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Oh Young-jin Column

Fri, December 8, 2023 | 11:48

Oh Young-jin

Moon, Abe, do some art!

Now, here is one football analogy. FIFA rankings have Korea No. 37, nine steps down from the No. 28 Japan. In its 78 national team matches, Korea has won 41, while Japan has won 14, with 23 draws. The reason for this discrepancy between the rankings and their match results is Korean spirit - “We can lose anybody but Japan.” The moral is that by fighting each other, they have ...

Oh Young-jin | 2019-07-19 18:40

Korea-Japan dispute spreads to security

Oh Young-jin

On Japan, retreat is no option for Moon

President Moon Jae-in has shown no sign that a compromise is an option in Japan's embargo on key items that can halt Korea's semiconductor making, the nation's bread-and-butter industry.

Oh Young-jin | 2019-07-12 17:14

Oh Young-jin

Khashoggi question for Saudi crown prince and us

Nobody asked Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi during his June 26-27 visit to Korea. If anybody does during the G20 in Osaka, Japan, MbS's next destination, please let me know. In Seoul, the prince, 33, was insulated from those who could ask about his alleged involvement in the journalist's killing. There were no news co...

Oh Young-jin | 2019-06-28 17:22

Oh Young-jin

Where will Korea stand on US-China clash?

Kiron Skinner says the U.S. is fighting a racial war of civilizations pitting the Americans against a non-Caucasian foe in China for the first time. What about the Pacific War, part of World War II, waged between the U.S. and Japan? So the U.S. State Department's policy planning director is factually inaccurate. Also her being Afro-American may have tinted her lens, putting t...

Oh Young-jin | 2019-06-21 17:54

Oh Young-jin

Power shift in foreign policymaking?

A former foreign minister once told me of an incident that I think captures the nature of power: one who has power wants to use it. The incident concerned a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Then Foreign Minister Yoon Yong-hwan berated deputy chief of the National Security Council secretariat Lee Jong-seok. “You could hear a pin drop between bur...

Oh Young-jin | 2019-05-31 18:00

Oh Young-jin

Trump vs. Thanos

Giving is one thing, taking is another. By that definition, I guess there are many takers out there who pretend that nothing is taken. I am talking about a moral or lesson and, if it belongs to neither category, let's say a comparison, between Thanos, the supervillain from “Avengers: Endgame” and its immediate preceding work of the same franchise, “Infinity War,” and (who els...

Oh Young-jin | 2019-05-17 17:22

Oh Young-jin

Why not Asian for Iron Man for change?

Does Iron Man have to be Robert Downey Jr. or Captain America Chris Evans? Why can't BTS' s RM stand in for Downey or Hong Kong Canadian Henry Lau, a K-pop musician, for Evans? Or can't Andy Lau play Samuel Jackson's Nick Fury (alas, he is not in the latest Avengers franchise: Endgame)?

Oh Young-jin | 2019-05-10 17:19

Oh Young-jin

Let me introduce Korea's next president

Don't we fancy having a president, who is not a professional politician or former Army general but a comic like Volodymyr Zelensky, the newly elected Ukrainian head of state? Throw in a Cabinet of funny guys and an entertainer as National Assembly speaker and chances are that there would be more things to laugh at than now.

Oh Young-jin | 2019-04-26 17:43

Oh Young-jin

Holley justice, Korean style

It's a metamorphosis put on super-stimulating methamphetamine - Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. In a matter of days, Robert Holley, a Mormon from California who became a naturalized Korean named Ha Il, turned from a goofy, jolly-good fellow, international lawyer - turned-TV-personality into a drug addict, who for years led a secret life as non-binary and even duped his trusting frien...

Oh Young-jin | 2019-04-12 13:30

Oh Young-jin

Mr. President, stop acting like amateur

Take a step back and it is easier to see how political battle lines are moving.

Oh Young-jin | 2019-04-05 17:31

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