중앙데일리

Northeast Asia trying the U-turn

Will the 21st century be the era of Asia? In 1985, the appreciation of the Japanese yen and a troubled American economy seemed to assure that the 21st century would be the era of Japan and Japanese culture. But around 1989, with the Cold War over, the United States set out on the road of economic revival through information technology. On the contrary, Japan entered the "Lost Decade" as its economy began to ail. But recently the United Stat…

Apr 18,2002
Hands off, Uncle Sam

Several winds are blowing across Korea. There is the political wind of Roh Moo-hyun, whose bid for the presidency is stirring political circles. Other winds are bringing yellow sand from China to Korea. And winds of war are blowing, as more observers fear that growing tensions between the United States and North Korea will bring a crisis as soon as August. Of course there are also warm breezes blowing, hinting of a resumed dialogue between the…

Apr 17,2002
Noise or nostalgia?

Scratchy noises and pops in the speakers from vinyl records were considered a major annoyance in the past, but recently it struck me that I have some feelings of nostalgia for them. One CD was even issued with those sounds inserted. The sound in television ads of clothing being pounded while it is being washed also reminds us of our childhood. I miss the times when I fell asleep lying on the wooden floor of the main room, listening to my moth…

Apr 16,2002
The Gray Lady gets some rouge

When the New York Times faced a financial crisis in the 1970s, it had two options to weather the storm. One was to cut the number of reporters on its staff, which was much larger than the staff of its rivals. The other option was to fill the paper with more substantive articles to attract more readers. Abe Rosenthal, then chief editor of the Times, decided on the latter course, and Arthur Sulzberger, chairman of the company, agreed with Mr. R…

Apr 15,2002
'Where's this guy coming from?'

WASHINGTON, D.C. "Roh who?" Even to distinguished U.S. experts on Korean affairs who gathered at the Korea-U.S. 21st Century Forum last Monday and Tuesday, the name Roh Moo-hyun didn't quite ring a bell. Everyone seemed to be curious about how a relatively unknown politician like Mr. Roh could be leading the Millennium Democratic Party's presidential primaries, ahead of Rhee In-je, and even besting the Grand National Party's Lee Hoi-chang …

Apr 13,2002
Lose language, gain art

Words, even compliments like a "pioneer" or "genius," are useless in describing a great artist. In order to truly understand Paik Nam-june, a Korean-born video artist, you should look at his sloppy signature. Mr. Paik recently sent his to the Gyeonggi provincial government for a signboard; the province plans to build a museum named for him by 2004. The letters in the signature have their own ways of expressing themselves. They are not aligned…

Apr 12,2002
King's automobile legacy

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., the famous African-American activist, delivered his memorable "I have a dream" speech on August 28, 1963, in front of 200,000 protesters gathered in Washington D.C. He asked for full human rights for African-Americans and a world where justice flows like a river. His speech moved the hearts of Americans, and he received the Nobel Peace Prize the next year. Mr. King rose against the injustice and discriminat…

Apr 11,2002
New politics, wired politics

The election campaign season has come. Whenever I come to the office and log on to my computer, I see my mail box full of e-mail from candidates. In some of those messages, senders are clearly identified as candidates or their supporters, but other mail comes from senders who hide or disguise their names because they are delivering information unfavorable to some candidates. The flood of e-mail and information related to political propaganda …

Apr 10,2002
The kick of gambling

With the World Cup approaching, gambling fever seems to be on the rise. In the countries that will take part in the World Cup, and in the countries that will only watch the matches, betting packages are being developed. The World Cup games are likely to bring about a world gambling festival. Companies that operate gambling Web sites are busy designing elaborate strategies to maximize their profits during the World Cup. Perhaps the country wher…

Apr 09,2002
Sinister, dexterous politicians

The order in which people name the four directions varies by country. In Korea and Japan, people recite the four cardinal compass points as east, west, south and north. Chinese will say east, south, west and north. English speakers say they are north, south, east and west. Supposedly knights in medieval Europe kept to the left when walking or riding down the road, because they usually wore their swords on their left side. If a knight kept to t…

Apr 08,2002

1 ... 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 ... 1111