Former Spy Chief Could Be Next On Chopping Block for Park Geun-hye Saga
Appearing at the prosecutors’ office in Seoul on Monday morning, former National Intelligence Service Director Lee Byung-kee told reporters, “I regret having disappointed the people of this country over the question of having National Intelligence Agency funds funneled to the Blue House.” Lee, 70, is being questioned in relation to
Itaewon Bar Apologizes to Indian Student for Foreigner Ban
In June, a video of Kislay Kumar, a student from India, being turned away from a bar in Seoul briefly went viral due to the brazenness of the discrimination he faced on the basis of his nationality. In a video of the incident, a bouncer can be heard saying, “No
Dispatch: Central Seoul Quiet as Trump Arrives for Meeting with "a Fine Gentleman"
Walking through central Seoul on Tuesday morning, it’s clear that the South Korean government is taking no chances with security during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit. In the vicinity of Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul’s symbolic center, police line the street and stand shoulder to shoulder at every
Media Roundup: S. Korean Chatter Ahead of Trump's Visit
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in South Korea tomorrow on the second stop of his five-country tour of Asia, his first trip to the region as president. Trump’s South Korea itinerary includes a trip to a U.S. military base, the National Cemetery in Seoul
South Korean Perp Walks: What's Up With the Blurred Handcuffs?
If you happened to catch television coverage of then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye arriving for a court hearing in May, you might have noticed that before she even disembarked from the jail bus, there was a pixelated blob on the screen waiting for her. The pixelation was strategically placed to
Does Naver Qualify as a News Company?
If you ask a South Korean where they get their news, they’re likely to answer, “From Naver.” Naver, a popular search engine and web portal, dominates the distribution of news on the Korean language internet, though it is not, as its founder insisted during a National Assembly hearing on
Is South Korea Ready for All Its International Students?
In August, Bernadette had dropped out of her summer classes and found herself repeatedly Googling ‘how to die painlessly.’ She was in her third year at Dongguk University in Seoul, far from her family and friends in her native Philippines. Having been in South Korea since 2014, she hadn’t
Spending Candlelight Protest Anniversary in the Slammer
One year after the start of a historic protest movement that ended with the ouster of a president, central Seoul is set to be filled with candle-holding citizens again this Saturday. Last year’s nationwide demonstrations were sparked by allegations of influence peddling involving then-President Park Geun-hye, her confidante
Love It or Hate It, S. Korea’s Anti-Corruption Law Here to Stay
One year after a landmark anti-corruption law went into effect, big corporations are celebrating the legislation’s effects while small businesses say they’re taking a hit. The law, called the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (but usually referred to as the Kim Young-ran law, after the former judge who
Amid North Korean Threat, Free Trade Agreement Bedevils Moon Jae-in Presidency
Just before the National Assembly was set to vote, a middle-aged man stood at the podium, eyes closed in an apparent meditative state, his navy blue suit covered in fine off-white dust. The man was leftist lawmaker Kim Seon-dong, and a few moments earlier he had set off a tear
Bulgogi Burger Blues: Headaches for McDonald's Korea
Apparently at McDonald’s in South Korea, not all meals are happy meals. Following alleged cases of children falling ill after eating McDonald’s hamburgers, investigators from Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office raided the company’s Seoul headquarters on Wednesday. Reached via phone by Korea Exposé, McDonald’s
More South Korean Teens Hitting the Bottle Too Hard
Everyone knows that South Koreans like a drink, but won’t someone please think of the children? That’s just what the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRAS) has been doing, having released this week the results of a study indicating that South Korean teenagers are taking their first