• East Asia

    Uncomfortable truth about Korean society

    This new film ““Namjjogeuro Tur” by Lim Soon-rye is a classical example of political bias; it is a significant reminder of trumpeting anxieties that were prevelant last year in Gangjeong village on Korea’s southernmost major island, Jeju. This 121-minute film produced by director Lim, who is best known for “Forever…

    Read More »
  • East Asia

    Collective creativity at Concept Korea

    Concept Korea, a collaboration to promote Korean fashion in the U.S., will feature five of the most innovative and promising Korean designers at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York next month. Here is a preview of Concept Korea 2013, to be held under the theme “Rhythm of Korea” on…

    Read More »
  • East Asia

    Treading on the snow, meditating

    Snow makes us feel like we’re in wonderland. The fluffy white dazzles us by magically descending onto earth from a place we would like to imagine as heaven. Somehow we feel like being purified when looking at the snow _ something that has not been stained by human presence or…

    Read More »

  • Master plan for Lumbini Peace City appears to complete in six months

    KATHMANDU – The new master plan of the Lumbini Peace City is likely to complete in six months. According to Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), 80 percent works of the master plan has been completed. Korean professor Kwak Young Hoon, 72, is drafting the new master plan to build a lotus-shape…

    Read More »
  • East Asia

    U.S. Special Envoy On NK Affairs Arrives In Seoul For Consultation With His South Korean Counterpart

    U.S. special envoy for policy on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Glyn Davies speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Jan. 23, 2013. Glyn Davies, who is accompanied by Clifford Hart, U.S. chief envoy for the six-party talks, will meet with…

    Read More »
  • East Asia

    NK Leader Kim Jong-un Promises To Put Focus On Economic Improvements In His New Year Speech

    In this Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 file image made from video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives his first speech for the New Year in Pyongyang, North Korea, calling for his country to focus on economic improvements with the same urgency that scientists put into the launch of a…

    Read More »
  • East Asia

    Kim Moo-sung Shakes Hands With Xi Jinping Upon Handing Over Letter From Park Geun-hye In Beijing

    Kim Moo-sung, left, a special envoy sent by South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye, shakes hands with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, right, after he handed over a letter from Park to Xi during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. Chinese…

    Read More »
  • East Asia

    Are extraterrestrials here?

    We sometimes encounter people who behave extraordinarily. When we do, we refer to them as “sachawon” which means four-dimensional. My daughter, now turning 19, is one of these and is often scolded by my wife for her frequent unexpected behavior. Once she disappeared in the middle of eating breakfast leaving…

    Read More »
  • East Asia

    How to lure more foreign visitors

    In front of the main office of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Seoul stands a small stele that is engraved with words by late President Park Chung-hee, the father of President-elect Park Geun-hye. It reads “For the Promotion of Tourism,” and the date shows the commemorative stone slab was…

    Read More »

  • ‘Xi opposes NK nuke development’

    BEIJING — Xi Jinping, China’s Communist Party chief, said Wednesday he opposes the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea, according to an envoy dispatched by President-elect Park Geun-hye. Xi made the remark in a meeting with a special delegation headed by Park confidant Kim Moo-sung, during which the sides…

    Read More »