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The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

SCMP
Asia

The Korea Times

Opinion

Columnists

19. Steven L. Shields

Outpost of grace

If there is one thing that Korea has an overabundance of, it is churches. An old tourist joke used to be that flying over the city (when Gimpo was the main airport), one imagined it was a cemetery because there were so many red-lighted crosses. Since the new airport opened more than 20 years ago, many travelers have never seen the blanket of crosses that covers the city.

2023-05-15 17:00

SOS: save our subway

The International Radio Telegraphic Convention in 1906 adopted the Morse code equivalent of the letters S, O and S as an international maritime distress call. The sequence was chosen because it was distinctive. The letters did not represent any words. Years later, in popular usage, mnemonic phrases were (and still are) often used, such as “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls.” Today, the letters SOS are used widely as a sign for emergency services. Such labels are on emergency telephones or call boxes throughout cities in many countries.

2023-04-18 16:45

Can we learn from Gwangju?

I've learned a few things about Gwangju over the past several years. First, the events in Gwangju in 1980 were horrifying. Second, many unanswered questions surround the tragic days and their aftermath. Lots of blame going in several directions. Lots of denials and counter-denials from many quarters. Finally, there are so many opinions and claims of evidence that not only are solid facts elusive, but the truth is even more elusive than that. Could it be there are more critical lessons still to be learned?

2023-03-26 16:50

Unfettered capitalism

The powers that be tell us the economy must grow. Governments, corporations and entrepreneurs do everything they can to increase their financial resources. We are caught in a seemingly vicious cycle. More population means more jobs; more jobs need more money and a bigger economy.

2023-02-14 16:50

Religious freedom, free speech and hate

Not long ago, an ultra-right-wing, so-called “Christian” broadcaster in Korea won the right in the courts to continue to preach hatred and incite violence against the LGBT community. The courts sided with the broadcaster under its interpretation of the constitutional guarantee of “religious freedom.”

2023-01-26 16:10

Cheers to Seoul Metro

The rainy season in Korea in the summer of 2022 reminded me of the biblical story of the great flood and Noah's ark. So much rainfall came in mid-August of 2022 that reporters first said it was the most rainfall in 80 years, then 100 years and then more than 100 years. Korea had too much rain all at once.

2022-12-28 16:50

My favorite time of the year

When the sweltering heat, humidity and heavy rains give way to the crisp air of autumn, even though it comes with a few warm and cool days, I enjoy my daily walks more than ever. The brisk air makes me move quickly and get in my 10,000 daily steps with great joy. The change of color is also welcome. I love Korea's verdant hills and mountains, thickly forested (thanks to former President Park Chung-hee's aggressive tree-planting) with all kinds of trees.

2022-12-08 17:02

Proper response to Itaewon tragedy

The catastrophic deaths of so many in that narrow alley in October prompt profound grief and inexplicable horror. And anger. We are rightfully angry but have little or no outlet to express our feelings.

2022-11-22 14:16

Rainbow and values of diversity

According to the Bible, a great flood in ancient times inundated the earth, killing everything in its wake. That is all except for Noah, his family and an extensive collection of animals on a giant barge. We don't know how many creatures there were, for some Bible accounts say two of every kind; other accounts note there were seven. When the waters receded, the writers of the Bible stories tell us that a rainbow appeared in the sky as a sign from God that there would never again be a flood of such magnitude

2022-08-15 16:01

Moral obligation

My upbringing as a Christian in the United States has formed my understanding of my moral obligation since childhood. I don't always get it right, but I try. I hope my understanding as an adult is deeper, more well-founded, and more in keeping with a being member of not just a global community, but a community that embraces all religions or none, all nationalities, languages, and cultures.

2022-06-29 16:31

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