South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is months out from a crucial election seen as a barometer of his mid-term popularity, but surveys show he has a big problem – the latest scandal surrounding his wife.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is months out from a crucial election seen as a barometer of his mid-term popularity, but surveys show he has a big problem – the latest scandal surrounding his wife.
Each year, Korean university professors vote for a proverb that summarizes or best represents the year that has passed. For this year, the proverb gyeon-ri-mang-ui 見利忘義 has been chosen. Originally from a text by Zhuangzi, a Chinese philosopher from the 4th century BCE during the Warring States period, the four characters loosely translate to forgetting what is right when seeing a gain. It means being more interested in how one can benefit from something and forgetting about what is the right thing to do.
One year ago, the name Itaewon entered our collective catalog of national trauma. Many young people had gathered in Itaewon to celebrate the first Halloween since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. One hundred fifty-nine of them never made it back home. Three hundred more are still suffering from the aftermath. One year on, after a failed ministerial impeachment, one special bill that never got passed, one independent commission that never got established, one three-month-long criminal investigation and five ongoing trials, we are still looking for answers to some very basic questions.
Summer is the season for horror movies. Watching a scary movie in the cinema and getting chills is a favorite way to cope with the heat for some people.