Oh Ji-ho: shrewd actor hidden behind dimples
Ask any Korean entertainment fan about heartthrob actor Oh Ji-ho and you would most likely receive an answer related to his signature smile. The singular focus on his facial expression — as well as his even more famous dimple — has been a mixed blessing. His good-guy image led him to be typecast in romantic […]
Korea going all out for troubled footballer
Korea is trying to dissuade the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from slapping an additional penalty on Korean footballer Park Jong-woo, who was barred from the medal ceremony at the London Games for displaying a banner that read, “Dokdo is our territory.” “Considering the significance of the issue, we can fly to its headquarters in Zurich, […]
Economics of hot weather
Scorching summer benefits some firms, burns others Koreans are experiencing one of the hottest summers in history with the mercury rising above 35 degrees Celsius. Workers have suffered through a hot and sticky purgatory in recent weeks, putting their work ethics and social tolerance to the ultimate test. It hasn’t helped that cooling systems at […]
UN chief calls for ethical corporate management
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged business leaders in Korea to take a greater responsibility for eradicating poverty and ensuring sustainable, equitable development, Tuesday. “I expect corporations to proactively engage in social and economic issues, such as the eradication of poverty,” the U.N. chief said in a meeting hosted by the Global Compact Korea Network […]
‘Akihito should make apologies first’
President Lee Myung-bak indirectly demanded Tuesday that Japan offer sincere apology for its 36-year-long brutal colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and war crimes committed during World War II. Lee made the remarks amid a worsening Seoul-Tokyo diplomatic row after his surprise visit to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo last Friday. “If (Japanese King Akihito) […]
Dokdo blow-up has Korean, Japanese firms lying low
President Lee Myung-bak’s surprise visit to Dokdo, a tiny Korean island which Japan argues it has historical claim to, has driven a wedge between the two regional neighbors both in diplomatic relations and public opinion. This has Korean and Japanese companies operating cross-borders trying hard to be invisible. Responding the most sensitively are Japanese carmakers, […]
China, NK in deal on economic zones
China and North Korea have agreed to accelerate the development of economic zones in the North, Beijing said Tuesday amid signs that Pyongyang is seeking to boost its economy. Under the agreement, the two sides will establish committees to oversee the zones. It also deals with the supply of electricity and agricultural cooperation, the Chinese […]
Ahn Cheol-soo foundation to change name
A non-profit foundation, established with money donated by Ahn Cheol-soo last year, may undergo a name change as the election watchdog warned it not to use the founder’s name in its title for the time being. On Monday, the National Election Commission (NEC) said providing financial support or scholarships under the name of the Ahn […]
N. Korea slams Lee, Japan over Dokdo
North Korea on Monday criticized President Lee Myung-bak for his surprise visit to Dokdo last week ― the nation’s easternmost islets ― that ratcheted up tensions with Japan. In a dispatch, Pyongyang’s state media accused Lee of trying to stave off his status as a lame-duck president by politically exploiting the issue of the rocky […]
Ban Ki-moon In Seoul For Four-Day Visit
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a press conference after a ceremony to launch the Development Alliance Korea, a coalition of local civic groups to promote overseas development aid, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. Ban is on a four-day visit to South Korea. <AP/NEWSis/Ahn Young-joon> news@theasian.asia
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Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
