Category Archives: South Korea

K-beauty, hallyu and mukbang: dozens of Korean words added to Oxford English Dictionary

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New additions highlight Korean culture wave as interest in the country’s food, fashion and entertainment spreads

The Korean culture wave has swept through the editorial offices of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which has added more than 20 new words of Korean origin to its latest edition.

The “definitive record of the English language” included words alluding to the global popularity of the country’s music and cuisine, plus one or two whose roots in the Korean language may be less obvious.

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Kim Jong-un orders hotline with the South to reopen as he condemns ‘cunning’ US

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North Korean leader said Biden offer of dialogue is ‘a facade’ and blamed the US for ‘hostile policy’

Kim Jong-un has condemned a US offer of dialogue as a “facade”, state media reported, but said he had ordered officials to restore communication lines with South Korea to “promote peace”.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the North Korean leader accused the US of continuing a “hostile policy” against his nuclear-armed country, despite the Biden administration’s offers of negotiations without preconditions.

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Squid Game: the hellish horrorshow taking the whole world by storm

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In the gory thriller that has swiftly become a smash hit on Netflix, competitors play children’s games for huge cash prizes … and if they lose, they die. Can you stomach it?

What if winning playground games could make you rich? That’s the basis of Squid Game – the South Korean show currently at number one on Netflix around the world – where debt-ridden players sign up to compete in six games for a cash prize of 45.6 billion won (around £28m). The small print: if you lose, you get killed. In the first episode, a game of Grandma’s Footsteps (known as Red Light, Green Light in South Korea) leaves bodies piled high as the shell-shocked winners proceed to round two. It’s blood-splattered child’s play – a kind of Takeshi’s Castle with fatalities, or Saw with stylish shell suits.

If you can stomach the events of the first episode, what follows is a tightly written horror thriller that has captivated viewers. The nine-part series is the first Korean show to reach the top spot on the streaming platform in the US, and is currently number one in the UK. Its success won’t come as a surprise to a generation of viewers who got hooked on murderous dystopian series The Hunger Games and cult favourite Battle Royale. But Squid Game’s backdrop is South Korea’s present-day, very real wealth inequality.

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Kim Jong-un’s sister says North Korea open to talks with South if Seoul shows ‘respect’

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Analysts say North Korea’s apparent desire for engagement part of a push to get the US to ease crippling sanctions

The influential sister of North Korea’s leader said that an inter-Korean summit could take place, but only if mutual “respect” and “impartiality” are guaranteed.

The statement on Saturday was the second in two days by Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister and key adviser.

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Coronavirus live news: Covid cases in South Korea top 3,000; Northern Ireland to ease travel rules

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Further 3,273 infections added to South Korea’s tally; fully vaccinated travellers in Northern Ireland will no longer need pre-departure test from 4 October

The introduction of Covid passes in the Netherlands has sparked protests, with demonstrators marching against the requirement to show proof of vaccination to enter bars, theatres and other venues.

After social distancing was brought to a close on Saturday, customers are now required to show proof of vaccination, recent recovery from Covid or a negative test to enter hospitality and leisure venues in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands ended social distancing measures on Saturday, replacing the restriction with a requirement to show a Covid-19 health pass to enter hospitality and entertainment venues.

Known as the “1.5-meter society” in the Netherland, social distancing measures have been in place for the last 18 months.

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UK to send 1m Pfizer vaccine doses to South Korea in swap deal

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Doses will help South Korea boost full vaccination rates, and UK will get same number back later in year

One million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are being sent from the UK to South Korea as part of a swap deal.

South Korea will return the same “overall volume of doses” before the end of the year, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

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North Korea fires two ballistic missiles into sea, South Korea military says

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Launch comes as Chinese foreign minister is in Seoul to discuss stalled nuclear diplomacy and two days after North tests a new long-range cruise missile

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea’s military has said, two days after the North claimed to have tested a new missile in its first weapons test in six months.

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said the missiles flew from a central inland area towards the waters off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast and that further analysis with US officials was under way. “Our military maintains a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the US,” the JCS said.

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Kim Jong-un to face human rights abuse claims in Japanese court

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Thousands of ethnic Koreans left Japan for North Korea decades ago lured by promise of a better life

A Japanese court has summoned North Korea’s leader to face demands for compensation by several ethnic Korean residents of Japan who say they suffered human rights abuses in North Korea after joining a resettlement programme there that described the country as a “paradise on Earth”, a lawyer and plaintiff have said.

Kim Jong-un is not expected to appear in court for the hearing on 14 October, but the judge’s decision to summon him was a rare instance in which a foreign leader was not granted sovereign immunity, said Kenji Fukuda, a lawyer representing the five plaintiffs.

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From vaccine mandates to a chatting ban: how schools in the Asia Pacific are managing Delta

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Outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant have led to closures in some countries, while others push to keep classrooms open

As countries across Asia battle worsening Covid outbreaks, schools face particular challenges in keeping children and teachers safe. Some countries – determined that classrooms stay open – are relying on measures like masks, smaller groups and even bans on talking in class to limit infections. In others, schools remain shut.

Here’s a look at what countries around Asia and the region are doing to prevent Covid spread in schools:

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South Korea designates arriving Afghans as ‘persons of special merit’

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Seoul skirts fraught issue of refugees as it ‘fulfils moral responsibility’ and welcomes 391 newcomers

South Korea has welcomed the arrival of Afghans who supported its operations before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, designating them as “persons of special merit” instead of refugees in an apparent effort to defuse anti-migrant sentiment.

