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Opinion

Tue, October 20, 2020 | 12:04

Blogs

Whispers of the past: Jeongdong from the air in 1960

In the fall, the Jeongdong area of Seoul is one of the most beautiful places in the downtown area for a quick afternoon stroll. The whispers of the past follow you as you walk along the cobblestone roads, framed by the gingko trees in their brilliant fall colors.

Color, crowds and bustle: Market day in Joseon

Once again Gimjang (the season for making kimchi) is upon us and the markets are bustling with people trying to buy the cabbages and other ingredients needed. Mounds of cabbages, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables are prominently displayed but there are stalls selling beef ...

Tales from the palace: Cheoljong the beggar king (Part Two)

King Cheoljong is not remembered as much for his reign as he is for the politics surrounding his appointment and his death. His ascension to the throne was a repackaging of the past. The names of his parents and relatives - once marred with disgrace for being on the wrong side ...

Modern to hypermodern: The theater as a fantastic space

I've just finished the final stage of a book with professor of sociology Ikki Kim that compares Beijing and Seoul at different stages of their development, titled, “Beijing to Seoul, Modern to Hypermodern,” which visually documents the former city's journey through modernity, a...

On the importance of space and social empathy

I'm in the middle of the final crunch leading up to the publishing of a book with Professor of Sociology Ikki Kim that compares Beijing and Seoul at different stages of their development, with the former as an example of that city's journey through Modernity and the latter as a...

Flashed flesh, 'pay models' and entrepreneurial femininity in the creative economy of Korean Instagram

The more I do work as a visual sociologist and ethnographer in Korea, the more I am fascinated by the many rabbit holes I am pulled down. The hypermodern Korea I live in - and Korea's hypermodernity has permeated through society to differing extents and in different ways - is m...

Creating a sacred unity of peoples, cultures and nature for the Americas

The United States of America is a term that contains in it all the hope and all the contradictions of our country, and of the Americas. That hope dates far back in the past, to the inspiring words of the Declaration of Independence that articulated a form of governance that was...

'We have to think straight and think fast'

Seventy-five years ago, Japan announced its decision to surrender its armies in East Asia to the United States and the Soviet Union unconditionally and to open up negotiations that would lead to a formal treaty of surrender signed on September 2, 1945, on the U.S.S. Missouri in...

The future of the US-South Korea and US-Japan alliances

The recent declaration by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that engagement with China is dead and that cooperation with China has ended in just about every field marks a historic shift. We can already see a massive campaign unfolding to promote suspicion about any interactio...

Underground music and urbanism - Jon Dunbar

Me Cook? No, You Cook!

Years ago, I saw a birthday party ruined in spectacular fashion. An American friend, an advanced Korean language learner, was chatting with two Korean women who began ridiculing his pronunciation, repeating to each other “Mikuk” (not “Miguk,” which means American) several times...

14-year-old j.knife surprises Korean indie fans with folk-pop album 'Familiar Sounds'

When most Koreans are 14 years old, or 15 Korean age, they're studying hard in preparation for high school, and already readying themselves for the college entrance exam that will decide their entire futures. Jennifer Kim may not be much different, but she also somehow makes th...

New Technologies & The Law - Tech & Comms team

Is it copyright Infringement if you introduce a movie on YouTube?

'Boramtube', which has 17 million subscribers on YouTube, is a hot topic these days. The six-year-old creator's advertising revenue is comparable to MBC, one of the top three Korean broadcast networks. The development of broadband internet and cheap video camera enabled anyone ...

'Crunch mode' for overtime in games industry

Since Moon Jae-in was elected President in 2017, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the Ministry of Employment and Labor have enacted and amended many labor laws. Accordingly, a lot of labor issues have arisen in various industries, and their biggest impact was felt by th...

There is such a thing as Bitcoin

Once there was a boy who learned that there was a dragon living in his house. He told his mother, “Mom, there's a dragon in the house!” But his mother told him “Son, there's no such thing as dragons.” Little by little the dragon got bigger and bigger until it took up half of th...

Part 52: The big C

In March 2012, while working at the Dragon Hill Lodge's Discover Seoul Desk I took a bathroom break. It required much more effort and strain to relieve myself than normal. Having heard that a reduced stream could be caused by a prostate problem, I resolved to see a urologist as...

Part 51: Too many bosses spoil the tourism business

If it was difficult working for three companies at once, it was downright confusing and stressful to have three direct bosses every day, often singing from different hymn sheets, and sometimes working at odds with each other. It could have been worse, I suppose. Thankfully Mr. ...

My life at a Korean law firm (part 50)

Recently, while going through old papers at home, I came across a document that I received at the beginning of my stint at the Dragon Hill Lodge Hotel. I had not looked at it for at least six years. It was a three-page list in Korean of all the things that I was responsible for...

Voices from the North - Casey Lartigue Jr.

Escape from North Korea: My dreams as a woman came true in South

Have you ever risked your life to achieve your dream? My dream was to walk the streets of my hometown freely wearing a pretty dress and earrings, and to express my own voice against injustice. For this dream of freedom, I risked my life at a young age and escaped from North Kor...

Escape from North Korea: 'I'm free because of movies and English'

Escaped from North Korea in 2006, arrived in South Korea in 2007 (repatriated from China in 2002 and 2004). I attempted my first escape from North Korea after I began to learn about the outside world when I was in high school. I had some friends in North Korea who would share m...

'Colonizing the colonizers'

I was born in North Korea without any liberty. I couldn't say the words I wanted to say, see what I wanted to see, hear what I wanted to hear. I never expected that my first trip to another country would be when I escaped from my own. I thought if I went to China, I would have ...

When color can be too much

I love color - sometimes too much. But there are times when color simply gets in the way of a good photograph. Bright colors can enhance, but they can distract. Often the better photograph focuses on tone and patterns. In such cases, monotone (black and white) photographs are t...

Finding your kind of street photography

If you ask serious photographers just what is “street photography,” you are likely to find many definitions. At times, street photography can resemble travel photography. But travel photography tends to be less artistic and more about personal documentation of one's experiences...

Festivals make great photos

Jongro-3ga, Lantern Parade. All photos by Tom CoynerTom CoynerWith the warming temperatures, come festivals and similar events. These colorful events are both challenging and rewarding. They can be confusing as a three-ring circus in determining what to photograph, and it can b...

Refugees live under harsh conditions amid COVID-19

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