April 24, 2007 – 12:00 am
A question just as important, and probably more pressing, than how Koreans might react to a Cho Seung-hui-esque massacre on their own soil, is how this country as a whole deals with depression and mental illness. This weekend brought the unfortunate news that Korea now has the highest suicide rate in the world, a [...]
With the ink still wet on the U.S.-Korea FTA, the Blue House has shifted one eye to its hulking western neighbor. According to the Chosun, Seoul and Beijing may be looking to tighten military ties:
South Korea and China will establish military hot lines between their Navy and Air Forces. A Chinese source on Wednesday [...]
The results are in, and the #1 capital city on the Korean peninsula drops to a still respectable #87 when stacked up against the Most Livable Cities in the Rest of the World (see here and scroll down for list). Fortunately, we beat Abu Dhabi, which placed an embarrassing 88th. Also making the [...]
A school without bells? Classes that stretch overtime to accommodate discussion? Students who do homework in an actual library? This may not sound like a Korean high school, but Ok-ya seems to have broken the mold:
No students in the school attend private cram school for further study. Instead, starting from 6p.m. students [...]
It seems America’s missile defense was a little under the weather last summer—just in time for the launch of some North Korean Nodong’s.
In the wake of Andrei Lankov’s primer on “How to Topple Kim Jong-Il,” Foreign Policy has followed up with a skeptic’s run-down of what we know, what we don’t know, what we need to know, and what we thought we knew but now doubt about claims surrounding North Korea’s uranium enrichment program. Where purchases [...]
Pundits and politicians alike have long seen the six-party talks as more than just a chance to trade bombs and non-aggression pacts. Many hope that these negotiations could evolve into the framework for an East Asian economic and security forum, with the potential to resolve some of the region’s lingering 20th century woes. [...]
March 17, 2007 – 12:02 pm
A different Jon (no “h” this time) has rigged up a nifty site that weaves together related strands of the web to “reveal our modern mythology.” Plug in your favorite search term (a handy link to “north korea” sits front and center on the home page) and go to town. The author has [...]
March 17, 2007 – 11:42 am
John Berthelsen at the Asia Sentinel lambastes the Macau Bank deal. Some background here.
March 15, 2007 – 10:42 pm
Chinese characters in Korea now know how Latin feels in the West. Many college freshmen can not write their own names in hanja, most cannot write their parents’ names, and some mistake “bamboo mat” for “university.” The Chosun laments:
Our students do not learn Chinese characters while in school. They have almost completely [...]
North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator couldn’t find a moment to sit down with Mohamed ElBaradei today, who traveled to Pyongyang to follow up on the Agreed Framework, Part Deux:
ElBaradei was unable to meet Kim Kye-Gwan, who was “too busy” preparing for the next round of six-nation negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear programmes, Kyodo News cited [...]
…to The Host. Bong Joon-ho’s blockbuster opens Stateside today after receiving gobs of gushing press in the wake of a Cannes premier last year. At Salon, Andrew O’Hehir offers a representative bit of praise:
It’s a vivid, anarchic picture that’s high on old-fashioned thrills. It’s sardonic, silly, violent and tenderhearted. It’s purportedly political (though [...]
If The Marmot’s Hole isn’t sating your appetite for all things Korean, consider signing up here for the Sejong Society’s weekly e-mail newsletter. You’ll be treated to a smattering of current events links, updates on the organization’s events in Washington, and–bonus!–a Korean music video. Be advised, however, that those with weak stomachs and/or [...]
Some new photos have once more sent Hyo-lee’s popularity through the roof. This is certainly better for the Korean Wave than Hyo-lee herself going through the roof, which nearly happened last time.
Sphere: Related Content
With youngsters bungee jumping on the streets of Seoul today to celebrate the Spirit of Independence, some quick thoughts on the context of March 1, 1919.
Historians have noted the impact on Korean nationalists of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points and his espousal of national self-determination. This oldie-but-goodie also provides an interesting look at the indigenous [...]
February 28, 2007 – 10:38 am
Some Seoul asthmatics are fed up with the poor air of their environs. Led by the Seoul Air Pollution Litigation Group, the 22 plaintiffs will be looking to cash in to the tune of 30 million won per plaintiff, to be collected
from the central government and Seoul metropolitan government for “not fulfilling their responsibility [...]
February 28, 2007 – 12:59 am
Ban Ki Moon may have landed the UN’s top spot, but most of Korea’s homegrown aspirants to IR careers can’t even get their foot in the door at the Asian Development Bank. This from a recent report on the sorry state of the country’s nine graduate programs in international affairs, assessed one decade after [...]
February 17, 2007 – 1:49 pm
Skeptics justifiably doubt the prospects for success of the recent nuclear deal hatched in Beijing. Others are more sanguine. Our Marmot just doesn’t care.
Any assessment of negotiations with the Norks must pit lessons of the past (”They’ll renege in T-10, 9, 8,…”) against hopes for the future (”Maybe this time…”). What gets [...]
