OPINION: Bogota's first metro train is wake-up call for South Korea

In September 2025, Bogota welcomed its first-ever metro train, a sight that many Colombians thought they might never live to see. After seven decades of delays, false starts, and political infighting, the arrival of a sleek Chinese-built train was celebrated across the Colombian capital as a long-awaited triumph. But for South Korea, watching from afar, it should serve as something else: a moment of reckoning. As someone who worked closely on infrastructure cooperation betwee

September 25, 2025

Georgia immigration raid prompts calls for special visa program for South Korean workers

SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - Despite Seoul's massive $350 billion investment pledge to Washington, a sweeping U.S. immigration raid early this month led to the detention of hundreds of South Koreans working at a joint electric vehicle battery plant under construction in Georgia. The incident severely disrupted South Korean companies' plans to send skilled workers to the U.S. for productivity and quality control. The raid underscores the need for clear and consistent v

September 18, 2025

OPINION: China keeps 'doing right thing'

SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - Recent surveys by multiple international polling agencies show that global public opinion toward China continues to improve, with the country's image gaining wider recognition around the world. This growing recognition reflects China's commitment to "doing the right thing"

September 18, 2025

OPINION: China's high-quality development brings vast opportunities to world

SEOUL, September 17 (AJP) - The "Su Super League," grassroots tournament Jiangsu Football City League, and the Village Super League, also known as Cun Chao, have gone viral, injecting fresh vitality into the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, and sports. Labubu toys, elf-like dolls produc

September 17, 2025

Opinion: Hainan FTP gains momentum, underscoring China's commitment to opening up

SEOUL, September 16 (AJP) - China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) will officially launch an island-wide independent customs operation on December 18, 2025. This milestone in the development of the Hainan FTP sends a clear and unequivocal message to the world: China remains steadfast in its commitment to expanding hig

September 16, 2025

OPINION: Kazakhstan's constitution at 30: What has been achieved?

SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - When people voted in the 1995 national referendum (August 30) to adopt a new Constitution, they laid the cornerstone of modern statehood. More than just a legal charter, the Constitution of Kazakhstan is marked by its humanist focus. Article 1 declares the country a democratic, secular, legal, and social state, in which the hi

September 1, 2025

OPINION: Letter to President Trump - In anticipation of "Great Peace-Maker" (GPM)

SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - Dear President Trump, I hope you will allow me to use the American-style "you" in this letter. There is a saying that comes to mind when I think of your effort to build a new world out of chaos. Willy Brandt, the German chancellor who pioneered East-West d

August 24, 2025

OPINION: How Korean semiconductor firms can navigate uncertainty amid U.S. tariff bombshells

(This opinion article was contributed by Per Stenius, the founder and CEO of Finnish management consulting firm Reddal.) SEOUL, August 9 (AJP) - With the recent tariff deal with the United States reducing the duty burden on South Korean exports to 15% from the initially envisioned 25%, President Lee Jae Myung celebrated the agreement as overcoming “a significant hurdle.” Various voices from the Bank of Korea to local analysts also praised the deal for reducing uncertaint

August 9, 2025

OPINION: Next generation data centres set new standards for sustainability

(This opinion article was contributed by Joe Kim, Senior Manager, Data Center Division, Cushman & Wakefield Korea) SEOUL, August 08 (AJP) - Achieving both operational efficiency and sustainability is becoming an increasingly critical challenge across the real estate sector. Data centers are no exception. Given their immense energy demands and dependence on stable power supply, the need for sustainable innovation is more urgent than ever. According to the International Energy

August 8, 2025

OPINION: Drawing wisdom, strength from great victory in WWⅡ

SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) - China has just announced that it will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. On the morning of Sept. 3, Chinese President Xi Jinping will address a grand gathering held that day to mark the anniversary. The commemoration events serve as a solemn tribute to the Chinese people's arduous and heroic resistance against Japanese militarist aggr

July 23, 2025