South Korea
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My introduction to The Private Life of a Nation
However hard we try to minimize the risks of unification, Lee is quite sure it will be a disaster. He still remembers the ruin of East Germany when he visited right after the Berlin Wall collapsed and the shock he felt became the source of his bleak vision of a unified Korea… …Does this mean…
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No, K-pop is not Neo-Confucian Pornography
[x_alert type=”info”]An edited version of this article is appeared on The Dissolve.[/x_alert] Confucianism is long dead as a dominant principle or ideology in Eastern Asia, yet it has been often summoned by scholars who attempt to analyze the culture and the society of Eastern Asia. While it’s true that a once-dominant ideology in a society…
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THAAD: A big pothole in Moon’s road to the Blue House
Beijing will push Seoul harder for a meaningful compromise on the THAAD issue. It is well aware of what Korea thinks and even admitted to oppressing imports of Korean cultural products when a pack of Minjoo party lawmakers visited Beijing after the impeachment bill. That the favorite candidate still thinks he can alter the course…
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The Great Crevasse that Cuts Through the Squares
Three hundred meters. From Seoul Square to Gwanghwamun Square. The psychological, if not cognitive, distance between the two, however, is far wider than the physical. While those who gathered around Gwanghwamun, with trademark candles in their hands, call for the impeachment of President Park, those who gathered in front of City Hall vehemently counter what…
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Dissecting Pres Park’s last interview
I began to write on Korean politics and whatnot for a newborn webzine The Dissolve. This was the first piece I wrote: Speech has never been President Park’s strong suit. Dull and inarticulate, the way she speaks in public haunted her aides during her (ultimately) successful presidential campaign in 2012 and after. She rarely shows her…