KE Radar
Moon Jae-in Vows to Dismantle Police Conscript Force
When young college students in Seoul went out to march through the streets calling for Park Geun-hye’s impeachment in a long streak of demonstrations that started last October, it wasn’t difficult to bump into an acquaintance blocking you — dressed in a navy military drab armed in a
Guess Who Is Bizzack? It's Chung Yoo-ra!
Chung Yoo-ra, the former competitive equestrian and heir to the dubious fortunes of her mother Choi Soon-sil, arrived back in South Korea on Wednesday, and picked a surprising word to describe her fate. She said her situation after having been extradited from Denmark for questioning in the political scandal that
Welcome to K-pop Idol School, Where Only the Beautiful Enter
“We are recruiting beautiful freshmen.” This shamelessly explicit phrase on its website says everything about Idol School, an institution that aims to nurture K-pop girl group members. In the video, girls in lolitaesque school uniforms (the skirts barely cover their thighs) vow to follow the school’s curriculum so
I'm Not Mad: Involuntary Psychiatric Hospitalization in S Korea
“I’m not mad,” a woman pleads. “Somebody locked me up.” The protagonist of the 2016 movie “Insane” is mysteriously kidnapped and put in a mental hospital, later waking up to find out that her family members and a psychiatrist have conspired to have her locked up there. This
Dear Customer, I Love You: Emotional Labor at South Korean Call Centers
One call center is bringing back its old greeting: “Dear customer, I love you.” The needlessly romantic phrase appeared in mid 2006, but was put to an end in little more than two years after accusations that forcing call center workers to address callers “with love” constituted “emotional
Breaking the Contract with the Republic of Korea
“Politicians are all the same. They make a bunch of promises before the election, but once elected they forget all about them.” This was a fairly recurrent comment I heard on the day of the presidential election this year while interviewing people on the street. Last year, some South
The Age of E-Mart Under Moon Jae-in
South Korea’s first branch of E-mart, now the country’s largest retailer and originally inspired by Walmart, opened in November 1993. That was about four years after the country’s first convenience store, the Seven Eleven near the Olympic Village in Seoul, appeared. It’s
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
After S Korea's Presidential Race: What's Next?
Just when the whole world seemed to be lurching to the right, France stepped away from a presidency under Marine Le Pen on Sunday. South Korea has now followed suit, kicking its conservatives into the wilderness after almost a decade in power and choosing progressive candidate Moon Jae-in
S Korea Election Day: Voter Snapshots in Seoul
A year ago today, Park Geun-hye probably would have had no idea how May 9 2017 would unfold. She would’ve imagined carrying out her official duties as president, albeit a lame duck president. She would’ve been thinking about the presidential election that would take place&
The Damming Verdict on Hong Joon-pyo's Drinking Water Plan
Hong Joon-pyo and his Liberty Korea Party regularly come out the worst when comparing presidential candidates’ environmental manifestos. Be it climate change, energy, fine dust, land and sea management or almost anything else, the conservative candidate routinely fails to provide answers or is slammed for his inadequate plans. Recently,
Workload From Hell: S Korea Post Office's Election Blues
In exactly a week, South Korea will hold its 19th presidential election. It’s a busy time for the post office: The National Election Commission has been mailing out over 20 million promotional packages about the presidential candidates. To voters, these packages are an informative and even a fun way