· August, 2012

Stories about South Korea from August, 2012

South Korea: K-Pop Video ‘Gangnam Style’ Goes Viral Internationally

  29 August 2012

South Korean singer Psy's tune 'Gangnam Style' has gone viral internationally, with its YouTube video surpassing 70 million hits as of today. This has got many Koreans talking and the scope of such discussions vary from simple praise of Psy's success, reviews of his marketing and social media strategies, to a more detailed analysis of Koreans' deep-seated insecurity about their country.

South Korean President Made an Unprecedented Visit to Disputed Dokdo Islands

  10 August 2012

South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak visited Dokdo (or Takeshima in Japanese) islands, sparking international media frenzy. Lee would be the first South Korean leader to visit the disputed islands which both South Korea and Japan have a historical claim to. The Dokdo Times blog wrote a post explaining the context,...

North Korea: First Lady Spotted With A Luxury, ‘Dior’ Handbag

  9 August 2012

North Korea’s young first lady was pictured carrying what appears to be a Christian Dior handbag which costs around USD 1,600. While international media lashed hard at the luxury in the midst of food crisis where millions of North Koreans suffer from starvation, one net user in Sina English site raised a...