· January, 2006

Stories about South Korea from January, 2006

Japan, Korea: Grateful Colonies

  31 January 2006

Oranckay rebuts an article in the Japan Times that argues, among other things, that Japanese colonial rule benefited Korea. “It’s one thing to know that mentioning “Japan’s contribution to Korea’s modernization… only creates anger in Korea,” but it’s another to understand that one of the reasons it angers Koreans so...

Korea: Singing Rain

30 January 2006

The Asia Pages is mystified about the apparent rising popularity of South Korean pop singer “Rain” in the United States.

The Year of the Dog Comes to the Rest of East Asia

  29 January 2006

“Da Hong Deng Long” (Big Red Lantern) by Yining Zhang Blogs all around East and Southeast Asia have gone grey this past weekend as many, particularly those in the overseas Chinese community, celebrate the Lunar New Year. As part of Global Voices Online's continuing celebration of the arrival of the...

South Korea, Taiwan: Lost in Translation

  23 January 2006

Pinyin News discusses the sorry state of translation in Korea, as compared to Japan. Many translations are not direct from English but from Japanese translations, and (apparently) Korea does not have a proper English-Korean dictionary. According to Taiwan-based Mind of Mike, though, there's little worry: “English Sucks!”

North Korea, South Korea: Treatment of Defectors

  20 January 2006

The Asia Pages writes about how poorly North Korean defectors are treated in South Korea: “for all the rhetoric of love South Koreans speak of when referring to North Koreans, there are too many cases of Southerners talking the talk but not walking the walk.”

China, Korea: Mandarin Required

  18 January 2006

The Asia Pages asks: “Who needs to study Mandarin?” While China's rise is important and far-reaching, she admits, Mandarin is difficult for Westerners to learn and Chinese in business meetings that she's attended in Korea have all said they would prefer to use English. “Even the translator messes up on...

China, Japan, Korea: The Uses of Anti-Japan Sentiment

  17 January 2006

Two contributors at Japundit hold a frank conversation about why China and sometimes South Korea find anti-Japanese sentiment so useful: “It allows people to indulge their emotions…It has nothing to do with today’s reality. Imperial Japan no longer exists. It was annihilated, and everyone in Japan knows it.” It's a...

South Korea: Presidential Overblog

16 January 2006

Apparently, South Korean president Roh Moo Hyun has three blogs. Writes Oranckay: “Some have said one of Roh’s biggest problems is that he’s got his head buried in the internet. You know, instead of just governing without constantly trying to be best buddies with The Netizens all the time. I...

South Korea: Thoughts on the Case of the Stem Cell Fraud

11 January 2006

Oranckay reflects on the meaning of the local controversy surrounding South Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk, who had been acclaimed as a national hero until he admitted flaws with his “breakthrough” research on stem cells. Many still defend him. He writes: “I think Korea has reason to be encouraged by...