South Korea news
War of Words over the State of South Korea
We live in an interesting time. Some of you may know I published an opinion piece in the New York Times last month condemning the South Korean government’s move to overhaul history textbooks. I didn’t know but apparently the foreign ministry “lodged a protest against
A South Korean in Paris, as a Refugee
“Diego” could easily pass for one of many South Korean tourists who flock to Paris for food, shopping, and that legendary ‘je ne sais quoi’ appeal of the French capital. He is actually among a rare few: South Korean asylum seekers who demand protection from foreign governments because
A Song for Ssireum: Traditional Wrestling Dies a Slow Death in South Korea
The Uiseong Middle School ssireum team at practice. (Credit: Karl Schutz) UISEONG, South Korea — Ssireum, a style of Korean wrestling some say is as old as Korea itself, has been seeing a slow and silent death in South Korea in recent decades. The sport, which feature two plus-sized competitors wrestling
When the Foreign Husband Is a Nepalese Labor Activist
Udaya Rai is a Nepalese citizen and president of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU), one of the most visible organizations to fight for the rights of migrant workers in South Korea. I recently profiled him for Equal Times, a publication of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). But our
Korea, Thy Name is Hell Joseon
One of the biggest scandals of 2010 involved Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, whose own daughter was found to have mysteriously qualified for a plum job inside the ministry, presumably with the father’s backing. This itself would not have been ordinarily such big news in South Korea, but the timing
A Confucian versus Capitalism at South Korea’s Centuries-Old Institute of Learning
Sungkyunkwan University, in the heart of Seoul, boasts a history dating back to 1398. Photo by InSapphoWeTrust On South Korea’s blue 1000-won note is a picture of Sungkyunkwan, the nation’s centuries-old bastion of Neo-Confucianism steps away from the old Changgyeong Palace in central Seoul.
South Korean Evangelicals' Anal Obsession
“They enter into carnal relations with multiple people several times a night, and wipe the semen, shit, blood, and lymphatic fluid from anal sex with discarded towels on the floor. Each morning the whole room is full of such towels and condoms covered in blood and feces. […] They reuse the
Northern Limit Line: Taking Politics Out of a Political Conflict
Source: Next Entertainment World (NEW) Dramatic music swells up as the camera zooms in on a dying South Korean soldier, a plump and friendly character who wins immediate sympathy because he’s the loving father of an adorable baby. His head droops to the side in a moment of finality;
The quieter side of the MERS outbreak
Streets around a hagwon district in Jukcheon, Gyeonggi Province, are all but deserted as MERS forces schools and even private classes to go on a temporary hiatus. (Anna Park for Korea Exposé) It has been over two weeks since MERS landed in South Korea, and an unusual quiet has descended
Seoul: The Swing Capital of the World
Colton J. for Korea Exposé Seoul has garnered a global reputation for its mobile wired-ness, public transportation, and binge-drinking culture. But it holds another #1 spot: the world’s largest swing dance scene. As things are wont to in South Korea, swing suddenly and improbably erupted in popularity in the
The Failure of Women Cross DMZ
30 women from 15 countries crossed the DMZ dividing the two Koreas on 24 May 2015, under the banner of Women Cross DMZ. For months leading up to the crossing, I was excited by the promise of something grand. However, like many others, I was disappointed by the tepid conclusion.
Marching for Inter-Korean Peace: Why Women Cross DMZ
http://gty.im/182520278 May 24, 2015 is International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament. On this day, Korean women will walk for peace across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the 4 km wide buffer that divides North and South Korea. They will be joined by international peace