear to be worse than ever. Japan has passed over South Korea and is focusing its diplomacy on the US and China. South Korea constantly raises is

The railroading of four fast-track bills by two parliamentary panels early Tuesday morning -- and the five days of fierce political fighting that preceded it -- exposed all the ugly aspects of South Korean politics.These include collusion of parties across political and ideological lines in pursuit of short-term gains; use of illegal and irregular means to ram through bills instead of seeking compromise with opponents; and turning the parliament into a battleground with shouts, curses and physic

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

Labor disputes are looming large over local carmakers, except for Ssangyong Motor.　At Renault Samsung Motors, the labor union has staged 62 partial strikes since October last year. At GM Korea’s R&D firm, the union has resolved to strike. At Hyundai Motor, the union has vowed to launch a general strike if the National Assembly discusses a bill to amend the country’s labor law. South Korean carmakers’ unions strike almost every year ahead of wage negotiations or collective bargaining to set worki

When the Bank of Korea announced last week the country’s economy contracted an estimated 0.3 percent on-quarter in the first three months of this year, a presidential aide was quick to attribute the poor performance mostly to unfavorable external conditions.But BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol struck a different tone, citing a sharp fall in corporate investment as a main factor behind the poorest growth record since the fourth quarter of 2008, when the global financial crisis was still underway.In a meeting