This Foul-Mouthed 20-Year-Old is Changing South Korea's Millennial Media
Guk Beom-geun has a message for you, and he’s happy to phrase it in the bluntest possible terms. In a video, while digging in to a bowl of spicy ramen, he addressed the question on everyone’s lips, “What the Fuck is North Korea’s Problem?” “North Korea’s
IMF 20 Years On: S. Korea’s Never-ending Crisis
Near the end of the service, Pastor Huh Woon-ho asked the packed tent of congregants a question he already knew the answer to: “What happened 20 years ago?” The churchgoers instinctively knew what Huh was getting at, and responded in low-voiced unison, “The IMF crisis.” Before that, the worst financial
A Delicate Balance: Moon Seeking a New Path in Beijing
The most sensational news to come out of President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to China this week is a reported incident of two South Korean photo journalists getting beat up by Chinese security guards while Moon was attending a trade event in Beijing Thursday morning. Grainy footage of suited
Government Roasts Paris Baguette for Half-Baked Employment Practices
Going by its name, you probably wouldn’t guess that Paris Baguette’s company history begins in the poverty-stricken Korea of 1945. In a video on its website, South Korea’s SPC Group, parent company of the ubiquitous bakery chain, claims that everything started with a bakery in what is
When the Moons Align: Black Bears Back to the Wild
Asiatic black bears occupy a special place in Korean folklore. The cute creatures, called ‘moon bears’ due to the crescent of white fur on their chests, appear as characters in stories, and cartoon depictions of moon bears were chosen as the mascot for the Paralympics held in Seoul in 1988
Nameless and Faceless
Last year, students at Pusan National University treated campus cleaning and security staff to a meal and some live music, in an event titled “We’re happy because of your effort.” Local newspaper Busan Ilbo was on the scene, and quoted someone from the university as saying, “We hope the
Corruption Suspicions Another Hiccup in Massive U.S. Military Relocation
Suspected corruption in South Korea threatens to undermine what has been called the largest construction project in the history of the U.S. Department of Defense. The U.S. military is currently undertaking a massive relocation of its forces out of bases in and north of Seoul and toward
Non-Korean White-Collar Jobs Still Limited to Language Skills
Before entering the Job Fair for Foreign Residents in 2017, each foreigner filled out a form and was outfitted with a lanyard that displayed a version of their name written in the Korean Hangeul script, with their country of origin in a smaller font below. Few events can rival job
The Last Gulps of the Canary in the Itaewon Coal Mine
After climbing a dusty, graffiti-strewn staircase to the entrance to Seoul Pub, one encounters a handwritten sign hanging on the glass door: “No drunken, fighting, sleeping, bothering, picking up.” Inside the bar, owner Jung In-chul explains that the sign is an expression of his desire to maintain a family-like atmosphere
Baseballer Learns That on Social Media, It’s One Strike and You’re Out
Everyone occasionally gripes about their bosses or the politicians that run their country, right? But in 2017, such airing of frustrations is likely to take place on social media, with the risk of damning comments ending up being shared publicly for anyone to see. South Korean baseball player Kim Won-seok
Gordon Ramsay Swears by Korean Beer, but Are Koreans Buying It?
“Before you learn to cook you need to learn how to taste,” British chef Gordon Ramsay told late night host Jimmy Kimmel before using a blind taste test to evaluate Kimmel’s ability to figure out what he was eating without seeing it. While he is best known for his
Do Convenience Stores With No Staff Signal a Future with Fewer Jobs?
Inside, the convenience store looks like any of the countless shops one finds on almost every street in South Korea. Under bright fluorescent lights there are shelves of instant noodles and snacks, refrigerators stocked with iced coffee and soft drinks, racks of mobile phone chargers and cables. But unlike other