QR codes help tourists
Gangnam install 8 on-pavement markers for visitors to get around Gangnam has installed quick response (QR) codes on the sidewalks of major tourist destinations to “help” visitors navigate the upscale southern district of Seoul referred to in Psy’s international hit “Gangnam Style.” It is the first time that QR codes have been used for this […]
Xi’s image as ‘reformer’ under dispute
BEIJING – The well-observed vociferous clamoring for press freedom in China, ignited by protests at the country’s most prominent weekly newspaper Southern Weekend, was a vignette shot of how new leader Xi Jinping is seen by both reformists and conservative factions, thinking that he belongs to them. Some see Xi as a reformer who will […]
NK calls for dissolution of United Nations Command
North Korea’s foreign ministry renewed its call for the dissolution of the United Nations Command (UNC) Monday, saying that the cease-fire agreement that concluded the 1950-1953 Korean War needs to be replaced by a peace treaty. According to the North Korean Central News Agency, the ministry said, in its “diplomatic note,” that an unstable truce […]
Nurturing Asia’s female leaders
When Jack Meyer first asked Korean-American lawyer Kim Young-joon in 2011 if he could succeed Meyer as the chairman of Asian University for Women (AUW) Support Foundation, Kim declined. The chairman’s job is to raise funds, and Meyer is a legendary former manager of Harvard University’s endowment who started with $4.8 billion in 1990 and […]
Rare photos of past Korean society to be shown in Japan
Two old men, dressed in traditional Korean garb, face the camera, one performing what seems like a traditional dance move, are seen against the sea off Jindo, South Jeolla Province. Japanese photographer Takumi Fujimoto captured during the 1970s and ’80s what he saw as exotic and rare scenes that revealed humanity. Fujimoto first came to […]
NHN’s Line rises; Kakao Talk stalls
Line, a smartphone messenger application created by NHN is emerging as Asia’s leading SMS tool as a growing number of people in the region are using it for instant communication. The free call or message service now boasts 100 million users, according to NHN officials, Monday. The growth is partly based on Line’s cute “sticker’’ […]
Pervasion of mobile phone in NK will eventually change it to a new country
In recent weeks, North Korea has frequently been in the headlines. Of course, the successful launch of a satellite attracted much attention. The large-scale purges of the military, the pregnancy of Kim Jong-un’s wife, Kim Jong-un’s New Year address and other news were widely discussed in the international media. However, foreign journalists have overlooked what […]
Sad truth about N. Korean missiles
The political dust, which was created by North Korea’s successful rocket launch is beginning to settle. Predictably, there has been the usual amount of tough talk from Seoul, Washington and Tokyo as well as the somewhat half-hearted and muted condemnation from Moscow and Beijing. The North Korean government is celebrating and showering its engineers and […]
Stability of NE Asia
Seoul can be key regional player with skill, resolve No three neighboring countries in the world might have greater potential for economic prosperity than Korea, China and Japan. Together, they account for nearly one fifth of global GDP and trade, closely following North America and the EU. That was at least how it had been […]
Seoul’s New City Hall
An old couple stood in the plaza gazing at Seoul’s newly built City Hall. “Look at that undulating glass structure that looms over from behind the old stone City Hall building. It’s ugly,” the old man whispered to his wife. “It looks more like my baby granddaughter’s winter boot upside down. It’s rather cute,” countered […]