Stories about South Korea from February, 2014
GV Face: Beyond Gangnam Style – Censorship and Korean Pop Music
It has been called South Korea's “greatest export.” PSY's K-pop song Gangnam style is the most watched video on YouTube. But behind the glamorous facades and big paychecks, it's not all fun and romance until South Korea's censors have done their work. Our managing editor Solana Larsen talks to our...
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.
Correction to Chosun Newspaper in South Korea
In an article that lists Global Voices as one of several “non-legitimate”, “foreign media websites” who “spread rumors about South Korea” abroad, South Korean pro-government newspaper Chosun falsely describes our Korean editor Yoo Eun Lee as, “a dark-haired Korean-American blogger, who goes by a last name starting with L”. Lee's...
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.
Activists Ask China to Ban Bear Bile Farming
In China, moon bears are kept in captivity and their bile is harvested for use in traditional Chinese medicine.
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.
Korean Comfort Women Issue Explained by Cartoon
A special exhibition on ‘comfort women‘- Korean girls forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese army during the World War 2 era- was featured at one of the leading cartoon festivals in France. It made several headlines as the Japanese government tried to block it, but failed. Korean net users...
