The Internet is a great place for anonymity. A woman can go into a chat room on the Web and pretend to be a man. A teenager can pretend to be a lawyer and give out free legal advice. A blogger with a pseudonym can dispense inside gossip about the government or Hollywood or the… Continue reading The End of Anonymity
The United States currently spends more than $400 billion a year on the military. This is nearly one-half of the entire global expenditure on military affairs. Two nearest U.S. rivals in military spending, China and Russia, are not even close: combined, they spend only one-fourth of what the Pentagon does. North Korea spends about 1… Continue reading The Perils of Imperial Indigestion
Korean Quarterly, Fall 2005
Korean Quarterly, Fall 2005
Korean Quarterly, Spring 2005
When the Bush administration was mounting its attack on Iraq in 2003, former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz spoke of the chain effect that Saddam Hussein’s ouster would have on the Middle East. Iraq would be the first Arab democracy. Other peoples in the region would rise up against their leaders. The U.S. decision to… Continue reading Connecting the Democratic Dots
The bravest American journalist does not travel to war zones. He does not go undercover to write about organized crime or report on the latest deadly medical epidemic. The bravest U.S. journalist spends most of his time in an office at The New York Times. In fact, he is not even a journalist. Paul Krugman’s… Continue reading What’s Wrong with the U.S. Media
When I lived in Moscow in 1985, in the first year of the Gorbachev era, it was hard to get a decent meal. I waited on line with my friends for hours just to eat a mediocre pizza with a sour tomato at its center. It was not the same everywhere in the Soviet bloc.… Continue reading The Restaurant Theory of Reform
Avoid “dead water,” the website advises, or else risk cardiovascular disease. According to Nanotechnology Limited, dead water is distilled or purified water that lacks minerals the body needs. The Chinese company claims that its product “nano water,” currently available in Hong Kong supermarkets, is not only pure but has enhanced properties that fight inflammation, cancer… Continue reading The Evolution of Frankenfoods
I’ve just ordered the Mixed Message salad at McDonald’s. That’s the Caesar salad of mostly iceberg lettuce, a couple grape tomatoes, a sprinkle of shredded parmesan, croutons, and a generous slab of fried chicken strips. The salad part is not bad for me, particularly since I opt for the low fat vinaigrette, courtesy of Paul… Continue reading The Soul of the New Fast Food
Imagine having to go to a doctor for a prescription to buy the ingredients for dinner. It’s not such a farfetched scenario. From testosterone and tetracycline to zeranol and genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, enough chemicals circulate in our animal products to stock a medicine cabinet. Because our meat and dairy are still over the… Continue reading Chemical Farm
Journal of Asian Studies, August 2005
New Politics, Winter 2005
Alternet, April 14, 2005
Alternet, June 10, 2005
President Bush’s “axis of evil,” in targeting only Iraq, Iran and North Korea, was apparently an understatement. Saddam Hussein, the ayatollahs and “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il were just the tip of the iceberg. The backers of new legislation before Congress have a much bolder vision: to “achieve universal democracy” by 2025 by removing —… Continue reading All Democracy, All the Time
Asia Pacific Resource Center, Stanford, February 2005
Though it would be difficult to find anyone in the United States who would praise North Korea for its dismal human rights record, this consensus of opinion by no means extends to practical foreign policy. In other words, there is broad agreement on what is wrong in North Korea, from the political labor camps to… Continue reading To Link or Not to Link: The Human Rights Question in North Korea
Hope springs eternal that the Bush administration, in its new post-election configuration, will finally get serious about the North Korean nuclear crisis. According to the most optimistic assessment, the new appointments at the State Department–Condoleezza Rice, Robert Zoellick, Christopher Hill–will leaven the administration’s hard-line policy with a measure of pragmatism. This more realistic diplomacy will… Continue reading Round Two of Bush vs. North Korea
On September 19, North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear program. As part of the same agreement, which followed the latest round of the Six Party Talks, the United States pledged not to attack or invade North Korea, to coexist peacefully with the country, and to work toward normalized relations. The United States and… Continue reading Uses of Ambiguity in North Korea Agreement
The South Korean farmer snaps a cucumber in two to show me the drops of moisture that bead to the surface around the break. “If you put it back together and wait a minute, then it will stick together,” Yang Yoon Seok says. Sure enough, he easily rejoins the severed halves and the cucumber is… Continue reading The Legacy of Lee Kyung Hae
Those crazy North Koreans. They’ve promised in principle to give up their nuclear weapons, but they insist on generating nuclear power for peaceful purposes. With Pyongyang and Washington at loggerheads over this point, the Six-Party Talks to resolve the nuclear crisis in Northeast Asia have taken a recess after two weeks of promising discussions. U.S.… Continue reading Atoms for Peace
Somenthing extraordinary is happening in Korea, and Washington appears to be paying no attention. The two Koreas have plunged headlong in to unknown territory: reunification. For 50 years, aside from the occasional defector, it was impossible to cross the demilitarized zone dividing the Korean Peninsula. Today a bus leaves the capital of South Korea every… Continue reading Korea’s Slow-Motion Reunification
North Korea’s public declaration of nuclear status does not definitively prove that it possesses nuclear weapons. What’s clear is that Pyongyang expects no changes in Bush administration policy. The announcement and North Korea’s decision to stop participating in the international negotiations with the United States and its neighbors known as “six-party talks” was designed to… Continue reading Dealing with the Powers in Pyongyang
“Super-Size Me, Tokyo Style,” Alternet, December 17, 2004 “North Korean Surprises,” Munhwa Ilbo, December 7, 2004 “Asia Holds the Key to the Future of GM Food,” YaleGlobal Online, December 2, 2004 “U.S.-ROK Relations after the Elections,” ZNet, November 26, 2004 “Election Day Hangover,” Munhwa Ilbo, November 2, 2004 “Untangling the Knot: The Future of U.S.-South Korean Security… Continue reading 2004 Archives
Americans are fat. Visitors to the United States are often astonished by the serving sizes at restaurants and the waist sizes of clothing in department stores. One-third of the U.S. population is obese, two-thirds are overweight, and the Journal of International Obesity warns of an ？epidemic.?SPAN style=”mso-spacerun: yes “> This isn？t just a problem… Continue reading Fat and Foreign Policy
On May 1, the European Union nearly doubled its membership and barely anyone seemed to notice. Although ten countries joined the EU, adding 34 percent more territory and 28 percent more people to the now 25-state structure, news coverage was relatively scant. The world’s attention has been focused on Iraq and the run-up to the… Continue reading A New and Improved Europe
Americans go to the polls today to choose a president and a direction for the country to take over the next four years. As always, given the indomitable optimism of Americans, voters are hoping that one party or the other will be given the mandate to solve the major problems of the day. Whoever wins… Continue reading Election Day Hangover
North Korean Surprises U.S. pundits and policymakers routinely label North Korea “unpredictable.” Yes, Pyongyang has sprung a number of surprises on the world. It launched a rocket over Japan in 1998. It pursued a secret uranium enrichment program. It has sent boats and submarines on mysterious missions to South Korea and Japan. But once you… Continue reading North Korean Surprises
China has come a long way since 1989. Its expanding economy is the envy of the world and the engine of growth in East Asia. Entry to the lucrative China market is sought by businesses competing ferociously worldwide. Internationally, Beijing has also been playing a larger and more constructive role, as in its mediation in… Continue reading China: It’s the Money, not Tiananmen, that Counts