SKorea wants talks on restarting tours to North Nov 18, 2008
South Korean tours to the site on North Korea's east coast revered throughout Korean history as one of the country's most beautiful have been suspended since a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist there in July. Seoul has demanded that North Korea allow investigators into the reclusive North to probe the shooting death. (International Herald Tribune)
History textbook causes an uproar in South Korea Nov 18, 2008
To conservative critics, a popular textbook's version of how U.S. and Soviet forces took control of Korea from Japanese colonialists in 1945 exemplifies all that's wrong with how South Korean history is taught to young people today ... The books, they say, inspire a "masochistic" view of Korean history by demeaning the role of the Allied forces in Korea's liberation from Japan, casting the United States as an imperial power and dwelling on the faults of South Korean dictators while slighting... (International Herald Tribune)
S Korea slams high tuition costs Sep 24, 2008
In a radical move after he came to power earlier this year, his administration suggested teaching many subjects in English in state schools - including Korean history. The idea proved too controversial to become official policy. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Big dreams for North Korean industrial park Aug 21, 2008
"When you are feeding a rat with poison, but you coat it with sugar, you are not really feeding the rat," said Andrei Lankov, a professor of North Korean history at Kookmin University in Seoul and a longtime critic of the regime who recently surprised colleagues by publishing an article supporting the Kaesong park. 1. (International Herald Tribune -- Money Report)
Newsweek: Curse of S. Korea's one-term presidency Jul 17, 2008
And his huge electoral victorieshe won the December election by the biggest margin in Korean history (5. 3 million votes), and then scored big again in April when his gained an absolute majority in Parliamentseemed to send him the wrong message. (MSNBC -- International)
Korea's new generation of 'Web 2.0' protesters Jun 17, 2008
In a sense, Lee is struggling with a legacy of South Korean history. Even decades after the end of military rule, the public's mistrust of authority runs so deep that many still consider street demonstrations the best way to make their voices heard. (International Herald Tribune)
A new light on the Korean War Jun 5, 2008
Not so long ago, according to multiple surveys by South Korean newspapers on the eve of the new millennium, South Koreans uniformly identified the Korean War as the single most important historical event in all of Korean history. The horrific magnitude of the war, claiming the lives of more than 10% of the Korean population, rightfully bears that terrible distinction. (Asia Times Online)
US beef imports ignite Sth Korean protests Jun 2, 2008
Sworn in in April, after the most decisive election win in Korean history, he's also benefited from his party, securing the majority of the national Parliament. But now, facing the increasingly insistent protests and claims of a heavy-handed response from security officials, the President has been criticised by even his own supporters. (ABC Online)
Speak English, child! This is Korea May 27, 2008
In the initial enthusiasm after the conservative government won office in December, there were even suggestions of teaching Korean history in English. At least one major South Korean company requires company communication to be in English. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
South Korea's Lee takes a grilling May 24, 2008
As has so often happened in modern South Korean history, Lee finds himself under vitriolic, unrelenting attack from leftist activists who've found a weakness in his armor of conservative popularity and support. Lee's foes have picked on the issue of the deal that his government made with US negotiators in the hours before he met Bush to resume importing US beef. (Asia Times Online)
Bobcat to distribute from Minn. May 10, 2008
Doosan said the deal was the largest overseas acquisition in Korean history. The company said it now will have a network of more than 3,500 dealers worldwide and 20 manufacturing plants in the U.S., Europe and China. (Bismarck Tribune, ND)
Bobcat CEO impresses Apr 6, 2008
9 billion deal was the largest overseas acquisition in South Korean history. Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Susan Geib, head of the state s Trade Office, sat down with the chair of Bobcat s new Korean-based parent company during the Trade Office s recent mission to South Korea. (Bismarck Tribune, ND)
