The recent arrest of a South Korean lawmaker and his aides for sedition stirred the whole nation. Some people were appalled at the fact that North Korean sympathizers who deny the legitimacy of South Korea had infiltrated the National Assembly. Others were stunned that the lawmaker, using his privileges as a member of the National Assembly, could have accessed and passed to North Korea all sorts of highly classified information, jeopardizing our national security. If the allegations are true, we

The behavior of the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives is simply bizarre. An institution with the power and authority to manage government finances and scrutinize the budget instead chooses to play dangerous fiscal games.Friday‘s vote to continue the lazy sequestration funding bill if the U.S. Senate and President Obama agree to shut down the Affordable Care Act was just weird.Scarier still, the federal government faces a mid-October deadline to adjust the borrowing limit so the countr

Indonesians are taking to the streets to demand the government heed their complaints. Are they livid about corruption? No. Fed up with poverty? Not really. Angry over political gridlock? Not so much. It’s those damn bikinis.In recent days, the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population has been consumed by protests against the Miss World pageant finale Sept. 28, originally scheduled to be held near Jakarta. Muslim groups, including radical ones, have threatened violent attacks. The govern

As part of the debate over intervention in Syria, the question of whether the U.S. is an exceptional country has once again bubbled up. Yes, says President Barack Obama, who invoked U.S. exceptionalism in his Sept. 10 speech on the need to respond to chemical weapons attacks in Syria. No, responds Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing last week in a New York Times op-ed that the U.S. should refrain from striking Syria, and that “it is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves

For lawmakers, Chuseok is a time to touch base with their constituents back home. During the holidays, they travel to their hometowns and listen to the voices of local residents. As in other years, most lawmakers went back to their hometowns during the long Chuseok break last week to get in touch with their constituents and hear what they had to say about major national issues.Now back in Seoul, they are sharing what they have seen and heard during their visits with party leaders to help them be

The U.S. Federal Reserve has brought both good and bad news by deciding to delay scaling back its massive bond-purchasing program. The Fed has been printing money to inject liquidity into the financial system and thereby stimulate the U.S. economy. Each month, it has purchased $85 billion worth of Treasury and mortgage bonds to encourage people to borrow, spend and invest.Until early last week, the Fed was widely expected to take its first step toward rolling back the extraordinary stimulus meas

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut ― Are too many of our most talented people choosing careers in finance ― and, more specifically, in trading, speculating, and other allegedly “unproductive” activities?In the United States, 7.4 percent of total compensation of employees in 2012 went to people working in the finance and insurance industries. Whether or not that percentage is too high, the real issue is that the share is even higher among the most educated and accomplished people, whose activities may be eco

PARIS ― “How many divisions does the Pope have?” Joseph Stalin famously quipped when told to be mindful of the Vatican. In an updated lesson in realpolitik, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently was happy to count Pope Francis as an ally in opposing American military intervention in Syria. Presenting himself as the last pillar of respect for international law, Putin offered ethics lessons to the United States ― and specifically to President Barack Obama.With the U.S.-Russian agreement, signe

On Sunday morning, at the conclusion of Bo Xilai’s sentencing in Jinan, China, the court ― which had been tweeting the proceedings to Sina Weibo, China’s leading microblogging platform ― tweeted one last photo without comment. In it Bo, newly sentenced to life in prison for abuse of power, bribery and embezzlement, stands with his wrists extended outward, displaying the handcuffs that bind them. Posing on either side of him are two towering bailiffs with their white-gloved hands placed awkwardly

Since his papacy began in March, Pope Francis has shown himself to be a man of small but substantial gestures.He exudes a pastoral charm ― whether cleaning the feet of prisoners, hugging a disabled child after Easter Mass or picking up the phone to comfort the distraught ― that didn’t always come naturally to his predecessors. He dresses modestly, lives austerely, speaks constantly of the poor and drives a 1984 Renault. He has reached out to atheists, gays and divorcees.In an interview released

