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The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Columnists

Jason Lim

Why is it so hard to be thankful?

This is Thanksgiving week. No matter how it may have come about, with pilgrims, American Indians and turkeys and all, it has become a wholesome holiday meant to invoke a sense of thanks for what we have. On the other hand, it’s ironic that we have to have an annual holiday specifically meant to remind us to be thankful, which probably means that we are not usually thankful. We have to be reminded to be thankful for all we have, which is plenty, especially when we live in a highly developed country.

2023-11-23 16:35

Race change to another (RCTA)

I recently read a fascinating NBC news article titled, “Inside the online world of people who think they can change their race.” The subtitle nicely encapsulates the first part of the article: “Practitioners of 'race change to another,’ or RCTA, purport to be able to manifest physical changes in their appearance and even their genetics to truly become a different race.”

2023-11-12 16:35

How did the Koreans and Jews endure?

It’s impossible to not feel affected by the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with photos of innocent men, women and children from both sides dying due to horrible violence, whether they are Jews intentionally butchered by Hamas on that fateful Saturday or Palestinian children buried under the rubble of concrete and steel crumbling after a bomb has been dropped. What suddenly struck me, however, was that the victims looked remarkably similar. If they weren’t distinguished by the types of clothing or delineated by the voice-overs from reporters as the video footage flashed by...

2023-10-26 16:50

'Turtle necking' at war through social media

I hate rubbernecking when others do it, especially if it blocks traffic, but I can’t help myself when I come across an accident. I know it’s macabre and hypocritical, but it’s also instinctive to want to see - with my own eyes - the scene of violence and destruction that must have just occurred. Maybe it has something to do with evolutionary biology, which would explain why humuns need to visually consume such graphic violence, the more realistic the better. All I know is that rubbernecking is something that everyone does yet condemn others for doing. It fits in perfectly with my favorite Ko...

2023-10-12 16:35

Korean-style parent diplomacy is killing teachers

Over the summer, my 11-year-old boy visited his grandparents in Seoul, where his slightly older cousin lived. Although his cousin, who was in 7th grade, had a summer vacation from late July to mid-August, my son was able to see him only on the weekends, if he was lucky. The cousin, who lives in the ultra-competitive area of Gangnam, had to go to various “hagwons,” or private tuition schools, till 11 p.m. every night. During his summer vacation! This didn’t stop when school restarted. He would go to various hagwons after school until very late at night, six days a week.

2023-09-26 16:35

Korea's fabulous, atomized society

I recently stayed in a hotel near Dongdaemun, which brought into better focus the contradiction that is modern Korea than if I had stayed in Gangnam surrounded by the new and modern. The super modern hotel with the best facilities and services lay smack in the middle of a neighborhood spotted by old, crumbling buildings that had housed the sweatshops of the past and markets of old, not to mention remnants of the ancient walls and gated fort that survived the turbulence of the times.

2023-09-14 16:35

Japan's 'Toto world'

Every time I visit Japan, I find myself surprised at the lack of English language in the public arena. This is such a contrast with the ubiquity and even effusiveness of English language everywhere in Seoul; I mean, it's almost impossible to avoid English in Korea anywhere you go. I remember watching a TV show where contestants were challenged not to use English words in their everyday speech and failed miserably. There are even Koreans who actually use typical English names as their legal names. I don't mean Korean Americans like me. I mean Koreans, born and raised in Korea, who prefer to u...

2023-08-31 16:35

Instagram nation

Growing up in the '80s, I remember how “conspicuous consumption” was used to describe a lifestyle in which luxurious “things” were bought for the express purpose of showing off, thereby gaining a sense of superiority from the collective envy of others. The only limiting factor about conspicuous consumption was that you actually had to have the resources to consume something outlandish enough to be worthy of showing off.

2023-08-15 15:08

'Nothing Compares to U'

Sinead O'Connor has died. As you get older, hearing about the deaths of people that you knew - either personally or as a public figure - is increasingly frequent and marked with only passing curiosity except in certain cases where you feel compelled to pause. This is one of those times.

2023-08-03 16:35

How would Korea collapse (again)?

If you discount the unsubstantiated myths about ancient Korea being the center of the Eastern World several millennia ago, today is the most powerful and most influential that Korea has ever been.

2023-07-18 16:46

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