On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is legal. A growing number of states had legalized same-sex marriage after it was made legal in Massachusetts in 2003. The U.S. is the 21st country to legalize gay marriage. The U.S. will guarantee homosexuals equal rights and benefits to heterosexual couples. This is a significant event because public opinion over the legalization of same-sex marriage was very strained. Now, sexual minorities have gained their human rights.After the ruling, the White House turned rainbow colors, and the people of America shed tears of joy with se
The Education Ministry has allowed students to use a calculator in middle and high school math class since March this year. However, people hold differing views about this new rule.ProThe Education Ministry and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity announced the Second Math Education Master Plan in March this year. Except for early elementary school students, the plan allows students to use a calculator in math class from late elementary school. There are two reasons why students should be allowed to use a calculator in math class.First, students can concentrate on
Nepal was celebrating Loktantra Diwas, or Democracy Day, on April 25. People were just eating lunch or were preparing lunch when there was a very strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8. Buildings collapsed and transmission towers that carried electricity also collapsed. The Nepalese government announced 8492 deaths and 16,808 injured on May 13.The epicenter of the earthquake was 81km from the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. The earthquake was strong enough to injure citizens not only in Nepal but also in China and India. Starting from the first earthquake at midday on April 25, 32 aftershocks between
Some say the government should allow junior colleges to extend their programs. However, many universities are opposed to it.Pro On April 15, the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) and the Korean Council for College Education (KCCE) debated a bill to extend junior college programs in a room of the National Assembly. Extending junior college programs means changing some departments from 2-3 years to 4 years. The KCUE disagrees with the bill because they think it will cause an over-educated society, which will increase the number of students who have a higher educational background th
The Korean government wants to raise corporate tax for equal taxation and to expand welfare. However, many corporations oppose raising corporate tax.ProThe government increasing taxes on ordinary people and reducing taxes on rich people has become controversial. In Korea, corporations are taxed at a standard rate. Under 200 million won in total earnings, they pay 10% of their profits in tax, and from 200 million won to 20 billion won, they pay 20%. Lastly, over 20 billion won, they pay 22%. Recently, there have been some demands to increase corporation tax. I think the tax must be increased.Fi
A flight to South Korea returned to the gate of John F. Kennedy International Airport before take-off on December 5, 2014. There were about 250 passengers including an executive of Korean Air, Cho Hyun-ah. Cho rebuked Chief Steward Park Chang-jin for inappropriate nut service by a stewardess before the departure. She reprimanded Park for not carrying out his duty of training stewards and forced the pilot to taxi back to the gate. Cho got much criticism after the incident spread to the public, not only for what she did on the flight, but also for what she did after the incident. During the inci
At the end of last year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the Minimum Wage Act. According to the law, the minimum pay increased from 5,210 won to 5,580 won for one hour. Almost every employee agrees with it, but some employers do not.proOn December 27, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) announced the Minimum Wages Act which increased the minimum wage from 5,210 won to 5,580 won from January first. This is 7.1% higher than last year. The MOEL designated some punishments if employers don’t comply with the minimum wage policy. For example, they will sentence violating emplo
The privatization of public enterprises means entrusting state corporations’ ownership to private enterprises because of efficiency and improvement of productivity. Now, the privatization of public enterprises has become an issue. ProFor a few decades, many countries have concentrated on the privatization of public enterprises. Following this trend, Korea also is trying to privatize public enterprises. There are many advantages of the privatization of public enterprises. First, the current management system of public enterprises is ineffective. It is difficult to reform public enterprises. Als