[Grace Kao] Six degrees of Astro's JinJin

Life is full of surprises, and you never know where it will take you. This was the theme of my recent meeting and dinner with JinJin of Astro. JinJin is the leader and main rapper of the boy group. Hit singles included their bubbly debut song, “Hide & Seek,” and later songs such as “Crazy Sexy Cool,” “Blue Flame,” “After Midnight,” and “Candy Sugar Pop.” Most recently, Astro released the single “Circles” to celebrate the eig

June 25, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] What MSCI’s assessment means for South Korea

South Korea again failed to obtain the reclassification of its stock market as a developed market by global index provider MSCI after the country reimposed a full ban on stock short selling, which overshadowed positive assessment among foreign investors of the country’s efforts to lower the barrier for access to financial markets here. According to a statement released last week, Morgan Stanley Capital International recognized and welcomed some of the measures that South Korea has announce

June 24, 2024

[Mary Rasenberger] Pay for art used to train AI

Amid the hype surrounding Apple’s new deal with OpenAI, one issue has been largely papered over: The AI company’s foundational models are, and have always been, built atop the theft of creative professionals’ work. The arrangement with Apple isn’t the only news from OpenAI. Among recent updates and controversies including high-level defections, last month the company quietly announced Media Manager, scheduled for release in 2025. A tool purportedly designed to allow creat

June 24, 2024

[Serendipity] Lost in Yunchan Lim's universe

I almost did not make it to pianist Yunchan Lim’s recital at the Bucheon Art Center on Monday night. In my harried state after work, I got Bucheon and Bupyeong mixed up and called for a cab to the Bupyeong Art Center. Both Bucheon and Bupyeong are cities in Gyeonggi Province, about 30 minutes apart by car. Both have an art center. The 1,445-seat concert hall was packed, tickets for Lim’s recital having sold out in 50 seconds. Among those in the audience were 15 lucky Bucheon resident

June 20, 2024

[F.D. Flam] Population decline vs hungry kids

Humanity is about to turn a major population corner, according to a new estimate. A recent article in the Lancet predicts that by 2030, we’ll no longer be reproducing fast enough to replace ourselves. We aren’t about to go extinct, but this is an unexpected trajectory. As recently as 2017, the United Nations predicted human numbers wouldn’t peak until 2100 when we’d reach more than 11 billion people. According to the new estimate, our numbers could rise from the curr

June 20, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] Exploded mines and approaching crisis

Following the battle of balloons between South Korea and North Korea with leaflets and trash, ominous scuffles are continuing in the Demilitarized Zone on the Korean Peninsula. According to a briefing by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff on Monday, dozens of North Korean soldiers were killed or injured when landmines exploded around the border. Separately, dozens of North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and retreated to the north of the line after receiving

June 20, 2024

[Sławomir Sierakowski] Real winners of European election

The way to defeat the populist far right, it seems, is to oppose it tooth and nail. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk can attest to that. Since ousting Poland’s populist Law and Justice (PiS) party from power last fall, he has been uncompromising in opposing the anti-democratic illiberalism that it represents. And in the European Parliament election, his Civic Coalition (KO) had the best performance of all major mainstream parties in the EU, securing a surprising 37.1 percent of the vote

June 19, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] On the 74th anniversary of the Korean War

June 25 is the 74th anniversary of the Korean War. In 2050, The Korean War will be a century-old tragic disaster that devastated the Korean Peninsula in the mid-20th century. Sadly, it has already become “the forgotten war,” and by 2050, perhaps no one will remember it at all. Still, however, a question arises, “Will South Korea be safe and sound until 2050?” We certainly hope so. Yet, considering belligerent North Korea’s frequent provocations, we cannot ignore the

June 18, 2024

[Lee Byung-jong] Trash balloons and psychological warfare

After the end of the Cold War, the first president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, confessed that his lifelong fight against Communism and for democracy was inspired by propaganda broadcasting from the US government. As a dissident, poet and playwright, he spent a few hours every night listening to the Voice of America or Radio Free Europe that broadcast news and pop culture from the US and the West. Through those programs, he began to yearn for freedom and democracy. In fact, many experts

June 18, 2024

[Grace Kao] Trendz ‘glows’ toward global stage

I first saw Trendz -- Havit, Leon, Yoonwoo, Hankook, ra.L, Eunil, and Yechan -- outside of “Music Bank” and then “Show! Music Core” during their fan meetings in April 2023. I vividly remember their stage performances of “New Dayz.” They wore baseball uniforms at "Music Bank," so Yechan’s slide at the beginning of the song was especially cute. Besides, I loved the song. However, what was most remarkable was that all seven members not only spoke

