Which South Korean Presidential Candidates Actually Care about the Environment?
On a global level, it seems more and more people care about environmental issues. But maybe not in South Korea. The 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global greenhouse emissions, Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan in the same year, and China’s 2013 China’s Action Plan for
Truth of Contamination at U.S. Military's Yongsan Garrison Begins to Emerge
South Korean environmental campaigners won a significant victory against the country’s environment ministry on Tuesday. Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society), a civil rights NGO, had sued the environment minister in a bid to force the disclosure of information about environmental pollution on U.S. Army Garrison
Saenuri Party Is Back. No, Not That Saenuri.
As if South Korea’s conservative faction isn’t fractured enough as is, it now has a third conservative presidential candidate. This reduces the right’s already-minimal chances of getting a sniff at power when the country goes to the polls on May 9. Meet pro-Park Geun-hye
Is Greenwashing South Korea's New Black?
South Korea’s controversy over coal-fired power stations continues to grow, in a country with the largest coal plant in the world. Concerns about air pollution and greenhouse emissions are rapidly darkening coal’s reputation, which powers about 40 percent of the country’s energy.
Coal, Dust and Hot Air: South Korea's Dirty Energy Habit
On the far side of a dry rice paddy, where magpies scratch at the earth, stands Dangjin Coal-Fired Power Complex, the biggest coal plant in the world. Inside its blue-clad towers are ten giant units capable of generating almost 5,900 megawatts of electricity — enough to power some five
Colossal Mystery of Lotte World Tower Ad
Lotte Group, one of South Korea’s biggest chaebol (family-run conglomerates), raised eyebrows with a full-page advertisement on page five of The New York Times’s international edition on Monday. “Lotte World Tower Reveals the Unique Sky of Seoul” declared a headline at the top of what appeared
Scarlett Johansson to Play Park Geun-hye in New Biopic
South Korea’s celebrity gossip network has gone into overdrive following revelations that 21st Century Fox is preparing to shoot a seven-hour biopic of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye. A high-placed Hollywood source confirmed that Scarlett Johansson is to star as Park, while soul mate Choi Soon-sil will
Plant Shutdown Puts Nuclear Industry Back in Spotlight
By 2020, South Korea will be home to the largest cluster of nuclear reactors in the world, just a short drive away from Busan. But in a country where fears about Japanese seafood still linger after the Fukushima disaster of 2011, the booming nuclear industry — which produces roughly 30
The Babariums of Jeolla
I’d seen them before on South Korean films from a couple of decades ago: giant baby rooms, filled with row upon row of newborns watched through the glass by curious parents. “Isn’t that one ours?” They’d point. “Number 47?” “No, it’s number
Remember South Korea's Artist Blacklist? There's a "Whitelist," Too
Remember South Korea’s blacklist? The recently ousted Park Geun-hye allegedly kept a blacklist of nearly 10,000 artists and cultural figures who were critical of the administration. Now, investigators found out, there’s a “whitelist” to accompany the blacklist. The whitelist was first discovered by&
Will the Sewol Finally Be Salvaged?
After nearly three years, the Sewol may finally see the light of day. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has announced that the passenger ferry that sank off South Korea’s west coast with the loss of 304 lives is finally to be brought up&
The Unpalatable Truth? Castella Cake Castigated on National TV
South Koreans take food seriously. In 2008, some of the biggest street protests in the country’s modern history were sparked by anger at imports of American beef. Media regularly report on alleged culinary outrages such as fake steak, suspect sauces and dud dumplings. On Sunday, Meokgeori X-Pail (“Food