THAAD Will Not Protect South Korea
Elderly women held up signs reading “Illegal THAAD, back to the U.S!” as they marched, leaning on walking frames for support. Soseong-ri, their small village in South Korea, has become the center of a fight that could lay the groundwork for U.
Plant Shutdown Puts Nuclear Industry Back in Spotlight
By 2020, South Korea will be home to the largest cluster of nuclear reactors in the world, just a short drive away from Busan. But in a country where fears about Japanese seafood still linger after the Fukushima disaster of 2011, the booming nuclear industry — which produces roughly 30
Misfortunes of South Korean Security Guards
A few years ago, I saw a notice up in the elevator of my apartment in Seoul. It was about replacing security guards — at least fifty in all seven buildings of the compound — with machines. The resident representative announced that a “new security system” would curtail management expenses.
The Babariums of Jeolla
I’d seen them before on South Korean films from a couple of decades ago: giant baby rooms, filled with row upon row of newborns watched through the glass by curious parents. “Isn’t that one ours?” They’d point. “Number 47?” “No, it’s number
Se-Woong Koo: On Park Geun-hye's Arrest Warrant for BBC
Our publisher Se-Woong Koo was on BBC World Update to discuss the South Korean prosecutors’ request for a warrant to arrest former president Park Geun-hye. Click here to listen to the broadcast.
Time to Stop Skirting the Issue: Sexualization of School Uniforms in South Korea
“3D bodyline.” “A tulip body-line to turn men’s heads.” “A skirt that really brings out those lines.” “Freely adjustable length.” Guess what kind of product this ad is promoting. It’s an ad for girls’ school uniforms. One Twitter user recently uploaded a photo
A Jewish Learning Method Catches on in South Korean Hagwons
South Korea’s obsession with education is well-known. The size of the private education market amounted to 18 trillion won (over 16 billion U.S. dollars) last year. The market is so big that for years, the government has been trying to regulate hagwons — private cram schools — but
The Price of Democracy
Demonstrations calling for the ouster of then-president Park Geun-hye began in late October. Huge “candlelight rallies” continued almost every Saturday for the next 21 weeks, with fireworks, rock concerts on professionally built stages, banners and, of course, candles (both wax and LED). Portable toilets
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
Battle's Not Over for Samsung Leukemia Victims
Earlier this month, a group of activists sued the Ministry of Employment and Labor for information they hoped might explain the deaths of people who worked in Samsung semiconductor and LCD factories, the latest phase in a legal battle that goes back a decade. On Thursday, Suwon District Court handed
The Uni Student that Goes to Court Four Times a Month
When I connected with Kim Sam on the phone, she sounded just like one of my friends answering a call from a stranger: polite but cautious, a little unsure. Kim’s nonchalant personality in our conversation and online videos belies the doggedness of her activism, which has led to her
Ikseon-dong: Seoul's Hottest Poverty Porn Destination
If you plug Ikseon-dong, the name of a central Seoul neighborhood, into your preferred search engine, you’ll come up with countless photographs, many of which look the same: shabby low-rise buildings with wooden doors along narrow alleyways. One recurring image is Ikseon-dong shot from above, contextualizing it as a