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Kang Mi-sook, 62, is one of South Korea’s approximately 11,000 ‘yogurt ladies’ who deliver small bottles of yogurt directly to the homes of elderly people who live alone. The programme checks up on the increasing number of elderly people in South Korea who suffer from loneliness and poverty and is a partnership betw…
South Korean Kim Chil-doo began a new career as a professional model at the 2018 Seoul Fashion Week at an age most people enter retirement.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un praised the latest letter from US President Donald Trump as “excellent” on June 23, 2019 – the first letter exchanged after the failure of the Hanoi summit in February. Both leaders are facing growing pressure to restart the stalled negotiations of a nuclear deal.
North Korea provided a lavish welcome for Chinese President Xi Jinping as he arrived in North Korea for a two-day state visit.
Chinese tourist numbers in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang have reached record highs, with as many as 2,000 people going to the city per day. They pay about US$360 for a three-day trip.
Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to North Korea on June 20, the first trip by a Chinese leader to the country in 14 years. Xi’s trip may be used as leverage at the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan later this month, when he will meet Donald Trump for more trade talks.
North Korea’s 2019 mass games got underway on June 3, 2019, but supreme leader Kim Jong-un has not been impressed.
South Korea’s beauty industry has been thriving, in part because men are major consumers of grooming products.
A small tourist boat capsized after being hit by a larger tour ship on the River Danube in Hungary’s capital Budapest in the evening of May 29, 2019.
K-pop kings BTS steal the show at awards night in SeoulK-pop kings BTS win in five categories, including best album and best artist, at Melon Music Awards in Seoul; Wanna One pick up prize for best hip-hop boy band and iKON win song of the year and songwriter of the year.
After being diagnosed with lymphoma in February, South Korean beauty YouTuber Dawn Lee decided to chronicle her battle against the illness, to encourage people in similar situations.
Insects have long been known as a good source of nutrition that is high in protein. But the appearance and taste of bugs make it difficult for many people to consider adding them to the menu. Now researchers at South Korea’s Chungcheongbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Service have come up with a fermented …
In South Korea, college-level classes on dating are both popular and competitive to get in.
Kim Jong-un oversaw a “long-range strike” drill, North Korean state media reported on May 10, a day after Seoul released a statement saying the test launched two short-range missiles. North Korean state television released photos of the missiles and its leader overseeing the launch. It is unconfirmed if the images s…
On May 3, 2019, North Korea carried out its first missile test since 2017.
Korean pop or K-pop has enjoyed enormous success around the world, including in Japan where J-pop had a dominant role in setting culture trends across Asia in the 1990s.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in Russia for his first ever talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders are set to meet in the eastern port city of Vladivostok.
Some South Korean parents are getting fed up with their country’s centuries-old practice of describing the age of a baby as “one” at birth and another year older each New Year’s Day.
The plight of refugees from North Korea must be on the agenda at any future summit between leaders from the isolated regime and those from the United States, according to American Kenneth Bae who made headlines as a prisoner of Pyongyang.
Around 950 foreigners have taken part in the annual Pyongyang marathon, taking up a rare opportunity to run through the streets of the North Korean capital. The number of participants had dropped in 2018 as the reclusive state launched a series of missile tests. But tour organisers said they saw more Western competi…
Chief News Editor Yonden Lhatoo explains why the next big export for tech-savvy South Korea may be the dirty business of “molka” or secret camera porn, rather than more squeaky clean K-pop idols.
Malaysia's attorney general has ordered the murder case to proceed against a Vietnamese woman suspected of killing Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Malaysian prosecutors have dropped murder charges against one of two women who have been held for about two years on suspicion of killing Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea held its five-yearly parliamentary election on March 10, the second time the polls have been held since Kim Jong-un came to power.
To the surprise of many, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un failed to reach a deal in Hanoi in what was only their second face-to-face meeting. South China Morning Post correspondents Lee Jeong-ho and John Power discuss why the talks broke down.
