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![[Updated] Guide to South Korea's Presidential Election](https://storage.googleapis.com/cdn.media.bluedot.so/bluedot.koreaexpose/wordpress/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2017-02-11-at-10.23.43-PM.png)
[Updated] Guide to South Korea's Presidential Election
The National Assembly impeached her. The Constitutional Court stripped her of presidency. Prosecutors have summoned her for questioning. She is now holed up in her house in Gangnam, not seen after moving out of the presidential Blue House on Mar. 12. Since the Choi Soon-sil gate broke
The Enemy Is Within Our Ranks
Two narratives generally dominate the portrayal of South Korea’s most important holidays, Chuseok (the Autumn Harvest) and Seollal (the Lunar New Year), which was just last week. There’s the happy narrative: Extended families get together to celebrate over traditional home-cooked Korean dishes; smiling celebrities in hanbok promote the
Goodbye, Mr. Half
The return of former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 12 was one of the most closely watched events in recent memory, perhaps barring only the political scandal that has afflicted the impeached president Park Geun-hye. When Ban arrived, hundreds of his supporters greeted him rapturously at the airport.
Journalism Without Journalists: Political Interference Cripples Public Broadcasting
President Park Geun-hye’s scandal is often seen as a triumph of South Korean journalism. Not just for the dogged investigations by countless journalists, but because typically partisan newspapers on different sides of the political spectrum, like Hankyoreh and Chosun Ilbo, all reported persistently and critically on the same
A Candlelight Effect: Kim Jong-un Bows to His People
This concern [to improve the lives of the citizens] was in my heart, but I lacked the ability to see these dreams to fruition and spent the last year in regret and guilt. If I ask you to guess who the quote above is from, what name comes to
Sulli and K-Pop's Lolita Hypocrisy
Sulli is an interesting figure in the K-pop world. She entered the world of South Korean celebrity at the ripe age of 11, debuted as a member of girl group f(x) four years later in 2009, and rose to stardom under the strict guidance of SM Entertainment, a mega-agency
Still Impenetrable: Samsung Heir Lee Jae-yong Avoids Arrest to Mixed Reactions
The months-long scandal that has convulsed the top ranks of South Korean politics and business took a turn in the early hours of Thursday, as a court declined to grant an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, the country’s most prominent company and the crown
South Korea's Feudal Presidency: Ban Ki-moon Returns to Claim the Throne
Victorious generals of ancient Rome had processions known as triumphus to celebrate their successes abroad. Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, too, got one of a sort when he returned to South Korea on Thursday, Jan. 12. He was mobbed on arrival at Incheon International Airport by well-wishers and journalists.
Ethics Be Damned: South Korean Journalism Fails
I am from South Korea, but I make it a point not to write or speak in Korean about this country. That my Korean language skills have ossified from disuse is only one reason; it is more that my brushes with South Korean media are rarely uplifting. A case in
Poems From South Korea: Halmeonis Learn Hangul for the First Time
My halmeoni — “grandmother” in Korean as she is affectionately called — never studied beyond elementary school. In her family, education was reserved for the eldest male child; she helped out with farming and domestic duties. For most of my life, I didn’t even know she was
Fines Won’t Change Discrimination in Job Search
A fresh graduate from university, looking to land his or her first full-time job, has a number of steps to go through. Scouring job boards for openings, painstakingly editing and re-editing her resume, and, of course, going to a studio for a professional profile photo to attach to the application
Dispatch from Yeouido: President Park Geun-hye Gets Impeached
The most spirited cries of the day came just after 4 pm. Teary friends shouted, embraced, threw their hands in the air. About a minute earlier, the boisterous music had been halted, and audio from the National Assembly was pumped in. In an flat tone of voice, the speaker announced