A military aircraft landed at Incheon airport west of Seoul in the afternoon, transporting 378 Afghans who had worked for South Korea’s embassy and other facilities in Afghanistan and their family members. A further 13 will arrive on a separate flight.

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Disgraced Samsung boss released early from South Korean prison

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Billionaire vice-chair was serving 30-month sentence for bribing country’s former president

The billionaire boss of South Korea’s Samsung empire hs been released from prison after serving 18 months of a 30-month sentence for bribing the former president of South Korea Park Geun-hye.

Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s vice-chair and de facto leader, apologised to the country for his actions upon his release from Seoul detention centre. “I’ve caused much concern for the people. I deeply apologise,” Lee, 53, told reporters on Friday. “I am listening to the concerns, criticisms, worries and high expectations for me. I will work hard.”

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North Korea military threats ‘intended to deflect from economic crisis’

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Regime looking to shift focus from domestic problems with rhetoric around US-South Korea military drills, say analysts

North Korea’s threat to boost its military capacity to counter hostility from Washington before joint US-South Korea military drills is intended to divert attention from its economic crisis but could lead to a resumption of missile tests, according to analysts.

While there is nothing unusual about North Korean opposition to the summer exercises involving American and South Korean forces, its warning this week that Seoul and Washington faced “greater security threats” comes from a position of weakness not seen since Kim Jong-un came to power a decade ago.

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South Korean politicians seek to criminalise ‘semen terrorism’

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Recent court rulings have punished men on charges of property damage rather than sexually criminal behaviour

Politicians in South Korea are seeking to make amendments to existing laws in order to make “semen terrorism” a punishable sex crime.

The move comes after a string of controversial court verdicts that have punished men who secretly ejaculated onto women’s belongings for “property damage”, and not for sexually criminal behaviour.

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‘Treacherous’: Kim Jong-un’s sister condemns South Korea-US war games

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Kim Yo-jong, a key adviser to North Korean ruler, interrupts surprise thaw in relations on Korean peninsula

The influential sister of the North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un, has called Seoul authorities “treacherous” over the South’s joint military exercises with the US, warning the two allies would face greater security threats as a result.

Kim Yo-jong’s latest remarks come despite a surprise thaw on the Korean peninsula, prompted by a series of personal letters between her brother and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in.

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Samsung boss to be freed from jail after bribery sentence

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Billionaire Lee Jae-yong will be released in South Korea on Friday having served 18 months in prison

The billionaire boss of South Korea’s Samsung empire will be freed from jail on Friday after serving part of a 30-month sentence for bribing former South Korea president Park Geun-hye.

Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s vice-chairman and de facto leader, will be released on 13 August, the country’s justice minister announced in a live TV briefing.

Lee was caught up in a huge corruption scandal that brought down the government Park in 2016. Park was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 18bn won (£12m).

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North Korea wants sanctions eased on metal, fuel and ‘liquor and suits’ to restart US talks

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Amid economic crisis, Kim Jong-un wants restrictions relaxed on necessities as well as luxury goods, South Korea lawmakers say

North Korea wants a raft of international sanctions eased – including on imports of luxury items such as high-class liquors and suits – before it will restart denuclearisation talks with the United States, South Korean lawmakers have said.

Pyongyang has also called for sanctions banning its metal exports and imports of refined fuel and other necessities to be lifted, the lawmakers said on Tuesday after being briefed by Park Jie-won, head of the South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).

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Pop star Kris Wu detained on suspicion of rape

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Beijing police detain the ex-boy band member after social media allegations of date rape

Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has been detained by Beijing police on suspicion of rape.

The 30-year-old former member of the Korean boyband EXO had previously been accused by a teenager of having sex with her while she was drunk. Wu denied the accusation.

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Infectious nightclubs: Covid outbreaks serve as risk alert

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Nightclubs across the world have been linked to outbreaks, leading some countries to open up to vaccinated clubbers only

They only wanted to enjoy themselves on the sunny Sardinian coast last summer after a tough two-month lockdown. But instead, young Italians, who had frequented nightclubs, returned home either with Covid-19 or laden with feelings of guilt, regret or anger at the authorities.

Nightclubs, such as those in Spain, France, the UK, Austria and Thailand, have triggered coronavirus outbreaks since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Young North Koreans told to shun slang and ‘cultural penetration’ from South

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Editorial in official newspaper calls on youth to follow ‘traditional lifestyles’ and stick to ‘superior’ language

Young North Koreans have been warned to adhere to the country’s standard language and follow “traditional lifestyles” as part of the regime’s campaign to stamp out cultural influences from neighbouring South Korea.

In an editorial published on Sunday, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ party, railed against the creeping influence of the South on everything from hairstyles to the spoken word.

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No Gangnam Style: South Korea Covid rules enforce slower music in gyms

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Authorities add requirement that workout tunes must not exceed 120 beats per minute in group exercises

Plenty of gymgoers rely on a good tune to get themselves through that workout, but in South Korea their musical options have just reduced significantly under new Covid-19 rules.

To the standard restrictions such as social distancing and travel curbs, South Korea has added a requirement that gyms do not play music with higher than 120 beats per minute (bpm) during group exercises such as aerobics and spinning.

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