South Korea
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The Potent Force of S Korea's Regionalism
Regionalism remains a potent force in South Korea. “If the U.S. has racism, South Korea has regionalism,” said a 2008 article by wire agency Yonhap. There’s even a special word for regional rivalry: jiyeok gamjeong, which literally means “regional enmity.” The most historical and emotionally charged regional rivalry
Don't Just Say It, Sing It: South Korea's Election Songs
Another election in South Korea means another season of trucks blaring out deafening campaign songs. Korea Exposé took a look at some of the funniest tunes each candidate is using to seduce voters. Moon Jae-in, The Minjoo Party Front-runner Moon has a support rate of 44.8 percent,
What Happened to "Safe Korea"?
A few weeks ago, I was walking through my small town in North Jeolla Province when I saw a building under construction. Two floors up, a sign proclaimed, “There is no exception to safety, no premonition of accidents.” Five stories above that, directly in line with the sign, a worker
Glass Zoo: Tales of Veteran Women Journalists
Recently, the Korea Exposé team was looking at presidential candidates’ lists of pledges. “Woman” was the name given to one of the categories. A colleague asked me, “How do you feel about being a policy category?” I didn’t really know what
Singing for National Glory? Meet S Korea's Noisy Concertgoers
I went to see Coldplay last Sunday. It was the band’s first ever visit to South Korea, so competition for tickets was insane. The venue, a massive stadium that holds up to 100,000 people, had sold out in just five minutes. The audience contained some serious Coldplay
The Election Lottery: Cast Your Ballot, Win a Prize?
What’s the best way to lure voters back to the ballot box? Some South Koreans think holding a lottery, with monetary prizes, may do the trick. Recently, 30-year-old software developer Yoo Byeong-joon launched the “National Voter Lottery” with six like-minded friends. The idea sparked interest last April, when politician
Hong Joon-pyo and Pig Stimulant: "Which S Korean Man Doesn't Have a Story Like That?"
Just about every South Korean probably knows by now the story of the pig stimulant, even those who haven’t been following the South Korean presidential election. It’s the story of the Liberty Korea Party candidate Hong Joon-pyo’s youth, which first appeared in his 2005
Less Than an Hour After We Met, She Told Me She Was Committing Suicide
Upon first glimpsing her, my immediate thought was that her attire was not what I’d expected to see at an Anglican cathedral on a Sunday morning. She strode confidently out of the church, wearing black leather shorts and a black tank top, carrying a black leather handbag. I’d
"You Didn't Even Have Oral Sex?": S Korean Military's Gay Witch-hunt in Depth
“You didn’t even have oral sex?” “I didn’t even get to see his thing.” In an audio recording, a senior military officer grills a young soldier with questions about his “gay friends.” The officer says: “We have all the information about you and your relationship with YYY on
Captivating Moments from South Korea's Unexpected Election Season
In less than three weeks, South Korea will have a new president. It’s a little crazy how quickly things have moved in the past few months: Former president Park Geun-hye’s ouster from office on Mar. 10, which immediately kicked off the 60-day presidential race, and the fierce competition
More Bad News for Environment: Another Coal-Fired Power Plant Coming to S Korea
Residents of South Chungcheong Province and environmental campaigners reacted angrily on Wednesday after the South Korean government granted last-ditch approval for a new coal-fired power plant in the city of Dangjin. Representatives of Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) held a press conference outside the Board of Audit and Inspection
South Korea's UNESCO Obsession
If you live in Seoul, as I do, you may have hiked along the paths that line Seoul’s old city wall, which survives in portions around the area corresponding to the old capital, and seen the blocks of stone that were used to reconstruct much of it. The city