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  OPINION: How Korea's medical obsession is undermining its AI aspirations As the era of artificial intelligence reshapes the global economy, one reality has become impossible to ignore: South Korea is falling behind in the race for talent. While other nations aggressively cultivate scientists, engineers and researchers, South Korea continues to funnel many of its brightest students into medical schools — an imbalance that risks undermining the country’s long-term competitiveness. The contrast was laid bare in a KBS documentary that aired November 20, 2025
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  Indonesia's High-Speed Rail: A Debt Trap? The murder of a South Korean student in Cambodia has sparked concerns over online scams. Chinese crime syndicates lured South Koreans with promises of high salaries, only to detain and force them into scams such as romance fraud and phishing. While these activities occurred in Phnom Penh, the main hub was Sihanoukville, influenced by China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The city, home to Cambodia's largest port, saw a surge in Chinese investment, transforming it in November 17, 2025
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  OPINION: In Trump's tariff world, South Korea learns cost of compromise When South Korea and the United States released a joint fact sheet on Nov. 14, it marked the end of 10 months of bruising trade negotiations set in motion by U.S. President Donald Trump. The agreement is sweeping: Seoul will commit $200 billion to U.S.-designated projects and another $150 billion to the American shipbuilding industry, on top of a $150 billion investment pledge made in August. In exchange, Washington will cap tariffs on South Korean automobiles and pharmaceutica November 17, 2025
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  OPINION: South Korea needs AI strategy that matches its demographic crisis South Korea is confronting a demographic reckoning unlike anything in its modern history. The country’s fertility rate fell to a record low of 0.75 in 2024 — the lowest in the world — and its working-age population has been shrinking since 2020. By next year, older adults will make up more than 20 percent of the population, a figure expected to reach 34.4 percent by 2040. These shifts threaten to upend the foundations of the nation’s economic growth, strain November 14, 2025
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  OPINION: Debates over raising retirement age emerge as South Korea becomes super-aged society SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - With South Korea now officially a "super-aged society," concerns are mounting over how to secure stable income for its rapidly growing elderly population. This has reignited discussions about further raising the retirement age, a decade after it was last set at 60 in 2013. Proposals to raise the retirement age to 65 have sparked mixed reactions, exposing generational and social divides over how and when such changes should take effect. The ruling Democrati November 11, 2025
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  OPINION: Behind EV boom lies growing pile of battery waste The global shift to electric vehicles has hit a temporary slowdown. Sales have cooled, incentives are waning, and skeptics are asking whether the EV boom has peaked. Yet the slowdown is likely to last only a few years. The market will recover as costs fall and technology improves. What deserves far more attention, however, is what happens after the battery runs out. Batteries make up roughly 40 percent of an electric vehicle’s cost. They are the beating heart of the EV November 11, 2025
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  OPINION: South Korea's 260,000 GPUs and vision for AI hub As artificial intelligence becomes the engine of global competition, nations are racing to secure not only the technology but also the computing power that makes it possible. South Korea’s recent partnership with NVIDIA — acquiring 260,000 of the latest AI graphics processing units — is more than a technical upgrade. It is a statement of intent that the country aims to be a serious player in the new digital order. The deal has quadrupled South Korea's na November 11, 2025
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  OPINION: C5+1 Summit — A New Chapter for Central Asia's Growth and Partnership SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - On November 6, 2025, the C5+1 Summit between the United States and the five Central Asian nations convened in Washington, D.C., marking the 10th anniversary of the framework’s launch and opening a new chapter for regional cooperation. Currently, six major global partners — the United States, Japan, the European Unio November 7, 2025
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  OPINION: Investing in innovation is South Korea's best defense SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Last week, the world’s attention turned to Gyeongju, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the APEC summit. The two leaders agreed to ease trade and resource tensions, offering a glimmer of hope for the global economy. Yet the thorniest issues — Taiwan, security, and the future of global supply chains — remain unresolved. Their meeting, the first since the 2019 G20 summit in Osak November 7, 2025
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  OPINION: Greece and Korea: A living dialogue between civilizations SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - Throughout history, countless thinkers and philosophers have drawn inspiration from ancient Greece. Among them, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) held a lifelong admiration for Greek civilization, seeing in its art, philosophy, and culture the supreme ideals of beauty, harmony, and humanity. He once proclaimed, “Become like the Greeks! They lived divinely.” Ins November 4, 2025