Those Koreanists who looked at the timing of the talk by Loren Goldner and decided to give it a miss were probably well advised. 6pm on a Saturday night is not the best time to pull in the punters. But inside the rather pokey Kings Cross bookshop it was standing room only. Those who turned … [Read More]
Category: Society (page 5)
Discussion: The South Korean class struggle
As a conservative prepares to take over in Seoul, in London a Marxist provides some commentary on the class struggle in South Korea. At the slightly anti-social time of 6pm on Saturday evening at Housman’s bookshop near Kings Cross, Loren Goldner will speak as follows: From Mass Strike to Casualization and Retreat: The Korean Working … [Read More]
LKL 2007 Quiz of the Year – the answers
Question 1: Corporate crooks and corruption Match the alleged quote with the appropriate chaebol The conglomorate had run a vast network that bribed government officials, prosecutors, tax collectors, journalists and scholars I don’t want to take a gamble on causing a crisis in the country’s economy The sentence of one year and six months is … [Read More]
Sorok Island joined to the mainland
Yi Chong-jun’s (이청준) novel on the subject is called Your Paradise. Looking at the beach above you see maybe one reason. But Sorok Island (소록도) is Korea’s best known leper colony. As Brother Anthony explains, in Yi’s book, the subject is the relation between the individual and the collective. The setting is the remote leper … [Read More]
Book review: J Scott Burgeson — Korea Bug
J Scott Burgeson: Korea Bug Eunhaeng Namu, Seoul, 2005 A recent article in the JoongAng daily about a foreigner in Seoul who hasn’t made himself popular with hypersensitive and volatile Korean netizens introduced me to a gem. Burgeson, a foreigner who has been in Seoul since 1996 is one of the more unusual expats out … [Read More]
Britain in 2007: North Korean policies, South Korean branding
July has seen two dramatic changes in Britain. A new regime in Westminster and the implementation of a draconian measure in the name of public health. On the latter point, England is catching up with Scotland, who implemented a smoking ban last year. And also with North Korea: The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, has reportedly … [Read More]
Round-up of recent business stories
Some recent stories I don’t want to lose. Mercer’s annual cost of living survey for expats has recently been published. Seoul, last year’s number 2, has been pushed to number 3 by London. Moscow stays top of the list. Tokyo is fourth. Korea is also slipping in the GDP rankings. Bank of Korea data shows … [Read More]
Hanwha and Kim Seung-youn links
A lazy post to bring together some of the Hanwha coverage. Interestingly, not many of the bloggers seem to have shown much interest in the story, as far as I can see. (South Korean police officers carry the seizures after searching at home of Hanwha Group Chairman and CEO Kim Seung-youn in Seoul, South Korea, … [Read More]
S. Korea’s birth rate inches up
Whether it’s the auspicious influence of the year of the Golden Pig, the outcome of Bada’s awareness-raising concert, the result of Shin Dong-jin’s efforts as head of the birth-boosting campaign, or a combination of all the above, Yonhap announces an increase in the birthrate in 2006. KBS gets all technical about the potential astrological reasons: … [Read More]
Condom sales, motel bookings surge after DPRK nuclear test
The Chosun reports a surge in condom sales and in love motel bookings in the days and weeks following North Korea’s nuke test on October 9th. I hope the world’s not going to end quite yet. [Read More]
Samsung’s $800 million apology
A recent editorial in the Chosun Ilbo talked about the donation of 800 billion won by the Samsung Group, in penance for past avoidance of inheritance tax, and makes for an interesting read. Here’s an extract: After the Samsung Group in May handed the Education Ministry a W800-billion (US$1=W965) scholarship fund, the foundation’s entire board … [Read More]
The world’s biggest bibimbap?
From the Chosun Ilbo: Students make Korean traditional dish bibimbap, an assortment of vegetables and rice, for 1,000 people during a spring festival at Ewha Womans University, which marked its 120th anniversary on Wednesday. [Read More]
Two Koreas’ Top Brass Resort to Racist Mudslinging
A continuation of the ongoing theme on racial purity spurred by the visit of Korean-American Dan Hines to Korea. The more extreme position taken by the representative from the North chimes in well with this harrowing story in Time. The full story is in the Chosun Ilbo here. [Read More]
Samsung – am I missing something?
I’m puzzled by this item on the KBS site today Samsung to Pay W1 Tln in Inheritance Tax The Samsung Group will follow the example of the Shinsegae Group in paying a trillion won in inheritance tax. A Samsung source said Tuesday that Samsung will pay at an appropriate time around a trillion won in … [Read More]
Saying Sorry with cash
I haven’t been following the Hyundai Slush Fund story, but Hyundai hopes to have drawn a line under it with a $1bn charitable donation. Samsung apparently adopted a similar approach to the tune of $840mn last year. Lone Star, meanwhile, is making a $100mn donation as a goodwill gesture in relation to its KEB purchase … [Read More]