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Mon, December 11, 2023 | 01:01

To speak Korean

To speak Korean

Language is magic. It creates ideas, places, people and smells. With words we summon both the past and the future; we explore the oceans, the deserts, the cities, and the skies; we communicate the possible and conjure the impossible. Through language we birth worlds, write history, and give voice to those silent emotions. What would the human world be without the magic of lan...

2023-01-28 12:09

Do you understand Confucianism?

Do you understand Confucianism?

Read something in the mainstream press and Confucianism will likely be linked to any or all of the following situations: the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, the reason young Korean children study all night at hagwons, the overly puritan nature of some Korean dramas, workplace bullying and gapjil, BTS' phenomenal choreography, the Miracle on the Han River, why the English...

2023-01-21 11:55

Mass movements and individualism in Korea

Mass movements and individualism in Korea

It has been said that the strength of one's faith or devotion to a cause is not measured in moving mountains and achieving the impossible but conversely in not seeing mountains move when all evidence points to them doing so. Faith is, therefore, like love: blind. It is oblivious to a great many things that run counter to its worldview.

2023-01-07 12:37

Fear of the Korean black swan

Fear of the Korean black swan

Korean news in 2023 will be dominated by an improbable event, I just don't know what that event will be. It might be good, it might be bad. It might be an unprecedented cultural success. It might be a catastrophic national failure. It could be war.

2022-12-31 10:27

Lee Jung-jae's 'The Hunt' reveals Korean realities

Lee Jung-jae's 'The Hunt' reveals Korean realities

This is movie about Korea. Thus, it is about division. About violence. And death. About how visions of solidarity and collective action are dashed at every turn, often to the soundtrack of broken bones, bullets, and blood. We expect violence from Korean movies and The Hunt has lots of it. There must be at least 200 on-screen deaths during the movie. These are supplemented by ...

2022-12-24 13:43

Goblin mode or God life?

Goblin mode or God life?

It remains frightfully easy to paint a highly inaccurate picture of vast swathes of the Korean population. Generalizations are certainly not new but they are emboldened and fueled by the medium of social media. Pushing people into ever more exaggerated presentations of populations for digital dopamine spikes.

2022-12-17 14:16

K-Pop: Artists or Entertainers?

K-Pop: Artists or Entertainers?

K-pop is here. Music outlets such as Rolling Stone and NME now feature groups regularly and heavily. There is a financial imperative in this, of course. The same way in which awards shows will make a habit of having certain groups perform, and often late on in the ceremony, to ensure high viewing figures from the many devoted fans, news outlets have also realized the money th...

2022-12-10 13:31

K-football: team of heroes

K-football: team of heroes

It was nearly 2 a.m. in Seoul when Son Heung-min decided that rather than continuing to try carrying the weight of the nation on his shoulders, he would instead pass the ball. Though incredibly dedicated and tireless in his running, he had cut somewhat of a frustrating figure from a footballing perspective. He seemed determined to always take one more touch, to take on every ...

2022-12-03 11:24

Finding kindness in Korea

Finding kindness in Korea

We live in a society where all acts of kindness are treated with suspicion. Seen as a shallow marketing ploy for the person's own benefit or social status rather than providing any genuine help to others.

2022-11-26 12:40

Killing the Buddha

Killing the Buddha

The young woman raised her head. She looked at me through her glasses, taking a pause before speaking clearly and in a deeper tone than usual. “One day, you'll be where you're meant to be. Doing what you're meant to be doing. And with who you're meant to be.”

2022-11-20 14:33

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Top 10 Stories

1	Methods to avoid YouTube, Netflix restrictions go viral

2	N. Korea's fear of external info grows after Seoul allows sending propaganda leaflets

3	Hunting 'crow thief' on Korea's east coast in 1930s

4	Skepticism mounts over shareholder activism at Samsung C&T

5	Anti-dog meat legislation looks doomed as Assembly session ends in vain

6	Leaders of Samsung, SK to visit Netherlands for chip alliance

7	Calls grow for shift from two-party political system

8	Eximbank teams up with US counterpart on decarbonization

9	'New initiative on NK' lacks balanced strategy: experts

10	Fintechs vie to be next internet-only bank in Korea

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