• East Asia

    How will Turkey end up if the situation continues?

    On August 13, ‘Turkish Lira’ and ‘Turkey’ were ranked as number one and two respectively in the real-time query of the leading portal in Korea, Naver. Two questions are to be asked in this situation. The first one is why did the Turkish Lira suddenly collapse? The other question is…

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  • South Asia

    The Various Festive Diary of Indi

    Plundered for centuries, conquered multiple times, home to some of the oldest civilisations in the world, the birthplace of three major religions— Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism—India is a country that is as diverse as the people that inhabit it. Therefore, to understand the festivals of India, one must first understand…

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  • East Asia

    What is Mental Coaching?

    The coaching that has brought the women’s curling team to win Silver at the Pyeongchang Olympics. When I introduce myself as a mental coach, people ask two questions: what I majored in and which sport I coach. I am neither a sports person nor a psychotherapist. Nevertheless, I have coached…

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  • East Asia

    Fake News in South Korea

    2 out of 5 Koreans cannot recognize fake news Two out of five Koreans cannot tell fake news apart from the real thing, a survey showed Wednesday. In a recent joint survey of online video consumption by Rep. Kim Sung-soo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the Green…

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  • East Asia

    “Into The Light”: a Route From Art to Social Issues

    This is a story of art, disabilities, diplomacy, and democracy. A story in which the feeling of guilt is intertwined with the spiritual searching of a soul. An adventure that started in Gwangju, South Korea reached New York in the United States. And this was possible thanks to a partnership…

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  • West Asia

    Shirin Ebadi: 71 years as an activist

    She lives in the hearts of the oppressed and in the minds of millions who are her admirers— she is Shirin Ebadi. People refer to her as the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Iranian lawyer, human rights activist, and former lawyer. Just as the various titles suggest, she is a…

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  • East Asia

    Rohingya crisis goes beyond condemning the military: Myanmar scholars

    Ongoing media coverage of the plight of Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar (also known as Burma) has been heavy in condemning Myanmar military forces for allegedly attempting ethnic cleansing and forcing hundreds of thousands of them to flee across the border into Bangladesh. This resulted in the United Nations Human…

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  • East Asia

    Exploring the Andong Mask Festival

    Mask dance is an elusive aspect of Korean culture. Many visitors to the peninsula are vaguely aware of it; they may have seen a yangban mask printed on a bus, or noticed the iconic character faces that line Yaksu Station. But in a country whose nation-brand is largely connected to…

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  • East Asia

    Myint Zaw: one of the many shinning stars at 2018’s Green Asia Forum

    The first week of October is a special week for international environmental activists: it is the week of the annual Green Asia Forum. The Green Asia Forum was launched by Korea Green Foundation in 2012, as parts of the foundation’s continuous efforts to uphold the dream of Green Asia. It…

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  • East Asia

    My trip to Pyongyang: Finding South Korea there

    Part I As the shaky Antonov An-148 aircraft descended, it was nothing but North Korea below us, or so I thought.  With the plane trundling up to the terminal at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, I glanced out of the window to see the Taegukgi ― South Korea’s national flag. It…

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