[Jeffrey Frankel] The election-devaluation cycle

The proposition that major currency devaluations are more likely to come immediately after, rather than before, an election is being tested anew. In the biggest voting year in history, the implications could be far-reaching. Economists will recall the Nobel laureate economist William D. Nordhaus’ influential 1975 paper, “The Political Business Cycle.” According to Nordhaus, in the year leading up to an election, governments are more inclined to pursue fiscal and monetary expans

May 1, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Between the ‘Free World’ and authoritarian countries

Today, we are witnessing a sharp confrontation between authoritarian countries and democratic countries. It is like deja-vu for those of us who recollect the clashes between Communist countries and the “Free World” after World War II. Authoritarian countries have a nostalgic longing for their glorious past and dream of recovering their former power and territories. The democratic countries try to stop them from invading other countries and promote peaceful coexistence instead. So

May 1, 2024

[Mariana Mazzucato, David Eaves] Central banks in a cashless world

Economics has always had a strange and much-debated relationship with money. For a long time, economists -- including Nobel laureates like Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani -- regarded money merely as a medium of exchange. But by building on the work of John Maynard Keynes and Hyman Minsky, economists have since moved beyond a narrow focus on the quantity of money to consider its structural influence on the real economy and the financial system. A structural understanding of money and finance

April 30, 2024

[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism

Min Hee-jin, CEO of Ador (a subsidiary of Hybe) has accused Hybe and its other subsidiary Belift Labs of plagiarism over the similarity between supergroup NewJeans (Ador) and new girl group Illit (Belift Labs). In turn, Hybe has asked Min Hee-jin to step down and has accused her of “breach of trust” in its press release. To any casual K-pop fan familiar with both groups, there is little doubt that Illit’s sound and choreography is reminiscent of NewJeans. However, many other ne

April 29, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] What stellar GDP data masks

South Korea's economy expanded at a much faster pace than expected in the first quarter of this year, offering relief to those concerned about the severe slump experienced last year persisting for an extended period. This news is especially welcome for a country still grappling with domestic instability and uncertain global geopolitics. However, beyond the social and political instability at home and longstanding global geopolitics, there are other pressing issues that demand attention: t

April 29, 2024

[Kim So-hyun] The quiet taxi driver from Paris

Last week, a man named Hong Se-hwa passed away at age 76. Those who were old enough to read Hong’s 1995 bestseller “I’m a Taxi Driver in Paris” remember him as a writer with a heart for the underdog and a social activist who lived up to his words. The book of essays was about Hong's experiences as a taxi driver in Paris, French society and where he thought Korean society should be headed. He wrote about the French concept and practices of tolerance toward differences

April 26, 2024

[Career Compass] Preparing for a job interview?

I just graduated from university and will interview for a multinational company. What are the qualities the interviewers look for? How do I show my best self? Congratulations on your graduation. In addition to my opinion, I also sought insights from 20 multinational company executives. Here are the seven attributes that were considered the most significant. 1. Great attitude and curiosity This quality was the most frequently mentioned. An individual with a great attitude is more likely to be p

April 25, 2024

[Takatoshi Ito] How risky is Japan‘s monetary-policy normalization?

Last month, the Bank of Japan took its first important step toward monetary-policy normalization. The BOJ ended its negative interest-rate policy, setting the policy rate between 0.0 percent and 0.1 percent. It abandoned yield-curve control, which had been introduced to keep the ten-year government bond yield around 0 percent. And it announced that it would taper off new purchases of exchange-traded funds and real-estate investment trusts, but maintain the current pace of government-bond purchas

April 25, 2024

[Anya Schiffrin, Dylan W. Groves and Joseph E. Stiglitz] Quality journalism is more important than ever

Although news consumption soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, subscriptions have since fallen, and news outlets around the world have been laying off reporters or even shutting down altogether. That is bad news for all of us. Our new UNESCO brief highlights recent research that demonstrates just how important high-quality information is to a well-functioning economy, society, and democracy. New studies in economics and political science use rigorous methods to confirm what journalists already k

April 25, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] A great grandmother’s ‘Memoirs of the Times’

We all grow up listening to our grandmother’s stories. Sometimes these are folktales and other times historical events she witnessed and experienced. In that sense, a grandmother is not only a superb storyteller, but also an indispensable history teacher. Recently, the 90-year-old author Oh Duck-choo sent me a collection of autobiographical essays entitled, “Memoirs of the Times.” Published by Girok-yeon, which is probably an acronym for the Research Institute of Archives, the

