· February, 2008

Stories about South Korea from February, 2008

East Asia: Intangible Cultural Heritage

  29 February 2008

Ampontan has a very elaborated post on debate and discussion about the registration of intangible cultural heritage at UNESCO among China, Japan and South Korea.

Korea: Increase in Living Expenses and Freedom of Speech

  22 February 2008

While Koreans are waiting for the new administration after the presidential election, the ambitious policies of the new administration and the burning of Namdaemun (South Gate) in Seoul seem to cause Koreans to build up uncertain trust toward the administration.

South Korea: Dark Tourism

  20 February 2008

Korea Beat translated a local report on the phenomenon of “dark tourism” to the scene of the Namdaemun/Sungnyemun fire.

South Korea: Income Inequality

  19 February 2008

Jamie picks up the editorial from local newspapers on the worsening income inequality situation in South Korea, with some back ups from 2007 statistic.

Korea: Burning of Namdaemun

  17 February 2008

Namdaemun, the Great South Gate (called Namdaemun or Sungnyemun), which was established in the 14th century, was ravaged by a fire that broke out on the 10th of February. It was was the city’s main entrance from the south when Seoul became the capital of Korea more than 600 years...

Korea: Adjusting to college life

14 February 2008

A Korean student recently wrote a lengthy post about her experiences adapting to college life. Her comments apparently struck a chord with many others, and responses flowed in. Her post and the reactions of other Koreans show how some netizens think about issues like fitting in and individuality in Korea...

South Korea and China: What If Sungnyemun Arson Happened In X?

  14 February 2008

Yi shao from my1510 imagined how would the government respond to the Sungnyemun Arson if it happened in X country rather than South Korea? Obviously no government official would step down and all the responsibility would be taken by the suspect. Moreover, in the official media, the government would become...

Korea: Lunar New Year, do men also struggle?

  9 February 2008

New Year! It’s a big holiday in Korea. People return to their hometowns and worship their ancestors. People gather with relatives whom they haven’t seen for a while. For entertainment and respect for ancestors, preparing meals is a big job. Now New Year has produced a new symptom, ‘New Year...

East Asia: Early Modern Periodization

  7 February 2008

Morgan Pitelka from frog in a well blogs about a symposium on “early modern” periodization in East Asia. There is an interesting debate about comparative history.