Suppose that you had invested your wealth in a broadly diversified set of stocks, starting in January 1871, with the dividends being rolled back into your portfolio, and with your portfolio being rebalanced every January to maintain diversification. If you had also paid no taxes and incurred no fees, you would have had 65,004 times your initial investment, as of this past January. By contrast, if you had performed the same experiment with long-term US Treasury bonds, you would have only 41 time

ViewpointsAug. 7, 2023

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the European Union. When the Maastricht Treaty took effect in 1993, Europeans embarked on a historically unique experiment in supranational governance and shared sovereignty. The EU’s single market allows for the free movement of goods, services, and capital among 27 member states; and, critically, its Schengen Area means open borders between member states (and free movement rights even in non-Schengen member states), granting more than 400 million p

ViewpointsAug. 7, 2023

How well do South Koreans speak English? The development of translation apps and decreased personal interaction after the pandemic may be making this question less important, but English education still occupies an important place in the South Korean society. English is a required language from elementary school through university. Scores of standardized English tests are usually required for employment and advancement in companies. English kindergartens and other types of private schools remain

ViewpointsAug. 4, 2023

During my first visit to the Dabudong War Memorial Museum, footsteps could be easily heard. Only a handful of visitors paced through the small hillside museum that recalls pivotal, last-ditch fighting in the early stage of the Korean War. The museum’s secluded site off the Seoul-Busan highway and a simple display of old howitzers and bazookas and memorial steles to fallen soldiers created a solemn atmosphere. They silently memorialized the unsung heroes who turned the tide of the war by pr

ViewpointsAug. 3, 2023

In Isaac Asimov’s “True Love,” an artificial intelligence takes over the identity of protagonist Milton Davidson and ruins his life. At first, Milton wants to find a perfect partner. In pursuit of this goal, he provides all the information about himself to his super-intelligent computer program Multivac or “Joe,” as Milton calls it. Joe then proceeds to comb through databases to find a girl who impeccably matches Milton. At last, Joe finds an ideal match for Milton,

ViewpointsAug. 2, 2023

For more than two years, Donald Trump’s most patriotic MAGA true believers have been accepting with unshakable trust what they were sure was rock-solid evidence that their leader really won reelection. They genuinely believe they’ve seen all the proof they need that the 2020 election was stolen from them. They have seen the videos on the websites they trust most, showing votes being stolen, changed, thrown away, whatever. They are sure they have seen proof. That’s why they are

ViewpointsAug. 1, 2023

Recent climate negotiations have been heated, to say the least. Beyond the usual recriminations over financing, the choice of Sultan Al Jaber -- chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) -- as the president of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates has fueled considerable controversy. But if the world is to make genuine progress on climate change, the engagement of both the oil and gas industry and the Gulf region is essentia

ViewpointsAug. 1, 2023

J. Robert Oppenheimer was the first chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ board of sponsors, a group composed of the world’s leading scientists based at the University of Chicago. Because I serve as the bulletin’s president, I am fielding a lot of questions lately about why I think Christopher Nolan’s eponymous film about Oppenheimer, which hit theaters nationwide on Friday, is resonating so deeply with the public. The all-star cast, feted director, and script

ViewpointsJuly 31, 2023

Headline inflation is falling fast in the United States and the eurozone, following a succession of sharp interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. But monetary policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic have made it clear that they are not done yet. Are they going to go too far? Core inflation, which is still running at around 5 percent in the US and the eurozone, remains a major cause for concern. Central bankers fear that, given a resilient labor market, hig

ViewpointsJuly 28, 2023

Officials and representatives from Pakistan showcased trade and investment potential at the Pakistan-Korea trade and investment conference seeking Korean investments at the Ambassador Hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Attendees shared diverse ideas and business solutions in energy, construction, minerals, agriculture, food processing, textiles, automobiles, information technology and telecommunications to reach out to investors and key figures taking the lead. Underscoring Pakistan’s economic outl

Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2023

South Korea was hit by torrential rain last week. The flood killed 47 people and left three missing. All the news was focused on flood damage, and other stories were not the matter of attention. However, many headlines significantly impacted the security situation on the Korean Peninsula as much as heavy rain. The inaugural Nuclear Consultative Group meeting, USS Kentucky‘s visit to Busan Port, a US soldier’s defection to North Korea, and North Korea’s missile launches, all t

ViewpointsJuly 27, 2023

A group called “No Labels” is moving ahead with the possibility of running a third-party candidate for president next year -- at least if Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the major party nominees. Democrats are livid at the prospect, concerned that such an effort is more likely to help Trump. Some Democrats are even convinced that it’s a deliberate plot to deliver the election to Republicans. Polling shows that neither Biden nor Trump is especially popular -- and that many voters

ViewpointsJuly 27, 2023