Korea
-
East Asia
Korea’s largest Buddhist sect in chaos
Under the monster heat wave that has gripped the nation for weeks, Venerable Seoljo, 88, has gone on a hunger strike. His fast ― albeit he drinks water with bamboo salt ― marked its 40th day on Sunday. The senior monk’s sit-in protest in a tent set up near Jogye…
Read More » -
Culture
Rural activist promotes traditional alcohols
Kyeong Ki-ho, who runs Sejong Brewing jointly with his wife in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, introduces himself as a rural activist. He led a campaign to develop underdeveloped rural communities while living in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province, but had to leave as it lacked an education infrastructure for his children.…
Read More » -
East Asia
Australia and South Korea: Strengthening Middle-Power Bonds
Australia-South Korea relations, although strong, have never quite reached their full potential, and it’s time that they did — economically, in people-to-people social and cultural terms, and above all, given the present fraught and fragile regional environment, in political and security terms. That will be the theme of my talk…
Read More » -
Culture
Improvisation extends possibilities of Korean music
At the Yeowoorak Festival, which celebrates unlimited possibilities of Korean music, there is something new and unique every year. This year, the festival set stages for reunions of legendary Korean music performers such as master pansori singer Ahn Sook-sun and her friends for “Ahn Sook-sun & Jieum” and the return…
Read More » -
East Asia
South Korea: Primary Textbooks Show Racial Biases
Some textbooks for primary and secondary students contain racial biases at the risk of implanting stereotypes at an early age and perpetuating them for life. This conclusion was made at the July 20-21 Conference for Racial Discrimination in Korean Society, with the participation of 47 NGOs. In the “Guidebook for…
Read More » -
East Asia
Samsung agrees to accept arbitration over leukemia cases
The long-lasting dispute over Samsung Electronics’ alleged unsafe working conditions that may have caused over hundreds of its employees to contract incurable diseases such as leukemia has come to an end as the company decided to accept arbitration proposals unconditionally, Samsung said Sunday. A Samsung Electronics spokesman said it notified…
Read More » -
East Asia
South Korea 4th biggest CO2 emitter among OECD members: data
South Korea was the fourth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2017 due to its high dependence on fossil fuels, a report showed Monday. According to the report by global oil and gas major BP, South Korea’s CO2 emissions…
Read More » -
East Asia
Trump on North Korea’s denuclearization
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there is “no time limit” on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, appearing to take a step back from earlier demands for immediate denuclearization. Trump’s remarks came a month after his historic summit with Kim Jong-un, during which the North Korean leader committed…
Read More » -
East Asia
Korean economy-boosting measures
South Korea’s chief economic policymaker said Thursday that the government may draw up a set of measures to boost domestic demand during the second half of the year in a bid to help create more jobs and tide over external conditions such as a growing trade tussle between the United…
Read More » -
East Asia
Starbucks Korea to reduce plastic use
Starbucks Coffee Korea Co.declared it will introduce paper straws for a test run this year to replace plastic straws as part of its efforts to tackle pollution from plastic waste. The latest decision is part of Starbucks Coffee Co.’s broader move to eliminate single-use plastic straws from its 28,000 stores…
Read More »