Many Koreans often lament that they have not had great leaders with legacies such as John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, or Abraham Lincoln: If South Korea were lucky enough to have had such famous leaders, she would surely have been a more advanced and admirable country. Facing the Presidential Election Day in March 2022, many Koreans wish to have a great leader comparable to the above-mentioned political leaders. Thus, they wonder; “What would happen if one of those great

Recently, a Korean journalist stationed in Tokyo wrote an amusing article comparing Japan, Korea and the US. He wrote of his experience in each of the three countries when he tried to change the delivery date of a TV he had purchased. In Japan, the customer service agent was extremely nice and friendly, but declined his request politely, saying it was against the policy. In Japan, you are rude if you try to change your appointment when the prearranged date is near. In Korea, the customer consu

There are times when a literary work or a film is powerful enough to change a person’s life or even an entire social system by altering our consciousness. It means that literature and film can play an important role in both human lives and social progress. Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a good example. Lee’s powerful novel and its superb movie version, starring Gregory Peck, have changed so many people’s lives. The novel and the movie also changed m

While “D.P.” and “Squid Game” are still enjoying fame overseas, another Korean Netflix series, “Hellbound,” is now a topic on everybody’s lips. In “Hellbound,” a ghostly presence appears to the people and informs them they are doomed to die and go to hell due to their sins on a specific date and time. When the time comes, three otherworldly dark creatures appear, beat the sinners violently to death and drag them to hell, leaving behind a burn

Critics have argued that Korean presidents all have one serious flaw in common: They fill government posts with people from their own political faction or election camp only, regardless of their abilities. As a result, amateurs have run the country, making numerous, sometimes fatal mistakes. Of course, there have been some outstanding, competent ministers. However, they often could not extend their abilities to their full capacity, blocked by a bunch of amateurs who wielded political power sur

These days, the Korean people have invented a few new English words, such as “untact” or “with corona,” which means, respectively “no contact” and “living with the coronavirus.” When Koreans say a “notebook,” they refer to a “laptop.” When they say, a “hand phone,” they mean a “cellphone.” Other examples include “po-doc” for “post-doc,” and “oil” for “gasoline

Experts have been issuing dire warnings that we may not be able to overcome the coronavirus pandemic completely and may thus have to live with it forever. An article from the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, titled “Living with coronavirus (COVID-19): A brief report,” begins with the following proclamation: “The world will never be the same after the current COVID-19 pandemic. We may have to live with the coronavirus for a long time.” Another re

Sometimes we wonder: “What if I took the other path? What would happen, then?” You cannot know the outcome of such a choice, and yet what is certain is that your life would turn out very different. For example, what would happen if you married another person, majored in a different field, or chose another occupation? Your life would be completely different from now. In our lives, we encounter numerous occasions in which we find ourselves at “two roads diverged.” The roa

In March 2022, South Korea will hold its next presidential election. All Koreans are anxiously awaiting the important day when they will have a new leader. Indeed, there is a compelling reason why the Korean people are eager to have an extraordinarily competent leader as their new president. South Korea is now facing an unprecedented series of economic, diplomatic and national security crises on the heels of the ongoing pandemic, intensifying US-China conflicts and the resumption of North Kore

Traditionally, men have harbored prejudices against smart and capable women. Feminist scholars have pointed out how often a shrewd woman in a fairytale is called a “witch” or “wicked stepmother” by male writers. Chauvinistic social conventions describe astute and perceptive women only as “bad girls.” However, those “bad girls” have accomplished many splendid things with their creativity and competence. Recently, I came across an intriguing book, &

Although they often miss their youth, old people are wise enough to know that they cannot get any younger. For some inscrutable reason, however, some young people seem to forget they will grow old someday. They naively think that they will be young forever. Perhaps that is why they unabashedly make fun of elderly people, or have even gone so far as to insult them in public by calling them various derogatory names, such as “old bat,” “old-timer,” or “kkondae”

Recently, the Korean television series “Squid Game” has become the top-rated program on Netflix in many countries, including Korea. “Squid Game” tells the story of 456 desperate and down-and-out men and women who decide to go through a cutthroat survival game for an astronomical prize: 45.6 billion won, which is about $38.4 million. The problem is that only the final survivor can get the prize money, while all of the others must die along the way. Behind the game, a sin

The Netflix television series “D.P.” is the talk of the town lately. As the title “D.P.,” which stands for “Deserter Pursuit,” suggests, the drama is about the military police’s pursuit of deserters. At the same time, the drama vividly depicts the violence within the ROK Army, which is one of the main reasons for soldiers’ desertion. Violence is so rampant that even the protagonist, who is in the military police D.P. unit, faces periodic physical v

When Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Games, a reporter asked a famous Japanese judoka if he expected to win gold. The former gold medalist answered, smiling pleasantly, “I’m working at a bank. That is my job. Judo is merely my hobby. I will just do my best, but a gold medal is not my primary concern.” His answer was cool and impressive. Then, the same reporter turned to a Korean judoka who was also a strong candidate for the gold medal and asked the same question. The Korean ath

The news that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development recently upgraded South Korea from a “developing country” to a “developed country” elated the Korean people greatly. Although the new title may not sound particularly fancy and South Korea may have been a developed country for some time already, Koreans still appreciate the official recognition by the UNCTAD and take it as more than a friendly gesture. Indeed, South Korea has come a long way to earn the

“The Odd Couple” is a 1968 American comedy film, starring Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau, based on Neil Simon’s 1965 play. It is a comic story of two divorced men, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, who decide to live together in a New York City apartment. Soon they become an “odd couple” because one is almost a “neurotic neat freak” and the other is a messy, “fun-loving slob.” Actually, their ex-wives dumped them because they could not stand thei

The past is something from which we should learn valuable lessons, not something to have a grudge about or to misuse for the sake of personal vendettas. Regrettably, however, our left-wing politicians are hopelessly obsessed with past resentments, thereby preventing South Korea from soaring into the future. Consequently, they have dragged the nation’s people into the labyrinth of the past for the last few years. In today’s South Korea, therefore, the future is nebulous and history

Experts argue that artificial intelligence will bring a revolutionary change to our future lives. Of course, AI has its upsides and downsides: The good news is that AI will make our lives incredibly convenient, but the bad news is that it will replace humans in many jobs, such as cashiers, bank tellers, and even factory workers. Indeed, it is happening already. For example, if you go to a self-checkout lane at a store, AI will greet you and instruct you to complete the checkout process. If you

In the late 1980s, when I visited big electronic stores in the US, such as Circuit City or Best Buy, I saw Japanese electronics such as Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi television sets occupy the display floor like a conquering army. Far behind the Japanese products were two or three Samsung TV sets, sadly left out in the cold. Sanyo stereos, Toshiba laptops and Sony Walkman, too, joined the parade in those US electronics stores. At the time, Japanese electronic devices were Americans’ favorit

Recently, most US states finally lifted the year-long requirement of wearing a facial mask indoors. As a result, you can now freely shop groceries, clothes or miscellanies in a store without donning a mask. It is like “Back to normal again.” Still, however, some people, especially those who have to work indoors all day long, dealing with customers, are still wearing a mask as a precautionary measure. Face-covering masks have changed our lives significantly in many respects, especia