Worldcrunch
? Bonjour!* Welcome to Friday, where several European countries see record daily COVID cases, South Korea pardons Park Geun-hye, and Taste-the-TV is a thing. We also look at a familiar story unfolding in Ukraine, where former president Petro Poroshenko has been accused of being in cahoots with Russia. As mentioned yesterday, the Worldcrunch Today crew […]
Asia has become the new center of the world because of China’s growing power, which in Washington’s eyes has turned Japan from an important ally to the most important. But is Tokyo ready for the newfound responsibility?
? Ia Orana!* Welcome to Tuesday, where Norway veers left, Putin is self-quarantining, and German scientists try to potty-train cows. Meanwhile, Delhi-based news website The Wire applauds India’s recent Olympic gold medals but asks why it can’t win Nobel Prizes? [*Tahitian] 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW • Taliban deny death of top leader: […]
Kim Jong-Un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, has been summoned to appear in a Japanese courthouse. Five people who moved to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) between 1959 and 1984 are seeking 500 million yen (3.8 million euros) in damages from the North Korean government for deceiving them with promises of a prosperous […]
The suicide of a female officer in the South Korean Air Force who had been sexually assaulted has sent shock waves through the country, finally prompting the government to initiate a reform of the military, The Dong-a Ilbo daily reported this week. As French daily Le Monde reported, President Moon Jae-in took advantage of the […]
East Asia is home to 30% of the world’s population but has recorded only 2.4% of the COVID-19 global death toll. Scientists are looking at possible immunity from past epidemics or even genetics.
While some countries stopped doing business with the Islamic Republic, others keep engaging in commerce but refuse to pay what they owe. What gives?
Known as UBI, Universal Basic Income has been a dream of progressive economists. Now it is effectively written into many COVID-19 relief packages. But it may turn out to have staying power well beyond.
For the coming weeks, Worldcrunch will be delivering daily updates on the coronavirus global pandemic. The insidious path of COVID-19 across the planet teaches is a blunt reminder of how small the world has become. Our network of multilingual journalists are busy finding out what’s being reported locally — everywhere — to provide as clear […]
For the coming weeks, Worldcrunch will be delivering daily updates on the coronavirus global pandemic. The rapid and insidious path of COVID-19 across the planet teaches us in a whole new way how small the world has become. Our network of multilingual journalists are busy finding out what’s being reported locally — everywhere — to […]
PARIS — Paleo, keto, vegan, pescatarian. There are so many ways we can choose what, and what not, to eat. Give or take, I choose to eat roughly 160 grams of carbohydrates, 110 grams of protein, and 40 grams of fat per day. That comes to 1440 calories. Some of my friends find it neurotic […]
SEOUL — A recently retired senior manager from South Korean electronics giant Samsung is back to work — in China. Referred to just by his last name, Kim, had been executive director responsible for electronic chip design (D-RAM) at the Seoul-based multinational. But just before he was set to begin his senior position at the […]
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.
-Analysis- The PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games finally kicked off Thursday with the riveting-if-baffling sport of curling and a first victory for hosts South Korea. But all eyes will be on the official opening ceremony tomorrow, especially since a disproportionate dose of the attention for this edition will be focused off the ice and snow. Coming […]
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.
-Analysis- PARIS — Compete, don’t kill. The idea that peace might be achieved through sporting is an old paradox. Pitting athletes and countries against each other in a non-lethal — and cathartic — demonstration of skills, is at the very core of the Olympic ideal, going all the way back to ancient Greece. The timing […]
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?
-Essay- For the record, I am writing this from home. On a late winter Monday, with most of our crew either off-the-clock or working remotely, I decided to spare myself (and a few others) the day’s commute to hash out the news from our office in eastern Paris. So again, for the record: Yes folks, […]
-Analysis- It’s just a coincidence, but the symbolism is too hard to ignore. Two days ago, as every year on March 8, the world was celebrating women for, among other things, their “economic” and “political achievements.” Earlier today, South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled that President Park Geun-hye must be removed from office over a corruption […]
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.
The ills of the Smartphone industry go beyond the meltdown of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7. A market sector that was still booming not so long ago is now expected to suffer losses this year for the first time, and is forecast to stagnate for the foreseeable future, a recent report from tech research and advisory […]
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 […]
Droughts, demographics, industrialization, pollution, climate change … The need for more clean and accessible water is growing urgent in many places around the world. But beyond praying to the rain gods, what real-life responses are out there? Innovation is key both to help preserve clean water sources, as well as finding new ways to purify […]
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.
NORTH KOREA FIRES ROCKETS Photo: YTN/Yao Qilin/Xinhua/ZUMA North Korea has fired six short-range projectiles into the sea, an angry reaction to new UN sanctions adopted yesterday against Pyongyang, news agency Yonhap reports. The sanctions, motivated by North Korea testing nuclear weapons in early January, are the harshest to date against Kim Jong-un’s regime. They ban […]
HOW FAR CAN SYRIAN TRUCE REACH? Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, announced this morning that they had agreed on the rapid delivery of desperately needed aid to besieged Syrian cities. Talking to reporters in Munich, the two top diplomats expanded on yesterday’s announcement of what amounts to an extremely […]