In The News

Fermenting a Taste for Kimchi

Lee Eun-joo April 23, 2009
The Korean government is trying to promote globally the taste for kimchi, a cabbage-based spicy side dish. Part of this promotion includes creating the International Kimchi Association, set to discuss the history, culture, and industry of kimchi as well as expediting distribution and sales of the food. Currently, close to 90 percent of exported kimchi goes to Japan. And although exports posted a...

A Wild Cossack Rides Into a Cultural Battle

Ellen Barry April 14, 2009
Art is often said to imitate life, but in the case of a recent Russian film on Taras Bulba, a 15th century cossack glorified by Urkainian novelist Nikolai Gogol, it seems to imitate politics. In the current instance, it is Russia’s on-going struggle to restore special ties with the Ukraine, a former member of the Soviet Union. The movie, which took three years to make and was funded by the...

Book Rallying for Social Change Fails to Inspire the Masses

Fu Qi March 26, 2009
A book published in China criticizes the country's foreign policies, suggesting the country could do more to shake off western influences, report Fu Qi and Li Huizi for Xinhua News Agency. The five authors of “Unhappy China” argue that "the current financial crisis reflects an overall corruption of the American society” and that stern, even punitive, foreign policies could provide...

China Rises Again – Part I

Wang Gungwu March 25, 2009
In China’s long history, its leaders have managed other rises in power and preeminence, but the current rise confronts them with a different set of challenges on a global scale. This two-part series reflects on how China handles its rise and responds to other global powers. In the first article of the series, leading historian of China’s foreign relations, Wang Gungwu, details the considerations...

NGO 2.0: Using the Web to Reunite Refugees

Charles Hawley March 24, 2009
Anyone can sign up for Facebook; establish unique identities based on name, hometowns and schools; and instantly reconnect with old flames and friends. Danish brothers Christopher and David Mikkelsen realized such a social-networking tool would also be ideal for refugees seeking separated family members after the disruptions of war, famine or other catastrophes, and so they developed a one-stop...

Population: Some Boom, Some Decline

Joseph Chamie March 18, 2009
World population nearly quadrupled during the 20th century, and in early March, US National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that by 2025 it could grow by another 1 billion people. That would put pressure on the global environment as well as on food, water and energy supplies, setting up the potential for conflicts over resources. While...

These Days, No Reporting Behind a Nation’s Back

Anand Giridharadas March 18, 2009
People with problems are sometimes more willing to confide in strangers than close friends or neighbors. But foreign news reports are no longer shielded by distance, explains Anand Giridharadas in the New York Times. “In the Internet age, we cover each place for the benefit of all places, and the reported-on are among the most avid consumers of what we report,” he explains. The globally astute...