Pleasures of Seoul
The Covid crisis continues, and free travel seems a distant prospect. As we wait for the restrictions to lift, here we reminisce about Seoul and the pleasures it offers.
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South Korea Needs More Immigrants
South Korea has long exploited migrant workers under its so-called Employment Permit System. It's time to give them the rights they deserve.
A Match Made by the Gods
Not everyone believes media accounts that there are one million shamans in contemporary South Korea, but shamanism does remain a potent force.
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Pleasures of Seoul
The Covid crisis continues, and free travel seems a distant prospect. As we wait for the restrictions to lift, here we reminisce about Seoul and the pleasures it offers.
The K-beauty Nation Begins to Question Its Obsession With Beauty
In a country known for its obsession with appearance and thriving makeup culture, dubbed "K-beauty," some women are starting to say the strict standards of beauty are a form of "corset" imposed by patriarchy, to be removed and discarded.
North Korea Reporting: Riddled With Errors, Even in Neighboring South Korea
North Korea is a hard country to report on for journalists from any country. But even in South Korea, right next to the North, the problem of misreporting is dire, for reasons that go beyond lack of sources.
Entering Korea as a Foreigner During COVID-19 Crisis
Borders are being shut. Flights are reduced. Can a foreigner enter South Korea while coronavirus rages on? Here is the full explainer.
End of 2019, End of Candlelight Revolution’s Hope
The Candlelight Revolution three years ago brought hope for South Korea's ailing democracy. Moon Jae-in, who came into power then, has dashed that expectation.
Where Elders Are Denture-Clacking Vermin
In a country that has promoted competition for decades, it was inevitable that intergenerational conflict would worsen, with the young and the old seeing one another as enemy in a race to win limited resources.
South Korea’s Corruption, Exposed by Burning Sun
The real damage from the Burning Sun scandal is not to K-pop only, but also to the reputation of the country’s elite, whose corrupt antics have been laid bare for all to see.
South Korea’s Extreme Birth Rate Crisis
Despite pouring some 130 billion USD over the last 13 years into boosting the birth rate, South Koreans may go extinct by 2750. Here is our look at why.
Revisiting: My Political Coming of Age
Young people have been leading a lethargic existence removed from politics. But no more. The Park Geun-hye scandal woke us to our potential.
Is China the Cause of South Korea’s Waste Problem?
One year ago, recycling firms temporarily stopped collecting recyclable waste at apartment complexes in and around Seoul. South Korean media was quick to blame China for causing the "garbage crisis" without looking at all the facts.
The Seungri Scandal and South Korea’s Gender Disparity
The scandal surrounding Seungri, a former member of boy group Big Bang, illustrates the ongoing struggle for gender parity in South Korea and hints at deep-rooted problems with representation of women by the K-pop industry.
The Humanities Is the Next Frontier for South Korea’s Chaebol
Having identified the humanities as an antidote to their paralysis of innovation, South Korea's big family-controlled conglomerates started selling lacquered rhetoric about the value of humanities education, and about the value of “culture” by extension.