Global Outlook

2022 may well be a decisive year that tests Korea’s resilience on all fronts. We’ve made it to 2022. While we faced considerable difficulties last year due to COVID-19 and other issues, the general view is that Korea’s international prestige has gone up a notch.

Proving that history does irony, banks that once feared masked robbers now fear mask-free customers. But does history also do mockery? The 1984 Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away on Boxing Day in Cape Town. Almost a decade ago, Tutu refused to share the stage with former British prime minister Tony Blair in Johannesburg, saying he should be in the dock in The Hague answering for war crimes.

The nationwide public unrest in oil-rich and mineral-endowed Kazakhstan, triggered by a hike in fuel prices, has its roots in deeper governance problems and societal demands for structural reforms since the country’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The upheaval has presented a serious challenge not only to Kazakhstan’s authoritarian regime, but also to Russia. It has carried the potential to destabilise what Russia considers its ‘near abroad’ or zone of security and interests.

After constant Cold War rhetoric and sabre-rattling, the presidents of the USA and Russia talk to each other about the Ukraine conflict and more generally about the security architecture in Europe. The EU is directly affected but is left out and wonders.

On December 03, 2021, the South Asian headlines were dominated by the unfortunate lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager, Priyantha Kumara. An Export Manager working in Pakistan since 2010, Priyantha Kumara, was beaten, killed and set on fire for removing posters with religious verses printed on them. The mob construed this as an act of blasphemy. The gruesome incident shook the conscience of many, with protests sparked within Pakistan and demands for justice in Sri Lanka.

Since South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked the international community to support formally declaring the end of the Korean War during his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 21, the issue has been at the forefront of the government’s diplomatic efforts as Moon’s presidency draws to a close.