• East Asia

    Watch out! Scene stealers in Korean dramas

    They are neither protagonists nor directors. A few even have “critical flaws” in their looks: a beer belly, poor teeth or just plain ugly. Without them, however, it’s doubtful how many Korean TV dramas or films were or will be able to meet viewers’ ever increasing expectations. They are collectively…

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  • East Asia

    Lee Byung-hun to appear in ‘Terminator’ sequel

    Korean actor Lee Byung-hun will appear in Hollywood blockbuster “Terminator: Genesis,” in which he will act with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke and Emilia Clarke among others. This is the fifth sequel of the famous sci-fi action flick “The Terminator” released in 1984. Lee’s management agency said on Tuesday he recently…

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  • Bank of China’s Seoul branch penalized

    The Seoul branch of the Bank of China has been punished for violating rules on currency trading, regulators said Tuesday. It’s the first time that a Chinese bank has been sanctioned by regulators here. One of its employees received a disciplinary measure regarding the case, according to the Financial Supervisory…

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  • East Asia

    New jury makes Samsung uneasy

    Officials of Samsung Electronics showed mixed feelings for the newly formed jury which will review the blockbuster patent infringement case involving Samsung and Apple. On the first day of the second round of their legal battle, Judge Lucy H. Koh of the San Jose court selected new jurors. The jury…

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  • East Asia

    Intensifying competition results in trashy dramas

      The rating success of television dramas has always been vitally important to major broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS. The race for top ratings intensified when cable channels like jTBC, TV Chosun, MBN and Channel A entered the drama industry a few years ago, becoming major forces in K-drama. The…

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  • East Asia

    K-pop group EXO ready will sweep China

    K-pop group EXO are ready to release their new mini album in China and Korea, starting with an extravagant showcase at Jamsil Gymnasium in Seoul on April 15, SM Entertainment said Tuesday. Titled “EXO Comeback Show,” the concert will unveil the group’s new songs and dances which are highly anticipated…

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  • Annual salaries of Korean tycoons revealed

    Former SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won received the biggest paycheck last year among listed firms’ CEOs and executives, earning 30.1 billion won from the group’s four affiliates, according to the firms’ business reports filings, Monday. Chey received the biggest paycheck as he served as a director of the board of…

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  • East Asia

    Samsung SDI plans to acquire Cheil

    Samsung SDI, the battery making unit of Samsung group, will acquire electronics materials affiliate Cheil Industries, the company said Monday. “SDI plans to acquire Cheil by offering Cheil shareholders 0.44 SDI share for each Cheil share,” SDI and Cheil said in a joint statement, early Monday. The plan is subject…

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  • East Asia

    [Books] An Afghan Odyssey from Within

    A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story By Qais Akbar Omar | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2013 Unlike many books on Afghanistan written by foreigners and Afghan expatriates, A Fort of Nine Towers is a memoir of native Afghan Qais Akbar Omar. Omar presents a rare first…

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  • West Asia

    A forgotten story of rebellion in British Raj

    “Once upon a time” the British ruled in the Indian sub-continent. I find this phrase “once upon a time” rather interesting in our context. It creates a distance between the events of the story and the reader: distance in time, connection or direct relevancy. Today, the history of the sub-continent…

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