• East Asia

    Star gymnast caught in nasty fight between agency, KGA

    Korea’s star rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae has found herself caught in a power struggle between her agency, IB Sport, and the Korea Gymnastic Association (KGA). Son, who finished an unprecedented fifth in the London Olympics, saw her long-trusted mentor Kim Ji-hee has tendered her resignation from the KGA. The friction…

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  • East Asia

    GGGI to bridge global green divide

    Korea wants to make real contributions to the welfare of the world and is adopting green growth as its theme. Songdo has just been selected to host the secretariat of the United Nations-operated Green Climate Fund (GCF), often compared with the World Bank in the area of sustainable development. Now,…

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  • East Asia

    President’s son to be summoned

    An independent counsel plans to summon President Lee Myung-bak’s son for questioning this week over alleged irregularities involving an abandoned plan to build a retirement home for the president. Lee Si-hyung is under suspicion for his involvement in a shady deal last year to purchase land in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul.…

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  • Seoul to boost claim in E. China Sea

    The government plans to submit official documents calling for a U.N. body to recognize the continental shelf in the East China Sea near the southernmost island of Marado as its territory. According to a foreign ministry official, Seoul will claim in the official documents to be submitted to the U.N.…

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  • President-elect to set new records

    The president-elect will set new records, regardless of whether it is the Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye, the Democratic United Party’s (DUP) Moon Jae-in or independent Ahn Cheol-soo. If Park wins in the December poll, she will be the nation’s first female president. America has still to elect a female president…

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  • East Asia

    ‘Spicy kimchi kept me warm in winter’

    Peace Corps volunteers recount their discovery of Korea in late 1960s The first group of American Peace Corps volunteers to come to Korea in the mid-1960s had their own way of keeping warm during the icy winter weather, despite the poor heating systems. Some wore several layers of clothes, while…

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  • East Asia

    Bid to send anti-NK leaflets blocked

    The government blocked activists from sending anti-regime pamphlets into North Korea, Monday, in a bid to avoid a military clash over the activity. Dozens of activists including North Korean defectors had planned to send 200,000 pamphlets across the border in giant balloons from the Imjingak Park near Paju. But soldiers…

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  • ‘Unification costs will depend on NK wages’

    South Koreans just can’t decide whether they want their country to unify with the North or not. One moment they get starry eyed imagining a bigger country with more political and economic clout but the next they worry about the enormous price tag attached to the combined country and social…

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  • South East Asia

    [The AsiaN Video for Indonesian] Cina Tidak Meributkan Kematian Nelayan Cina

    Halo! Saya Meidyana Rayana dari Indonesia. Berikut tanggapan China atas kematian para nelayan yang ditemukan di perairan Korea Selatan. Tampaknya Beijing menahan diri untuk tidak bertengkar dengan Seoul atas kematian para nelagan Cina yang secara illegal memancing di zona ekonomi eksklusif Korea Selatan di Laut Barat. Zhang Xinsen, Duta Besar…

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  • South East Asia

    [Indonesia Report] Indonesia plastic surgeons enjoy booming business

    Indonesia is hit by Korean Wave Fever. Not only female but also male’s awareness of appearances is increasing nowadays. According to one of Indonesian mass media, Berita Satu.com, Dr. Enrina, owner of a plastic surgery clinic Ultimo, said in an interview during this past one year, the male patients increased 15 to 20…

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