South Korea
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What "Progressive" Means in South Korea
Stop the Communists! Save democracy from North Korea! These chants, as outdated and irrelevant as they may sound, still reverberate around the streets of South Korea in the 21st century. They come from some in the older generation, who believe that the recent ouster of former president Park
Even Getting Into the Military Is Competitive in South Korea
It’s widely known that cut-throat competition is the norm of South Korean life. There are hagwons, or private cram schools, for children even in kindergarten. So it’s not surprising that hagwons exist also for those who are about to start their mandatory military service. Young South Korean
Remember South Korea's Artist Blacklist? There's a "Whitelist," Too
Remember South Korea’s blacklist? The recently ousted Park Geun-hye allegedly kept a blacklist of nearly 10,000 artists and cultural figures who were critical of the administration. Now, investigators found out, there’s a “whitelist” to accompany the blacklist. The whitelist was first discovered by&
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
Beyond Infantilizing Portraits: South Korean Adoptees Speak Out
Perhaps the world’s best-known Korean adoptee today is Adam Crapser. After living in the U.S. for almost four decades, Crapser was deported to South Korea late last year because his adoptive parents had never filed for his American citizenship. The twists and turns of
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&
Seoul Had the Second-Worst Air Quality in the World This Morning
Early this morning, Seoul had the second-worst air quality in the world, after New Delhi. According to AirVisual, an air quality monitoring site, things improved somewhat in Seoul as time went on. But as of noon local time, the South Korean capital was still in 8th place for terrible
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
Public Wedding Ad Angers Young South Koreans
A beaming young bride and groom step through a door into a sunlit future, accompanied by the strings of Wagner’s Wedding March… only to be confronted by a daunting row of hurdles. So begins a public-service advertisement from Kobaco (Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation) released on
Anger at Adultery Betrays Fear at Fragility of Marriage
In my area of Seoul lives a celebrity — he is an indy singer best known for appearing on a TV variety show some years ago. I often see him at our neighborhood bar when I am going home. But more recently, I saw him walking his dogs with a
"Becoming Prettier": K-pop MV Chronicles Girl Group's Plastic Surgery
Four girls in skintight pink bodysuits march into a surgery room. One of them lies down and closes her eyes, as blinding white light gleams from the surgical headlights above her. Then, a long beep and brief silence, followed by a catchy beat with these lines: “I’m
Hwang Kyo-ahn: The Man Who Wouldn't Be King
When President Park Geun-hye was impeached, her Prime Minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn was named the acting president. Upon taking the top job, Hwang made no effort to distance himself from the disgraced Park, and went as far as to take responsibility for her plight: He said that the whole mess was