A history of the East, from a westerner: Professor Norman Kutcher offers first-hand experience of China Feb 29, 2008
Syracuse was receptive to an Asian studies professor, and Kutcher remained the only Asian history expert until 2006 when a Korean history professor was hired. His expertise is founded through his experiences in Beijing, where he spends most of the non-academic year. (Daily Orange, NY)
Airwaves of hope Feb 28, 2008
North Koreans were taught to believe that Kim Jong Il was born on Mount Paekdu, considered sacred in Korean history. But the radio program Kim heard that day said Kim Jong Il was born in the Soviet Union. (CNN -- International)
Can Korea Protect Its Historical Sites? Feb 14, 2008
Lee Song Gun, a historian and researcher at the National Institute of Korean History, was reduced to tears when she first heard that the city's beloved Namdaemun Gate had burned to rubble on Monday. "It is our pride and joy, so I feel ashamed that this happened," she says. (Time.com)
ISU offers adult enrichment programs Feb 10, 2008
Korea The Lamplight of the East: An Entertaining Primer on Korean History, Culture and Politics S. J. Chang, April 1, 3, 8 and 10 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.. Mornings with the Professors. (The Pantagraph newspaper)
This Week's Tips: Jan 20, 2008
The museum also contains over 11,000 works of art, and allows you to explore 5,000 years of Korean history in very spacious, eye-pleasing surroundings. Just watch out if you go during the week - many schoolchildren are present and they like to take over. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Travel)
Goodbye chaebol,hello small business Jan 5, 2008
To state that such a shift is epochal may be premature but, given the arc of contemporary Korean history, Lees plan is certainly significant. With its rejection of traditions deemed unsuitable and its acceptance of traditions thought of as successful, the plan is innovative and exactly what the Korean people should expect of a candidate they elected largely on the strength of his business experience. (Asia Times Online)
* Academics tout closer relations with South Korea Dec 28, 2007
"President-elect Lee Myung-bak is the first so-called `economy president' in South Korean history. Although Taiwan does not enjoy official diplomatic relations with South Korea, it should still seize the opportunity to develop further economic ties with its former ally," said Lee Tsai-fang (b), the nation's former representative to South Korea. "For example, signing a Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement is a realistic and achievable goal," Lee said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Infotainment Dec 25, 2007
After nearly 400 years, a few killings and scorned pleas from a king, two powerful clans have settled one of the longest-standing feuds in Korean history, over ancestral burial grounds. The clash between the Yoon family and the Shim family started in 1614 when the two began burying their ancestors. (Daily Times, Pakistan)
South Korean election Dec 19, 2007
Kim lost three elections and "retired" from politics in 1993 to study in Cambridge, before winning the presidency in 1997 in the first change of government in South Korean history. Three years later, he visited Pyongyang for the first north-south summit, for which he won the Nobel peace prize. (Guardian Unlimited)
Voting for South Korea Prez polls Dec 19, 2007
Local media predicted it would report before a new leader takes office on February 25, raising the possibility of a president-elect facing a criminal probe for the first time in South Korean history. Lee has said he made erroneous comments on the video because he was trying to promote new financial business. (India Times, India)
South Korea's 'dirty' election Dec 19, 2007
It has been described as one of the dirtiest elections in recent South Korean history. At the end of the 2007 presidential campaign, the mud-slinging has turned to violence with the undignified spectacle of a full-blown punch up on the floor of parliament. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
US experts arrive in SKorea to help with devastating oil spill Dec 13, 2007
The largest oil spill in South Korean history on Dec. 7 released about 66,000 barrels into the sea off the west coast, devastating hundreds of seafood farms and turning scenic beaches black. The volume was more than twice as much as South Korea's worst previous spill in 1995. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
South Korea fights worst-ever oil spill Dec 10, 2007
The oil spill is the worst in Korean history and the worst in the world since 2003, when a Greek-registered tanker ran aground near Karachi, Pakistan and leaked some 8. 2 million gallons of crude oil. (Christian Science Monitor)
