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Sun, October 22, 2017 | 00:56

Opinion > Columnists > Andrew Salmon >

Are N. Korean reds going green?

Back in the 1980s, as a university student in the U.K., I got a lesson that combined Korean flag-hanging with geopolitical map-coloring. Prior to a taekwondo lesson, our (British) instructor asked us, the gathered students, if we had noticed anything remiss in our training environment. We looked around the gym - all appeared normal. After an uncomfortable minute or two, the instructor pointed out our error: The Korean flag, which we customarily hung at the front of the class, was upside down.

Andrew Salmon | 2015-03-02 17:02

Insightful new book on N. Korea

Having covered the Koreas for more than a decade, I am often exasperated by the stories editors demand about the sad state lying 35 miles north of my office. Like many Seoul correspondents, I find myself filing endless pieces about nuclear weapons, strategic missiles and speculation about the Kims, spiced with silly (and usually fictitious) rumors - traitors being eaten alive by dogs, dictators scoring holes in one, etc.

Andrew Salmon | 2015-02-16 17:00

Onward march of original hallyu

At an hour when most Koreans were bemoaning their loss to Australia in the Asian Cup late Saturday night, some overlooked the good news that arrived for local sport: The International Olympic Committee had agreed to include a Korean event in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Andrew Salmon | 2015-02-02 17:00

Charlie Hebdo, 'The Interview' and Seoul

The Islamic-inspired terrorist attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has resounded around the world. In the aftermath of the bloodbath, Charlie Hebdo, in a bold and principled move, responded to the murder of its staffers by publishing a multi-lingual edition featuring a cartoon of the prophet on its front cover. By championing free speech and free expression, Charlie Hebdo's action rallied the democratic world, while simultaneously raising a firm finger to the terrorists by showing that when it came to these principles, at least one media organization refused to be intimidated.

Andrew Salmon | 2015-01-19 17:30

Justice or economics?

It's that time of year again: The time of year to recover from lingering hangovers; to implement those pesky new year's resolutions; and to, er, parole or pardon the depressingly long roster of corporate criminals. Voices have been rising in the ruling party and the administration for the president to exercise her right to grant paroles and/or pardons to these white-collar wrongdoers. And there are a lot of them - almost a "Who's Who" of Korea Inc's elite.

Andrew Salmon | 2015-01-05 17:09

Cho's in-flight wobbly: The upside

Two weeks ago, en route from Mexico City to Incheon, I had the misfortune to transit via LA International Airport (LAX). My flight times granted me two hours to disembark from aircraft A and re-embark onto aircraft B. “Easy,” you may think. In most airports - airports equipped with transit facilities - you would be right. But LAX is not “most airports.”

Andrew Salmon | 2014-12-22 17:06

International marriages in Korea

Attending the wedding of a close friend recently, I felt a pang of melancholy. This chum, a 50-year-old, Seoul-based American entrepreneur, was the last man among my circle of friends who had managed to remain a bachelor. Now he, too, had succumbed to the inevitable.

Andrew Salmon | 2014-12-08 17:07

11/11/11: 'Turn Toward Busan?'

At 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, the thunder of artillery ceased and silence fell over a devastated continent. After four years of unprecedented carnage, World War I was over. Alas, this manic apocalypse would not be "The War to End All Wars." The devilry would be repeated two decades hence, on an even greater scale. Even so, World War I stripped war of its glamour: the scale of the devastation and the butchery left the victorious nations numbed.

Andrew Salmon | 2014-11-10 17:09

Defining Korea: 'Land of Extremes?'

Ever heard of an “elevator speech?” If not, permit me to explain. The term references the ability to accurately and memorably describe the key points of someone or something in a concise manner - i.e. as if you were asked to describe something by someone you were sharing an elevator with, and had to provide that information in the short time before the elevator reaches the questioner’s floor.

Andrew Salmon | 2014-10-27 17:05

Green Korea: Streams, trees and LEDs

Like many Seoulites, I was gob-smacked when I first got an eyeful of the restored Cheonggyecheon Stream, unveiled in 2005.

Andrew Salmon | 2014-10-13 16:59

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Lunch with Navy sailors