prominent academics around the region gathered to discuss the past 50 years and the future of ASEAN-Korea relations, it is about time that Korea developed a more clear and concrete vision and strategy toward ASEAN.

even brighter. Recognizing this, there is no doubt that Korea is gearing up to take the ASEAN-Korea relations to another level. Nevertheless, as pointed out at the International Conference on ASEAN-Korea Partnership held this week, where policymakers and

ASEAN is strategically an important partner, with a population of 640 million people and a gross domestic product of $2.6 trillion (5th largest economy in the world). With the launching of the ASEAN Community at the end of 2015, the prospects for this region are

Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during the ASEAN-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the occasion of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum, held in Manila in early August.

Pursuing mutual and sustainable prosperity, increasing people-to-people exchanges, and partnering in building a new East Asia that is peaceful and safe, are the three main directions of the Korean government in strengthening its ties with ASEAN, according to

would bring its relations with ASEAN up to the level of the four major powers -- the US, China, Japan and Russia. While such efforts are on the rise, we may still ask, what is exactly the Korean government’s vision and strategy toward ASEAN?

One sign of hope: Regular citizens coming out by the thousands in Charlottesville for a memorial service recently, and then in Boston to counter a march by hate groups.

The people are leading. It’s time now for the country’s leaders — all of its leaders — to follow them in the same unequivocal denunciation of fascism.

We cannot pretend that these politics are normal, that things are just a little bit out of kilter and will automatically correct. We must speak out. We must assert truth. We must force one another to be honest about the growing threats to our country.

Eighteen months ago, I wrote an opinion piece that warned of Trump’s tendencies toward authoritarianism and fascism. I was told, “Don’t be silly; don’t worry: He can’t win the nomination.”

“Don’t worry: He can’t get elected.”

“Don’t worry: Once he takes office, the weight of the presidency will bring him to

It is this economic injustice — for blacks and whites — that threatens to topple our country into populist authoritarianism, rage, and racist hatred. We must resist the president’s tilt toward fascism. But we must also correct the underlying economic inequity that has fueled the strong response to it.

myself included — enjoys unprecedented levels of economic prosperity. As long as the country is so sharply divided — with 1 percent of the population holding more wealth than the bottom 90-plus percent — the ties that bind all of us to the common good are far too fragile for stability.

America is terribly divided today, and the source of much of it is an economic injustice that has been growing for four decades. Well over half the country lives one paycheck away from some personal disaster that can bring destitution, while a tiny percentage —

Trump told a delegation from that country that he had faced “great pressure” because of the FBI inquiry and that because of his firing of director James Comey, “that’s taken off.”

Still, the most ominous aspect is this: Trump is not a cause; he is a symptom. If he were to leave the presidency, the forces he represents will not be gone.

Among the triggers for this investigation: Trump’s repeated avowals of admiration and support for a ruthless Russian dictator and his disregard for the rule of law in firing the head of the FBI, which had been investigating his connections to Russia.

The president is under a special prosecutor’s investigation into questions of collusion between his campaign and a Russian government committed to disrupting the 2016 presidential election.

ensure that these rights are accorded without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or identity. Those same early leaders enacted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to memorialize our liberties in American life and assert a rule of law that would protect them.

But this is not about partisan politics. It is not about Democrats or Republicans, or even about liberals and conservatives. It is about an existential threat to America and to the underlying values that led its earliest leaders to declare that “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are inalienable human rights. Slowly, all too slowly, America has moved to

When he leaves Washington to court his base at rallies around the country, he stirs his supporters in ways reminiscent of fascists from the past. His demagoguery, his threats to those who disagree, his support of those who disdain a democratic and diverse society, threaten our freedom.

The president has consistently vilified anyone who opposes him; he has disrespected and mocked Hispanics, African-Americans, Muslims, women and people with disabilities; now he is giving direct comfort and support to the Ku Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party, right-wing militias and white supremacist groups.

demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia. It has been increasingly true since the days of his candidacy, as he has encouraged those forces in America that promote racism, ethnic hatred, violence and white supremacy.