Category: Essays
We aim to examine major economic, social, and cultural issues unfolding in Korea with depth and balance.
This section explores why certain events occur, what underlying forces shape them, and how we should understand and interpret these developments.
At the intersection of current issues and broader social questions, we seek to explore the spirit of our time and the values we must collectively shape moving forward.
-
Seollal Spent Alone, Tteokguk Eaten Alone
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 marks the 4,359th Seollal in Dangi, the traditional Korean era count.A holiday that has endured on this land for 4,359 years. Seollal is the day the Korean New Year begins according to the lunar calendar. Families gather to welcome the new year. The younger bow to their elders in a formal…
-
Gossip Among AI Agents on Moltbook
On January 28, 2026, a new world opened—one into which humans are not allowed to intervene.A platform called Moltbook had launched. It is a social network designed exclusively for AI agents. Humans can only observe their conversations from the outside; participation is not permitted. Quite literally, this is a space where AI agents gather and…
-
Should We Buy Gold Now?
Late on January 30 in the United States, reports emerged that Donald Trump had nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve. In response, stocks, Bitcoin, gold, and silver all moved lower at once.Gold in particular dropped by roughly 10 percent in a single day in the U.S. market. When the…
-
“Not a Single Robot Allowed!” — Hyundai Union vs. Atlas
On January 22, 2026, the Hyundai Motor Company Labor Union officially announced its strong opposition to deploying the humanoid robot “Atlas,” a physical AI system developed by Hyundai Motor Group, into production sites. The union stated that “not a single robot will be allowed onto the shop floor without labor–management agreement,” warning that the introduction…
-
We Are Not People Who Can Be Bought
January 18, 2026.In Nuuk, a woman gave an interview. Her name is Tillie Martinussen,a young Greenlandic politician. The moment she began to speak, I felt something I had not felt in a long time:the sensation of listening to a real politician.Not rehearsed sentences.Not calibrated messaging.But words spoken by someone who knows where she comes from,…
-
That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.
After reading this news, the shock did not leave me for days. It was a report that a woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, had been killed after being shot three times by an ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer. The woman who was killed was a U.S. citizen, 37 years old, and a mother of…
-
Caracas at Midnight, and the President Who Disappeared
At around 2 a.m. local time on January 3, 2026,a series of explosions echoed across the skies above Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Loud detonations rippled through the city. Awakened residents reported seeing aircraft flying low overhead and military vehicles moving through the streets. In some neighborhoods, witnesses said they heard gunfire. Within minutes, Caracas…
-
Because of these words, I will be buried by Joseon society
Yet I choose to speak and die, rather than rot away in silence. In 1934, during the Japanese colonial period,a short essay was published in the magazine Samcheolli.Its title was A Confession of Divorce.The author was Na Hye-seok. She was known as Korea’s first female Western-style painter and a “New Woman.”After her divorce, she wrote…
-
Please Do Not Delete Coupang.
The Coupang data breach revealed more than a failure of security. It exposed the reality of a system-driven corporation that millions depend on for work, consumption, and survival. This essay examines Coupang not as a moral villain, but as a piece of modern infrastructure—raising a difficult question: to leave, or not to leave.
-
A Life Built Over Thirty Years, Erased in Forty-Eight Hours
On December 5, 2025, Dispatch reported that actor Cho Jin-woong (born Cho Won-jun) had been involved in a violent juvenile incident thirty years ago. The controversy quickly escalated into a nationwide debate over the purpose of juvenile justice, the possibility of rehabilitation, and the standards by which a public figure’s past should be disclosed. Within…