Barker: The UN and Polyarchy 2 Nov 28, 2007
In 1997, he advised the winning presidential campaign of Kim Dae Jung, the first opposition leader to be elected in Korean history. Subsequently, he was an advisor to the Government of Korea during its financial crisis and recovery. (Zmag.org)
Korean PMs meet for talks Nov 14, 2007
Relations began warming following October's summit - only the second in Korean history - and after Pyongyang proceeded with the disarmament process. Lee Jae-Joung, South Korea's unification minister attending the talks, said they will "try our utmost to make this week's meeting a constructive one". (Aljazeera.Net)
Row over first female face to adorn a South Korean banknote Nov 8, 2007
Known as the "wise mother", a government web site describes her as "the best example of motherhood in Korean history". The central bank said she was selected for representation on the new notes "to promote gender equality and women's participation in society". (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Naval Academy Agrees to Return South Korean Flag Oct 11, 2007
Thomas Duvernay, a Korean history professor at Handong Global University in South Korea, says the huge yellow and blue banner is the Korean equivalent of Old Glory or the Liberty Bell in America. Duvernay says the flag is expected to arrive in Korea next Friday. (ABC 7 News, DC)
Korean leaders begin summit Oct 2, 2007
Held in a massive public stadium, Arirang is an artistic and gymnastic performance that pays homage to an intensely nationalistic view of North Korean history. It portrays Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, as messiahs who saved the country from its enemies, including South Korea and the United States. (Los Angeles Times)
If the North had won the war ... Sep 8, 2007
A few years ago we spent much time discussing assorted "what-if" possibilities of North Korean history, the "roads not taken". Of all those possibilities, by far the most probable was a North Korean victory in autumn 1950. (Asia Times Online)
Dear Leader's role in filmmaking Sep 6, 2007
And in 1978, in one of the most bizarre episodes of North Korean history, his agents reportedly kidnapped a South Korean film actress and her director husband, imprisoning them and forcing them to produce propaganda films for North Korea until they finally escaped. Cinema is just one example of Mr. Kim's worship of mass spectacle in any form. (Globe and Mail)
Leader: Sun continues to shine Aug 9, 2007
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is striking while the iron is hot, seeking to cull the maximum economic gain from a period of Korean history where genuine change appears to be in the air. But whether he will be able to manage the transition that a formal state of peace will herald is another matter entirely. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
Peace or appeasement with Pyongyang? Aug 2, 2007
The past 54 years of peace is the longest in Korean history since the arrival of the Atlantic powers in the mid-19th century. During this time South Koreans have enjoyed the greatest period of economic growth and material comfort in the history of the Korean nation. (Asia Times Online)
Doosan: No changes planned for Bobcat operations Aug 1, 2007
Doosan officials said it's the largest overseas acquisition in Korean history. Bobcat, which is based in West Fargo and known for its skid-steer loaders, has plants in Bismarck and Gwinner, in southeastern North Dakota. (Bismarck Tribune, ND)
Korean firm buys Bobcat diggers Jul 30, 2007
The deal, which also includes the sale of Ingersoll's utility equipment and attachment units, is the largest overseas takeover in Korean history. Doosan will now become the world's seventh largest maker of construction equipment, and nearly double its sales. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Lost in translation Jun 27, 2007
My Wife is a Gangster 3 (MWIG3) is directed by Jo Jin-gyu, the director of the original film, which became the fourth highest grossing movie in Korean history when it was released in 2001. However, where the previous two movies featured the hilarious escapades of a female gangster getting married, MWIG3 departs from that formula, focusing instead on a more international premise featuring the romance between a woman gangster from Hong Kong and a hapless gangster from Korea. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
* Korean trains make historic border crossing May 18, 2007
"A new chapter for peace is opening in Korean history," the South's Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said. "This will be a turning point for overcoming the legacy of the Cold War era, tearing down the wall of division and opening a new era for peace and reunification," Lee said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