June 18, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] Labor market and domestic demand

Among numerous indicators used to measure a certain aspect or aspects of economic activities, labor market statistics are widely known for reflecting economic conditions belatedly compared to some other leading indicators such as sentiment indices. Moreover, labor data is one of the least dynamic indicators in South Korea due to the country’s rigid labor market structure. In contrast to countries with more flexible labor market structures, such as the United States, the unemployment rate i

June 17, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] Distorted myth of strong response

On the Korean Peninsula, military tensions have surged to another high. The tensions began to increase on May 10, when North Korean defector groups sent balloons with anti-North Korea leaflets from South Korea to the North. On May 28, the North sent hundreds of balloons filled with garbage, including excrement, and released a statement that mocked the same balloons as freedom of expression from the South and that balloons from the North are in violation of international law. On May 31, South K

June 14, 2024

[Robert Fouser] Seoul as a coffee capital

The other day, I was asked what comes to mind when I think of Seoul. I thought for a moment and answered: coffee. Great coffee is everywhere. Judging by the number of cafes, variety of flavors and level of consumption, Seoul has become one of the world’s biggest coffee capitals. How and why did Seoul become a great coffee city? Coffee arrived in Korea with imperialism in the late 19th century. Emperor Gojong loved coffee and often drank it at the Jeonggwanheon in at the palace Deoksugung.

June 14, 2024

[Mariana Mazzucato, Giovanni Tagliani] Economic shortsightedness is jeopardizing Italy‘s G7 ambitions

On June 13-15, Italy will host the 50th G7 summit in Fasano. Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government announced an ambitious Africa-centered development plan and invited the leaders of several African countries and the African Union to attend -- the largest number of representatives from the continent at a G7 summit since 2017. Meloni unveiled her Africa initiative, known as the Mattei Plan, at the Italy-Africa Summit earlier this year. It aims to establish internat

June 12, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] What to do with ‘no kids zones’

“No kids zones” in South Korea have caught the attention of the foreign press lately. In Le Monde, for example, an article appeared with the title: “South Korea’s ‘no kids zones’ flourish in cafes and restaurants.” Some time ago, The Washington Post, too, reported on South Korea’s no kids zones in an article entitled, “Is it discrimination if you can’t bring your kids to a restaurant?” According to the Le Monde article, the low bi

June 12, 2024

[Career Compass] Craft yourself as a unique talent

With more than 23 years of experience, Dong Hyun (Ryan) Kim, senior director of Asia Pacific Regional Data and Analytics at the Coca-Cola Company, based in Singapore, is recognized as a global expert in his field. I met with him to hear about his career path. Q: You are a global expert in data and analytics. What is data and analytics? A: Simply put, it enables faster and better decision-making, which ultimately leads to better in-market execution. Companies typically have three core business

June 11, 2024

[Grace Kao] International fans on the way to 'Music Bank'

One of my favorite activities when I’m in South Korea is to watch the idols arrive at KBS’ “Music Bank” on Friday morning. While “Music Bank” is broadcast Friday evenings, there is a promenade of idols who arrive in the morning in preparation for prerecording and their live performance later in the day. Fans can line up near the entrance and watch them pose for the official photographers before entering the building. This may be the closest they will get to se

June 11, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] Divide between exports, domestic demand

South Korea’s revised gross domestic product data, released late last week, showed its economy grew at the fastest rate in just over two years during the first quarter of this year. While the overall growth rate matched the earlier official estimates, details from the revised data raise a louder alarm about the magnitude of the slump in domestic demand. The country’s GDP grew by a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent in the January-March period over the previous quarter, the same as the o

June 10, 2024

[Paolo Cesarini, Christophe Leclercq, Maria Joao Rodrigues] Europe needs a democracy commissioner

When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took office in December 2019, she established a “new push for European democracy” as one of her six policy priorities. After the European Parliament elections on June 6-9, one of the biggest threats to democracy still needs to be adequately addressed: the risks confronting Europe’s media sector. To be sure, EU lawmakers have taken important steps that will help safeguard media. The Digital Markets Act, limiting the power o

June 7, 2024

[Room Tone] Thoughts on talent compensation

Recently, there has been a surge in discussions about the Korean television industry, focusing particularly on the rising production costs of scripted dramas. A key area drawing media attention is the economics of talent compensation, especially for A-list talent at the very top of every casting list. In order to better understand the economics of talent compensation, let us turn to the Korean film industry. For the past two decades, the Korean film industry has thrived on the success of its dom

June 6, 2024