Expectations were low going into the recent summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but nobody expected that the two leaders would end up saying goodbye before lunch. The two men left amicably, leaving the door open to future talks while putting a gloss on their failure to make progress. Neither leader wanted to declare the summit a failure because they both need good news out of the relationship.By traditional diplomatic standards, the summit was a

Last week, a BBC article from 2017 stating that life expectancy in South Korea would become the longest in the world by 2030 popped up on a social media feed. The article noted that life expectancy for women would reach 90 years and 84 years for men, both the highest in the world. The article praised South Korea for universal access to health care and low obesity rates.The next day, I was organizing some books and found a copy of “Japan as Number One: Lessons for America” by Ezra Vogel, a former

The first month of the New Year has been busy in Washington, DC. A 35-day government shutdown over funding for a wall along the US-Mexico border ended with President Donald Trump caving to a united Democratic opposition. One by one, candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination have begun to enter the race. Tensions with China over trade remain high, and Venezuela emerged as a new foreign policy challenge as the US recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate president.Largely lost in the daily barr

The past weekend saw another wave of fine dust blanket Korea. Over the past 10 years, the frequency of waves of fine dust has increased steadily, causing people to worry about negative effects on public health. The problem also causes changes in daily life. An elementary school teacher I met last fall told me that schools are eliminating playgrounds because there are so few days when the air is clean enough for children to use them. The South Korean government, meanwhile, has failed to come up w

South Korea finds itself in an odd place as 2019 begins. Progress in inter-Korean detente slowed at the end of 2018 after three historic summit meetings between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The economy also slowed at the end of 2018 as business and consumer confidence weakened. The slowing of good news has caused President Moon’s popularity to decline, raising fears that the nation will be left with weak leadership amid growing challenges.To deal with these challeng

Two years ago, hundreds of thousands of people holding candles filled Gwanghwamun in support of impeaching then-President Park Geun-hye. The National Assembly voted to impeach Park on Dec. 9, 2016, and the Constitutional Court voted to remove her from office on March 10, 2017. Park was removed from office, and a special election was held on May 9, 2017, which resulted in a sweeping victory for Moon Jae-in. From the impeachment to the election, then-Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn served as acting p

Labor strife in South Korea is back in the news, as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions launched a general strike on Nov. 2l. The KCTU also boycotted a meeting of the Economic, Social and Labor Council, a newly expanded presidential commission designed to develop policy consensus on economic and social issues. The KCTU is protesting the bipartisan agreement to relax temporarily the recently established 52-hour limit on weekly working hours.In its protests, the KCTU argued that President Moo

The results of the recent midterm elections in the US were as predicted. Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives, and Republicans retained control over the Senate. Democrats did slightly better than expected in the House of Representatives, but Republicans did slightly better in the Senate. The election fit closely with the historical pattern of the party of the incumbent president losing seats but fell short of being a wave election that gave control of both houses of Congr

During the last half of October, I stayed in Madrid to practice the Spanish that I had learned in high school and university. Instead of going to a school, I tried self-study and practice while walking around Madrid. Markets and bookstores were particularly good places because they forced me to use Spanish. The visit helped me recover some Spanish, particularly reading, but fluency will require a more intensive effort.On my second day in Madrid, I visited the Prado, one of the world’s most famou

The Korean media like international rankings and report on them frequently. During the boom years, Korea’s rankings in gross domestic product growth and per capita GDP made for big headlines, but things have changed now that growth has slowed.In recent years, the standing of Korea’s universities, particularly according to the London-based Times Higher Education World University Rankings, have attracted media attention. The media use the annual results to lament about the low standing of Korean u

September is moving time in university cities and college towns across Europe and North America as students get settled for the new academic year. For many young people, the move from home to university housing is a rite of passage.A look at the universities that students are moving to reveals the great diversity of universities. The media, particularly in Korea, focuses on old elite universities such as Harvard or Oxford, but only a tiny percentage of universities fit this category. Europe has

In recent years, urban regeneration -- or reviving old, rundown neighborhoods -- has become a hot topic among architects and city planners in Korea. Instead of demolishing large areas of a city to make way for apartment complexes, planners have begun to focus on improving existing neighborhoods. The problem, of course, is how. It is also a new question in the Korean context.From the beginning of the 20th century to the present, two waves of change remade Korean cities. The first was during the J

Thursday is “malbok,” the day that traditionally marks the end of the summer heat. Temperatures at night will soon drop and fall will be in the air. Vacations will end, and schools will start; people will get busy again.　The end of summer also means a start in the next phase of diplomacy between South Korea, North Korea, and the United States. Plans are going forward for a third summit, this time in Pyongyang, between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. There is also talk

This summer, I decided to cut back on my use of social media. I limit my use to a few 10-minute checks a day. That gives me time to wish people happy birthday and interact with posts about important life events. It leaves little time for my own posts and photos. The break has helped me focus on people in the real world and it has given me a chance to think about the meaning of social media at the end of the second decade of the 21st century.Since the rise of mass consumption in the mid-20th cent

The recent announcement that the government plans to raise the minimum wage by 11 percent to 8,350 won ($7.40) next year has sent shock waves through the business community. Small business rallied to protest the move, saying that it would put them out of business. The government plans to raise the minimum wage to 10,000 won an hour by 2020 in the hopes of promoting economic equality and stimulating consumption.　Korea is not the only country to face a debate over the minimum wage. In the 2016 US

One of my hobbies is visiting collections of Korean art in museums overseas. My most recent visit was the small collection of Korean art in the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the most popular art museums in the US. The display shares a gallery with Chinese art, allowing space for only a few objects. Almost all the objects are Goryeo celadon stoneware from the 12th and 13th centuries. This is typical because Goryeo celadon and Joseon-period pottery dominate collections of Korean art overseas.Th

Reactions to the June 12 summit in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reminded me of a popular TV public service announcement in the US in the 1980s. The 15-second video showed a raw egg being dropped onto a sizzling fry pan. The egg began to sizzle as it hit the pan and the narrator said, “This is your brain on drugs.” Trump is the sizzling fry pan that causes politicians and mainstream media to sizzle and crackle. The process jumbles conventional wi

The news that President Donald Trump had canceled the June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shocked South Korea as it was getting ready for bed on May 24. The US leader’s sudden change of heart came two days after a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The news left South Koreans unsettled and searching for answers.The news that President Moon Jae-in held a sudden summit with Kim Jong-un in Panmunjom on Saturday May 26 surprised the nation and raised hopes that diplomacy an

The sight of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walking across the formal dividing line in Panmunjom to greet President Moon Jae-in amazed the tension-weary South Korean public. After a long day of talks, the summit produced the Panmunjeom Declaration in which both leaders pledged to end the Korean War by the end of this year and rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. The two leaders pledged to work together to implement agreements from earlier inter-Korean summits that did not come to fruiti

This Friday President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet for the first time. Expectations are running high that the summit will start a process that leads to peace and eventual reunification of the divided people. These high expectations come after years of tension that escalated sharply in 2017 after a series of North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Expectations are also running high that the proposed meeting between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump w