Opinion
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South Korea's Strategic Edge in AI Amid Potential Bubble
Nvidia announced record earnings on Nov. 19, with third-quarter revenue reaching $57 billion, a 62% increase from the previous year. Despite a net profit margin of 53% and net income of $31.9 billion, its stock fell 6.8% the next day. Wall Street attributes this to extended collection periods for big tech companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, indicating uncertain returns on AI investments. OpenAI faces more severe challenges. Microsoft, its parent company, has inves
November 24, 2025
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The ancient Korean ideal that could heal a polarized world
The world today is being torn apart by widening polarization. Few places illustrate this more vividly than the United States. President Donald Trump’s “MAGA (Make America Great Again)” agenda—centered on reviving American manufacturing, cutting taxes, and tightening border controls—did produce short-term economic gains and job growth. Yet it also deepened the divides between the wealthy and the working poor, between regions, and across racial and cu
November 22, 2025
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OPINION: South Korea's youth losing faith in job market
South Korea is wrestling with a quiet crisis: the steady erosion of job prospects for its young people. The National Data Office’s latest employment report, released on Nov. 12, paints a stark picture. The employment rate for people ages 15 to 29 has been negative for a year and a half. The number of unemployed 30-somethings has climbed to 310,000 — a 22-year high — while roughly 400,000 people in their 20s are also out of work. In total, more than 700,000
November 21, 2025
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Putin's obsession with empire must end
History occasionally presents moments when the world can see, with exceptional clarity, who is pushing it toward chaos and who is pulling it back from the brink. Today, that contrast is unmistakable. Donald Trump—despite the controversies surrounding him, despite the anger his tariff wars still provoke—has stunned the world by helping open a path toward a calmer Middle East. His aggressive pressure on Iran’s proxies and his unflinching stance against Hamas ha
November 20, 2025
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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