Last Monday, Canada held an election to choose a new House of Commons. Next Sunday, Germany will hold an election to choose a new Bundestag. And sometime in October, Japan will hold an election to choose a new House of Representatives. Rarely have major elections in G-7 powers taken place close together. Last August, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election in the hope of strengthening his hand, but results yielded almost no change. Trudeau’s Liberal Party emerged wit

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The attacks brought the two 110-story towers down, killing 2,606 people. Another 125 died at the Pentagon, and 265 died on the four airplanes hijacked for the attacks. In response to 9/11, then-President George W. Bush began a “war on terror” to weaken terrorists around the world and prevent future attacks. In October 2001, a US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan to overthr

To Koreans, Aug. 15 marks the end of Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. It is celebrated as a national holiday in South and North Korea alike. As South Koreans were enjoying a three-day weekend in the middle of summer, news spread quickly that Taliban soldiers had captured Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and had overthrown the government. The sudden collapse caught the US government off guard and caused sharp criticism, both in the US and around the world, of President Joe Biden&rsquo

In response to the surging delta variant of COVID-19 around the world, more countries are requiring proof of vaccination for employment and access to public places. A range of institutions in the US is now requiring employees to get vaccinated. France and Italy require proof of vaccination to enter businesses and public places. These measures have produced vocal resistance, but a strong social consensus has emerged to support them. Amid the flurry of news about vaccination requirements, I thoug

July began with tentative hopes that the world was finally turning the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic. After peaking in late April, new cases around the world fell steadily until the end of June. They ticked up a bit in early July and began to rise quickly as the delta variant spread rapidly around the world. The speed of delta’s spread has caught public health authorities around the world off guard and changed calculations about how to bring the pandemic under control. In South Korea,

The 2020 Summer Games open in Tokyo a week from today on July 23, a year later than scheduled. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a year delay in holding the games, though many in Japan and elsewhere have argued that they should be canceled. A recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan prompted the government to bring back emergency measures that will prevent spectators from attending events. Athletes will compete in quiet, empty venues. For Tokyo, this marks the second time the city has hosted the Summe

July marks the beginning of the second half of the year. In the first half, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the news in South Korea as it has elsewhere. As vaccine rollout continues around the world, with predictable difficulties, hope for an end to the pandemic is tempered by fears of new variants. After a slow start, the pace of vaccination in South Korea has picked up, raising hopes for the second half of the year. Aside from the pandemic, the big story in the second half of the year wi

For decades, education has sat at the center of political discourse in South Korea. As the country developed, the center of discourse moved from educating the masses for the needs of a growing industrial economy to preparing for university admission and the high social status that it bestowed. Since the 2010s, however, interest in education has cooled somewhat as other issues have come to the fore. Why is this? And what does it mean? During Park Chung-hee’s long dictatorship from 1961 to

As the COVID-19 pandemic fades, countries around the world are returning to in-person life. Families are gathering, schools are opening, and city streets are coming back to life. The pandemic is not over, and much suffering remains, but the trajectory is moving toward an end. As the world returns to normal, speculation abounds about the lasting influence of the pandemic on society and institutions. Which changes will remain and which will disappear? In the early days of the pandemic, the 1918-1

Over the last 10 days, COVID-19 cases have exploded in Taiwan, which has stood out as the world leader in controlling the disease. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific, cases in the United States, which ranks number one in total cases and deaths, have seen a sharp drop in cases. Social distancing restrictions and mask mandates are being eased as Taiwan locks down. The sudden change in the two countries is because of one thing: Vaccination rates. After a slow start in the US, 47.6 perce

At the end of April, Seoul’s new mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that remodeling work on Gwanghamun Plaza would continue, but with several modifications. The plaza took its present form in 2009 toward the end of Oh’s first term as mayor. Plans to remodel the plaza again moved forward in the late 2010s under former Mayor Park Won-soon and construction began in the fall of 2020. Oh’s victory in the April 7 by-election raised speculation that he might stop the remodeling, as some cit

The by-elections for mayors in Seoul and Busan ended in landslide defeats for President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party. Winning 57.5 percent of the vote, former Mayor Oh Se-hoon returned to City Hall 10 years after resigning over opposition to free school lunches. In Busan, that Democratic Party candidate won only 34.4 percent of the vote, a huge drop from the 55.2 percent it won in June 2018. Two main currents running against the Democratic Party came together to produce the storm. The f

As of this writing, polls are open in by-elections for mayor in Seoul and Busan. The election offers a chance to assess public opinion only 13 months before the next presidential election in May 2022. President Moon Jae-in’s approval ratings have dropped recently, suggesting that his ruling Democratic Party may face strong headwinds moving toward 2022. Since 1987, presidents in South Korea have been elected for a single five-year term. The term limit came from a desire to check the power

On March 18, the US and China met in Anchorage, Alaska, for the first time since Joe Biden took office in January. The two days of talks between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi were contentious, suggesting a long and tense competition between the two nations. Like previous great power competitions, the one between the US and China is about the acquisition and maintenance of power. In the competition, the US plays the role of domi

Since the rush to develop began in the 1960s, the South Korean government has paid attention to the fertility rate. In the 1960s and 1970s, the rate was too high, and the government focused its efforts on birth control. The rate fell steadily, dropping below 2.1 children per woman for the first time in 1983. According to the UN Population Division, a total fertility rate (TFR) level of about 2.1 is enough to sustain population levels, excluding immigration and emigration. After holding in a nar

In the first month of his presidency, Joe Biden has worked hard to reach out to longtime allies of the US that were slighted during the Trump years. The US counts South Korea and Japan as two of its most trusted allies and has signaled to them that it hopes to work with the two nations to develop a trilateral strategy to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Biden also hopes for more trilateral cooperation in dealing the with growing power of China on the world stage. For

Positive news about vaccines at the end of 2020 raised hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic would soon end in 2021. Less than two months into the new year, those hopes are slipping away. Mutant variants that first appeared in the UK, South Africa and Brazil are even more contagious, and in the case of the South African mutant, vaccines are less effective. This turn of events has caused a new round of lockdowns and border closings as public health experts and vaccine makers race to assess the situati

On April 7, 2021, Seoul will hold a special election for mayor. Seoul has been without a mayor since former Mayor Park Won-soon’s shocking suicide in July 2020. The election of a new mayor will stir discussion of how the city should move forward as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. As the leader of the capital city and the overwhelmingly dominant city, the mayor of Seoul is influential. Several mayors have dreamed of becoming president and one, Lee Myung-bak, succeeded in the 2007. The new m

Pandemic weary Americans entered 2021 with hope for better times but found those hopes dashed. On Jan. 6, as a mob of insurrectionists, incited by Trump, stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to halt the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes for president and vice president. After a six-hour siege, Congress resumed counting and formally certified Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president in the early morning hours of Jan. 7. The images of the siege shocked the nation and, i

The world begins 2021 with hope amid continuing despair. The roll out of vaccines in wealthy countries offers hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will wind down as the year moves along. This hope contrasts with the reality of rising cases that are pushing healthcare systems to their limit. More cases mean more deaths and social dislocation. The light at the end of the tunnel is bright, but distant. Pondering the future offers a brief respite from the disquiet of the pandemic winter. At heart is the