K-Women Talk There Is an Elephant in the Room
The room is filled with familiar scents and light. There is the aroma of coffee, open books, and the television is broadcasting. Amidst it all, a giant elephant stands in the room. The moment this massive figure comes into view, you flinch, then quickly close your eyes and dismiss it as a transparent elephant. This is a psychological evasion, hoping it is not reality. Everyone knows it is there. However, no one speaks of it. If someone does, people look at them strangely. Meanwhile, the elephant sways its tail and knocks over a glass, and with each heavy step, the floor creaks. Even as bookshelves topple and the whole room threatens to collapse, people avert their eyes from the elephant, discussing the weather outside and continuing with trivial conversations. Everyone is aware, but no one addresses it directly. That is exactly the "elephant in the room." Just as a small spark meeting the wind can become a wildfire, warnings that are ignored can lead to irreversible disaster. There hav

2026.04.20 13:27
Jung Inkyu's Trade-Off No Freedom on the Imperialist Seas... Is There a 'Plan B' for Energy Sovereignty?
The Starting Point of U.S. Global Hegemony The 1944 Bretton Woods system played a pivotal role in the United States' rise as a global hegemonic power. This system is generally understood as a foundation for postwar international economic stability, established through the gold standard?a monetary system that linked the value of money to a fixed amount of gold, ensuring currency convertibility into gold?and the founding of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). However, underlying this was a more fundamental premise: the United States' strategic choice to guarantee "free trade" and "the security of maritime routes." Immediately after World War II, the United States possessed overwhelming industrial capacity, accounting for half of the world’s manufacturing output, along with naval power capable of controlling the world’s oceans. Within the Cold War framework, the U.S. proposed an implicit order to contain the Soviet U

2026.04.20 11:01
Inside Chodong Administrative Integration Amid Mounting Debt... Why Gwangju Special City Raises Concerns
The 'megacity' of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju Special City), with a population of 3.2 million, is set to launch in July 2026. This marks a reunion 40 years after Gwangju City and Jeonnam were separated in 1986, granting the new entity administrative authority on par with Seoul Special City. Over the next four years, the central government will provide a total of 20 trillion won in support funds, allocating 5 trillion won each year. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is in a celebratory mood, to the point of awarding a special bonus of 30 million won to the public officials who managed the practical affairs of the integration. However, due to the contraction of the local economy, population decline, and limitations in the industrial structure, the fiscal independence of Gwangju and Jeonnam remains at the lowest level in the country. Based on last year's budget, Gwangju's fiscal self-reliance rate was 39.8%, and Jeonnam's was 23.7%, both falling short of the nat

2026.04.20 10:59

Reporter’s Notebook

A Union Insisting a "Strike" Is Just a Group Vacation

Whenever a labor union's strike appears imminent, the term "general strike" inevitably surfaces. At first glance, it conjures an image of all employees collectively putting down their tools, bringing production lines to a halt in a determined show of resistance. However, the reality witnessed at industrial sites often amounts to what is colloquially called a "bluff strike." Despite banners proclaiming a general strike, in practice, the action is often limited to "maximum use of paid leave" or "refusal of overtime." In some cases, only a handful of union leaders remain on-site, making the scene resemble a group vacation rather than a true struggle. The labor union at Samsung Biologics is set to begin collective action starting on April 22. The union has issued strong public statements, threatening to halt production processes if necessary. They have not hesitated to mention the possibility of damages amounting to hundreds of billions of won to the company, bordering on intimidation. Yet

2026.04.20 09:53

Economic Insight

A Period of National Prosperity... President Lee Jaemyung's Remarkable Good Fortune

This is a period of national prosperity. The semiconductor supercycle has unexpectedly coincided with a boom in the defense industry. Thanks to the influence of popular culture such as K-pop and K-dramas, Korea's image has improved worldwide, resulting in major successes for K-beauty and K-food. In the first quarter of this year, the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea reached 4.76 million, marking an all-time high for the same period. President Lee Jaemyung pledged to usher in the era of a KOSPI index at 5,000 during his term, but less than a year after taking office, the KOSPI index not only surpassed 5,000 but also crossed the 6,000 mark. While there were efforts such as introducing separate taxation on dividend income, imposing severe penalties for stock price manipulation, and amending the Commercial Act, it would have been difficult to achieve this without the coincidental external factors of the semiconductor supercycle, the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, and the defen

