A Small Victory for South Korea's Disability Rights
On a cold winter evening in 2012, Lee Hyung-sook came out to Gwanghwamun, a historic square in central Seoul, to catch the attention of then-candidate Park Geun-hye. Lee uses a wheelchair to get around and is officially classified as “level 1,” a grade applied to the most severely handicapped
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
KÉ Journalism School is Coming Back in January 2018
Korea Exposé Journalism School is coming back in January 2018! You can get networking opportunities with journalists, a polished portfolio and a chance to publish on Korea Exposé. No previous experience/education required. Just bring a laptop, a reporter’s notebook, a smartphone and fluency in Korean and English.
No-Kids Zones and the Myth of "Parasitic Mothers"
A year ago, a friend of mine, a female radio producer in Seoul, confided that visiting someone who had just given birth horrified her. She talked about this young mother as being cooped up in the apartment all day while her husband worked, and feeling her intelligence diminishing to the
Ropeway, Airport Encroaching on National Parks
It’s a familiar sight for anyone exploring the South Korean countryside: Just when you least expect it, a row of giant concrete columns newly growing out of a rice paddy, rising upwards in readiness for another highway or high-speed railway to be laid across the top. This is
Jieun Choi: On BBC World Service Radio Discussing "Spycam Porn"
Korea Exposé staff writer Jieun Choi was on BBC World Service live to discuss the phenomenon of hidden cam porn in South Korea. Listen here (at 48:39). Read Jieun’s original article at Korea Exposé: “There could be one of you”: S. Korea’s Spycam
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
Not All Genitalia Images Are Obscene: Supreme Court Rules
Pictures of genitalia are not obscene. A caveat: so long as their “evil” can be contextualized through criticism or explanation. That was the ruling by the Supreme Court last Thursday, concluding a six-year debate over just what constitutes obscene materials in South Korea. The case centered on Korea University law
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
"I Think of the Mountain": History of Hiking in S. Korea
The CIA World Factbook describes South Korea as “mostly hills and mountains.” 64 percent of the country’s land is forest, according to a 2014 report by Korea Forest Service. Given this geography, hiking naturally is a popular pastime in South Korea. Or is it so natural to assume so?
Pro-Choice Petition Reaches the Blue House
This week, the question of whether South Korean women should have access to legal abortions is being officially addressed at the highest levels of government. On Sep. 30, a petitioner wrote on the presidential office’s website about lifting the abortion ban and legalizing abortion pills. The petition, now closed,
Korean Adoptees Search Against the Odds and Agencies
When Fleur Pellerin became a prominent member of newly-elect Francois Hollande’s cabinet in 2012, headlines in South Korea started buzzing about how she was the “flower” that made South Korea known to the world. Pellerin was a Korean adoptee; a few days after her birth in