KoreaTimes - Columnists

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Columnists

bernard Rowan

Autumn is coming!

As we enter the latter half of September, I hope fall is coming soon to Korea. I remember my visits and sabbatical there and the lovely season. The Northern Hemisphere continues to devolve into a subtropical zone, absent climate policies on a global scale. Fall remains a welcome respite from the tumult of weather crises in late summer. In all of that, I'm thinking of dried persimmons, apples, Yangsuri, and Bulguk Temple.

2023-09-17 16:35

The pivot continues

Back in the Barack Obama era, the phrase “pivot to Asia” began to find currency. Washington's elite, and a good many of the non-elite, recognized the rise of China and her growing assertiveness in the Asian region

2023-09-04 16:35

K-pop and fandom

The Korean wave or hallyu is a deepening trend in Korean civilization. Korean performers on television and in music lead the wave. Recently, I've learned about various kinds of idolizing and obsessive fans: “sasaeng” fans, anti-fans and “stan” fans. I also found Koreaboo.com's explanation of K-pop fan types from “pyramids” to “liquid types.” I've honestly never seen the breadth and depth of self-identification and complexity that characterizes present-day fandom around K-pop. Now that I'm older, it strikes me all as a bit silly, until I remember my own youthful fandom.

2023-08-20 16:35

For the late Mr. Moonbin

The other day while watching YouTube on my TV, I saw videos of some K-pop stars. Among them were several of the late Moonbin, and Sanha, dressed in purple and dancing to a song that seems popular recently.

2023-08-07 16:35

The wonder of self-publishing

Recently, I completed work on a short biography of my maternal grandfather, Louis David Socey, Sr. My mother, Mary Anne Socey Rowan, wrote the book in honor of his life. Daddy Lou, as we grandchildren called him, was a self-made lawyer. He left home younger than an adult to join the U.S. Calvary. He went on to be an early member of the Fingerprinting Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Later he was an agent and Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He served in many places throughout the United States. He chased Pretty Boy Floyd and other crimina...

2023-07-23 16:35

A leader for Korean democracy

Democracy is hard work, all the time. When colonists came to America, many sought a New Jerusalem, a beachhead on the third rock from the Sun against monarchical ambition, religious warfare and discrimination and servitude.

2023-07-10 16:35

Of RVs and a more nomadic way of life

My wife and I visited recently with friends who have retired. They are traveling the continental United States in a comfortable RV or recreational vehicle.

2023-06-25 16:35

Display and the new bipolarity

Recently, Chinese and Russian jets flew side-by-side into the zone next to South Korean airspace. This display of unity betrays the new bipolar world between the Alliance for Freedom and the Alliance for Autocracy. Much Chinese and Soviet behavior in the skies or elsewhere is display. Flybys, cutoffs and maneuvers “challenge” other nations and are dangerous and unnecessary. Announced war exercises are a professional and transparent matter. The risk of miscalculations and unintended reactions increases with displays.

2023-06-12 16:35

Leaning together to freedom

These days, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has continued its diplomatic efforts. They succeed in working in unison with the United States and Japan on Northeast Asian security. The major gambit concerns China, not North Korea, though Kim Jong-un continues the usual antics to demand attention. Yoon and his government face criticism for working with Japan, including from China. I'd say the latter is the surest sign Yoon and South Korea are moving in the right direction.

2023-05-25 18:10

It's not all in a title

I'm not a fan of Camilla's title change. She will soon ascend from Camilla Queen Consort to Queen Camilla. This is solely because she is the monarch's wife. I don't agree with Charles in naming Camilla Queen. Why? Because she and he immorally carried on a marriage-breaking affair while he enthralled the world with Diana, his first wife - jealous though he was of her.

2023-05-01 16:40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Top 10 Stories

1	4 in 10 Koreans experience overdue wages: survey

2	PHOTOSHarvest season arrives

3	Tanghulu captures hearts of Korean millennials and Gen Z

4	SK earthon begins crude oil production in South China Sea

5	K-pop fans rally in Seoul against luxury brands' failure on climate action

6	Homeplus' private brand products hit store shelves in Mongolia

7	Korean gov't faces international criticism for R&D budget cuts

8	EXCLUSIVELawmakers to submit resolution urging China to free N. Korean escapees

9	LG Uplus, Hanwha develop ceiling-mounted EV charging system

10	Main opposition chief in showdown with prosecutors over arrest

DARKROOM