Nuclear talks between United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un ended without an agreement on February 28, 2019. The two sides cancelled plans to hold a joint signing ceremony after making little progress on the way forward for Pyongyang to dismantle its decades-old push to be a nuclear power. In a press …
US President Donald Trump said North Korea has the potential to become an “economic powerhouse” ahead of a second day of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. Trump added he is in “no rush” when it comes to North Korea’s denuclearisation, so long as the North refrains from nucle…
Vietnam has enjoyed steady economic growth in the 30 years since its communist government embraced market reforms. It is now one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Here’s what Vietnamese people think North Korean leader Kim Jong-un can learn from their experience.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met face-to-face for the second time on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. The leaders had a private meeting, accompanied only by their translators, for about 20 minutes before attending a dinner together with members of their delegations. The leaders will hol…
US President Donald Trump arrived in the Hanoi on February 26 for his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The two-day summit will kick off with a one-on-one meeting on February 27, followed by dinner with aides. A series of meetings will be held on February 28. Singapore hosted the pair's historic f…
Vietnam and North Korea are both single-party ruled communist states. But whereas North Korea’s economy has struggled since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vietnam’s has seen rapid growth...so much so that it is now one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. Experts say it’s a key reason why Vietnam was chosen …
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Vietnam on February 26, a day before his scheduled summit with US President Donald Trump. Kim travelled by train, departing from Pyongyang and passing through China before disembarking at the Vietnamese border city of Dong Dang. Kim and Trump are due to hold two days of tal…
Howard X, an impersonator of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was deported from Vietnam. He was in the city of Hanoi with US President Donald Trump impersonator Russell White, making appearances ahead of the second Trump-Kim summit. Both say they were detained and questioned by officials. Hong Kong-born Howard X was…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is on his way to Hanoi by train for his second summit with the US. Kim left Pyongyang railway station on the afternoon of February 23, according to state-run broadcaster KRT.
US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a second face-to-face meeting at the end of February. The summit is being hosted in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi eight months after the leaders first held talks in Singapore. Each side has its own agenda, and other countries in the region are al…
The Harilelas, who moved from India to Hong Kong in the 1930s, made their fortune selling textiles to British and American forces during the second world war and then the Korean war. They subsequently developed a thriving tailoring business and went on to establish a hospitality group with properties in Asia, Austra…
Ahead of the second US-North Korea summit set to get underway Hanoi on February 27-28, a Vietnamese artist has been painting colourful portraits of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
A barber in Hanoi is offering free haircuts to customers who are willing to wear their locks in the styles of US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
US President Donald Trump has announced his plans for a second face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam. At their first historic meeting in Singapore, the leaders agreed on multiple terms, including “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” and transformati…
The animal protection group Humane Society International are conducting a two-week rescue operation to save about 200 dogs from a dog farm in Hongseong county, 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of the capital Seoul. It is the fourteenth dog meat farm that the organisation has shut down since 2015, usually working with…
In his State of the Union address on February 6, 2019, US President Donald Trump announced he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the second time at the end of February. Trump said the summit would take place in Vietnam. Here are five reasons the Southeast Asian country was chosen to host the historic event.
Crowds of selfie-snapping “fans” have been forming in Hong Kong around a man impersonating Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as he paid an unexpected visit to the city. The Duterte double joined a lookalike of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meeting and greeting people, including hundreds of Southeast Asian domes…
SCMP senior editors discuss what has been a tough week in Asia as pollution swallowed the skylines of many countries. From Hong Kong to South Korea, many people have found themselves battling to breathe through a big blanket of smog.
One in every three Christians in Asia are suffering from a “high level” of persecution according to a new report by the UK-based Christian advocacy group Open Doors. Its 2019 Watch List Report ranks North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India among the top 10 where persecution of Christians is “most extreme”. China…
Heavy smog shrouded a wide area of Asia in late January 2019, with health-threatening levels of pollution reported in India, South Korea, Thailand and China.
As President Donald Trump digs in his heels over demands for funding of a wall on the US border with Mexico, the SCMP has spoken with a veteran Korean photojournalist who earned worldwide attention for his image depicting the humanitarian crisis related to Washington's immigration policies. Kim Kyung Hoon's photo do…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Beijing for three days starting Monday, January 7 on the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un used his New Year’s Day speech to voice willingness to meet US President Donald Trump, but urged Washington to offer some concessions. In a 30-minute speech, Kim declared that Pyongyang will “move towards complete denuclearisation” but “may have to seek another way” if the US maintain…
As more and more male beauty vloggers are gaining popularity on social media, men’s make-up has become a trend in Asia, including Hong Kong, mainland China and South Korea. This opens up male grooming market as major beauty brands such as L’Oreal, Tom Ford and Chanel begin to launch new men’s make-up line.
A second Canadian has been detained in China on accusations of “endangering national security”. China confirmed on December 13 that Michael Spavor, a businessman who runs tours from China to North Korea, is being held for investigation. Chinese authorities detained Michael Kovrig, another Canadian and former diploma…