April 24, 2024

[Eric Posner] What to look for in Trump's first trial

As the first criminal case against Donald Trump gets underway in New York City, the media have forgone their customary practice of declaring the “trial of the century”. Trial of the month is more like it, since three more are set to follow. The sheer number of criminal trials involving different allegations -- hush money payments, retention of confidential documents, and election interference -- would seem to guarantee a conviction and Trump’s final ejection from public life. A

April 24, 2024

[Grace Kao] The Golden Girls in 1980s Miami vs 2020s Seoul

Older women generally fade from view in the media, but the Korean and American shows “(The) Golden Girls” are two exceptions. “Golden Girls” is a popular show on KBS that features Park Jin-young (JYP)’s goal of bringing four famous singers -- Insooni (66 years old), Park Mi-kyung (58 years old), Shin Hyo-bum (56 years old), and Lee Eun-mi (57 years old) -- back as members of a new female idol group. The show’s title and premise reminded me of the popular 1980s

April 23, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] Managing household debt

South Korea's significant household debt burden has long been recognized as one of the top risks facing the country's overall economy, positioning the nation near the top of the list among the world's major economies. Given this risk, every administration has made containing household debt one of its top economic policy goals. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration was no exception, emphasizing the importance of containing household debt, along with government debt, since Yoon's in

April 22, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] New direction of Korean diplomacy after election

The general election in South Korea on April 10 ended with the landslide victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the disastrous defeat of the ruling People Power Party. The Democratic Party won 175 out of 300 seats in parliament. It is one of the most significant victories by an opposition party in the history of Korean politics. The party won 180 seats four years ago, but the meaning is different because it was the ruling party in 2020. Besides, just a couple of months after the formidab

April 19, 2024

[Robert J. Fouser] After the National Assembly election

By any measure, the results of the April 10 National Assembly elections were a disaster for President Yoon Suk Yeol and his People Power Party. No incumbent president since democratization in 1987 has suffered a more resounding rebuke. The question now is what it means for the future of South Korean politics and, more broadly, the country itself. After the votes were counted, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and affiliate party Democratic United ended up with 175 seats, up 19 from

April 19, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea

There are a number of popular misconceptions about the meaning of democracy in Korea. Sometimes, we misunderstand democracy as merely “rule by the majority.” However, true democracy should also respect the opinions of the minority. Other times, we mistake democracy for the maxim that “we can do whatever we want to do.” In a democratic system, people authorize their elected representatives to work on their behalf. Thus, we should not expect these representatives to ask for

April 17, 2024

[Dennis Ross] Israel must end the Gaza War

The Iranian-Israeli war has now emerged from the shadows with the barrage of over 300 drones, rockets, and cruise missiles Iran launched at Israel. Along with the US military and other partners, the Israel Defense Forces were able to intercept 99 percent of them. Once again, the Israeli military demonstrated its superb capabilities, but US support was essential. Although Israel takes pride in being able to defend itself, circumstances have changed. When facing threats on seven fronts, as the

April 17, 2024

[Sławomir Sierakowski] Beating back populists at the grassroots

Although local elections often don’t make international news headlines or involve widely recognizable household names, anyone who cares about the state of liberal democracy would do well to pay attention to them. In Turkey, for example, recent elections not only revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, they also offered broader lessons for long-struggling opposition parties about how to select effective candidates and run effe

April 16, 2024

[Peter Singer] Will Cambridge support free speech?

Nathan Cofnas is a research fellow in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. His research is supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust. He is also a college research associate at Emmanuel College. Working at the intersection of science and philosophy, he has published several papers in leading peer-reviewed journals. He also writes popular articles and posts on Substack. In January, Cofnas published a post called “Why We Need to Talk about the Right’s Stupidit

April 16, 2024

[Room Tone] 'Words into an AI prompt, does not a film make'

Text-to-video entry: “Please generate a high-octane, action film with the following storyline: "A father receives a phone call from an unknown number informing him that his estranged daughter has been kidnapped. If the father wishes to see his daughter alive, he must break into the safety deposit box of the five-star Seoul hotel where he works as a midnight janitor. He has two hours to get the contents of the security box to the designated drop point. In addition to the ticking cl

April 15, 2024