Among Dante’s illustrious renderings of the seven deadly sins in his epic poem “The Divine Comedy” (1309-1321), “Acedia” ― or sloth ― seems to have particular resonance today. Drowning in the hellish waters of the river Styx, Dante’s slothful sinners were people with whom the poet himself felt some affinity, and for whom he harbored great pity and sympathy. Sometimes translated to “depression,” or “lack of passion for God,” the word “Acedia” ― as Dante’s English translator Dorothy L. Sayers poin

A decade ago, weak evidence of the crimes of Saddam Hussein helped lead the U.S. and its allies to war in Iraq. Today, strong evidence of war crimes by Bashar al-Assad may help the U.S. and its allies avoid war in Syria.The damning United Nations report that confirms the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons also highlights the importance of the Sept. 14 agreement putting Syria’s chemical weapons on the path to destruction ― and the huge challenges of doing so. It also points to the need to lev

MANILA ― In recent months, China has sparred with the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan over its extravagant territorial claims in the South and East China Seas and the West Philippine Sea. These conflicts have undermined regional security, impeded investment planning, and sparked an undeclared military contest between China and its regional counterweight, the United States.Indeed, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden recently made it clear that the resources and attention that the United States is alloc

U.S. reactions to President Vladimir Putin’s op-ed article in the New York Times last week, from outrage to ridicule, show just how badly much of the Western policy elite are misinterpreting Russia.This is largely the product of dashed and unrealistic expectations that many in the West held after the collapse of communism. They thought Russia would reform itself and become a junior partner to the U.S. in global affairs. Instead, the country was re-established as an authoritarian and fiercely ind

President Obama and his aides were surprised this month by the strength of public opposition to their call for military action against Syria. They shouldn’t have been.Americans have almost always been reluctant to go to war. In 1939, polls showed that most Americans not only wanted to stay out of war against Nazi Germany, they weren’t even sure they wanted to send military aid to Britain ― fearing, perhaps, a slippery slope.Today, Americans have additional reasons to be skeptical. There’s the to

The Tokyo government is pressuring Seoul to lift its recently expanded ban on fisheries imports from radiation-hit Fukushima and seven adjacent prefectures. A group of nine Japanese officials visited the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday to officially demand that Seoul withdraw the measure, which they said was not based on scientific evidence.Last week, the Seoul government extended its existing import ban on 50 types of fish to all types of fisheries imports. The measure was designed t

It is deeply disappointing that the three-way talks on Monday between President Park Geun-hye and the leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party ended without any agreement. The meeting was arranged to resolve the ongoing political impasse and bring good news before the Chuseok holidays. But the political leaders failed to send a message of hope to a nation weary of partisan wrangling.During the 90-minute talks at the National Assembly, Park and DP leader Kim Ha

Foreigners often wonder, “China and Japan have a number of cultural icons such as kung fu and samurai. Does Korea have any cultural icons?” An American scholar recently suggested the “seonbi” as a cultural icon of Korea. “Seonbi” refers to virtuous scholars who did not seek monetary gain or mundane pleasures during the Joseon Dynasty. The seonbi could be a fine cultural icon of Korea, although similar personas can be found in Chinese history, too. Another good example is the image of the Korean

Say you are a Shanghai-based economist and doubt the veracity of China’s latest trade data. You put out a research report to that effect, one that creates buzz on the Internet and exposes you to something far worse than making a bad call: prison.Or say you are a photographer in Chongqing and circulate images of a politician who loves Rolexes. Bloggers begin buzzing about how a modestly compensated public official could afford a stable of $7,000 watches. You, too, may end up in handcuffs.What if

WASHINGTON ― What is President Obama doing with his bob-and-weave Syria policy that seemingly bounces between bombing and diplomacy in the space of 15 minutes? The answer tells us some worrying things about the breakdown of America’s old foreign-policy consensus and Obama’s difficulty creating a new one. Look behind the White House veil and here’s what you see: The president correctly believes that in the aftermath of Iraq and Afghanistan, the country is sick of war and mistrustful of politician