2026.04.20 07:32

Inside Chodong

If Games Are Better Than Short-Form Videos

"These days, teachers tell students that if they're going to watch short-form videos, they'd rather they play games instead." I recently heard this from an acquaintance who has an elementary school-aged child. Having grown up in a generation where parents worried that children shouldn't enjoy games too freely, I couldn't help but be surprised by this change in attitude. The fact that games are being recommended over short-form videos is welcome news for the gaming industry, which is competing with streaming platforms. Although games are the top export item in the Korean content industry, the number of people enjoying games in daily life is declining. According to the "2025 Korea Game White Paper" by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the game usage rate, which rose to 74.4% in 2022, fell to 62.9% in 2023, 59.9% in 2024, and 50.2% in 2025, marking three consecutive years of decline. This is the lowest rate since statistics began in 2015. The main reason is the growing availability of al

2026.04.17 13:07

Policy Pulse

Housing, Care, and Local Government

Public rental housing is the most direct and essential means of housing welfare. However, simply ensuring an adequate supply of public rental housing does not automatically guarantee the realization of housing welfare. In many long-term rental housing complexes, the proportion of residents who are elderly or in need of care services exceeds 60%, and this number continues to rise. Yet, there is still no clear answer as to who should be responsible for providing support services to residents or how the costs should be covered. Since March 2026, the “Act on Integrated Support for Community Care Including Medical and Nursing Services” has been in effect, establishing a legal basis for people in need of care to continue receiving integrated care support where they live. In order to provide integrated support for healthcare, welfare, nursing care, and housing services, appropriate housing must first be made available for people who need care. However, in this law, the housing-related provis

2026.04.17 11:09

The View

Where Does the Value of Experts Come From?

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way professionals work. In consulting firms, AI is rapidly replacing research and draft preparation tasks that used to be handled by junior analysts. In law firms, a significant portion of contract review and case summary work is now managed by AI-based tools. In medical settings, tasks such as diagnostic assistance, chart summarization, and patient record organization are being swiftly automated. On the surface, AI appears to be a tool that increases the productivity of experts, but underneath, a more fundamental change is underway. The role of experts is shifting from being "the person who provides answers" to "the person who is responsible for those answers." For a long time, the core of expertise rested on information asymmetry. Doctors possessed medical knowledge that laypeople found difficult to access, and professors were regarded as individuals with the deepest understanding of theories and data in their fields. Howeve

2026.04.17 11:00

Namsan Stroll

How to Identify True Talent in the AI Era

The challenge of truly understanding a person is a perennial dilemma that transcends eras. Even Confucius, the revered ancient Chinese thinker hailed as a "sage," was not immune to this issue. He almost overlooked his outstanding disciple, Tandaemyeolmyeong, simply because of his rough appearance. On the other hand, he trusted Zaiyu based solely on his smooth eloquence, only to regret it later. Today, we live in an era where we must add a new layer to the age-old problem of talent selection. Artificial intelligence (AI) produces and replicates knowledge in a tailored fashion, making everyone appear to be an “expert.” Confucius warned against pseudo-intellectuals, referring to them as "Hyangwon" and "Munnin." Hyangwon seem virtuous but are, in fact, hollow, like empty shells. Munnin are those whose reputations are embellished, much like a famous party with nothing to eat. In the AI era, talents rapidly nurtured with superficial skills can be considered the modern-day Hyangwon?experts po

2026.04.17 11:00

Reporter’s Notebook

Subtle Investments Within the Trump Administration Amid the Iran War

There are observations that the second round of ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran may resume as early as this weekend. While there is hope that peace may finally come to the Middle East, there is also a lingering question: "Who will profit this time?" Recent foreign media reports have suggested that someone within the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump appears to have reaped considerable profits by taking advantage of the economic impact of the Iran conflict. This occurred just before President Trump announced a ceasefire on April 7. Evidence shows that over 50 new accounts on the online prediction platform Polymarket placed bets on a ceasefire, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings. A similar situation occurred in the futures market just 15 minutes before President Trump announced a suspension of airstrikes on Iranian power plants last month, with massive short positions in crude oil futures worth about 580 million dollars (app

2026.04.17 09:41

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