KE Radar
Will Park Geun-hye Pay Her Lawyers?
Former president Park Geun-hye hired a total of 14 lawyers to defend her in the huge political scandal that led to her impeachment — and now incarceration. “How did Park Geun-hye manage her colossal legal fees? By not paying her lawyers,” broadcaster TV Chosun
South Koreans Compete for Government Jobs as Economy Flounders
Last Thursday, a 30-year-old man committed suicide on a mountain near Mapo district, Seoul. He was a gongsisaeng — a student preparing to take a civil service exam for officials-to-be in lower levels of management. In his hand was a piece of paper on which he had calculated his score
WHO vs. South Korea Guidelines for Air Quality
Today, two South Korean cities once again ranked in the world’s top ten for bad air quality. Seoul, the country’s capital and most populous city, was one of the two. The air pollution ranking around 2 p.m. KST. Air Quality Index (AQI) 101-150 is&
South Korea's Impossibly Mundane Superheroes
Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman. … Our best-loved superheroes are an unusual and flamboyant bunch. In South Korea, meanwhile, a different breed of wonder-figure is winning over the people: the Office Hero. The Office Hero doesn’t have supernatural abilities, technically speaking. He or she works in an office,
Korea's "First Room Salon"
Lecturer Seol Min-suk is one of South Korea’s biggest celebrity historians. He is entertaining, colorful and descriptive, and makes history fun. Recently, he put himself on the chopping board with a highly controversial comment about some of the most revered men in Korean history. It had to do with
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
Time to Stop Skirting the Issue: Sexualization of School Uniforms in South Korea
“3D bodyline.” “A tulip body-line to turn men’s heads.” “A skirt that really brings out those lines.” “Freely adjustable length.” Guess what kind of product this ad is promoting. It’s an ad for girls’ school uniforms. One Twitter user recently uploaded a photo
Battle's Not Over for Samsung Leukemia Victims
Earlier this month, a group of activists sued the Ministry of Employment and Labor for information they hoped might explain the deaths of people who worked in Samsung semiconductor and LCD factories, the latest phase in a legal battle that goes back a decade. On Thursday, Suwon District Court handed
How Netflix Disappointed South Korean Users
Starring in SNL Korea and numerous other TV shows, comedian Yoo Se-yoon is a familiar figure in South Korea. So when Netflix Korea, struggling since its launch in 2016, chose Yoo to promote their latest original series, they thought it would attract attention. “Yoo Se-yoon is throwing in his
For Better or Worse, All Roads Lead to Namuwiki in South Korea, Not Wikipedia
“All roads lead to Namuwiki,” a popular saying goes. Type any search term into Google Korea. Chances are, you’ll be taken to Namuwiki, not Wikipedia. Namuwiki is South Korea’s indigenous open-source encyclopedia, which started out as a half-baked collection of pages deep in the bowels of Korean cyberspace.
Granddaughter’s Love Makes Grandma a Youtube Sensation
Alzheimer’s runs in Park Mak-rye’s family. Three of her older sisters were afflicted by the neuro-degenerative disease. So Park’s 26-year-old granddaughter, Kim Yoo-ra, came up with an ingenious way to prevent her grandmother from suffering the same fate: Making the 70-year-old star of her own&
South Korean Comedy's Misogyny Machine
“Ugly and fat” is one of her most marketable characteristics. She talks openly about her weight and invites guffaws for saying that even her tongue is fat. She makes passes at sexy male celebrities, which people think is funny, because — duh — it’s a fat