The year 2008 is remembered most around the world for the financial crisis that brought on the worst economic downturn since the 1930s. In South Korea, 2008 is remembered as the first year of recently jailed Lee Myung-bak’s presidency. In spring, only months after his inauguration, massive demonstrations against the resumption of US beef imports caused Lee’s popularity to dip. In fall, the spreading financial crisis raised the specter of another 1997-style collapse, but Lee moved quickly, and Ko

The announcement of a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offers hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula. The summit will follow a meeting in April between President Moon Jae-in and Kim. That meeting, which has been overlooked in the mainstream Western media, will offer insight into what to expect from the Trump-Kim meeting to follow. The summits are major victories for Moon, who was instrumental in bring the two leaders together.　Since the announcement, t

Tomorrow marks the 99th anniversary of the March 1 Movement during the darkest hours of Japanese colonial rule. On the afternoon of that day, 33 leaders of the independence movement gathered in Jongno in Seoul and proclaimed Korea’s independence from Japan. The movement quickly spread to cities and town across the peninsula. About 2 million people took part in the movement, making up 10 percent of the Korean population at the time. Overwhelmed by the size of protests, Japanese authorities used m

North Korea stirs complex emotions, as coverage of the Winter Olympic opening ceremony shows. Most of the coverage naturally focused on Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un and the first member of the ruling Kim family to set foot in South Korea. Of all the VIPs who attended the opening ceremony, she received the most attention and was even designated “the star” of the Olympics.　US Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, were the

One of the best things about teaching in a university in Korea was getting to know the students and learning to see the world through their eyes. My first university teaching experience was from 1987 to 1993; my second was from 2008 to 2014. These experiences gave me insight into the formative years of the two generations that have been in the news recently: the “386 Generation” and the “2030 Generation.”The 386 Generation refers to people who were born in the 1960s and went to university in the

The Ministry of Education’s recent proposal to ban the teaching of English in kindergartens and nursery schools brought English education back in the news after a long quiet. Bowing to public pressure, the Ministry withdrew the proposal earlier this week. The ministry pushed the proposal in the hope of reducing the financial burden of private education on families and to increase educational equality.Opponents of the plan argued that early English education helps children become familiar with En

South Korea did well in 2017. The year began with insecurity over the impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye. Her removal from office in March caused a short, but intense, election campaign that resulted in an overwhelming victory for Moon Jae-in in May. The spring saw rapidly rising tensions between the US and North Korea over the North’s nuclear weapons program. In the past, a political vacuum and war worries would have had a strong impact on the South Korean economy, but economic growth

During President Moon Jae-in’s recent visit to China, the Korean media focused intensely on the details of protocol and were quick to suggest that the president had not been accorded sufficient respect. This sensitivity reflects a natural sensitivity to powerful nations. A look at history shows that China exerted the most influence on Korea from early history until the late 19th century, when Japan became dominant. Japanese dominance turned into harsh colonial rule that ended with the Japanese s

The year 2018 will mark the beginning of a new era in higher education in Korea, as the number of high school graduates falls below the number of available spaces in university for the first time in history. Not all high school graduates go on to university, of course, so universities have recently been scrambling to fill empty places. Many have done so by recruiting international students, mostly from China, but that will become increasingly difficult as the pool of domestic high school graduat

Most Koreans over the age of 40 remember November 1997 very well. Concern over rising corporate debt in the summer and over the spreading financial crisis in Southeast Asia caused sharp stock market declines and a steadily weakening won. The Bank of Korea tried to prop up the value of the won, but abandoned the effort as foreign reserves were being depleted. The government requested aid from the International Monetary Fund, but the crisis continued to worsen South Korea’s credit rating. In early

In November 1983, US President Ronald Reagan visited South Korea amid rising global tension. In September that year, the Soviet Union shot Korean Air Lines’ flight 007 out of the air, killing the 269 people aboard. One month later, many senior members of the South Korean government were killed by a North Korean bomb attack in Rangoon, Burma. The 1980s economic boom in South Korea was gathering steam, but anger at Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship was building.During his visit, Reagan addressed the Na

The end of October brings the first anniversary of the beginning of the “Candlelight Revolution” that led to the impeachment and removal of former president Park Geun-hye. The anniversary provides an opportunity to assess the events from the perspective of time. In looking back, three keywords come to mind: competence, accountability, and stability.　Park Geun-hye was not the most unpopular president when the protests began. She was the only president to be elected with more than 50 percent of th

Eastern Germany in October is a time to celebrate and remember the 1989 democracy movement that brought an end to the repressive East German regime. Leipzig, where the pro-democracy demonstrations began, hosts the annual “Lichtfest” (Light Festival) to commemorate the candlelight vigils to protest police violence against pro-democracy demonstrators. Oct. 3, German Unity Day, is a national holiday to commemorate reunification in 1990.　Apart from the busy October commemorations, cities in Eastern

Speeches to the United Nations General Assembly are usually diplomatic, but not this year. US President Donald Trump took the opportunity this year to lash out at North Korea by threatening to “totally destroy” it and referring to its leader Kim Jong-un as “Rocket Man.” Kim responded by calling Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard” and holding an anti-American rally in Pyongyang. The recent round of insults has raised tensions and questions about what each man is trying to achieve.　The key to un

The internet and social media make it hard to escape the news. News junkies are addicted to breaking stories and jump at the chance to post and tweet. Others scroll through the drone of the news in search of more interesting things. The only way to escape, it seems, is to turn off and hide.Fall is a busy season in Korea. The opening of the school term is followed by Chuseok, which soon leads to fall and the end of the year. This year will soon give way to 2018. Most of the children born in Korea

Under President Donald Trump, politics in the US takes odd turns almost daily. In his need to control the political narrative, the president makes contradictory tweets and statements that keep politicians off balance. One day, he appears disciplined and “presidential”; the next day he appears petty and impulsive. Nobody knows what is doing or what he will do, which is creating a spreading sense of unease about his presidency.The recent barrage of tweets attacking Republican leaders in Congress,

Remember “Hell Joseon,” the name for South Korea among social critics that spread rapidly on social media a few years ago? The election of President Moon Jae-in in May after the impeachment of Park Geun-hye stirred new hope in Korea, helping to push Hell Joseon to the sidelines. President Moon has initiated reforms and has offered reassuring leadership amid sharply rising tensions between the US and North Korea. The public has approved, and his approval rating has not dropped below 70 percent si

North Korea’s successful tests of two ICBMs in July have worsened the already tense security environment in Northeast Asia. Each provocation by North Korea triggers a round of condemnation in Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo. To bring greater understanding to the situation, the media turns to North Korea experts who offer contradictory perspectives.　Understanding the contradictory perspectives about North Korea involves looking at the all-important question of motives. The perspectives vary, but the

Shortly before leaving Korea in late June, I met some people who wanted to hear my ideas about globalizing kimchi. I enjoyed the talk, but, as always, argued that cultural transmission is more complex than policymakers assume.I thought about the meeting and, more importantly, Korean food on the long plane ride home. Korean food and I go back a long time. I first ate bibimbap at a counter-top restaurant called Steve’s Lunch in Ann Arbor in the early 1980s. A Korean friend showed me how to stir it

Language is always changing, but the changes often escape us because they occur slowly. During a recent visit to Gochang and Gwangju, I noticed many changes that are harder to detect in busy Seoul. The changes are closely related to the multiculturalization of Korean society over the past 20 years.On the way to Gochang, I changed from the KTX to a local train in Iksan. On the train, I heard two women speaking a Central Asian language. One of the women received several phone calls and spoke fluen