Inflation All Around the World
Kicker: COVER STORY (Inflation) Inflation All Around the World Yeong-Jin Choi, Editor pch39067@gmail.com Are you aware of the fact that prices of every product all around the world are increasing at a steep rate because of the war between Russia and Ukraine? Some might question why some products that seems like they have nothing to do with the war, apples, and Bluetooth speakers, for instance, are also becoming much more expensive. The real problem, though, is the exchange rate. Experts are pointing out that the exchange rate between the won, the Korean currency, and the dollar in the United States will keep on rising, implying that all the prices of the products being imported from the U.S. will be more and more expensive. As a person who recently went to America for more than a month, I was able to actually feel the seriousness of inflation and high exchange rate between the won and dollar by spending much more money than I had planned firsthand. This circumstance is not only limited to the United States, as I have already mentioned above. It is seriously impacting Korea’s economy as well, resulting in critical damage to financial spending on Koreans. What is Inflation? What is inflation? Inflation is a measure of the rate of rising prices of goods and services in an economy. If inflation occurrs, leading to higher prices for basic necessities such as food, it can have a negative impact on society. It can occur in nearly any product or service, including care and utilities, as well as want expenses, such as cosmetics, automobiles, and jewelry. Once inflation becomes prevalent throughout an economy, the expectation of further inflation becomes an overriding concern in the consciousness of consumers and businesses alike. Inflation can be a concern because it makes money saved today less valuable tomorrow. It erodes a consumer’s purchasing power and can even interfere with the ability to retire. Various types of Inflation and Their Causes There are various factors that can cause inflation in an economy. Typically, inflation is caused when prices increase due to increases in production costs, such as raw materials and wages. This is called “Cost-Push Inflation”. Another factor that causes inflation is natural disasters. Hurricanes and tornadoes, for example, may destroy produce from the farm, resulting in the goods to be more expensive in the market. When strong consumer demand for a product or service, and a surge in demand for a wide breadth of goods across an economy, their prices tend to increase. This is called “Demand-Pull Inflation”. When the demand for a particular good or service increases, the available supply decreases. When fewer items are available, consumers are willing to pay more to obtain the item, resulting in a price increase on the products. Companies can also cause inflation. If consumers are willing to pay for the companies’ popular products, corporations may raise prices to gain more benefits. If enough people expect inflation to continue in the future, the price of goods and services will rise. Since people’s common expectations that the economy would not be stabilized in the near future prolongs, workers may start to demand higher wages in order to anticipate rising prices and maintain their standard of living. Ultimately, since increased wages would result in higher costs for businesses, they would try to obtain their revenues from their buyers, creating “Built-in Inflation”. How Does the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Result in Inflation Worldwide? Experts say, however, that the recent rise in inflation all around the world, especially in the United States of America and in European countries, is unusual. The recent rise in inflation is odd because it came on very quickly and sharply. International factors like bottlenecks* in global supply chains and the Russian invasion of Ukraine play an important role in driving inflation. Many already know that economic activity had been recovering as lockdown measures from the COVID-19 pandemic gradually eased. However, unlike their expectations that economies worldwide would eventually recover, inflation took the place. Russia’s Invasion on Ukraine Financial experts tend to focus on the negative effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such as inflation and hinderance of economic growth. Commodity markets are in turmoil and financial markets have been highly volatile since the start of the conflict, and this impacts on higher household spending. The real problem is that the inflation is expected to last more than several years. Experts continue to expect higher commodity prices because of the disruption to food and other exports from Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on exports from Russia. Modeling assumptions of economic experts tell us that the war between Russia and Ukraine has led to a 30 percent increase in oil prices, 90 percent increase in European gas prices, and a 17 percent increase in food prices. Naturally, higher energy prices feed into inflation, and the study tells that the war in Ukraine will add about two percent to global inflation in 2022, and one percent in 2023. To sum up, it is very likely for us to understand that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is causing a severe price increase on three factors that causes inflation worldwide: food, transport, and energy. *Bottleneck: A place where a road becomes narrow, or a place where there is often a lot of traffic, causing the traffic to slow down or stop. Even though the negative impacts of COVID-19 are starting to fade away, we cannot deny that many people all around the world are still suffering with the aftereffect, like losing their health and some losing their jobs. To those who are struggling to make a comeback from COVID-19, inflation occurring can be a life-or-death situation. I feel that stabilizing the global economy is the utmost situation that can reduce many people’s financial stress. Therefore, I truly hope for the best and for the situation to improve for the happiness of many. Sources: https://url.kr/q6oin2 https://url.kr/ehawt7 https://url.kr/392e4j https://url.kr/n8k25x
DEBATE
Fireworks: Makes World on Fire, Literally and Figuratively
