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ON JULY 1, 2023, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) officially permitted the use of smartphones in barracks[1]. Through numerous bold reforms, a hierarchical culture deeply ingrained in South Korea's military since the MND’s Defense Reform 2.0 seemed to be waning gradually[2]. However, recent st
Today's Affairs
The Annals Staff
2023.09.03 15:15
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A DEVASTATING earthquake ripped through a broad area of Türkiye and Northwest Syria, leaving behind a trail of immense destruction. The earthquake shattered buildings and homes, tore families apart, and forever altered the lives of countless individuals. The magnitude of the disaster was staggering,
Today's Affairs
Kim Sang-yun
2023.04.04 22:08
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ACCORDING TO an official figure released last August by a national statistics agency Statistics Korea, South Korea has recorded the world’s lowest fertility rate—struggling to reverse its trend of declining fertility rates for six consecutive years[1]. To alleviate this issue, the South Korean gover
Today's Affairs
Kim Sang-yun
2023.03.07 21:43
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WANG JINGYU is a victim of harassment directed by the illegal Chinese police stations in the Netherlands[1]. The Chinese government and its illicit overseas police stations have apparently “punished” Wang for “misconduct” and threatened other victims and their families as well. Surreptitious Chinese
Today's Affairs
The Annals Staff
2022.12.07 15:00
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WITH THE American midterm elections fast approaching this month, U.S. President Joe Biden’s foreign policy objectives and trade policies have largely shifted away from his original stance. This points to a potential contradiction with domestic bipartisan consensus to reinforce alliances and an incon
Today's Affairs
The Annals Staff
2022.11.03 18:20
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THE INTERNATIONAL Space Station (ISS), a collaborative project between multiple countries led by the United States and Russia, has orbited the Earth, conducting many missions and scientific experiments since 1998. The ISS, symbolic of the vital post-Cold War partnership between the “two space superp
Today's Affairs
The Annals Staff
2022.10.05 17:11
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THIS YEAR, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held a summit in Madrid from June 28 to June 30. The summit saw, for the first time, the invitation of four Asia-Pacific countries—South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand—at the “leader” level. Prior to the summit, NATO only invited the
Today's Affairs
Kim Sang-yun
2022.09.03 14:46
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“CONTROL YOUR soul’s desire for freedom” is what a drone flying around apartment buildings in Shanghai told residents as it urged them to comply with quarantine regulations[1]. Recently in Shanghai, China faced its worst COVID-19 surge since the 2020 Wuhan outbreak, and patience wears thin amongst t
Today's Affairs
Aruzhan Aimanshina
2022.06.10 00:28
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THE UNITED Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the United Nations’ (UN) most influential body, having been an ever-present key player in world affairs since the end of World War II (WWII) in 1945. The council is mainly responsible for the preservation of international peace and security. To accomplis
Today's Affairs
Qirrat Ahmad
2022.05.06 21:59
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THE HUMANITARIAN crisis in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is no longer receiving the attention that it deserves from the international media. Afghanistan has suffered from a myriad of catastrophes since the Taliban took control over the majority of its land in August, 2021. The Taliban’s lack of ade
Today's Affairs
Qirrat Ahmad
2022.03.06 17:16
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IN SEPTEMBER of 2021, Frances Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, released thousands of documents that implicate Facebook in spreading hate, inciting violence, and contributing to negative body images and suicidal thoughts in teenagers. These documents reveal that Facebook was aware of its
Today's Affairs
Qirrat Ahmad
2021.12.06 01:49
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AFTER STRUGGLING to secure vaccines, South Korea began its inoculation against COVID-19 only in February this year[1], whereas the United States launched its vaccine distribution program in December, 2020[2]. Now, the tables have turned; despite the slow start, Korea has outpaced the United States,
Today's Affairs
Aruzhan Aimanshina
2021.10.31 21:43
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THE FANTASY of reaching space seems closer than ever before for the average person. Space travel used to be the exclusive preserve of astronauts, but the turn of the millennium marked the encroachment of civilians with help from private companies[1]. In the decades that followed, entrepreneurs embar
Today's Affairs
Aimanshina Aruzhan
2021.09.03 00:00
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CYBERSPACE IS a virtual infrastructure where communication is based on the Internet and computer systems, with increasing influence on matters such as the military, the economy, and technology. As global reliance on software technology grows, however, new threats emerge to take advantage of the comp
Today's Affairs
Aimanshina Aruzhan, Lee Ju-won
2021.05.09 01:13
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ALMOST HALF a year since sexual misconduct allegations against Park Won-soon became public, an investigation launched by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) concluded this January that sexual harassment did occur. After similar allegations within the Justice Party emerged days late
Today's Affairs
Lee Ju-won
2021.03.07 18:19
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ON AUGUST 6th, President Donald Trump issued an executive order demanding Tik Tok to either sell its U.S. operations to an American company or face being banned from all transactions with the United States. The executive order expressed concerns about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) using personal
Today's Affairs
Kim Chae-yoon
2020.11.01 19:57
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“WE MUST start anew the search for balanced national development, and I propose completion of the [Sejong] administrative capital as a solution,” stated Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic party. “The entire National Assembly must move to Sejong [….] Furthermore, through further discussion
Today's Affairs
Kim Chae-yoon
2020.08.31 10:17
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SHIN-CHEON-JI ONLY came under extensive scrutiny when it abetted the spread of COVID-19, but the religious group was already familiar to many Koreans. Its proselytizers have penetrated society and even our own school. Many have been baffled or enraged at the sect’s popularity and refusal to comply with local governments and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Unbeknownst to most, Shin-cheon-ji has been applying creative tactics of proselytization to maintain its numbers, burgeoning into a social problem. Lee Man-hee, the Last Messiah Shin-cheon-ji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle
Today's Affairs
Kim Chae-yoon
2020.04.04 16:54
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WORDS ARE more easily said when one can hide behind the shield of anonymous posting. The convenience of anonymous online platforms has created a blindside for exploitation, allowing people to lash out at others without considering the consequences on the victim as well as society. In South Korea, online anonymity has shed light on hate comments as a serious social issue, yet official laws that mandate legal persecution of online hate comments are yet to be established. The gravity of the issue of hate comments is constantly on a rise; with the number of crimes related to online defamation incr
Today's Affairs
Kwon Kyu-hee
2019.12.02 02:32
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THE KINGDOM of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are engaged in a decades-long struggle for dominance. But unlike the popular image of two uniformed militaries fighting each other on defined battlefields, this conflict relies on covert actions to undermine each other and achieve their goals. In the 21st century, regional conflicts no longer occur in a vacuum and the outcome of this power struggle carries global implications. A September 14 attack on two major Saudi oil processing facilities caused international concerns and threatens to escalate an already tense situation to a new,
Today's Affairs
Nicholas Newton, Oscar Jay
2019.11.02 17:47