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South Korea has seen a rise in the number of young women taking their own lives since the Covid-19 pandemic began to sweep across the country. National Police Agency data shows a more than 40 per cent rise in suicides among women in their 20s between January and June 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, an i…
Cases of a potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant that first emerged in Britain have been found in India, Japan, South Korea, Canada and at least nine European countries. Japan has also reported its first case of another mutated coronavirus variant, this one first identified in South Africa. The new stra…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is reportedly set to open a massive ruling Workers’ Party congress in January 2021. The meeting is expected to give him a chance to try and muster stronger public loyalty and lay out new economic and foreign policies amid the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea has not officially confirmed…
South Korea’s real-life Crazy Rich Asians: from K-pop and K-drama stars to Samsung and AmorePacific chaebol scions, meet 5 wealthy Korean influencers living their best lives
North Koreans paid tribute to late leader Kim Jong-il during events to mark the ninth anniversary of his death on December 17, 2020. In a video provided by the North’s state media KCNA, residents, soldiers and officials were seen laying flowers in front of statues of the state's founder Kim Il-sung and his son, Kim …
This cat cafe in Seoul has over a hundred cats dressed up in christmas costumes, in preparation for Christmas. All the cats were abandoned or had been subjected to failed adoptions. Despite being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the cafe owner has continued to look after her cats and welcome visitors despite patrons be…
Lee Sun-woo was a prisoner of war in North Korea. An estimated 50,000 former South Korean prisoners of war were never returned by Pyongyang after the 1950-53 conflict. They and their descendents were forced to work in coal mines for decades - an industry that was a major earner for North Korea until sanctions blocke…
South Korea confirmed 1,030 new coronavirus infections on December 13, 2020. This was the second day in a row that the record high for new cases had been broken and came as the country battled its third wave of Covid-19. South Korea had been praised for its initial success in containing the virus, but the latest ris…
North Korea saw its first snowfall of the year on December 13, 2020 according to state media. The country’s news agency KCNA released the video adding that some areas received over 5cm worth of snow.
About 500,000 students in South Korea took the national university entrance exam on December 3, 2020. The highly competitive day-long test was held despite a resurgence of coronavirus cases. The country reported 540 new Covid-19 infections on December 3, marking the second straight day for its daily tall to be above…
Globally recognised male K-pop stars including members of the boy band BTS will be allowed to defer their military service after a decision reached in South Korea’s National Assembly. On December 1, 2020, lawmakers amended the nation’s compulsory military service law to grant deferrals to selected performers in the …
Kimchi has become the latest cultural spat between South Korea and China after Beijing won a certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the making of pao cai, a type of fermented vegetables from Sichuan.
Hong Kong faces a surge in coronavirus infections driven by an outbreak at dance clubs across the city and what authorities call untraceable silent transmissions. Japan and South Korea are also experiencing some of their highest single-day Covid-19 case tallies since the pandemic began. The latest spikes of Covid-19…
A South Korean court has sentenced the leader of an online sexual blackmail ring to 40 years in prison. The court found 25-year-old Cho Ju-bin guilty of running online chat rooms on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where at least 10,000 users paid up to US$1,200 to see sexual content featuring young girls. At l…
South Korea is experiencing a delivery boom driven by the coronavirus pandemic. But the business benefits come at a sobering cost to the sector, which has seen as many as fifteen delivery workers dying as of mid-November 2020. Families of those who died said extreme overwork had harmed the health of the workers.
South Korea began a special two-week coronavirus prevention period on November 19, 2020, ahead of the annual college entrance exams.
A growing number of South Korean women are training to become funeral undertakers, a field from which they had long been excluded. The recent deaths of several female celebrities, and growing public attention about sex crimes against women, have helped give rise to the change. More families reportedly now prefer a f…
China now has "extremely low levels" of coronavirus infections, according to the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies programme Michael Ryan. The WHO official also said on November 16, 2020, that South Korea, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand and Thailand were countries that have aggr…
BTS’ Suga, IU, TVXQ’s Yunho and more K-pop idols that lived through poverty, cockroaches and hungry humble backgrounds
South Korea conducted a test-run of a drone taxi on November 11, 2020. Capable of carrying two people, the EH216 drone taxi made by Chinese firm EHang demonstrated a vertical take-off and landing. It also flew over downtown Seoul at an altitude of 50 metres for about seven minutes, according to the Seoul Metropolita…
‘Queen of K-pop’ Boa celebrates 20 years of leading the Korean Wave as she turns 34 – now Exo and NCT agency SM Entertainment’s creative director, how did she get where she is today?