Kicker : DEBATE Fireworks: Makes World on Fire, Literally and Figuratively Seasonal Beautiful Scenery Both Enhances and Damages Our World Do-Hyuk Kim, Reporter ndapple0921@gmail.com Recent comeback of fireworks parade in South Korea marked retrieval of our daily lives that was shut down two years ago due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The parade, mostly hosted by Hanhwa Corporation in Korea, boasted a bigger scale of fireworks compared to the ones shown in the parade held before coronavirus’ spread – ranging from Mapo Bridge to Hangang Railway Bridge. Return of the parade invited thousands of citizens to gather to places such as parks to enjoy this thirty-minutes of entertainment. As we can see from our country’s own parade, fireworks present special events to people and known as producing economic effects on several businesses. But they are also known to cause environmental issues, especially to the atmosphere. Is it reasonable to keep using fireworks to enlighten the ambience of parades or events? Let’s count the earnings and losses caused by fireworks more carefully with this article. History of fireworks is much longer than you would expect. You would be staggered by the fact that the first firework dates further back to almost the origin of humanity – second century Before Christ. Fireworks were often used to celebrate memorable events or to wish for a happy life back then, just like we do today. Enjoying fireworks was believed to be first founded in China, and Korea is speculated to have started watching fireworks in the Goryeo Dynasty. Now, all of global citizens favor watching this explosion in the sky and the economic effect it creates is immense. Take our recent fireworks parade for example. As we are Koreans, we are only interested in when the fireworks go on and where we should go to watch the event, but the parade was not only held in South Korea, but was held globally. A Japanese team, Italian team and Korean team each showcased their type of prettiest fireworks. In the case of South Korea, one million citizens visited several spots which are easy to watch fireworks parade showing off. Think about the economic impact that one million people went out from their homes and bought products from nearby local stores and businesses. It would be huge, that is for sure. These people spend their money for transportation, and what they eat or drink while waiting or watching the fireworks, and could spend even more time outdoors after the parade. Host of the parade, Hanwha group could promote their global image to global citizens who watch the parade via online and could further improve their businesses in the future in unexpected areas. My personal experience also supports fireworks’ positive effect on economy. When I visited Hawaii, I booked a cruise ship that included watching fireworks that was held every Friday. Ticket of boarding on Friday was fully booked every week, but other days were not even including weekends. Because of that firework, more tourists visited the spot to enjoy nightscape called Tantalus at the exact time when fireworks were fired. Fireworks make people to move around and develop economical activities, which can not be disregarded especially today when the economy is in a downturn. But there is a problem – a big one. You would not be so sure that environmental problem now has directly making an impact on our daily lives until last year, but it is completely different in 2022. Shooting fireworks to the sky harasses the atmosphere, since fireworks consist of metal and gunpowder. Several chemicals are used to add colors to each firework, which also give knock-on impact to our ceilings. Right after fireworks explode, microscopic particulate matters wobble around near the atmosphere – that we eventually breathe in. Last month in November, India had their biggest annual party called ‘Diwali.’ Diwali celebrates light beating darkness, which has a deep relationship with Hinduism. Since the celebration marks the defeat of darkness, billions of Indians shoot fireworks both privately and generally. The Indian government acknowledging the environmental issue prematurely announced ban on fireworks during the Diwali period, but no one followed the rule. The press of India and other countries reported that the level of particulate matter dramatically increased right after the very day Diwali was at its highlight. Those fine dust particles formed like a cloud, and limited vision to only nearby surroundings. If the global population keeps surging and enjoying fireworks, we would eventually end up at an unbreathable future with an atmosphere congested with dusts. We cannot immediately ban every single firework festival held in all countries of the world in the name of protecting the environment. Fireworks’ impact on the economy is still boasting its presence, and presenting joy to citizens is definitely an important role that fireworks have played ever since this technology was first developed. But to ensure our lives and descendants’ clean, fresh air, we need to at least reduce the frequency of holding firework parades in each nation. Fireworks are beautiful, but we should beware of the negative effects on our long-term survival. Sources: http://www.hanwha.co.kr/images/newsMedia/photo/20171010_news01.jpg (Image) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireworks https://www.emerics.org:446/newsBriefDetail.es?brdctsNo=309043&mid=a10100000000
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EDITORIAL
The Best Is Yet To Come
Kicker: EDITORIAL The Best Is Yet To Come By Da-Hwee Kim, Editor-in-chief elfnme@naver.com The end of the year is just a new beginning for us. Why? Because without an end, there would be no new year and no fresh start! When it is December and the end of the year approaches, it is quite normal for some to be anxious, especially when they have unreached goals and unfulfilled dreams. However, I want every single one of you to stay calm and positive. Because every year brings its own unique set of victories and defeats, struggles and joys! Even though this year has never been perfect for you, it is completely fine. Rather than having regrets about the past, how about preparing for the bright future waiting for us? Although no one can take back time and make a brand new start, anyone can start now and make a marvelous ending. Hope you wrap up this year meaningfully and say farewell to 2022. I would like to close by recommending a few songs that will make you feel good and help you end the year. Happy end of the year everyone! 😊 - End-of-Year Playlist - 🎵 Have It All – Jason Mraz 🎵 Merry Christmas Everybody - Train 🎵 Seasons of Love – The Cast of Rent 🎵 Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid 30 🎵 Snowman - Sia
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