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The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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19. Steven L. Shields

“Jamboree” is the quintessential Scouting camp experience. Scouts, of course, do a lot of camping, hiking, and other skill-set learning. Every few years, though, thousands of Scouts gather from around a region or country, or in the case of the 2023 World Scout Jamboree held in Korea this month, from more than 150 countries. Scouts can be assured of some things regardless of the venue and the attendees. First, an exciting camp experience where they can compete and share skills and knowledge with thousands of other Scouts. Second, new friends from faraway places are sure to be made. Some of th...

2023-08-22 16:35

AI, big data, and the end of humanity

It happened again this morning. I pressed my bank's smartphone app, and a warning message popped up. “Keep your data safe by updating to the newest app.” Bug fixes, hackers smarter than the programmers, and data breaches are reported all the time. I get similar messages when I go to my bank's website. I access the website a couple of times a month. Each time I log in, I get sent to the security page and am asked to download several “safety” measures. The programs I downloaded last time are no longer good enough for some reason.

2023-07-30 16:35

Sanctuary for saints or hospital for sinners

Pharisees abound. As I do my daily business in the city, I often run into Pharisees, especially in places with high pedestrian traffic.

2023-07-06 17:38

Peace: Bad for business

I grew up during the Vietnam War. I was safely tucked away in the mountains of the western United States, but the specter of war was ever-present. Neighbors and friends were being drafted to go to that faraway place to fight a war that few people supported. Family members in the U.S. military were deployed to the war.

2023-06-01 16:48

Outpost of grace

If there is one thing that Korea has an overabundance of, it is churches. An old tourist joke used to be that flying over the city (when Gimpo was the main airport), one imagined it was a cemetery because there were so many red-lighted crosses. Since the new airport opened more than 20 years ago, many travelers have never seen the blanket of crosses that covers the city.

2023-05-15 17:00

SOS: save our subway

The International Radio Telegraphic Convention in 1906 adopted the Morse code equivalent of the letters S, O and S as an international maritime distress call. The sequence was chosen because it was distinctive. The letters did not represent any words. Years later, in popular usage, mnemonic phrases were (and still are) often used, such as “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls.” Today, the letters SOS are used widely as a sign for emergency services. Such labels are on emergency telephones or call boxes throughout cities in many countries.

2023-04-18 16:45

Can we learn from Gwangju?

I've learned a few things about Gwangju over the past several years. First, the events in Gwangju in 1980 were horrifying. Second, many unanswered questions surround the tragic days and their aftermath. Lots of blame going in several directions. Lots of denials and counter-denials from many quarters. Finally, there are so many opinions and claims of evidence that not only are solid facts elusive, but the truth is even more elusive than that. Could it be there are more critical lessons still to be learned?

2023-03-26 16:50

Unfettered capitalism

The powers that be tell us the economy must grow. Governments, corporations and entrepreneurs do everything they can to increase their financial resources. We are caught in a seemingly vicious cycle. More population means more jobs; more jobs need more money and a bigger economy.

2023-02-14 16:50

Religious freedom, free speech and hate

Not long ago, an ultra-right-wing, so-called “Christian” broadcaster in Korea won the right in the courts to continue to preach hatred and incite violence against the LGBT community. The courts sided with the broadcaster under its interpretation of the constitutional guarantee of “religious freedom.”

2023-01-26 16:10

Cheers to Seoul Metro

The rainy season in Korea in the summer of 2022 reminded me of the biblical story of the great flood and Noah's ark. So much rainfall came in mid-August of 2022 that reporters first said it was the most rainfall in 80 years, then 100 years and then more than 100 years. Korea had too much rain all at once.

2022-12-28 16:50

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