South Korea’s president Lee Jae Myung is shifting foreign policy toward a pragmatic approach: diversifying partnerships without upsetting the U.S., strengthening trade and technology, and managing regional challenges — with lessons for Argentina.
country: South Korea
Stay updated with comprehensive news on South Korea from Worldcrunch. Discover insights on South Korean politics, economic strategies, societal issues, and cultural landmarks with translations from top international sources. Highlights include Seoul, Korean history, and cultural events.
The tipping culture is a deep-rooted phenomenon in several societies, which raises the question about its pertinence and necessity. Should this practice disappear? What is its role in different parts of the world?
From a vanished child in 1974 to systemic injustices unraveled decades later, Tak-un’s story exposes the fraught past of international adoption in South Korea and the profound impact on separated families.
South Korea had been in political crisis since December, when its conservative president attempted a power grab by declaring martial law. On Tuesday, South Koreans elected the progressive candidate Lee Jae-myung, turning the page and preparing to tackle the immense challenges facing a region on edge.
None of the major heads of state on the Asian continent has a direct link with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who regularly calls on America’s Far Eastern allies to “pay more” for their defense. Philippe Le Corre, professor of geopolitics, explains that military risk is a major concern in a region with many hotbeds of tension.
In South Korea, the feminist 4B movement, which rejects any intimacy with men, has been causing a stir for years. What kind of feminism is it, anyway?
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked and enraged the country on Tuesday by declaring martial law and suspending civil liberties. The power grab quickly unraveled following democratic outcry, with lawmakers and citizens calling for the discredited leader to resign.
Pyongyang has just ratified its new defense pact with Moscow. North Korean soldiers are deployed near Kursk, in an unprecedented engagement that marks a reversal of Kim Jong-un’s foreign policy.
Tensions have suddenly escalated after North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones over its capital. Threats from Pyongyang are common, but amid an uncertain international context, experts are taking these latest ones more seriously.
In just 60 years, from 1960 to 2020, South Korea’s fertility rate has plummeted from 6 to 0.8. Can a new round of government programs to incite pregnancies, or will it backfire gain?
There are many frontiers being crossed by AI lately, sparking debate and anxiety. But now, we’re entering strange, new territory: an algorithm that lets bereaved family members communicate with deceased loved ones in the most realistic of ways. Yet it comes with very real and complicated risks.
The weight of history, and of this geopolitical moment, is propelling the current visit of Japanese Prime Minister in South Korea. Washington is happy that its alliances are aligning, but that’s a sign of how high tensions are running in Asia right now.
South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol, made a gesture of reconciliation towards Japan, the country’s former colonizer. It gives Washington hope that its two key Asian allies can overcome differences as they face an emboldened China and North Korea.
Conceived in the early 1990s, the QR Code has spread exponentially during the pandemic. Its creator, Masahiro Hara, is one of the many continuing to innovate his most famous invention, which has changed everything from medicine to how we dine.
Bill Clinton once called it ‘the most terrifying place on earth.’ A no-man’s land with barbed wire and robot sentries, the area between the two Koreas has also become an unlikely wildlife refuge.
Many have hailed the innovations of Songdo, a planned community near the South Korean capital of Seoul. But the city, which once served as a set for the “Gangnam Style” music video, also has its critics.
Youth performers revive pansori, the folkloric art of musical storytelling, a South Korean cultural heritage.
SEOUL — Stella came to South Korea on a government scholarship to do a PhD. She says when she arrived from Europe, she found that the degree came with some “unofficial” costs. “I heard that there should be some kind of payment every time that my committee of professors would meet to discuss my thesis.” Stella did not want to reveal her real name since she works for that same university now. She says she confronted her professors about these payments, but it didn’t go well. “I was explicitly told by one of the members of my committee that I […]
The South Korea nun’s culinary philosophy has influenced chefs and foodies around the world.
High education levels and salary expectations have created something of a disconnect between South Korean job seekers and employers.
Choi fled to freedom in South Korea, where he has managed to turn his frightening experiences into a laugh-out-loud online comic strip.
Kim Sul-song, the Supreme Leader’s enigmatic half-sister, has extended her influence to new heights. Could she be the real threat to her brother?
South Korean fried chicken franchises are popping up all over the country. Tight competition is squeezing owners.
For more than a decade, South Korea has been a pioneer in the use of robots to aid teaching. Now, the country will offer middle school classes in robotics.
JEJU ISLAND — Kang Ok-ja, 75, looks out toward the ocean from the roadside. It’s not a good day for diving, she tells me. Waves crash against black volcanic rocks that line a stretch of Jeju Island’s north coast. Wind and rain are common on this South Korean island. “The waves don’t look so high now but the wind is picking up and they’ll get bigger,” says Kang. “It won’t be safe for us to dive today.” She would know. Kang is a haenyeo, or “sea woman,” and has been diving in these waters since she was a teenager. For […]
For Syrians able to escape the horrors of war, Europe is the preferred destination. But some have ventured farther afield. One 22-year-old refugee landed on Jeju island, a popular honeymoon spot off the coast of South Korea.
