Fans of boyband brave heavy rain to gather at Seoul bookshop for Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS
The K-pop megastars BTS have released their hotly anticipated memoir in South Korea, marking their 10th anniversary as a group.
Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS is the group’s first official book, and contains a chronological summary of their musical career as well as hints at their future endeavours.
Continue reading...Rafael Grossi met with protests in Seoul during visit to try to calm fears over radioactive water discharge
Protesters have confronted the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog during a visit to South Korea in an attempt to calm fears over Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water from its Fukushima plant.
Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived in Seoul on Friday to meet the foreign minister and a top nuclear safety official during a three-day visit after his trip to Japan.
Continue reading...While South Korea offers official support, China and other voices in region continue to express concerns over discharge from nuclear plant
The publication this week of the UN nuclear watchdog’s positive assessment of Japanese plans to pump more than 1m tonnes of water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean has failed to placate opponents.
China is fiercely opposed to the plans, despite a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) backing the scheme, while the support of the government of South Korea has failed to quell widespread public opposition to the idea in the country.
Continue reading...Shortage of children’s doctors has led to long waiting lists, clinic closures and even prompted prospective parents to think again
A shortage of paediatricians in South Korea is leaving hospitals unable to fill posts while raising risks for children’s health, doctors have said, claiming that the shortage is both a result of the world’s lowest birthrate and increasingly a factor behind it.
The number of paediatric clinics and hospitals in the capital, Seoul, has fallen by 12.5% over the five years to 2022, to just 456. Over the same period, the number of psychiatry clinics increased by 76.8%, while anaesthesiology centres saw a 41.2% rise, according to the Seoul Institute, a public administration thinktank.
Continue reading...Kim Jong-un attended the conference to review defence strategies and the country’s struggling economy
North Korea opened a key political conference with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance to discuss improving its struggling economy and reviewing defence strategies in the face of growing tensions with rivals, according to state media reports.
The enlarged plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ party’s central committee came as the US sent a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea in the allies’ latest show of force against the North, which has ramped up its testing of nuclear-capable missiles to a record pace in recent months.
Continue reading...Man identified locally as George King-Thompson, who was previously jailed after free-climbing London’s Shard
A British man, previously jailed after free-climbing the Shard in London, has reportedly been arrested in South Korea after attempting to climb the country’s tallest skyscraper without equipment, police said.
The man was scaling the 123-storey Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul early on Monday when staff spotted him, forcing him to stop his ascent as he reached the 73rd floor.
Continue reading...Government vows to end school violence as experts say bullying methods have become more malicious
Clutching an iron hair curler radiating scorching heat, a schoolgirl torments a classmate in a desolate school gymnasium.
The curler sizzles raw flesh, as the camera pans to show scars on the victim’s body.
Continue reading...Symbolic bill sponsored by cross-party group of lawmakers is hailed a ‘historic moment’ in fight for marriage equality
Lawmakers in South Korea have proposed the country’s first same-sex marriage bill, in a move hailed by civic groups as a defining moment in the fight for equality.
The marriage equality bill, proposed by Jang Hye-yeong of the minor opposition Justice party and co-sponsored by 12 lawmakers across all the main parties, seeks to amend the country’s civil code to include persons of the same sex in marriage.
Continue reading...State media say the projectile plunged into the sea, after briefly sparking emergency warnings in South Korea and Japan
North Korea’s first spy satellite launch has ended in failure after its second stage malfunctioned, sending the projectile plunging into the sea, with the regime vowing to conduct another launch soon.
The launch sparked emergency warnings on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa and in the South Korean capital Seoul, where the city briefly issued an evacuation warning in error. Both alerts were later lifted.
Continue reading...Man in his 30s was detained on Friday after opening emergency exit at about 200 metres above ground
A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for a passenger who opened an Asiana Airlines plane door minutes before it landed, it has been reported.
The man in his 30s was detained on landing on Friday after opening the door when the Airbus A321-200 was about 200 metres (700ft) above the ground in Daegu, South Korea, causing panic onboard.
Continue reading...Asiana Airlines flight was about 200 metres above the ground when the passenger pulled emergency exit
A man who opened an emergency exit on a flight mid-air felt “suffocated” and wanted to get off quickly, South Korean police said.
The Asiana Airlines plane was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway on Friday at Daegu international airport, about 150 miles south-east of Seoul, on a domestic flight.
