(This is the second in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea) ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Is this the face of modern-day feminism in Seoul? If I Had Your Face, Frances Cha’s debut novel (Ballantine Books), tells the story of four young women struggling to succeed in…
Full Article KOREA: NEW WAVE LITERATURE AS WOMEN’S LIBERATION (PART TWO)
CHARLES E MORRISON WRITES — About two turbulent months ago, former Vice President Joe Biden had established a commanding lead in the Democratic nomination campaign, although his two more liberal competitors had not yet ended their efforts; and the looming coronavirus pandemic was threatening to fundamentally transform the political landscape. And…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: THE ARC OF A HISTORIC CRISIS
NATHAN RIVAS WRITES — Perhaps you’ve found yourself scrolling through Netflix for hours on end because you’ve already binged on the Tiger King so much that you’ve begun to grow a furry mustache! If that’s you, we have a few solutions. Amid the crisis of COVID-19, theaters have been shut…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CINEMA: 5 EASY MOVIES
THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS COLUMN BY TOM PLATE WAS PUBLISHED EARLIER THIS WEEK BY THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST – No time to be polite: the most disgraceful and unnecessary deterioration amid the global health and economic crisis is the China-U.S. relationship that continues to sour. Casualties from a…
Full Article CHINA-US RELATIONS: THE MADNESS OF THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP
ANDREA PLATE WRITES – (This is the first in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea). It was big news in 2016 when the novel Kim Ji-young, 1982, by author Cho Nam-Joo, awakened a semi-somnolent women’s movement in South Korea. The book sold one million copies—only the second novel in the…
Full Article KOREA: NEW WAVE LITERATURE AS WOMEN’S LIBERATION
STUART MULJADI WRITES — Ever since Trump publicly announced to the world back in March that COVID-19 will vanish by April due to “warmer weather,” researchers, data analysts and ‘self- proclaimed’ experts have been trying to answer the question: Does warmer weather halt the spread and development of COVID-19? Weather…
Full Article INDONESIA AND COVID-19: A YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY?
SEAN SINGH WRITES – Due to popularity among tourists, it appears that coronavirus spread more quickly to French Polynesia than to other islands of the South Pacific, where it looks to be well contained. Paradise uninterrupted! For example, Tonga has a population of approximately 100,000 and is less developed compared…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS EXCEPTIONS: LIFE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC PARADISE
‘VICTOR B’ WRITES — How do clashes in Russia, between police and the public, look right now, when most other nations are struggling to maintain safe and healthy environments? Not good. Orwellian, in fact? The Russian government now requires issuance of a ‘QR’ code to every citizen wanting to walk…
Full Article RUSSIA UNDER COVID-19: FROM MOSCOW BUT NOT WITH LOVE
NICHOLAS WILCOX WRITES – Since FIFA, the international governing body of football, awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, more than a few eyebrows were raised as to just how the Persian Gulf nation secured the games. Rumors of bribery and corruption surfaced. So did stories about the exceptionally poor…
Full Article QATAR: FIFA WORLD CUP 2020 MIGRANT WORKER RED CARDS
While spring semester study abroad and global immersion trips have been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, Tom Plate, clinical professor and Distinguished Scholar of Asian and Pacific studies, is continuing to facilitate cross-cultural learning experiences for Loyola Marymount University students. From opposite sides of the Pacific, LMU students collaborate with Yonsei University students…
Full Article NO ZOOM GLOOM: FROM LOS ANGELES TO SEOUL
TOM PLATE WRITES – On one hand, let me ask you: Would you be foolish enough to persist in advocating a balanced-sensible approach to the People’s Republic of China amid this murderous coronavirus-crisis for which so many blame the PRC? At a time when global suspicion and recrimination converge on Beijing/Wuhan…
Full Article CHINA VERSUS US: MAHBUBANI’S MARKER
TSAI ING-WEN WRITES – Taiwan is an island of resilience…. We have found ways to persevere through difficult times together as a nation, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. Despite the virus’s highly infectious nature and our proximity to its source, we have prevented a major outbreak. As of…
Full Article TAIWAN: TSAI – HOW WE ARE BEATING COVID-19
ANNALISA DEL VECCHIO WRITES – Would it be right to describe the visibility of the Himalayas for the first time in thirty years as a good thing? Yes, in a way. The snow-covered peaks have been obscured by air pollution for decades, but the coronavirus pandemic has helped reduce pollution…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: CLEAN THE AIR, FLATTEN THE CURVE
RASHID AL ARMELI WRITES – With Coronavirus, all the movies about an AI (Artificial Intelligence) virus taking over suddenly became real. Until the news struck, all I thought about was what I was planning to do the next day. Suddenly the building I live in sent out emails about changing cleaning supplies…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: MACHBOOS, ANYONE?
BELLARMINE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS DEAN ROBBIN CRABTREE WROTE THIS TO OUR BCLA COMMUNITY AT LMU — At this time of Passover and Easter, made more poignant by our current circumstances, it’s appropriate to reflect on the meanings of these two most sacred of holy days. I’ve been reading articles in…
Full Article EASTER AND PASSOVER: ‘THE LAST SUPPER WAS A SEDER’