Tabloid blogwatch
Slightly different from the Celebrity BlogWatchTM, this feed aggregator pulls posts from sites which cover Korean tabloid-type stories other than pretty photos of TV and pop stars. At the moment, I’m pulling the Marmot’s “Korean Tabloid Crap” category plus Korean stories from the Asian Sex Gazette. Let me know what other down-market sources are out there.
Not quite fitting into any category is the excellent Korea Beat, a survey of some of the Korean language press. That’s included on this page too, as the stories tend to be more tabloid than broadsheet.
Posted 16 hours ago: The Hankyoreh21 put together a collection of photos of the series of protests by former E-Land workers who claimed they were illegally fired after being converted to part-time employees. The protests began in June and finished on the 14th of November. [
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Posted 30 hours ago: The Chosun Ilbo's adults-only Jisungin section ran this article about the Real Doll phenomenon. It focuses on the United States but includes some discussion of Korea as well. The same adults-only section also had a short article about male Real Dolls, and says the purchasers of them are all men. There ... [
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Posted 43 hours ago: Korean entrant Jang Yae-eun took third place in the 2009 World Miss University pageant, which was held in China this year. [
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Posted 2 days ago: The Seoul Shinmun recently interviewed Mr. Lee Eun-ung, a member of the Anti-English Spectrum Cafe that works for the deportation of English teachers who are either unqualified, do drugs, or have sex with Korean women. Link includes video with further portions of the interview, including an accusation that some foreign ... [
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Posted 3 days ago: Yonhap News reports that a Korean staff member escaped safely from the bombing of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai which was part of today's terrorist attacks. [
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Posted 3 days ago: Soldiers in Jeollanam-do participate in the 2008 Special Forces Military Olympic on the 26th. [
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Posted 3 days ago: A group of cops in Masan were assigned to keep watch over a candlelight vigil but apparently knocked off to play baseball in a parking lot instead. [
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Posted 3 days ago: The Joongang Ilbo reports that the new film "The Portrait of a Beauty", has provoked criticism from Buddhist organizations for a sex scene that takes place in a temple. The film, based on a TV series which was based on a novel, portrays a fictionalized version of Shin Yun-bok, also ... [
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Posted 3 days ago: Korean artist Jeongmee Yoon is currently working on "The Pink and Blue Project" in which she photographs children with either all of their blue possessions, or else all of their pink ones. It winds up being a somewhat creepy comment on child consumerism. [
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Posted 3 days ago: The Joongang Ilbo had this story of how one Chinese university student took the law into her own hands to get her underwear back. "I heard that they took her underwear away and spent five hours beating her up and taking naked pictures of her..." Chinese society has been shocked by a ... [
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Posted 4 days ago: Brian in Jeollanam-do has probably the most outrageous judicial decision you will read about all year. [
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Posted 4 days ago: Apparently being raised in North Korea is not that good for your mental health. Through August of this year 74% of the 1,498 North Korean defectors who have entered Hanawon, the government-operated facility which helps them settle in South Korea, have mental disorders. The statistic was published in "Mental Treatment of Students ... [
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Posted 6 days ago: The Chosun Ilbo reports that the new Miss Georgia, Kimberley Ann Gittings, is the daughter of Korean Kim Yeong-shin, who runs a kindergarten which was featured in a PBS documentary. [
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Posted 6 days ago: Yonhap News reports that a group of Korean students attending the University of Utah are working tirelessly to promote Korea's ownership of Dokdo and the pressing need to re-name the Sea of Japan the East Sea. So far they have taken out two advertisements in the Utah Daily, which probably ... [
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Posted 6 days ago: YTN News recently examined why so many high school students are getting into motorcycle accidents and reports that the number is rapidly growing. Click the link to listen to the original report in Korean. [Anchor] Half of high school students who die in a traffic accident were on a motorcycle, a study ... [
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Posted 6 days ago: Anyone interested in translation should give a read to the English Chosun Ilbo's look at differing attempts across the Korean media to translate the "tough diplomacy" that Barack Obama often spoke of on the campaign. How it gets translated, of course, depends on what you think "tough diplomacy" will actually ... [
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Posted 6 days ago: A judge in Seoul has ordered the Ministry of Unification not to deport a five-year old to China. The child entered South Korea two years ago with his mother, who was sent back to North Korea by authorities in South Korea. I think that bears repeating: two years ago, under ... [
