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Column
All politics is national
With a National Assembly election tomorrow and a presidential election in December, 2012 is a big political year for Korea. In recent campaigning, politicians have centered their promises on local issues, but have used national issues to motivate voters. This is an interesting contradiction that says much about the state…
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Society
Korea seeks diplomats with ‘entrepreneurial spirit’
Korea is shifting the focus of selecting and training rookie diplomats by putting an emphasis on a spirit of challenge. This is aimed at enabling our corps of diplomats to better cope with the fast-changing global environment and to promote national interest. Leading this change is Kim Byung-kook, the inaugural…
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Business
Hyundai Motor to hold job fair for suppliers
Hyundai Automotive Group, Korea’s second largest conglomerate, plans to organize a series of large-scale job fairs to help its small-and medium-sized parts suppliers secure talented workers. This is also expected to provide millions of young job seekers here with a good opportunity to find work. The world’s sixth-largest automaker said…
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Business
Global race for ‘rare earths’
Korea’s effort to find new sources making little headway Global tension over rare earth metals — often identified as rare earths — has intensified as the United States, European Union and Japan recently teamed up and took it up a notch in pressuring China over persistent trade disputes. Last month,…
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Society
Mental health concerns rise with cosmetic surgery boom
“This is the nose you’ll see most if you go clubbing these days,” said Sumi Lee, a university student in Seoul. She gestured to an ad for a posh plastic surgery clinic, showcasing “before and after” images of a rhinoplasty patient. “I call it the Gangnam nose, and half of…
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Society
Suwon murder shames police
Police’s ability to perform their duty — serve and protect — has been put in serious doubt, following the revelation that they apparently mishandled a call for help by a woman being confronted by a Korean Chinese man in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, last week. The 28-year-old woman was killed and…
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Business
Google succumbs on privacy policy
Google succumbed to the request by telecommunications regulators here to tweak its privacy policy for Korean users to abide with local laws. The announcement by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Thursday marked a critical moment for the U.S. Internet giant as it has been serious about avoiding country-specific rules and…
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Lifestyle
‘What Koreans are talking about, so are we’
Two foreigners translate Korea’s popular news, comments into English on website Not all expats in Korea or foreigners abroad will want to hear about government-promoted national advertising like K-pop or skin care programs. Many will rather want to know about what ordinary Koreans are talking about and how they feel…
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Culture
2PM play dress-up for fans
Members of K-pop boy band 2PM host a mock talk show at their fan-only gathering on Sunday, at the Grand Peace Palace of the Kyunghee University in Hoegi-dong, eastern Seoul. Taecyon, who did most of the speaking for the evening, is on screen. / Courtesy of JYP Even with just…
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Politics
North Koreans eager to learn int’l business norms
If North Korea, as in the eyes of some casual observers, is totally sealed off from the outside world, it would follow that there would be little interest there in, say, the intricacies of the global economy. But according to Choson Exchange (CE), a Singapore-based non-profit group that runs business…
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