[Kim Seong-kon] What is the best parenting for our children?

The first time I watched the 1963 classic movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” I was mesmerized by Atticus Finch, a single parent of two children, Jem and Scout. Gregory Peck was so superb as the admirable father Finch that he won the Academy Award for best actor that year. As a father, Finch is neither permissive nor authoritative toward his children in the movie. He lets his children call him by his first name, Atticus, which means he is not authoritarian at all. However, he admirably maintains his

Dec. 10, 2025

[William Doyle] What America can learn from Finland

On July 2, 1776, a Finnish American man held the destiny of the United States in his hands. The scene was the hall in Philadelphia that hosted the Second Continental Congress of the 13 American Colonies of British America. The man of destiny was John Morton, speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly and the swing vote in his state delegation could create the United States of America. If Morton voted “no,” the influential colony would be recorded as opposed to independence. This could deal a fatal blo

Dec. 10, 2025

[Grace Kao] K-pop keeps listening age young

Last week, Spotify released its 2025 “Wrapped” narrative for each of its listeners. It’s one of my favorite features of Spotify, and I know that many fellow Spotify users agree. Spotify stated on X that it was their “biggest Wrapped ever, with 200 million engaged users and 500 million shares on social media within 24 hours.” Spotify listeners are given data about their favorite artists, songs and the number of musical genres which they’ve consumed. Not surprisingly, Spotify informed me that my f

Dec. 9, 2025

[Lim Woong] Why AI ethics needs ‘gongsheng’

I recently tried a small experiment in my graduate seminar on AI ethics. I asked the room, mostly bright students in their 20s and 30s, a simple question: "When you close your eyes and imagine a user for the AI system you are designing, whose face do you see?" The answers were telling. Most admitted they pictured someone like themselves: young, quick with a smartphone, constantly engaged with digital interfaces. Almost no one pictured their own grandparents. That moment of silence in the classro

Dec. 9, 2025

[Yoo Choon-sik] Uncomfortable truth behind won’s downfall

South Korea’s won has spent the past several years on a steady downward drift, losing ground not only against the US dollar, but also against the currencies of many of its major trading partners. Each time the exchange rate approaches levels that unsettle policymakers, government officials and the Bank of Korea repeat familiar assurances: that they are watching markets closely, that fundamentals remain strong, and that excessive volatility will be addressed. Occasionally, authorities step in to

Dec. 8, 2025

[Gianluca Benigno] A new Federal Reserve playbook?

Market expectations now point to a rate cut at the US Federal Reserve’s December meeting, probably an outcome that will come with dissents. At the same time, the announcement of the new Fed chair is going to be postponed to January and Polymarket probabilities for “no announcement by Dec. 31” have adjusted promptly, with Kevin Hassett leading among the likely contenders. The incoming administration’s preference for lower rates is well known, but the stakes extend far beyond the near-term policy

Dec. 8, 2025

[Lee Byung-jong] Foreign media and Korea

On the first anniversary of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration, President Lee Jae Myung did something unprecedented. On Wednesday, he held an 80-minute press conference exclusively for foreign media. For the first time in recent South Korean memory, only foreign correspondents were invited to a presidential press event. Under the theme “A Renewed Democracy: One Year On,” Lee used the occasion to underscore the resilience of Korean democracy — its ability to rise abov

Dec. 5, 2025

[Boram Jang] A 6-hour lesson from Korea

Like every schoolchild in South Korea, I was taught about the days in May 1980 when our country’s soldiers killed civilians in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. At least 166 protesters — mostly students — were shot dead, and at the time there were no consequences for those responsible. One year ago — on Dec. 3 last year, when South Korea’s then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and deployed troops to the National Assembly — that lesson helped save the country's constitutional order. In

Dec. 4, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] A year after an insurrection

Exactly a year ago, South Korea confronted a constitutional disaster. A sitting president attempted a self-coup that could have resulted in violent confrontation or authoritarian consolidation. Instead, South Korea overcame the crisis with extraordinary efficiency and civic maturity. Within 12 months, the country restored constitutional governance, elected a new president and stabilized national systems without falling into either bloodshed or total chaos. Such an achievement deserves recognitio

Dec. 4, 2025

[Matt K. Lewis] Reasons Republicans bucking Trump

US President Donald Trump’s tight grip on the Republican Party, long assumed to be an inevitable feature of American life like gravity or the McRib’s seasonal return, has started to loosen. Republicans are now openly defying him. The man who once ruled the party like a casino boss can’t even strong-arm Indiana Republicans into gerrymandering themselves properly. This sort of resistance didn’t emerge overnight. It fermented like prison wine or bad ideas in a faculty lounge. First came the Iran bo

Dec. 3, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] Korea as a symbol of our contemporary world

Does today’s Korea capture the essence of the current situation and problems that the world confronts? If so, could we say that Korea is an emblem of our times? Perceiving the similarities between Korea’s predicament and that of other countries, Indian writer Amitav Ghosh answered: “yes.” In his acceptance speech for the 2025 Park Kyongni Prize, Ghosh said, “The Korean Peninsula stands as a powerful symbol of our contemporary moment. In many ways, the great themes of your history — of resilience

Dec. 3, 2025

[Jeffrey Frankel] What will the US debt reckoning look like?

In the United States, public debt now stands at 99 percent of GDP. The Congressional Budget Office expects it to reach 107 percent of GDP by 2029 — surpassing the record set at the end of World War II — and to continue rising indefinitely. But until when? As Herbert Stein, who served as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Richard Nixon, famously quipped, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” But what will that “stop” look like? A country can move off an unsusta

Dec. 2, 2025

[Allison Schrager] AI likely to cause labor shortage.

There are two big worries when it comes to the rapid advances in artificial intelligence. The first is that it will lead to robot overlords that will eradicate humanity. The second is that AI will eliminate many jobs. The more likely scenario is that it creates a labor shortage, or at least a dearth of skilled workers who can make the most of the new technology. I recently spoke to the head of the informatics program at a large university and asked her about training undergraduates for this futu

Dec. 2, 2025

[Allison Schrager] US middle class shrinking

The good news is that Americans have never been richer. The bad news is that most of them don’t feel like it. There has been tremendous growth in income and wealth in the US in the last half century, even for poorer and middle-class households. But because of the nature of that growth, as well as the changing structure of the national economy, a lot of the people who have benefited also believe that the economy isn’t working for them. It is true the middle class is shrinking. In the 1960s the in

Dec. 1, 2025

[Man Ki Kim] Korea at a crossroads: Innovation, demographics and the global diaspora

In just six decades, Korea has risen from the devastation of war to become a global leader in industry, technology and culture. Today, the nation faces a new set of challenges: the fastest population decline in the OECD, widening income inequality, and youth unemployment, all of which threaten social cohesion. Yet, Korea’s 7.32 million-strong diaspora offers a powerful resource. Their creativity, professional networks and global influence can help drive innovation, strengthen soft power and ensu

Dec. 1, 2025