The Korea Herald

Articles by Kim Seong-kon

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November 19, 2019 Viewpoints

[Kim Seong-kon] From liberator to tyrant in ‘Game of Thrones’

Movies and television dramas are excellent social documents in that they faithfully reflect societal change and the alteration of consciousness throughout history. Sometimes they illuminate us with p...

[Kim Seong-kon] The Ottoman Empire’s fatal mistake

The Ottoman Empire, which was founded in the late 13th century and thrived for more than 600 years, resembled the Roman Empire in the sense that it was a vast imperial enterprise that encompassed thr...

November 5, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] “Animal Farm” still appeals to us in 2019

George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is widely known as a satirical fable of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Although he was a democratic socialist himself, Orwell was deeply disillusioned by Stalin and com...

October 29, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] Watching ‘Battleship’ in 2019

Recently, I watched the 2012 Hollywood science fiction action film “Battleship,” which was about an alien invasion and the US Navy’s desperate attempts to stop it. While watching the film, two things...

October 22, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] We, too, can inadvertently become terrorists

Today we live in a violent world. Every day, war and terrorism are exterminating human lives somewhere on this planet. In advanced countries, violence is not tolerated, and is strictly prohibited by ...

October 15, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] ‘Seoul: Winter 1964’ vs. winter in 2019

In his epoch-making short story, “Seoul: Winter 1964,” novelist Kim Seung-ok brilliantly renders the bleak landscape of Seoul in the mid-Sixties when Koreans had to suffer the ruthless military dicta...

October 8, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] Experiencing deja vu, standing at a cul-de-sac

When I returned to Seoul from New York City to join the faculty of Seoul National University in the early 1980s, South Korea was sharply divided into two mutually antagonizing factions: anti-governme...

September 24, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] Anti-virus software can be a virus, too

Many people enjoy the “Terminator” film series because the action-packed futuristic science fiction films are fun to watch, thanks to breathtaking action, time travel and enthralling cutting-edge tec...

September 17, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] Korea in the eyes of a lawyer/historian

Recently, I came across a book by Lee Seog-yeon, a famous Korean lawyer and civil rights activist, entitled “Sima Qian’s Korea Travelogue.” Sima Qian was a legendary Chinese historian of the Han Dyna...

September 10, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] S. Korea should choose Affluent Boulevard, not Poverty Lane

There are many funny street names in the Unisted States. Some reflect positive nuance and idiosyncrasy, while others sound negative and weird. Google provides a host of funny street or road names in ...

September 3, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] Noticing the invisible things that are precious in life

Although the famous maxim says “Seeing is believing,” it is amazing how many precious things in life are, in fact, invisible. Take air, for example. Without air, we cannot survive and will die in a f...

August 27, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] We should put ourselves in other people’s shoes

Koreans are known to be people of “jeong” or affection. However, many Koreans do not seem to be thoughtful or considerate. Perhaps jeong does not encompass thoughtfulness or caring about others. Neve...

August 20, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] Proverbs that reflect indiscreet attitude of our society

Proverbs and maxims reflect the society from which they originate. Thus they vary depending on the peculiarities of nations, cultures and civilizations. If you are familiar with a certain nation’s pr...

August 13, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] The moment we become emotional, we lose the battle

Regardless of our nationality, we all have merits and flaws. Of course, it all depends on people, but sometimes we unwittingly exhibit collective characteristics that contribute to the public image o...

August 6, 2019
Viewpoints
[Kim Seong-kon] Rereading Richard Kim’s ‘The Martyred’ in 2019

When I first came across Richard Kim’s “The Martyred” in 1967, I was an intellectually adventurous and emotionally vulnerable college freshman. At the time, I was intrigued and mesmerized by the nove...

July 30, 2019
Viewpoints

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