• East Asia

    2 crucial months before inauguration

    The election of Park Geun-hye as the country’s first female president opens a new horizon of democratic development in Korea. She received an undisputable mandate to lead the nation for the next five years with 51.6 percent of the vote with 15,773,128 votes, whereas her opponent Moon Jae-in gained 48…

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  • East Asia

    China’s high-risk plan

    China’s dispatch of a marine surveillance plane into the airspace of islands administered by Japan appears to be part of a high-risk plan to create a situation whereby Japan’s claim to effectively control the Senkaku Islands is put in doubt. Chinese state newspaper the Global Times declared triumphantly, “This marks…

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  • Neutral figure may lead transition

    President-elect Park Geun-hye is seriously considering naming a political neutral figure to lead her transition team, insiders said Sunday. Park cleared her weekend schedule to dedicate herself to forming her transition team, which will be likely made up of 26 committee members along with roughly 80 support staff and 100…

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  • East Asia

    President-elect doesn’t trust Japan’s Abe

    Shinzo Abe, Japan’s next prime minister, should give up tentative approaches and address neighboring countries’ concerns about his declared intention of revising Japan’s pacifist Constitution, experts and officials of the ruling Saenuri Party said Sunday. Abe, who will head the new government after his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won the…

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  • East Asia

    Comedian capitalizes on Park’s popularity

    Comedian Jung Seong-ho has been around since the late 1990s and has gained a reputation for his parodies of famous people in sports, entertainment and politics. On various TV programs, Jung has parodied Korean swimming sensation Park Tae-hwan or Lim Jae-beom, a popular ballad singer and star of MBC’s survival…

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  • East Asia

    ACRC taking lead to embrace diverse society

    Anti-corruption body launches Sri Lankan language service The state-run Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) has taken a meaningful step forward by launching a Sri Lankan language service on its homepage. It held an event Friday at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Seoul to celebrate the initiative which will benefit…

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  • East Asia

    Park can better tackle NK issue

    This is the first in a series of contributing columns by experts and our staff on priority issues for the Park Geun-hye government. ― ED. I’ve been watching South Korean politics closely for the past 40 years, and I rate the just-concluded election as the best ever held in Korea.…

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  • East Asia

    Hong, Hiddink likely to reunite a Anzhi

    Hong Myung-bo is likely to be reunited with his former boss Guus Hiddinik at Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala as part of the coaching staff there. The 43-year-old said in a media interview that while reflecting on his post-Olympic career, he has decided to go through coaching training in Europe and…

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  • East Asia

    Caricatures of presidents on show

    Various caricatures, dolls and cartoons featuring past Korean presidents are on show at a special exhibition titled “Presidents Meet Comic Art” at the Korean Manhwa Museum in Bucheon, west of Seoul, through March 31. Organized by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (KOMACON), the show is designed to commemorate the 18th…

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  • Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video hits 1 bil. views on YouTube

    The music video of “Gangnam Style” by Korean singer-rapper Psy has become the world’s first-ever to get more than 1 billion views on YouTube, the service said Saturday. The music video has been viewed over 1 billion times as of 00:50 a.m. (Seoul time), according to YouTube. “Gangnam Style” took…

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