Moon Jae-in's Road to Gender Equal Cabinet
With his good-looking entourage (especially one of his campaign bodyguards), newly-elected president Moon Jae-in has excited many in South Korea and beyond. Now, he is enthralling the electorate with his choice of ministerial nominees – this time, not for their appearances but because they are women in positions previously dominated
Four Rivers Project: Explained
President Moon Jae-in has been in office for less than two weeks, but he already has a considerable list of achievements. He made radical appointments for his secretariat and cabinet, and elevated several women to positions of prominence. He ordered the abolition of the much-hated history textbooks, championed by Park
More Than Fat
In one comedy sketch, an overweight woman wearing sparkling jewelry and a comely black dress scarfs down food. A man acting as her manager yells, “Min-kyoung, wake up! How many times have I told you to lose that weight? How can you call yourself a woman and not make the
Seoullo 7017: Urban Asset or Vanity Project?
A scene from otherwise unmemorable 2009 film Private Eye, about colonial-period Korea, has stayed lodged in my memory for the last eight years: Independence Gate stands alone in a field of wild grass, bushes and mist, with no other sign of human settlement or migration is in sight. Actual photos
Se-Woong Koo: Profiled in Money Today
Publisher Se-Woong Koo and Korea Exposé were profiled in a long interview with South Korean daily Money Today. Read the whole article here [in Korean].
Resurgence of a South Korean Democracy Anthem
“A passionate oath to march our whole lives, leaving neither love nor reputation nor name. Our comrades are gone; only a fluttering flag remains. Let us stand firm until a new day comes.” This year, the solemn melody of “March for the Beloved” reverberated majestically at the national memorial ceremony
Call Me Maybe: How N. and S. Korea Actually Communicate
The new Moon Jae-in administration wants to reopen communication channels with North Korea. The two Koreas haven’t talked on the phone for over fifteen months. But back when they did, at least two calls were made each day. What do these inter-Korean channels
Murder at Gangnam Station: A Year Later
Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the murder near Gangnam Station in Seoul, South Korea. Nearly a thousand people — mostly in the younger generation — silently marched across the streets of Gangnam, paying tribute to a 23-year-old woman who died in the hands of a stranger in a public
Sibal Biyong: Spending Toward Meaning of Life
Lately it seems that all over Seoul there are vending machines full of plush toys, known as the “claw machine.” You insert money, then control the mechanical hand to fish objects inside the clear glass box. In most cases the effort ends in failure. At first I wondered if anyone
When You Read Your Kid's Personal Statement
It’s hard enough for young people to get a job in South Korea. Imagine if you were one of them, and one of your parents was a human resource manager reading your cover letter. Solfa, a group of South Korean creative content producers on Youtube, published a video
South Korea's Nordic Obsessions
A couple of months ago, I bought a monstera, a potted plant that my Swedish friend recommended as an indoor-friendly houseplant that grew in minimal natural lighting. He showed me photos of his place in Sweden with monstera plants hanging off the Nordic wooden shelves. When I looked up&
Military Prosecutors Seek Jail Sentence for Gay Soldier
South Korea’s military prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence for “Lieutenant A,” a soldier accused of having anal intercourse with a colleague. A military court is due to pass sentence on May 24. Lieutenant A is thought to have been caught as part of the army’