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Opinion

Columnists

Raging helplessness of Sewol

My social media page was covered with remembrances and self-condolences about the Sewol tragedy that happened seven years ago this week. I am sure that I am not an exception. Sewol occupies an outsized place in recent Korean history. It's only a slight exaggeration that the spectacular downfall of President Park Geun-hye's administration began with the sinking of the Sewol ferry and the recriminations following the government's botched and opaque response to the sinking. Who can forget the questions about the seven hours that Park was absent in the immediate aftermath?

2021-04-18 17:13

'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

This is the movie that came to mind when I first heard about the whole brouhaha surrounding the cancellation of “Joseon Exorcist,” a K-drama that took extensive liberties with historical figures in the early decades of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom. While I understand that King Sejong is one of the most revered figures in Korean history, Abraham Lincoln is probably not too far behind in the annals of American history. Yet, the movie about Abraham Lincoln hunting down and killing vampires was panned by the poor execution of the movie and not by the patently false premise. How is Sejong killing...

2021-04-04 17:56

Fabulous (not) in Seoul

I always found the hundredth monkey phenomenon interesting. It's this theory that there is a critical tipping point (i.e. 100th monkey) that would trigger a new behavior or idea that would spread almost instantaneously throughout the population. It also reminds me of the popular saying that Korea has a “Pot Characteristic.” No, I don't mean the green stuff that you smoke. It means that the Korean public opinion heats up quickly, just like a cooking pot does, only to cool down just as quickly. In other words, it speaks to the tendency of Korea to collectively jump on a trend or issue really q...

2021-03-21 18:51

Bend it toward justice

In his “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution” speech given at the National Cathedral on March 31, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King uttered the famous words, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

2021-03-07 17:56

The resentment trap

In his talk, “Inequality and hierarchy give life its purpose,” Jordan Peterson asserts that hierarchy is a state that allows people to set goals so that they can climb up to the next rung in the system. Further, hierarchy is necessarily unequal since you can't have an upper-trajectory achievement journey unless there is inherent inequality between one achievement milestone and another. As an analogy, ladders can only exist if there are gaps in between the rungs.

2021-02-21 15:51

GameStop populism

Remember when everyone invested in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies a few years back as bitcoin was rising rapidly towards $10K and above? If it was an investment craze for the rest of the world, it was a veritable social phenomenon in Korea driven by tech savvy young people subscribing to a popular narrative of sudden wealth and prosperity they could call their own.

2021-02-07 17:49

Freedom of 'anonymous' expression?

Freedom of expression is enshrined in the constitutions of all democratic nations, but does that mean that there is also a freedom to express oneself anonymously?

2021-01-24 18:17

So Kim's not Korean anymore?

By Jason LimAfter the recent mob invasion of the U.S. Capitol, Andy Kim, the just reelected Representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, helped federal law enforcement and local police officers clean up the rotunda of the Capitol. His actions were captured by the media and quickly went viral, representing a ray of serenity and quiet decency in midst of all the chaos and vitriol that had roiled over the nation since the presidential election and culminated with the attack. The story also made it over to the Korean media. It seemed natural since Kim is a second-generation Korea...

2021-01-10 16:50

Things you only see when you fall from grace

It feels ironic to write about a Buddhist monk at the time of a major Christian festival, but perhaps it's only appropriate since Ven. Haemin is truly a fallen angel of 2020. I would like to make a full disclosure before I start. I personally know the subject, although he probably won't recall me. My parents have been regular attendees of Bulgwang Zen Center in upstate New York for many decades now. This is the temple where the monk got his start and was supported through his schooling. I believe that he also held an official position in the temple in recent years, although he might not be f...

2020-12-27 17:42

Snappy and sloppy slogans

This day and age of social media clickbait masquerading as news almost makes you long for the days of the “MTV Generation,” who were accused of having an attention span of less than a minute. Well, a minute today would be a lifetime as we now have to measure attention spans by counting how many micro-doses of dopamine our brains ring up at every ping of our wearables.

2020-12-13 17:24

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