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Posted 7 days ago: Original ranking. 1. During a match against Saudi Arabia, South Korean goaltender Lee Un-jae had a green laser light flashed in his eyes by an unknown fan four times. 2. Nevertheless, South Korea broke its 19-year "jinx" against Saudia Arabia with a 2-0 win. 3. Punishments may be being mulled over after the ... [
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Posted 7 days ago: The Sports Chosun's gossip column recently brought readers a couple of dirty celebrity stories. Sexy woman Djamilya apparently avoided exposing herself on air. On a recent episode of "아이들 군단의 떴다! 그녀-시즌2", Djamilya and FT Ireland leader Jong Hun were paired up. The game was for the male partner to quiz ... [
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Posted 7 days ago: One judge in Cheongju had a hard time believing the story of the victim in his courtroom. It has been decided that it is difficult to recognize harm from a sexual assault if the woman who claims to be be a victim of it does not tell anyone or actively alert ... [
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Posted 45 hours ago: Like neighbouring China and Japan, South Korea doesn't criminalise male homosexuality, but nor does it have antidiscrimination laws that cover gay men, lesbians or members of the transgender community. In addition, military service discrimination and discriminatory censorship of LGBT publications is also a problem. [
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Posted 45 hours ago: People who commit sexual assaults against children under 13 and kill them will likely face the death penalty or life imprisonment. At a Cabinet meeting recently, the Ministry of Justice said it would instruct the prosecution to stiffen punishment on sex offenders against children or young students through revisions of the law. [
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Posted 45 hours ago: South Korea's "love shot" drinking ritual amounts to sexual harassment if the woman in question is unwilling to take part, the country's top court ruled recently. [
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Posted 45 hours ago: Changing attitudes about love and marriage in rich Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are pushing many desperate bachelors to seek out brides in other, poorer nations around the region. [
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Posted 24 hours ago: I am shocked at the sexism displayed by some: Fashion company Basic House proves how light its down winter coat is by weighing it against two chicks during an event in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, yesterday. [
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Posted 24 hours ago: I knew there’s reason to read the Hanguk Ilbo. Playboy magazine’s Miss November is none other than Korean-American Grace Kim. She apparently really likes Guitar Hero. Her Myspace site is here. I can’t find “the goods” yet, but a couple of generally safe-for-work photos at the Scandalist. UPDATE: Grace’s Playboy Video Data Sheet: 100% Korean, eh? We’ll have to see ... [
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Posted 24 hours ago: Well, it is that time again - time for the annual Korean ghost stories. I must admit, however, that this is no where as scary as the earlier post by Eglin’s and PZ Meyer’s “Golden Calf” - that is scary! “An elderly Korean taxi driver when asked if he believed in ghost explained that a long time ago, meaning when ... [
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Posted 24 hours ago: Sometimes, reality is stranger than fiction: SANTA ANA, Calif. — A Korean woman who was accused of running a prostitution ring to fund illegal operations that included a circuit of private motocross tracks was sentenced here Monday to 18 months in federal prison. Followers of her case, which has dragged on for three years between federal courts in Texas and ... [
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Posted 24 hours ago: WARNING: None of these links are safe for work. Surfing the net today, I found this absolutely stunning photograph. Also blending art, nudes and hanbok is this cool photo series. Not quite as artistic, but still featuring a woman shedding hanbok in Korean traditional architecture, is this photo series of Ryu Mi-oh (age verification required). [
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Posted 24 hours ago: Model Kim Se-na — who has worked as a gravure idol in Japan — has done a photo series. [
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Posted 24 hours ago: Ye Olde Chosun warns of the horrors of porn addiction: Pornography addiction was once seen as a problem for adolescents, and it was only cyber nannies aimed at the young that screened out “adult” content. The sites also usually require customers to prove their age. But is porn just a danger to children? Experts say no. One of the worst ... [
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Posted 3 days ago: Congratulations, Ok So-ri — your misfortune has become big Internet news, courtesy the Chosun Ilbo, Reuters, BBC and Drudge Report. For the convenience of those surfing in via Google, here’s the Ok So-ri Saga in list format: A Summary of The Adultery Law Review Constitutional Court to Review Criminal Adultery Ok So-ri Video Stand By Your Man (?) She Seduced ... [
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Posted 9 days ago: The KT reports that prostitutes are using blogs to attract clients. Probably more lucrative than Google Ads. [
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Posted 15 days ago: The international media is calling her Hang Mioku, the Japanese pronunciation of her Korean name. Hang Mioku first underwent plastic surgery at the ripe old age of 28 and made frequent trips to Japan for multiple procedures. After returning home so disfigured she was unrecognizable to her family, they took her to see a psychiatrist but couldn’t afford to continue ... [
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