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East Asia
No more foul plays
Samsung, SK talk of ending semiconductor game of chicken Executives of both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the world’s two largest makers of computer memory chips, admit the companies had been playing a dangerous game of chicken that can’t last. It remains to be seen whether they can deliver on…
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East Asia
Convenience store republic of Korea
24-hour shops multiplying at rapid rate but that doesn’t mean their business is thriving These are dreadful times for small businesses but convenience stores seem to be defying the odds as they begin to cover Korean streets like a blanket. Still, it’s debatable whether thriving is the right word to…
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East Asia
Japan’s Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko Greet Guests Invited To Annual Autumn Garden Party He Hosted
Japan’s Emperor Akihito, left, flanked by Empress Michiko, greets guests at the annual autumn garden party in Tokyo Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. About 2,100 people were invited to the garden party hosted by the Emperor and Empress on Thursday. Japan’s Emperor Akihito, left, flanked by Empress Michiko, along with Crown…
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East Asia
Tales of Korean Treasures ②
• Influences of the Silk Road I may not be wrong when I say that Korea’s ancient kingdoms which rose along the Silk Road made their arts communicate with their neighbours. That’s why their traditional handicrafts, popular habits and even tales were influenced by such proximity. Moreover, such influences went beyond…
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East Asia
Chinese Company Earns Some $2 Million A Year By Planting Jujube Trees
A worker washes jujubes at Shengfeng Jujube Industry Co. Ltd in Tongxin County, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Oct. 25, 2012. Tongxin planted more than 2,000 hectares of jujube in 2011, yielding an output of 3 million kilograms and a profit of 12 million RMB yuan (1.92 million U.S.…
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East Asia
Chinese Muslims In Tongxin County Celebrate Corban Festival
Muslims gather at their home on the day of Corban Festival in Tongxin County, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Oct. 26, 2012. Corban Festival is a major Islamic festival showing faith and obedience to Allah for Muslims. <Xinhua/Wang Peng> Muslims gather at a mosque on the day of Corban…
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East Asia
Japanese Gov’t Employs One Way Or Another To Fend Off Faltering Economy
People inspect flat-panel TVs at a discount store in Tokyo Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Japan’s Cabinet approved a 423 billion yen ($5.3 billion) economic stimulus package on Friday, moving to fend off recession amid signs the recovery in the world’s third biggest economy is faltering. The decision coincided with news…
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East Asia
Gulags in North Korea
What are the experts thinking when they talk in learned tones, replete with facts and stats, about issues and conditions for North-South Korean reunification, the pitfalls and problems, but omit passing mention of one of the most awful obstacles? At a conference this week bearing the portentous title, “Unification and…
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Number of expats rises 32-fold to 280,000 in Seoul
About 280,000 foreigners were living in Seoul as of 2011, a 32-fold increase from the total number 51 years ago, according to a survey, Thursday. Seoul City’s annual statistics report showed that 279,095 registered foreigners were staying in Seoul as of Dec. 31; accounting for 2.65 percent of the capital’s…
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East Asia
President’s son quizzed
Lee Si-hyung pledges to ‘tell truth’ about property deal An independent counsel questioned President Lee Myung-bak’s only son, Lee Si-hyung, Thursday, over a dubious property deal to build the President a retirement residence in southern Seoul. The 34-year-old appeared at the counsel’s office at 10:10 a.m., escorted by presidential security…
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