Stories about South Korea from December, 2008
Korea: Raising New Candles against ‘7 Evil Laws.’
While welcoming 2009, Korea has another series of candlelight vigils against the government. The major political party, the Grand National Party, and the government presented new and revised bills. Among citizens, it is called the ‘7 Evil Laws [KR].‘ They are about national security laws, communications track regulations (to make...
Northeast Asia: 2008 Review
The northeast Asia region is becoming more integrated politically, economically and socially. State leaders from China, Japan and South Korea recently signed a Joint Statement for Tripartite Partnership to address the serious challenges in the global economy and the financial markets. Peace talk between North and South Korea continues, while...
Korea: Teachers who have been fired
Recently, some Korean teachers were fired because they were opposed to a new test that the government initiated, Ilje Gosa (one-type test, a nationwide scholastic achievement assessment). It is a test that all students take with the same questions and the same date, so that students can be compared across...
Madagascar, Kenya question wisdom of foreign land deals
Following national and international outrage, the land deal that would have let South Korean firm Daewoo Logistics lease a large swath of Madagascar's arable land, was finally rejected. However, the number of reported land deals between wealthy countries and developing nations continues to grow, and bloggers wonder if these deals will really benefit the interests of ordinary people.
Korea: Teenage Rape and Parents’ Responsibility
A teenager who has suffered from attention deficit disorder raped a seven year old girl. Having a previous record, the 18 year old was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the court. An interesting decision that the court made this time was to make his parents responsible for not...
South Korea: Riot Police Suppressed Comfort Women Protest
Michael Solis from Ohmynews! reported (with a video) about the Korean comfort women protest on 10 of December, 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the government sent riot police to suppress the peaceful protest.
South Korea: Translating Mountain Rose
Ask a Korean! discusses cultural different through the exercise of translating the lyrics of a Korean song: Mountain Rose.
Korea as a Multi-Ethnic Country
A daily newspaper, Hankyoreh, which is categorized as a progressive newspaper (or sometimes left-wing) introduced a series of articles, ‘Multi-Culturalism is Our Future.’ [KR] Korea, where one culture and one ethnic group are emphasized, currently has a population with only 2 percent foreign residents –1 million population. The newspaper article...
South Korea: Comfort Women Demonstration
Michael Solis from Ohmynews! forecasts the Korean comfort women demonstration on Human Rights Day.
Korea: Train Connecting North and South Stopped.
The train service that connects North Korea and South Korea was suspended on the 28th of November. [En] When the train that stopped more than 50 years started operating after the North and South Korean summit last year, people were excited and expected closer relations. Due to the increase in...
