Recently, we have been watching the fall of our prominent politicians due to their disgraceful acts or fraudulent lives in the past. The irony is that these hypocrites have preached social justice, fairness, and equality, while clandestinely pursuing unfair privileges and unjust advantages, abusing the powers that they were given. To make matters worse, the hypocrites do not hesitate to do evil things under the pretense of good. Obviously, they believe that the end justifies the means. So they

On Jan. 20, 2021, the Biden era has officially begun in the United States. Watching the inauguration ceremony, many Americans and foreigners look forward to the restoration of the America they used to know. That is to say, the America that the Founding Fathers originally dreamed of, the America that led the world as a peacekeeper, and the America that the world looked up to as a land of liberty, equality, and justice. As President Biden announced, “America is back,” and “Make

Korean parents are famous for their overprotectiveness and single-minded dedication to their children. As long as their children bring home good grades from school and win competitions, Korean parents can wink at their children’s ill manners and impertinence to the point of spoiling them. Nevertheless, there are exceptions. Recently, two children, a 16-month-old and an 8-year-old, died due to their parents’ ruthless and consistent abuse. Both are dead, not directly from neglect --

The city government of Seoul has recently come under fire for its “guidelines” for pregnant women who are preparing to give birth. The guidelines say that before going to the hospital, a pregnant woman should be sure to organize the refrigerator by taking out old food and filling it in with several new side dishes, such as instant curry, black bean sauce noodles and soups, for the sake of her husband, who is assumed to be uncomfortable with cooking. The preposterous tips continue

The year 2021 is the Year of the Ox. According to the Chinese horoscope, people born in the Year of the Ox have a strong sense of duty and responsibility. It states: “People born in the Ox year are reliable and trustworthy. They put their entire heart into everything they do. They feel great responsibility toward their family as well.” They are also strenuous, conscientious workers whom you can trust fully. In 2021, South Korea should prove that she is as dependable and trustworth

Undoubtedly, history will remember 2020 as the Year of the Global Pandemic. For the first time since the Spanish flu hit the world in the early 20th century, a worldwide disease caused society to change drastically on a vast scale. Throughout the year the coronavirus panicked and paralyzed society by indiscriminately attacking people, forcing businesses to shut down and devastating the economy. Aside from the countless people who lost their lives, many others lost their jobs and suffered grief a

Christmas is just around the corner, but sadly, this year Santa Claus may not be able to come due to the pandemic. Still, however, we should be grateful for his lifetime of service to children, coming all the way from the North Pole every Christmas. The Bible teaches us to be grateful, saying we should be “thankful in everything, in all circumstances,” in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Yet these days, so many of us are constantly grumpy and cranky, complaining instead of being thankful. In

Recently in Seoul, a Taiwanese student tragically died of a traffic accident caused by a drunk driver, while she was crossing the street during the “Walk” signal. It was heartbreaking to think about the young, promising student who died in a foreign country because of an insolent drunk driver. Some time ago, another drunk driver tragically killed an entire family in another car. A few weeks ago, a drunk police officer crashed his car in a rice field. The above incidents show us how c

Due to cultural differences, wrong translations of English words into Korean occurs frequently and inevitably. The problem is that such erroneous translations may lead to inaccurate perceptions of other cultures and political systems, at times creating serious misunderstanding. Many Koreans, for example, know that the United States is comprised of 50 states. Nevertheless, they do not know that a “state” is a “sovereign government,” not a province. The Korean translation

While US President Donald Trump has not yet officially conceded his election loss, approximately 10,000 Trump supporters recently gathered at One Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC for the “Million MAGA (Make America Great Again) March.” Some of the protesters came all the way from the west coast and Florida. They sang the national anthem and chanted, “Stop the steal!” According to the Guardian, there was a group of Koreans and Korean Americans in the crowd. The Guardian wr

Recently, US President-elect Joseph Biden announced, “I’m telling world leaders that America is back.” In response, world leaders applauded his message, saying, “Welcome back, America.” As America is back, we might as well ponder, “What can we expect from America and what lies ahead of us in the Biden era?” At his memorable victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware, President-elect Biden promised several things in response to the complex problems America

One of the distinctive characteristics of Korean culture is “sinbaram.” In Korean, “sin” (pronounced “shin”) means God or spirits and “baram” means wind. When someone is excited, Koreans say, “sinbaram blows to him,” or “He is sinnada,” meaning “He is in high spirits” or “He is elated.” When sinbaram blows collectively, Koreans easily become ecstatic and accomplish astonishing things together. The w

“Munyeodo,” which can be translated as “Portrait of a Shaman” or “The Shaman Painting,” is a short story by Kim Tong-ni that depicts the clash between traditional Korean shamanism and Western Christianity in premodern Korea. In the story, Kim superbly portrays the waning of traditional Korean culture in the face of the overwhelming influence of Western culture in early 20th century Korea. Kim’s story ends tragically, as the shaman mother kills her Christ

So many of us these days cling to a particular political ideology to which we religiously subscribe. Then, almost as a matter of course, we build a faction of like-minded people and flock together, while excluding and discriminating against others. Once this occurs, it naturally follows that we begin to impose our ideology on others, forcing them to join our camp. Then, if they refuse, we wage war with them and lead witch hunts against them as if they are archenemies and heretics. Such is the sa

There are a myriad of enigmatic things happening in Korea these days, whether in the North or the South. For example, North Korea confuses us by showing us a friendly gesture recently, while displaying deadly weapons that can strike the South in a military parade. In South Korea, too, we are witnessing a plethora of sphinxlike things of late One of the inscrutable things in South Korea is the recent tendency of political parties to change their names continually. In fact, this phenomenon of pol

Recently, a friend of mine sent me a summary of Dr. In Yohan’s speech on the current situation of South Korea. Dr. In, also known as John Linton, is the son of an American missionary who built churches, schools and hospitals here before South Korea began its modernization. Dr. In is a renowned medical doctor and professor who loves South Korea so much that he has lived here all his life. According to the summary, Dr. In visited North Korea some time ago. In the car headed for Pyongyang, h

Shame, though painful or unpleasant, is an integral virtue of human beings. Human decency and integrity stem from a sense of shame. If we are shameless and brazen, we are no longer human and reduced to animal-like creatures. In fact, the spectacle of shameless people makes us feel ashamed on their behalf. Unfortunately, we encounter so many unabashed people and things that make us feel ashamed these days. Recently, we were appalled at North Korea’s brutal shooting and presumed burning of

Recently on the internet, I came across a rather penetrating passage that says, “The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.” At first, I thought a conservative American wrote it to warn the American people of the pervasiveness of socialism. To my surprise, the author was a renowned 19th centur

Today, quite a few countries suffer from populist leaders who are tearing their nations apart by dividing people with factional brawls and crippling the economy by spending money unscrupulously to flatter the people. These populist leaders gravely degrade the integrity of their respective nations with indecent words and behavior. Consequently, some populist leaders have made their countries bankrupt already, whether spiritually or financially, and others have seriously damaged the image of their

The famous motto of the US state of New Hampshire is “Live Free or Die.” The phrase is adopted from a toast by New Hampshire’s famed Gen. John Stark of the American Revolutionary War, who wrote in 1809, “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” That means that losing freedom is worse than death. It also resonates with what Patrick Henry said in 1775, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Those phrases especially appeal to the American mind becau