Se-Woong Koo: On NK ICBM Launch for Al Jazeera and BBC World Service
Yesterday, Jul. 5, was a busy day for Korea Exposé publisher Se-Woong Koo. North Korea claimed to have launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and Se-Woong was on Al Jazeera and BBC’s World Update to offer commentary. Click here to listen to the World Update episode. (The Al
KÉ Interview: Meet a Man Who Farms Your Abalone
A satellite picture of Nohwado, an island off the southwest coast of South Korea, shows numerous farms in the surrounding waters. (Source: Naver Map) Satellite photos of Nohwado are striking. Rows upon rows of neatly arranged black rectangles fill the waters surrounding the island, as if the farmland continued out
Facebook Page Excites Followers with Supremely Banal Content
In an era of impeccable Instagram feeds and constant new, exciting content, you wouldn’t expect a photo of kimchi on a small metal plate or damp towels hanging out to dry to rack up 500 likes on Facebook. But two weeks ago, one anonymous Facebook user launched the page
It's Just Plain Weir-ed: The Plan to Liberate Seoul's Han River
As yet another drought keeps South Korea’s reservoirs and waterways in the news, campaigners are calling for Seoul’s iconic Han River to be restored to its natural state. The news may come as a surprise to many who view the wide, placid river each day from its bridges
Education Blues Pt. 2: Sex Education Without Sex
How can students prevent sexual assault while on a trip with their friends? Don’t go in the first place, said the Ministry of Education’s first standardized sex education curriculum in 2015. And to prevent sexual assault when home alone with a friend of the opposite sex? Don’t
Please Don't Walk Away Next Time You Hear a Scream
Imagine this. After a late evening golf practice, you light a cigarette and walk into the parking lot. Then, you hear a scream of a woman and see a pair of legs sticking out of one car. What would you do? On June 24, a woman surnamed Kim was abducted
You Say Melon, I Say Lemon: Deborah Smith's Flawed Yet Remarkable Translation of "The Vegetarian"
When news hit that novelist Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (Korean: Chaesikjuuija) had won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize last year, a jolt of excitement surged through the country. In terms of prestige, the Man Booker is perhaps second only to the Nobel Prize for Literature. And in a
Yeot: The Sweet Taffy With a Nasty Aftertaste
When South Korea’s national football team came home after giving a lamentable performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, an anonymous fan threw a handful of candies at the players as they lined up for a press conference at the airport. “Eat taffy!” he shouted twice at the
Education Blues Pt. 1: South Korea Cracks Down on Elite Schools
I suffered through an existential crisis in my second year of high school. By this, I don’t mean over my existence, but over my school’s existence. That year, abolishing foreign-language high schools hit the headlines for weeks, like it has been lately. We’d fret about the future
Yoo Ah Exempt: Another Celebrity Avoids Military Service
With both his name and “osteosarcoma” trending on giant portal site Naver, actor Yoo Ah-in found himself the center of Internet attention on June 26, joining the ranks of South Korean men exempt from mandatory military service. On May 22, Yoo received the last of five health examinations that began
Inter-Korean Engagement Resumes, With Taekwondo at the Center
The founder of taekwondo, Choi Hong-hi, conceived of the martial art in the ashes of the Korean War. As a South Korean army general, Choi had seen so much suffering, starting with Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea, through the 1950-53 war in which millions died. He sought to turn
Text Bombs Are S Koreans' Latest Political Tactic
During the Cultural Revolution, millions of students across China went on a rampage against any perceived dissident, inflicting both physical and emotional violence. Half a century later in South Korea, to silence critics, supporters of political parties are using what the country is best known for: technology. More specifically, text