Korea
Traditional Korean Medicine Makes Bold Claims, but Can It Be Trusted?
Walk half a block from Jegi-dong station in northeastern Seoul, and a massive traditional gate comes into sight. Beyond it, stores after stores sell mysterious ingredients out of big plastic bags. Shopkeepers dust the merchandise—mostly dried plant materials—in the open, sending particles flying in the air. Some corners
Pyeongchang: Halal Food for Athletes But Not Regular Visitors?
Muslim athletes will now be able to get halal food at Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, after official caterer Shinsegae Food received halal certification from the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF) on Jan. 29 for its cafeteria at the athlete’s village. But for regular spectators and tourists, it remains unclear if and
P(r)aying for Bigotry at Handong University
“Homosexuality is not just any crime. It’s a serious problem that tries to change laws, systems, society and culture and corrupt our children.” Jei Yanggyu, a professor at Handong University, voiced such concerns on the university’s internal website on Dec. 23. “If Handong loses its identity as
Is It Still Hanbok if It's See-through?
Let’s face it. Hanbok may be beautiful to look at but cumbersome to wear. But 24-year-old CNe Choi is trying to change that. She has been attacked for allegedly debasing tradition — by adding her unique touches, from see-through materials to bold patterns. But she has also attracted
What Does Samsung Make?
After Apple launched the first iPhone in 2007, Samsung responded with a drive to create world-leading smartphones of its own. It succeeded, with the result that its Galaxy smartphones are now pretty much neck-and-neck with Apple’s iPhones in terms of performance and popularity. But Samsung does so much more
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
Don't Just Say It, Sing It: South Korea's Election Songs
Another election in South Korea means another season of trucks blaring out deafening campaign songs. Korea Exposé took a look at some of the funniest tunes each candidate is using to seduce voters. Moon Jae-in, The Minjoo Party Front-runner Moon has a support rate of 44.8 percent,
Is the World's First Newspaper...Korean?
Is the world’s oldest-known newspaper Korean? A Buddhist temple in South Korea recently claimed that it possessed the world’s “first” daily newspaper, called the Jobo. If the claim is true, the Jobo would be almost a century older than the Einkommende Zeitungen, one of the world’
In Search of Koreans in Cuba: A Tale of Jeronimo Lim
On Dec. 28, 2015, I boarded a flight in Toronto bound for Havana, Cuba. It was one of those trips you grant to yourself as a reward for having worked hard that year. I had no particular agenda other than observing how people live in a communist nation, going to
App-ward Mobility, South Korean Style
91 percent of South Koreans use a smartphone. Backed by the world’s fastest internet speed, their country’s mobile app market is thriving. So what killer apps do South Koreans rely on to guide them through the complexities of 21st-century life? Here, we dug up a
153 Forgotten Days at Seoul National University
The student sit-in at Seoul National University lasted 153 days, before being disbanded just a day after president Park Geun-hye was ousted from office. Their long-drawn protest, like many news stories, has been subsumed by the Park Geun-hye scandal. What’s going on in the country’s
K-Fashion: Where Imitation Breeds Creativity
Scandinavian mass retailer H&M recently launched its “K-Fashion” limited edition collection, available only in Asia. The line, which aims to capitalize on the popularity of South Korean pop culture in regions like Hong Kong, China and Japan, features oversize sweatshirts with Mickey Mouse faces, Snoopy-patterned crew-neck tees and