The Korea Herald

[Kim Seong-kon] Learning from inspirational phrases on internet or in films

ViewpointsSept 30, 2020

Recently on the internet, I came across a rather penetrating passage that says, “The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every frag...
[Kim Seong-kon] 10 propositions for today’s populist leaders

ViewpointsSept 23, 2020

Today, quite a few countries suffer from populist leaders who are tearing their nations apart by dividing people with factional brawls and crippling the economy by spending money unscrupulously to fl...
[Kim Seong-kon] How democracy deteriorates in the pandemic era

ViewpointsSept 16, 2020

The famous motto of the US state of New Hampshire is “Live Free or Die.” The phrase is adopted from a toast by New Hampshire’s famed Gen. John Stark of the American Revolutionary War, who wrote in 18...
[Kim Seong-kon] We should be like the ‘Snows of Kilimanjaro‘

ViewpointsSept 9, 2020

Recently I came across “Snows of Kilimanjaro,” a collection of English poems by a Korean-American poet, Yearn Hong Choi. The title intrigued me because I very much admire Ernest Hemingway’s short sto...
[Kim Seong-kon] Things that make us sad these days

ViewpointsSept 2, 2020

When German poet Anton Schnack wrote the celebrated essay “Things That Make Us Sad” last century, he referred to sentimental, melancholic objects such as a small dead bird found in the garden, drizzl...
[Kim Seong-kon] Repondez s’il vous plait!

ViewpointsAug 26, 2020

When you receive a card that says RSVP, which stands for the French “repondez s’il vous plait,” it means you must reply immediately whether you accept or decline the invitation. The same thing goes f...
[Kim Seong-kon] Korean ministries in the eyes of foreigners

ViewpointsAug 19, 2020

Sometimes outsiders can see what insiders cannot; that is why foreigners’ perspectives are often illuminating. Recently, foreign commentators have expressed concern and puzzlement about the policies ...
[Kim Seong-kon] Memorable phrases in films

ViewpointsAug 12, 2020

We tend to think that movies are merely a form of entertainment, but this is only partially true. In fact, a film is an excellent cultural text and an important social document. Furthermore, a film i...
[Kim Seong-kon] Good intentions may bring bad outcomes

ViewpointsAug 5, 2020

We tend to believe we are doing the right thing when our intentions are good. Often enough, however, we realize in retrospect that we were wrong at the time despite our good intentions. This is espec...
[Kim Seong-kon] Waiting for Korea’s ‘New Mutants’

ViewpointsJul 29, 2020

In 1964, Leslie Fiedler, a distinguished American literary critic, announced the advent of the Age of the New Mutants. In his monumental essay, “The New Mutants,” Fielder envisioned the American yout...
[Kim Seong-kon] Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf

ViewpointsJul 22, 2020

In the famous fairy tale “Red Riding Hood,” a girl goes on an errand to bring food to her sickly grandmother who lives in the woods. Aware of this, the Big Bad Wolf rushes ahead to her grandmother’s ...
[Kim Seong-kon] When we are proud of our judges

ViewpointsJul 15, 2020

Recently, a BBC reporter, Laura Bicker, wrote via Twitter, “Prosecution in South Korea are asking for an 18-month sentence for a man who stole 18 eggs because he was hungry.” This was the same amoun...
[Kim Seong-kon] Remembering those who laid down their lives for us

ViewpointsJul 8, 2020

Recently, a friend sent me a succinct but powerful essay written by Lee Jung-woong, a former TBC producer, on the topic, “What is America to us?” The friend who thoughtfully sent me this essay wrote ...
[Kim Seong-kon] Salute to the fallen soldiers of our country

ViewpointsJul 1, 2020

The other day, I came across the 2009 HBO film, “Taking Chance.” Watching the movie based on a true story, I spent a riveting hour and 17 minutes, deeply moved by the way how Americans treat their fa...
[Kim Seong-kon] On the 70th anniversary of the Korean War

ViewpointsJun 24, 2020

On June 25, 2020, Korea commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Korea War. It means that the babies who were born in 1950 when the war broke out are now 70 years old. It is sad to think that those w...