[Ahmet Davutoglu] Trump aims to dismantle postwar US-led order

At the beginning of Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, I argued that this would be no ordinary US presidency. The international order, already beset by fundamental weaknesses and disputes over its core values and institutions, was now facing a seismic shift. With the beginning of Trump’s second term marked by even greater chaos, what once seemed like an isolated shock has evolved into a full-blown “systemic earthquake.” Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, often unhinged executive orders, a

April 8, 2025

[Lee Kyong-hee] Right the ship and reboot democracy

The Constitutional Court ended a long nightmare on Friday while the nation delivered a triumph of peaceful civic activism. Yet it is too early to fully celebrate the resilience of Korea’s democracy. The unanimous court decision to uphold the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol only marks the first step toward repairing the country’s wounded democracy and healing the scars from his audacious declaration of martial law last December. The president who embraced extreme right-wing conspiracy theories has l

April 7, 2025

[Robert J. Fouser] Benefits of 'Seoul Future Heritage'

In mid-March, I went to Washington for the first time since the pandemic. On one of the days, I went to the Renwick Gallery near the White House, and as I walked past the White House, I remembered that the large yellow letters saying “Black Lives Matter” nearby were going to be erased. After Donald Trump became president again, Republican lawmakers threatened to cut the city’s federal funding over the letters and the mayor decided to erase them. When I got to the site, I felt saddened to see tha

April 4, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] Six points to remember before impeachment verdict

The Constitutional Court of Korea is set to deliver its historic verdict on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday. Citizens on both sides — those who support the impeachment and those who oppose it — are holding their breath. The outcome is about more than just Yoon's removal or reinstatement; it will define the future of South Korean democracy and the everyday life of people in Korea. Regardless of the verdict, in the short term, the Republic of Korea will likely experience more

April 3, 2025

[Antara Haldar] How Aristotle can save us

In a 1995 speech outlining his “Visions for the 21st Century,” the renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan called attention to the fragility of human civilization, given our infinitesimally small presence within the cosmos. Our future, he warned, depends entirely on our learning to live wisely and humbly together. Clearly, we didn’t get the message. Three decades on, our “pale blue dot” is riven by geopolitical turmoil, and the late 20th-century hope for an ascendant global liberalism has faded. Face

April 2, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] Watching Korea’s early education fever

South Korea is a country well known for cutthroat children’s competitions and surprisingly early education. Indeed, many Korean parents send their children to a private English academy when they are as young as 4. When the child turns 5 or 6, the parents want him or her to enter an advanced-level private English academy that requires an entrance exam. Young Korean kids are therefore obliged to take the notoriously difficult exam for private education. The difficulty of the entrance exam for 5 or

April 2, 2025

[Tae H. Park] Korea still needs to reform its national pension system

The funding shortfall of South Korea’s national pension is a growing concern. According to the latest estimates, the fund is projected to run out by the mid-2050s unless additional contributions or funding are secured. With South Korea’s population declining and fewer workers entering the job market, the number of retirees is increasing, putting pressure on the pension system. This issue is one of the most urgent challenges the country must address to avoid future financial instability. Historic

April 1, 2025

[Vitit Muntarbhorn] Women’s rights and their role as bridge-builders

How is the situation of women’s rights and their role as bridge-builders today, connecting between the multilateral and local settings? A recent seminar at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted by its International Studies Center, elaborated upon the situation in a world witnessing tumultuous changes. Notably, there has never been a woman UN secretary-general, nor, for Thailand, a woman minister of foreign affairs. Less than 20 percent of key politicians at the national and local levels i

April 1, 2025

[Yoo Choon-sik] Why it’s the right time to introduce extra budget

It was an immense relief to hear that South Korea’s worst wildfires in modern history were finally largely contained after raging across the country’s southeastern regions for more than a week. This devastating disaster left nearly 30 people dead, more injured and far more displaced or grappling with property damage, leaving the entire nation in mourning and shock. Now is the time for everyone in South Korea to come together to grieve the loss of loved ones, offer comfort to those affected, care

March 31, 2025

[Lee Byung-jong] Culture wars in the US and Korea

Anyone who grew up watching Disney’s classic animated film Snow White might find its recent live-action remake jarring. The fair-skinned Snow White of the original has been replaced by Rachel Zegler, a Latina actress with a darker complexion. The princess is no longer a passive damsel awaiting rescue by a prince but an assertive heroine who fights the Evil Queen and forges her own destiny. These changes have sparked a heated debate in the US. Some praise the remake for promoting racial diversity

March 28, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] Return of Han Duck-soo as acting president

The Constitutional Court's rejection of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's impeachment on Monday presents much to consider. That kind of deliberation on whether to confirm the impeachment of an acting president was unprecedented, and it is also linked to suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial. Some guidelines have been clearly established on the legal status of acting presidents, while others provide a glimpse into the Constitutional Court's perception of the case of Yoon. There is als

March 27, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] What does South Korea need now?

Anyone who cares about South Korea would agree that the Korean people should pursue two things to overcome her current domestic disturbances and international crises. First, they should stop factional political brawls immediately and seek a third alternative instead. Second, they should see the future of South Korea in a global, not a provincial, perspective and act swiftly to make the nation safe and sound. Indeed, it is imperative for us to seek a third way to overcome the binary opposition me

March 26, 2025

[Grace Kao] How Germany’s Kraftwerk inspired K-pop

As a fan of popular music spanning from the British Invasion of the 1960s to contemporary K-pop, I ardently believe that pop music from seemingly unrelated genres and groups can, in fact, be linked. The association between Kraftwerk and aespa is one such example. Two weeks ago, I attended Kraftwerk’s concert in Boston. This year marks the 50th anniversary of their first US tour, so they are even older than me. Kraftwerk was formed in 1970 in Dusseldorf, Germany, and one of its original founders,

March 25, 2025

[Lim Woong] The price of perfection: South Korea’s early education crisis

Many young families in South Korea face a harsh reality: Immense financial and emotional pressures due to the unreasonably high costs of private education for their children. A recent report has it that nearly half of all young children are enrolled in private educational programs (hagwons), most notably English-language kindergartens. The competition is so fierce that people joke about toddlers taking entrance exams in diapers just to secure spots at prestigious kindergartens — viewed as essent

March 25, 2025

[Lee Kyong-hee] Low fertility: Reverse course or vanish

South Korea is the only international aid recipient that has become an aid donor. That is regularly noted when describing its postwar transformation into the 12th-largest economy in the world. But the widely praised “miracle” has been paid with a demographic IOU. Now the debt is due — and the penalty rate is escalating. The postwar 1950s was all about survival. The nation had to rebuild quickly. Grueling workweeks were required. In the following decades, South Korea urbanized and became a powerh

March 24, 2025