Dispatch from Gumi: Park Geun-Hye's Sins Taint Father's Legacy
The monument to a dictator sits at the foot of some rolling hills, and visitors approaching the entrance are greeted by a bronze statue that depicts workers doggedly dragging a wheelbarrow. Nestled into trees behind the sculpture is a small cluster of gleaming single-story buildings: the house where Park was
Weekly Brief: Dec. 12th - 18th
Nicaragua breaks up protest at South Korean-owned factory Normally union-friendly Nicaragua stamped down on a union protest at a South Korean-owned factory after workers complained about working conditions. The company fired the union leadership and called the police, who detained a dozen workers. The two countries signed an FTA just
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
Weekly Brief: Dec. 5th - 11th
Corruption at heart of Presidential scandal In a rare scene, lawmakers questioned the CEOs of nine major conglomerates on live television. The CEOs represent the largest companies in the country, each suspected of buying favors from the government through Choi Soon-sil, the President’s confidante. The most common answer? “I
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
"I Love Park Geun-hye": The South Korean President's Last Loyalists
It seems like president Park Geun-hye doesn’t have many supporters left. Her closest aides are gone, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office — normally an ally of the sitting president — called her a criminal suspect, a growing portion of her Saenuri party is supporting impeachment, and her approval
Top Five Sightings from the Anti-Park Geun-hye Protests
In the sixth straight weekend of rallies in South Korea, a record number of protesters gathered in Seoul and across the nation Saturday, calling for the ouster of president Park Geun-hye. According to the progressive newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun, it marked the republic’s largest rally in history with an estimated
Weekly Brief: Nov. 28th - Dec. 4th
Foreign residents banned from participating in nationwide rallies The weekly demonstrations have drawn enthusiastic crowds, but a reminder to foreign residents of South Korea: It’s illegal for them to participate. Immigration law bans non-citizens from any form of political activity. However, there’s a low chance of any negative
South Korean Construction Industry Silent on Worker Abuse in Gulf States
Editor’s Note: As South Korean companies become globally competitive, more stories about how some of them may be disregarding international labor and human rights standards are surfacing. We share this statement from Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, an NGO which hopes to elicit a response
"Nobody Likes It": The Price of Researching North Korean Human Rights
This is probably not the best moment to talk about North Korean human rights, now that even Trump-related news has been getting competition: South Koreans have emphatically confirmed their own fundamental human rights by protesting en masse against President Park Geun-hye for five consecutive weeks. But then again, it
Religion and Politics in South Korea: Very Comfortable Bedfellows
It is 1975. An assembly of people are gathered together, standing in front of their purported leader. The group is fervently shaking their hands and praying. A girl, her eyes closed and seemingly on the verge of tears, is mouthing something. It’s a fleeting but powerful image. The leader