Stories about Korean
South Korea: Royal Gate Restoration, Corruption and Suicide
In recent months, particularly murky allegations over the royal gate restoration have unfolded in South Korea. The project's ‘chief carpenter’ is accused not only of using substandard wood, but stealing donated wood. Moreover, several government officials involved in the project were also indicted on charges of bribery [ko], and a civilian investigator who...
South Korea Singles Out Elderly Drives With ‘Silver Mark’
Seniors must place a special sticker on the back of their car to signify that they are elderly. Rates of fatal crashes involving seniors is on the rise.
South Korea Moves to Restrict Young People's Online Overseas Shopping
Young South Koreans are getting their hands on foreign products not available in their country as well as Korean products at cheaper prices by buying from international sellers.
Korea: English, Borrowed Words, Konglish
Words adopted from another language, or ‘borrowed words’ permeate the Korean language. R. Elgin wrote an informative post about how borrowed English words are being used in Korea compared to loanwords in other countries; many English words are, instead of being completely or partially naturalized, phonetically rendered into Korean, often...
South Korea: 6th Grader's ‘Frozen’ Tribute Video
Disney's Oscar-winning animated film ‘Frozen’ is immensely popular in South Korea; it has become the second most-watched foreign film as of last weekend by crossing 10 million admissions. Korean fans have posted lots of parody images, as well as Korean artists who have chimed in by singing the movie's catchy hit song...
The Best in Korean Street Food: From Sweet Pancakes to Live Baby Octopus
From sweet pancakes, to wriggling baby octopus eaten alive, Korean street food has attracted foodies worldwide.
K-Pop Music Booms, But Censors Still Loom
K-pop is a success story of music exports and glamour, but a long history of censorship and regulation still affects music markets in South Korea.
NASA's New Photo of North Korea
Any international readers interested in North Korea would probably come across at least once this famous photo of Korean peninsula from NASA demonstrating a stark difference in the light emission of two Koreas at nighttime. NASA finally updated a new satellite image and it is ‘even more dramatic than the monochrome NASA satellite image of...
PHOTO: South Korean Labor and Civic Groups Stage Strike
Timed with the start of President Park Geun-hye's second year in office, about 40 thousand South Koreans (police estimate 15 thousand) held protests across the country. The demonstration, spearheaded by Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, calls halt to a clampdown on labor groups, the government's move towards privatization of public...
Not All Bad, Talking Korean Plastic Surgery from Biz Perspective
There have been mounting criticisms on both local and international media's coverage of rampant plastic surgeries in South Korea; many reports are highly sensational, describing how reckless and ignorant plastic surgery patients are (focused on females ones rather than male) and have successfully generated numerous crass jokes and harsh comments...
South Korean Figure Skater Yuna Kim's ‘Robbed’ Sochi Gold Becomes Photoshop Meme
Russian figure skater Adelina Sotnikova took gold in the free skating event, but many, not limited to South Koreans, questioned the result.
Ethnic North Korean Schools in Japan Face Ever-Hostile Situation
‘Koreans living in Japan‘ is a vague word glueing very different groups together under the same umbrella term. Based on their affiliation to North/South Korea and the timing of diaspora (whether it happened before/after the Japanese imperial rule during the World War 2 ear), each sub-group goes by a different name,...
Searching for Blame in Deadly South Korean Building Collapse
Ten college students were killed and 105 injured in a building collapse during a university's orientation.
VIDEO: UN Report on Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea
Horrible stories about North Korea is nothing new. But this may be one of the most extensive reports worth-reading on the country's abysmal human rights condition. A new report by a UN Commission of Inquiry reveals unspeakable crimes against humanity carried out by the North Korean regime against its own...
South Korea: Being Native English Teacher and Reverse Racism
Geoffrey Fattig of Jeollamite blog shares his brutally honest opinion on reverse and latent racism in South Korea, urging fellow native English teachers who under-appreciate a fairly good working condition to stop whining. Some of the highlights of his post are: On the whole, though, Korea is a pretty easy place...
Ex-South Korean Skater Viktor Ahn Wins Two Medals at Sochi for Russia
Star speed-skater Viktor Ahn, formerly a South Korean, runs as a Russian player and won two medals in Sochi Olympics so far. Koreans seem happy for this under-appreciated star's success.
South Korean Film About Samsung Worker's Death Slowly Winning Over Moviegoers
In a country where electronics giant Samsung has enormous influence, the film is receiving little promotion and few screenings, but it is being met with positive reviews online.
Have Acne? South Korea Will Tax Your Treatment
Taxing your pimple outbreak? It is indeed a creative way to collect more taxes.
Samsung Withdraws Controversial University Quota Policy in South Korea
South Korea isn't notoriously nicknamed "The Republic of Samsung" for nothing.
South Korea: ‘Less is More’, Net Users Turn Sour on Typical Movie Poster
A massive Disney hit movie, Frozen is rapidly gaining traction also in South Korea. However, more young Koreans are turning sour on typical Korean-style movie poster, which has long been criticized for being either too confusing or overly interrupted [ko] by extra-bold text dropping names or media/net users’ reviews ridden with cliche [ko]....
Massive Credit Card Data Theft Hits 20 Million South Koreans
In an effort to quell public anger, authorities have released tougher regulations, but people remain livid.