Continue reading...Asiana Airlines officials say man pulled lever to open emergency exit shortly before landing
Police in South Korea have arrested a man who allegedly opened the door on an Asiana Airlines flight shortly before the aircraft landed, triggering panic among the 194 passengers onboard and leaving several requiring hospital treatment for breathing problems.
The Airbus A321 plane landed safely, but with its door still open, at Daegu airport in South Korea at about 12.40pm (0340 BST) after leaving Jeju island an hour earlier, the airport’s flight schedule showed.
Continue reading...US, Japan and South Korea tighten monitoring of North’s missile launches; meanwhile South puts first commercial satellite in space on own rocket
North Korean media has criticised as “sinister measures” plans by South Korea, the United States and Japan to share real-time data on missile launches by Kim Jong-un’s regime – with the North lashing out as its neighbour this week undertook its largest-ever live-fire exercises with the US.
The leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan met at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, last weekend and discussed new coordination in the face of North Korea’s illicit nuclear and missile threats. North Korea has undertaken a series of missile and weapons tests in recent months, most recently a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The North’s missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned by the UN security council.
Continue reading...Alexander and Andrea Campagna took in Korean travelers during deadly snowstorm in Buffalo last year – and got special thanks in return
A US husband and wife who sheltered 10 South Korean travelers in their home during a deadly snowstorm last Christmas have gone to Seoul and been feted as heroes.
Alexander and Andrea Campagna went to South Korea’s capital as part of a 10-day tour of the city organized as a token of gratitude for the husband and wife who opened up their home in Buffalo, New York, to strangers in need.
Continue reading...Joint visit during G7 summit seen as further evidence of determination to overcome longstanding friction
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, have paid their respects at a memorial to the tens of thousands of Korean victims of the atomic bombing, in a further sign of improving ties between the north-east Asian neighbours.
The pair, accompanied by their wives, laid bouquets of white flowers before lowering their heads at the memorial in the city’s peace park on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where Yoon is one of several non-member leaders taking part in “outreach” sessions.
Continue reading...Korean media praises prime minister’s gesture, known as ‘manner legs’, while some Canadians say it is embarrassing country
Justin Trudeau’s hair has made international headlines, as have his fumbling handshakes and propensity to appear shirtless when cameras are near. Now, the Canadian prime minister’s well-mannered legs are getting their moment in the spotlight
Ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Trudeau and a delegation of Canadian ministers were in South Korea to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as an attempt to salvage a multibillion-dollar battery plant deal.
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Biden’s cancellation not a snub, Marles insists
The media is still trying to get the Albanese government to admit it feels bruised after Joe Biden cancelled his Australian visit for the Quad leaders meeting.
You’ve got a leader of a country who is dealing with an urgent issue in terms of their domestic politics. It’s unfortunate. But it happens. It’s nothing more than that.
It says a lot about Australia’s standing in the world right now. It says a lot, I think particularly about our relationship with Japan, actually, given that they’re the hosts of this.
We wish to express our thanks to God and all who have continued to pray for us.
We express our relief that Dr Elliott is free and thank the Australian Government and all who have been involved over time to secure his release. We also continue to pray for those still held and wish them freedom and safe return to their loved ones.
Continue reading...Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS will be out on 9 July, ending feverish speculation that the previously untitled book was a Taylor Swift memoir
The guessing game began this week when a mysteriously untitled book, scheduled for publication in July and known only as “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023”, appeared. It quickly became a bestseller when Taylor Swift fans began feverishly speculating that it was her surprise memoir.
But the mystery has been solved, with publishing house Flatiron Books bringing forward their announcement by a month to reveal the book is actually by another musical powerhouse: the K-pop boyband BTS.
Continue reading...Fumio Kishida pays reciprocal visit to Yoon Suk-yeol as rows over Japanese occupation are soothed
Japan’s prime minister has expressed sympathy for the suffering of Korean forced labourers during Japan’s colonial rule, as he and his South Korean counterpart renewed their resolve to overcome historical grievances and strengthen cooperation in the face of shared challenges such as North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Comments by the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, on Sunday during his second summit in less than two months with the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, are being closely watched in Seoul.
Continue reading...Liaison office plans likely to attract criticism from China which has warned against the western alliance extending into Asia
Nato is reportedly planning to open a liaison office in Japan to coordinate with close partners across the Indo-Pacific region including Australia, South Korea and New Zealand.
The plans are likely to attract criticism from the Chinese government, which has previously warned the western alliance against extending “its tentacles to the Asia-Pacific”.
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