After it became apparent that Joe Biden had won the US presidential election on November 7, 2020, congratulations began to pour in from world leaders. Leaders in the UK, European Union, Japan, South Korea were among those congratulating Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris. But as of November 8, China and Ru…
South Korea said it has resumed tours to Panmunjom, the famous diplomatic meeting place in the demilitarised zone it shares with North Korea. The tours started on November 4, 2020, after being suspended since October 2019, first because of an outbreak of African swine fever in the North and then because of concern a…
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Members of the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church say they are praying for the re-election of US President Donald Trump as they gather for a spiritual boot camp in a rural part of the state of Pennsylvania. The Christian sect known for its outspoken gun advocacy, and for encouraging church members to bring…
Pyongyang naengmyeon is a helping of cold noodles bearing the name of the North Korean capital that has become a signature dish of the reclusive state. The dish consists of buckwheat noodles with a cold mild broth, an egg, meat, kimchi and vegetables, and the restaurant best known for serving it is Okryu-gwan in Pyo…
Chinese President Xi Jinping commemorated the 70th anniversary of China's entry into the Korean War with a speech on October 23. Xi said the Chinese military was determined to defeat invaders then and will not back down from a fight now. He also warned countries "no matter how powerful" against any attempt to divide…
US President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challengers Joe Biden have faced off in their second and final presidential debate of the 2020 campaign. Sharing a stage at Belmont University in Nashville, in the US state of Tennessee, the two candidates clashed on China, Covid-19, race, climate change and immigration…
Korean popular music, also known as K-pop, has gained a worldwide following – not only among fans, but also the aspiring musicians hoping for a chance to shine on stage. Every year, thousands of young people apply to the Acopia school in the South Korean capital Seoul, for one of about 500 places in the programme th…
Researchers in Taiwan have designed a rapid Covid-19 testing method that they say can provide results within three minutes. The device could be used by people on their own, because very little technical knowledge is needed to operate the test equipment which uses a biochip, a special semiconductor chip with biosenso…
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un became emotional as he made a speech marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party on October 10, 2020.
North Korea has unveiled previously unseen intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) at an unprecedented predawn military parade. They were rolled out at a military parade held before dawn on October 10, 2020, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Workers’ Party. It was the nation’s first military parade to include b…
A Berlin district ordered a local Korean organisation to remove a statue commemorating women used as sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War II. The central borough’s mayor said the statue goes beyond what had been approved.
A giant rice crane was seen in Suncheon, a city in southern South Korea, on October 8, 2020. It is a joint effort from local children and farmers to urge the country to ‘Cheer Up!’ amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Video from social media shows a 33-storey residential tower engulfed in flames on October 8, 2020, in the city of Ulsan, South Korea. Local media reports said the fire began on the 12th floor before flames driven by strong winds spread to the entire 136-household building. No casualties were immediately reported by …
An Indonesian seaman has been captured after he escaped from a coronavirus quarantine facility in the South Korean capital Seoul. Police took the man back into isolation on October 7, 2020, three days after he fled the facility by digging a hole under a wall. The sailor broke out of quarantine just one day before he…
An Jin-hyok is a 28-year-old farmer who hunts for a precious fungus on North Korea’s Mount Chilbo. Pine mushrooms, also known as matsutake, are similar to truffles and prized for use in Korean, Chinese and Japanese cuisines for its distinct spicy-aromatic odour. Some believe the valuable delicacy can help prevent il…
China held a high-profile ceremony on September 27, 2020, to receive the remains of 117 soldiers killed in the Korean war. Wooden coffins containing the remains arrived at Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in the capital of China’s northeastern province of Liaoning after leaving Incheon International Airport in…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly apologised on September 25, 2020 after a South Korean official was shot dead and cremated by North Korean officials. He was discovered on September 24, 2020 near the inter-Korean sea border after he went missing on Monday. The 47-year-old man was allegedly attempting to def…
South Korean K-pop group BTS has teamed up with the United Nations to deliver a message meant to encourage young people around the world to look beyond the present challenges of Covid-19 and “imagine the future”. In a pre-recorded video released by Unicef on September 23, 2020, the seven member boy band spoke about …
Members of South Korean superstar pop band BTS have delivered a message meant to encourage young people worldwide who are struggling with the challenges posed by Covid-19. In a pre-recorded video released by Unicef on September 23, 2020, the K-pop stars spoke about their own struggles during the coronavirus pandemic…
The first international passenger flight in eight months to be cleared for take-off from Tianhe International Airport in the central Chinese city of Wuhan departed on September 16, 2020. The jet bound for Seoul was on the first non-domestic route to resume operations since pandemic travel restrictions were imposed a…
Tattoo artist Kim Do-yoon, also known by his professional name “Doy”, has tattooed at least 10,000 people over his 14-year career. Doy even counts Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt among his customers. But his job is not legal under current law in South Korean. While the legislation does not prohibit the application of …
After a recent coronavirus case surge that lasted for weeks, South Korea’s new infection numbers were below 200 for an eighth consecutive day on September 10, 2020. During the latest wave of cases, the nation has also been dealing with a two-week strike by trainee doctors opposed to government plans to increase the …
North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un inspected the east coast province of Hamgyong on September 5, 2020, two days after Typhoon Maysak made landfall in the area. The storm reportedly caused dozens of casualties and destroyed more than 1,000 houses. Kim appeared on state-run broadcaster KRT, leading a discussion o…
The worldwide number of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 25 million on August 30, 2020. Infections continued to rise in the worst-hit regions of the US and Brazil, as well as India, which is dealing with a surge in the number of cases in what is considered the world’s fastest-growing outbreak. Even nations that…
Typhoon Bavi has been causing floods and heavy downpours in eastern China since August 26, 2020. Bavi landed in North Korea on Thursday, and then moved towards northeastern China, affecting provinces such as Shandong and Heilongjiang.
