Recently, there has been great excitement within the baseball community here in Korea with regards to the possible MLB acquisition of Ryu Hyun-jin, a southpaw who throws for the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles. It comes as no surprise, then, that the organization on the other end that is interested is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who, given their long history, have a proud tradition of welcoming new talent across cultural divides into the Big Leagues. Beginning in 1947, with the signing of Jackie Robinson, and

PARIS ― French public reaction to American CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus’ suicide-bombing of his own career demonstrates a lack of understanding of the perceived offense in favor of a blind defense of libertinism. It was learned last week that Petraeus had an extramarital affair with his biographer, reserve Army officer Paula Broadwell (who, like Petraeus, is married with children).Let’s go back in time for some context.The French never understood why President Bill Clinton was impeached for

The main opposition Democratic United Party has again put the brakes on the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island. The party has refused to pass a bill allocating 200 billion won for the project next year through the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly. It demanded that the entire budget be axed.Behind the party’s nonsensical move was its presidential candidate Moon Jae-in. A week ago, he visited Jeju and told opponents to the project that if elected president, he would hal

Park Geun-hye, the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate, has toned down her party’s chaebol reform proposals. She has, among other things, rejected a plan to penalize existing circular shareholding arrangements among chaebol affiliates. Her decision was prudent but drew fire from opposition presidential runners.Circular shareholdings are high on the economic democratization agendas of the three main presidential contenders, who include, along with Park, Moon Jae-in of the main oppositio

It’s no question that Koreans work more hours than in any other country in the world. However, in terms of management efficiency they are ranked among the lowest. What could possibly be the reason for such inefficiency? Is it Confucianism ― employees looking back, embracing tradition and refusing to adapt to a changing world? Is it their military training in which all men are required to dedicate nearly two years of their lives? I believe that it is a combination of both that creates a business

When a student of mine called me to ask for some advice, I listened calmly, expecting him to inquire about his grades or request that I look over one of his essays. Instead, his dilemma was a rather unique one. He had decided to apply to Swarthmore, a top-ranked liberal arts school in America, and wanted to submit a rock album that he had been recording but that was still incomplete. Not only was his counselor against the student’s decision to apply to Swarthmore, insisting that his scores were

Japan’s leaders just can’t seem to put the 19th century behind them. It may be 2012, and the world surrounding this island nation of 126 million is changing at a blistering pace, but Japanese officialdom seems oddly stuck in the late 1800s. Back then, reformers adopted the slogan “rich nation, strong army.” This rabid nationalism culminated, of course, in World War II and a crushing defeat. Fast-forward a hundred years or so. Here is the hauntingly similar motto Shinzo Abe, very possibly Japan’s

Having helped power President Barack Obama to victory over Mitt Romney, Hispanic voters are suddenly the “it” demographic in U.S. politics. Hispanics made up 10 percent of the total vote and gave Obama almost three votes for every one earned by Romney. Obama may even have won a majority among Florida’s Cuban voters, who were once a Republican mainstay. With more than 60,000 Hispanics turning 18 every month between now and 2016, we doubt many Republicans are still in denial about the demographic