OPINION: Isn't it time for Christian street protesters to fold up the tent?

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (AJP) - Last weekend, I was driving along Sejong-ro in downtown Seoul and got held up by the Christian protest that dominates the boulevard most Saturdays. I was on my way to meet two friends who had been foreign correspondents here in the 1980s. They were staying at a hotel nearby. The hotels downtown advise guests about protests, so they knew something was going on. Back in their day, a demo meant earnest students hurling broken paving stones and Molotov cockta

September 6, 2024

OPINION: The harsh process of becoming K-pop star is opening to western performers

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (AJP) - "Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience" is a six-part reality show following five British trainees over 100 days as they debut as a Korean-pop (K-pop) idol boy group called Dear Alice. In collaboration with SM Entertainment, a K-pop powerhouse, the show will introduce the behind-the-scenes of making a K-pop idol through an immersive training system. Showing a glimpse of the lives of K-pop trainees, the first episode introduces K-pop as a multi-billion

September 4, 2024

OPINION: Brazil just banned X. Could other countries follow suit?

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (AJP) - Authorities in Brazil, the country with the world's fifth largest number of internet users, have banned the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). The ban came into effect over the weekend. It followed a long-running battle between Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes who had previously ordered the social media platform to block far-right users. The ban has outraged Musk. In the wake of it,

September 3, 2024

OPINION: 26 states may soon need to regulate cannabis – here's what they can learn from Colorado and Washington

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (AJP) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has made moves to reclassify marijuana, making it a type of legal but regulated medicine, like Tylenol with codeine or some steroids. With the reclassification, 26 states where cannabis is currently illegal will need to decide whether they want to take action to stop the sale of cannabis in their state or figure out how to regulate the newly legal drug. A few states such as North Carolina have laws on the books sayin

September 2, 2024

OPINION: How drone attacks are changing rules and costs of Ukraine war

SEOUL, August 30 (AJP) - Ukraine has unveiled a new long-range weapon, a mix of drone and missile technology that Kyiv believes will significantly boost its ability to combat Russian military attacks. Ukrainian promotional material suggested that the "rocket drone," called Palianytsia, will have a range of 700km, and could bring around 250 Russian military targets within range, opening a new phase of the air war. Ukraine believes this new drone technology is a necessity

August 30, 2024

OPINION: Away from battlefield, diplomatic wrangling hots up with Modi visit to Kyiv

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - Ukraine's three-week incursion has been countered recently by an intensifying Russian drone campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure. Russian troops have also made steady gains in the battle for the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, in the background, the diplomatic wrangling in the more than 30-month-long war has also increased. But there's no sign of a breakthrough or an indication that we migh

August 29, 2024

OPINION: Lessons of the Afghanistan Disaster?

KENOSHA, August 28 (AJP) - The terrible disaster of the collapse of the Afghanistan government and sweeping Taliban victory three years ago was a reversal for the United States and the international community and a serious leadership failure by the Biden administration. However, the collapse does not have to be a strategic defeat for the U.S. Let me explain why. The current anniversary of the debacle is an appropriate time to do so. The failure of the administration to adequate

August 28, 2024

OPINION: French police have arrested founder of Telegram. What happens next could change course of big tech

SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) - French police have arrested the founder of Telegram. What happens next could change the course of big tech When Pavel Durov arrived in France on his private jet last Saturday, he was greeted by police who promptly arrested him. As the founder of the direct messaging platform Telegram, he was accused of facilitating the widespread crimes committed on it. The following day, a French judge extended Durov's initial period of detention, allowing police to

August 28, 2024

OPINION: How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia

SEOUL, August 27 (AJU PRESS) - President Joe Biden's recent approval of a major shift in U.S. nuclear weapons strategy highlights the attention the country's national security officials are paying to Chinese ambitions for influence in the world. As changes emerge in the types of threats facing the U.S., the American military adjusts its strategic focus, budgets and planning. For instance, after 9/11, the U.S. military refocused away from its Cold War emphasis on preparing fo

August 27, 2024

OPINION: Can Israel and Hezbollah both claim success after weekend strikes? And what could happen next?

SEOUL, August 26 (AJU PRESS) - For weeks, Israel had been anticipating a major attack from Hezbollah in retaliation for its killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon at the end of July. In the early hours of Sunday, that attack finally came – and Israel was apparently ready. The Israelis claim to have thwarted what could have been a large-scale Hezbollah assault. At the same time, Hezbollah also claimed success. So, what can we make of the latest tit-for-tat betw

August 26, 2024