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The Korea Times

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Columnists

bernard Rowan

N. Korea and 2-track diplomacy

South Korea and the United States face conflicting pressures in dealing with North Korea. The South would like to respond to conciliatory gestures and rhetoric by Pyongyang and Kim Jong-un, and perhaps resume Mount Geumgang tours or ease sanctions on the North.

2015-01-20 16:33

Thinking about chaebol

People like what chaebol do for Korea and the world. We benefit from the many consumer products and services produced by Samsung, Hyundai, and the other conglomerates. Korean Air and Hanjin Shipping are among the best in the world. No one could say that Korea became an advanced nation without the chaebol. The Korean people and their successive governments created them after all and continue to operate them.

2015-01-06 16:59

Getting with it?

The second year of President Park Geun-hye’s five year term is drawing to a close. Last year, I wrote a frank appraisal (“Get With It,” Dec. 24, 2013) in which I criticized the President for sluggishness in leadership, cancellations of campaign promises and "playing it safe" on most issues. I said she had to "get with it," an American phrase meaning to act with focus and vigor. Or more simply said, to stop playing about.

2014-12-23 17:13

Korean culture values life. The joy that families and friends show at Korean weddings, often lavish and expensive but always wonderful celebrations of family unity, comes to mind. Despite a low birthrate, each baby boy or girl born brings another life that carries the promise to forward Korea’s traditions. Korean people continue to advance and share in life's improvement for the good of your society and the world. Now's the Christmas season. We also prepare for a new calendar year, and Lunar New Year follows. However, this column discusses my experience as a foreigner of how Koreans approach...

2014-12-09 16:56

Koreans and the love of learning

These days, Korean culture is progressing on many fronts. Cultural change is often difficult to analyze, but it occurs nonetheless.

2014-11-25 17:04

Korean shipbuilding

When it comes to Korea’s advanced shipbuilding industry, change can’t be easy. Looking at shipbuilding here over several decades presents a mixed picture. Aside from a constant need to improve technology, South Korea faces rising competition from other Asian nations, as well as the negative impacts of currency and demand swings. Some long-standing companies have problems. Overall, the government and chaebol leaders need to create new models for this leading Korean industry in the 21st century.

2014-11-11 17:15

Have you ever visited Insa-dong? This district in Jongno-gu, Seoul, not far from the traditional villages of Namsangol, is a mecca for fans of Korean culture. Among the many places to visit in South Korea’s capital, I’d highly recommend Insa-dong.

2014-10-28 17:11

The charm offense

So, dear friends of Korea, North Korea's latest charm offensive is distinctly lacking in charm. The recent surprise visit by three high-ranking Pyongyang officials at the end of the Incheon Asian Games was mostly insincere. This ploy was a test simply to see South Korea and its allies' willingness to engage diplomatically. Let this call for talks fade into the archives of fake overtures.

2014-10-14 17:08

Thinking of Mt. Seorak

Autumn has arrived. Now we see the beautiful changing of seasons. Fading green leaves reveal beautiful, glowing colors. There is a cold nip in the air. Fall 2014 makes me think of Mt. Seorak. I hope many of us can climb it one day, if we haven’t already done so. Autumn also calls to mind the wonderful few times I climbed mountains in Korea with friends and the Korean practice of mountain-climbing.

2014-09-30 17:05

An advanced bullying machine?

The Korean military is an advanced force defending the South Korean people and sharing in the regional and global advance of democracy. Its members carry forward a tradition of excellence for the Korean people. In an era of regional instability with emerging flash points and the failed brother in Pyongyang, its mission is robust and ever important. The pivot to Asia means Korea’s military is growing in importance and responsibility.

2014-09-16 17:10

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