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Asia

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Tue, March 21, 2023 | 06:59

Self-help?

Once when I was walking out of the British Library, I saw a woman outside on the floor having some kind of fit or seizure. It was a wintery evening - it may even have been snowy if I remember correctly - and the library was just closing, so there were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people all leaving through the main entrance, hurrying to beat the rush-hour traffic. And althoug...

2022-04-16 11:50

White House Easter Egg Roll returns after 2-year hiatus

Ukraine needs Korea's support

Ukraine needs Korea's support

Time goes past so quickly. Dear reader, you may not remember, but last month everyone was fixated on the Beijing Olympics. Look, she's wearing a hanbok! Hey, the referees are biased! Let's boycott the Games! It all feels like another age, an innocent time of relative peace when no world leaders were ominously hinting at nuclear war.

2022-03-12 09:33

Hanbok stealing?

Hanbok stealing?

Nearly everyone in Korea is furious, it seems, because a Chinese national woman in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony wore the traditional Korean dress, hanbok. Numerous editorials and opinions have been published in condemnation, calling it another item in the long list of China's aggressions toward Korea. Last year it was kimchi, the argument goes; this year ...

2022-02-12 11:46

Behind China-Korea skating row, a deeper cultural rift

Stop giving us unnecessary drugs

Stop giving us unnecessary drugs

Almost immediately after moving to Korea, I developed pretty unpleasant stomach problems, probably related to the stress of migrating to the other side of the world. Although it did not seem serious, it certainly wiped me out for a while.

2022-01-15 09:30

Korea's strict asylum policies and unkind officials

Korea's strict asylum policies and unkind officials

I once flew in an Airbus A380. It's a big plane, so big that it actually has two decks; in fact, it's the largest passenger plane in the world.

2021-12-12 13:24

Reform 'Suneung'

Reform 'Suneung'

Last week saw Korea's yearly university admissions exam take place, accompanied as usual by an autumnal flurry of headlines. Given the world's current obsession with Korea, it's hardly a surprise that the test made international headlines. The test's English name is the College Scholastic Ability Test, or CSAT, but it is known more commonly as the “Suneung.” The news often hi...

2021-11-27 14:44

Expert criticizes Korea's college entrance exam for being too difficult

Our obsession with unreal beauty

Our obsession with unreal beauty

Somewhere to the right of this text there is a picture of me. It's publicly visible, but on the rare occasions that I go outside, I can stroll the streets, dodging the motorbikes and busses safe in the confidence that any beloved Korea Times reader who happens to pass me will almost certainly fail to recognize me.

2021-11-06 09:32

Korean language is not degrading - it's evolving

Korean language is not degrading - it's evolving

Hangeul Day 2021 is, sadly, over. The last crumbs of the “batchim”-themed cakes have been swept away, the Hangeul board games are back in the cupboard gathering dust, the balloons in the shapes of “nieun” and “rieul” lie deflated in the corner. Yet, as this year's celebration of King Sejong's ingenious alphabet system fades into memory, we can't seem to escape from news and o...

2021-10-23 09:10

The reality of adopting a kitten in Korea

The reality of adopting a kitten in Korea

Since our wedding, my wife and I have been thinking about getting a cat - by which I mean that I've been trying to convince my wife to let us get one. And last week, after over two years of careful consideration (pleading), we (my wife) finally decided that we were ready.

2021-09-25 09:31

What does tolerance even mean?

What does tolerance even mean?

We live, it seems, in divided times. I suppose we always have, but in the past few years the social ruptures have become noticeably deeper and more severe. So partisan and so divided are we today that people living on the same street or in the same town experience vastly different realities. Former U.S. President Barack Obama has spoken on this several times, reflecting that ...

2021-09-11 09:17

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Top 10 Stories

1	Woman killed in stopped car struck by bus on highway

2	INTERVIEWNorth Korean-born chef delights Southerners' taste buds, breaks down cultural barriers

3	KAIST student becomes first Korean recipient of Apple Scholars fellowship

4	Korea sets record of half million economically inactive youth

5	Commuters still wear masks despite end of mask mandate on public transportation

6	Public officials reluctant to dine with coworkers

7	COVID-hit Myeong-dong bounces back as tourists return

8	Brides in early 40s outnumber those in early 20s

9	AnalysisYoon-Kishida meeting raises expectations of 3-way summit with China

10	Seoul event to promote Busan's Expo bid

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