Culture

From travel to subculture stories

KOREA EXPOSÉ
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Gamcheon Culture Village: Hilltop Slum Turned Tourist Attraction

Gamcheon in South Korea’s biggest port city Busan was once a hilltop slum. Thanks to an unusual move by a group of villagers, artists and local officials, it is now a picture pretty collection of art studios, shops and residence buildings and a major tourist attraction. A hilltop slum

Yolanta Siu
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Black Fowl Down? Avian Influenza Outbreak Threatens Indigenous Poultry Stock

Visitors approaching the entrance to Yeonsan Ogye Black Chicken Farm in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, are normally greeted by a particular sight: hundreds of chickens, clad in black, roaming freely about the yard. Since November, however, this is no longer the case. The start of winter in South Korea last

Katelyn Hemmeke
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Planting Rainforests and Donating Rice: The Fascinating World of K-pop Fandom

For approximately $35,000, you can plant 27,500 trees to help preserve the Brazilian rainforest. But this isn’t just the work of environmentalists — it’s also the work of K-pop fans. It’s a legendary story in K-pop fandom. 2012 marked the 20th debut anniversary of Seo Taiji

Haeryun Kang
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Journalism Without Journalists: Political Interference Cripples Public Broadcasting

President Park Geun-hye’s scandal is often seen as a triumph of South Korean journalism. Not just for the dogged investigations by countless journalists, but because typically partisan newspapers on different sides of the political spectrum, like Hankyoreh and Chosun Ilbo, all reported persistently and critically on the same

Haeryun Kang
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Sulli and K-Pop's Lolita Hypocrisy

Sulli is an interesting figure in the K-pop world. She entered the world of South Korean celebrity at the ripe age of 11, debuted as a member of girl group f(x) four years later in 2009, and rose to stardom under the strict guidance of SM Entertainment, a mega-agency

Steven Borowiec
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What Was That Jacket Chung Yoo-ra Was Wearing?

When Chung Yoo-ra was brought out from hiding after being apprehended by police in Denmark, many questions swirled in South Korea about Chung and her role in the evolving scandal centered around her mother, Choi Soon-sil. Just how did Chung, a reputed ne’er do well with lackluster academic credentials,

Jean Noh
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Top Five Sightings from the Anti-Park Geun-hye Protests

In the sixth straight weekend of rallies in South Korea, a record number of protesters gathered in Seoul and across the nation Saturday, calling for the ouster of president Park Geun-hye. According to the progressive newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun, it marked the republic’s largest rally in history with an estimated

Emily Singh
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Drugs in South Korea: Sex, Sales and Crackdowns

In 2004, comedian Noh Hong-chul, perhaps best known around the world as the “elevator man” in Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video, published a confessional essay stating that he once got a girl drunk while in high school in order to have sex with

Haeryun Kang
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Beyond the 99%: Alternative Education in South Korea

Nearly two decades have passed since the first challenges to South Korea’s predominantly state-driven education sprang up. Can alternative schools change the country’s oppressive education climate? Yesterday, over 600,000 high school seniors in South Korea took an exam notorious for its competitiveness, high stakes, and the

Haeryun Kang
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Haebangchon's Forgotten Past: A Stairway, A Shrine and The War Dead

There’s a stairway on the outskirts of the hip Haebangchon area in Seoul — one that doesn’t really merit a second look. No impressive characteristics beyond its steepness, nothing spectacular in its surroundings. No chic bars, no hipster coffee shops. There’s no reason to remember, much less

Haeryun Kang
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Choi Soon-sil Gate Parodies: Let the Fun Times Roll

There’s a lot of rage, disappointment, and feelings of betrayal over president Park Geun-hye’s alleged relationship with Choi Soon-sil. We say ‘alleged’, because much remains to be credibly confirmed in this dramatic, unfolding saga. (For an in-depth discussion of the Choi Soon-sil scandal, check

Crystal Tai
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K-Fashion: Where Imitation Breeds Creativity

Scandinavian mass retailer H&M recently launched its “K-Fashion” limited edition collection, available only in Asia. The line, which aims to capitalize on the popularity of South Korean pop culture in regions like Hong Kong, China and Japan, features oversize sweatshirts with Mickey Mouse faces, Snoopy-patterned crew-neck tees and