Kim Gee-yang is taking on the beauty industry in a country leading the world in cosmetic surgery. “When I was in LA, I was too skinny to do plus size modeling, but in Korea, I am just a fat woman, yeah,” she said.
For the last several years, South Korea’s capital has made the sharing economy a priority, funding a citywide initiative that has enabled dozens of startups to emerge. But they are still struggling to export.
-Editorial- TOKYO — Both to deter North Korea’s military provocations and to ensure regional stability in Asia, it’s vital that the United States and South Korea maintain their solid alliance. South Korea should be mindful not to get too close to China, or risk weakening its collaboration with the United States. U.S. President Barack Obama […]
BAGUIO — In South Korea, learning English is a national obsession. Families pay billions of dollars a year on extra curricular education so their children can enroll in top universities and later land high-paying jobs that require good English skills. But it’s not always affordable at home, which is why the Philippines, where English is one of the two official languages, has become one of Korea’s top destinations for overseas language education. Like almost every other South Korean high school student, 17-year-old Kang Tae-won spends every weekday evening at a private academy learning English. He believes his future depends on […]
SEOUL — Six South Korean soldiers have been accused of killing one of their fellow conscripts. Yoon Seung-joo, 20, died earlier this year after being force-fed and beaten. Abuse within South Korea’s military ranks has long been a problem. A recent survey of soldiers revealed about 4,000 allegations of violence that went unreported. It’s a time that almost all South Korean men dread. The moment when they begin their mandatory service in their country’s armed forces. Kim Tae-Haw joined the ranks of Korea’s riot police when he began his conscription ten years ago. “I didn’t want to go to the […]
SEOUL – Alongside the highway that runs from Seoul to the barbed wire fences of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) there is an all but forgotten cemetery. For one South Korean Buddhist monk, this is a truly sacred site. Muk-gai chants — this is meant to ease the suffering of the spirits that inhabit this graveyard. With his shaved head and grey tunic, he taps on a small drum as he walks past the headstones that dot this hillside. These graves belong to 769 North Korean soldiers. The 58-year-old monk says he doesn’t consider them as enemies. “It isn’t about sympathy […]
ANSAN — It’s been over three months since the South Korean Sewol ferry capsized, killing 300 passengers onboard. It was a tragedy that sparked government reforms and national soul searching. But understandably, it’s been much more challenging for the families of the victims, almost all of whom attended the same high school. The temporary memorial that was created after the April 16 ferry disaster is a giant, air-conditioned tent with an enormous alter that holds framed pictures of the high school students who died when the ship went down. Flowers have been laid out in front of them, and there […]
A visit to Ansan, South Korea, where a month after 260 of its children died in the South Korean ferry sinking, the city must elect its mayor. Mourning and anger are the politics of the day.
SEOUL — Kim Ju-hwan is headed toward an uncertain future. The 24-year old university student was sentenced to a year in jail for refusing to serve in South Korea’s military. As a Jehovah’s Witness, Kim says he’s morally opposed to war. “Based on what I learned in the Bible, I’m a conscientious objector. There’s a verse that says love your enemy. That’s my belief, and it’s how I’m trying to lead my life.” All able-bodied South Korean are required to serve in the armed forces for about two years. But for conscientious objectors like Kim Ju-hwan, there is no alternative […]
SEOUL — South Koreans undergo more plastic surgery per capita than anywhere else in the world. Some surveys show that one in five women there have undergone a procedure or received Botox injections. All around the Apgujeong subway station in Seoul, for example, there are advertisements for plastic surgery clinics, showing before and after images of women who have gone under the knife. Images like these are among the reasons why 19-year-old Woori had some work done about a month ago. But she says pressure from friends and family was an even stronger influence. “Whenever I saw pictures of my […]
-OpEd- BERLIN — Among the rituals that North Korea’s young dictator Kim Jong-un has embraced is saber rattling. And in the run-up to annual military maneuvers between South Korea and the U.S., he was at it again. He threatened an “unimaginable holocaust” or “catastrophe” that would destroy inter-Korean relations if the traditional army operations went […]
The neighborhood in Seoul known to Westerns from Psy’s mega-hit single is also the place status-conscious South Koreans go to get married. But something is lost in all the ritz.
Nostalgia, illness and the pain of missing loved ones pushes some to try to ‘re-defect’ back to North Korea. But Seoul won’t allow it, and the risk of punishment upon their return is huge.
GAMCHEON – It has been called the “Lego village,” the “Korean Machu Picchu,” the “Santorini on the South Sea…” Gamcheon, in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan is indeed all of these – a multicolored village that looks like it was made out of candy, with its little green, yellow and blue hillside cubicle […]