South Korea
1952000
Murder, Mystery and Character Communities
In March, the murder of a young girl at the hands of a 17-year-old sent shockwaves beyond her neighborhood in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. The anonymous perpetrator, only identified by the surname Kim, is a high school dropout with a history of mental illness. She is accused of luring a seven-year-old girl,
Sympathy For Student Vengeance?
βDid you see this?β On the morning of June 14, a scary message started circulating in my group Kakao chat with other peers at Yonsei University. The message read: βThere has been an explosion on the university campus. While the possibility of revenge crimes, terror or further explosions is
"No Kazakhstan, No Pakistan, No Mongolia, No Saudi Arabia."
When Kislay Kumar headed out on the town on a recent Friday, he had no way of knowing that later that night he would end up being the latest chapter in South Koreaβs national debate over race and inclusion. After two a.m., Kumar and a group of friends
Where Are All the Women in South Korea's Democracy Protests?
Moon Young-me was one of the five million South Koreans estimated to have come out onto the streets in June 1987. She was bare-faced, wearing no makeup or fancy clothing. That was the norm for the student protest culture at the time. She was a 21-year-old history major, a transfer
Menstruation: I Don't Want to Whisper. I Don't Want to Wear White.
In the two minute ad, a youthful man beckons the unseen female behind the camera into his kitchen. βThis special restaurant has opened just for you,β he says with a sheepish smile. After fumbling with kitchen utensils and ingredients, he serves the dishes on the table. The table is covered
Good Luck Finding a Bed During the Pyeongchang Olympics
The Olympic motto is βCitius, Altius, Fortius,β Latin for βfaster, higher, stronger.β It appears that the hoteliers and guesthouse owners of Pyeongchang, the mountain town where South Korea will host the 2018 Winter Olympics this winter, have been applying the second of these principles to their prices with a vengeance.
Sex Workers Speak Out About S. Korea's Shadowy Underbelly
βWelcome to the land of morning calm. Alternative noraebangs are a shadowy decadent underbelly of South Korean society where soju and an hour of sex with a prostitute go hand in hand; both commodities can be bought cheaply and enjoyed frequently.β – July 26, 2016 by Korea ExposΓ© In
"Adulkid": The Accelerating Evolution of Homo Consumens
The adage that βchildren will be childrenβ may not hold true in South Korea. Adding to the pressures faced by kids to excel in academics and god knows what else, a new social trend revolves around the concept of βadulkid,β aimed at making children look and behave like adults. At
What If Snow White Was Fat?
Snow White steps into the room and takes her robe off after a long day. Two dwarfs, accidentally entering the room through a magic teleporting mirror, hurriedly hide under a sofa, leering at her as she undresses herself. She goes on to take off her red heels, in an oddly
Neungra Bapsang: North Koreans in the South Gain Self-Sufficiency through Food
North Korean defector Lee Ae-ran introduces South Koreans to the food of the North. With her restaurant Neungra Bapsang, she also helps other female defectors make a living. Dressed simply with short hair, Lee exudes confidence. The 53-year-old has a Ph.D. in nutritional science and food management from prestigious
Gwangju: the City of Democracy
Gwangju, in the southwest of South Korea, is admittedly hard to sell as a place to live or even visit. The economically stagnant former capital of South Jeolla Province, it doesn’t have glistening shopping malls, stunning architecture or expansive green spaces. Mixing drab residential areas with industrial