중앙데일리

Center of the Pacific Ocean era

My brother Moo-hyun: Though I have never met you, I want to call you brother, because I want to have a warm and frank conversation with you at the start of the new year. Before the presidential election, I heard some people say, "I will emigrate if A becomes president," or "I will leave Korea if B is elected." I don't know whether the people that hated you are now preparing to emigrate, but I hope that those people will remain in this dyn…

Jan 06,2003
Youth is all in the mind

The Minnesota State Medical Association defines the elderly as: 1) Those who think they are old; 2) Those who think they have learned enough; 3) Those who frequently use the phrase, "Why should I be doing that at this age?" 4) Those who say tomorrow is unknowable; 5) Those who have no interest in the activities of younger people; 6) Those who prefer talking to listening; 7) Those who reminisce about the "good old days." T…

Jan 04,2003
Mine eyes have seen the glory

The Mason-Dixon Line was surveyed by the English team of Charles Mason, a mathematician and astronomer, and Jeremiah Dixon, a mathematician and land surveyor, between 1763 and 1767. The line is the boundary between the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The survey was completed up to the western limit of Maryland in 1773; in 1779, the line was extended to mark the southern boundary of Pennsylvania with western Virginia. Before the Civil Wa…

Jan 03,2003
Don't be like him, Mr. Roh

Koreans use the word tasanjiseok quite often. The phrase is quoted from "Shijing," or Book of Odes, from ancient China. The literal meaning is that the ordinary stones in the mountains of others can be useful to grind the jade in my mountain. In other words, even a gentleman can learn something from the behaviors or words of a worthless person. There is another similar yet more straightforward word: banmyeongyosa. Mao Zedong reportedly first u…

Dec 31,2002
Slip of the tongue?

Mental stress or hysteria makes most people queasy. Foul odors or sickening sights, figuratively or literally, can trigger an unpleasant reaction. United Liberal Democrat Chairman Kim Jong-pil recently complimented President-elect Roh Moo-hyun as "candlelight during the daytime." That remark could have triggered a queasy feeling in a lot of stomachs. "Some people, who, usually, have not been recognized by others, will bring light and joy af…

Dec 30,2002
Hawks, doves and coexistence

The most successful animal life form on earth is the insect, and the most prolific of any life form is the plant. Vegetation, in its total mass, far outstrips the total mass of all animal life. And there is a connection between those two prolific life forms that accounts for their success. They have learned the wisdom of coexistence. Many plants need insects to transport their pollen and the plants repay the favor by providing food for the in…

Dec 28,2002
Living and working together

In a special Christmas report last year, the British magazine The Economist described the hard day's work of a Filipina housemaid in Hong Kong: Late at night, she took out chinaware from the cupboard, arranged it neatly in the dishwasher and curled up in the cupboard to sleep. The article, titled "An Anthropology of Happiness," looked at the true meaning of happiness by looking at the Filipina maid community. According to the article, about 1…

Dec 27,2002
Still friends after all these years

Since the election of Roh Moo-hyun as president of South Korea, the foreign media have been expressing interest in the future of relations between South Korea and the United States. The Wall Street Journal said "South Korea held an election yesterday and North Korea won." Most U.S. media said Mr. Roh, a moderate left-winger, could increase tension with the United States and, if things go wrong, his victory could seriously threaten the alliance…

Dec 26,2002
Good losers

Throughout modern history, leaders have called for social unity during a transition period. President Charles de Gaulle of France and Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany, the latter credited for unifying East and West Germany, are good examples. Two hundred years ago, when Thomas Jefferson was elected as U.S. president, he sent letters titled "Reconciliation and reform" to his countrymen. After a close contest -- Jefferson tied with Aaron Burr …

Dec 24,2002
The cost of victory

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) faced his final battle on fields near the village of Waterloo, in the southeastern part of Belgium, on June 18, 1815. In that battle, the French Army and the allied forces of Britain, Prussia and other countries fought so fiercely that 55,000 young men on both sides perished. Napoleon's loss caused France to exile him to the island of St. Helena. He never left that lonely outpost and died there six years later. T…

Dec 23,2002

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