Full Story » May 17, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007. Two Koreas stage historic rail border crossing Posted: 17 May 2007 1131 hrs. (Channelnewsasia.com)
Two Koreas stage historic rail border crossing May 17, 2007
"A new chapter for peace is opening in Korean history," said the South's Unification Minister Lee Jae-Joung just before the historic trips. "This will be a turning point for overcoming the legacy of the Cold War era, tearing down the wall of division and opening a new era for peace and reunification.". (Yahoo! Asia News)
Foreign service Apr 22, 2007
An American citizen, he does have several ties to the country: Swartout served three years in the Peace Corps in Korea teaching English and has spent years there since; four of his seven books are on Korean history; and he married a Korean woman. I am appointed by the Korean government with the approval of the Korean assembly and the U.S. State Department, he said. (Helena Independent Record)
Hanley: No Gun Ri Apr 18, 2007
Told of the Pentagon's rationale for excluding the Muccio letter from its investigative report, No Gun Ri expert Yi Mahn-yol, retired head of Seoul's National Institute of Korean History, suggested the letter was suppressed because it was "disadvantageous" to the Pentagon's case. . (Zmag.org)
Letter Reveals U.S. Intent at No Gun Ri Apr 14, 2007
Told of the Pentagon's rationale for excluding the Muccio letter from its investigative report, No Gun Ri expert Yi Mahn-yol, retired head of Seoul's National Institute of Korean History, suggested the letter was suppressed because it was "disadvantageous" to the Pentagon's case. "If they set it aside as nothing significant, we can say that it was an intentional exclusion," he said. (Herald Sun)
Green, slimy, and stomping to a theatre near you Apr 1, 2007
The Host, which hits the AMC Forum tomorrow, is a film that seems to have achieved the impossible; its not only the most popular film in Korean history, but a nearly unanimous critical hit. Breaking with the creature-features storied tradition of delayed gratification, The Host delivers the goods early. (McGill Daily)
The Host ***½ Mar 30, 2007
The biggest hit in South Korean history follows one dysfunctional grown-up family in its quest to save a young girl from a giant ball of slime that lives in the Han River. This multifaceted, though revolting creature is a kind of giant tadpole with legs. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Threat Level: Killer Tadpole Mar 7, 2007
A broadly played clown show full of lowbrow antics, Bong's big splat is itself a sort of monster the top-grossing movie in South Korean history and, since it surfaced at Cannes last May, festival audiences have been slurping it down like ramen. The Host's main attraction is a mutant carnivore-cum-somersaulting slime ball. (City Pages)
Bush waves a white flag Feb 16, 2007
He has emerged the first national hero in the 5,000 years of Korean history to fulfill the long-elusive ambition of the Korean people to acquire military capabilities to take the war from the Land of Morning Calm to the heart of the metropolitan USA.. The second is the little-known fact that the birthdate of Kim Jong-il, February 16, 1942, coincides with the Lunar New Year universally observed in East Asia. (Asia Times Online)
[Kaleidoscope]The answer is not blowin' in the wind Feb 14, 2007
Looking back on the turbulent modern Korean history, one could see that all sorts of winds - from disturbing gusts to raging gales - have been constantly blowing in the Korean Peninsula: the clash between China and Japan over Korea in the early 20th century, the Japanese occupation, the liberation, the division of the country, the Korean War, to name but a few. Meanwhile, the Korean people, like reeds, have been helplessly swayed by a series of hostile winds blowing from the powerful neighboring... (Korea Herald, Korea)
The changing South Korean position Feb 7, 2007
Roh defended one of several student members of a book club named Burim that studied leftist theories who were detained and tortured for almost two months by the government in what came to be known in Korean history as the Burim Incident. The experience affected Roh fundamentally, launching him on the career path of a dedicated human-rights lawyer, defending other student protesters and striking workers. (Asia Times Online)
South Korean skaters spark diplomatic protest by China Feb 3, 2007
But South Korean media have reported that China may be trying to dilute the Korean history of the area. On Thursday, Yonhap reported that 18 primary and secondary schools on the Chinese side of the border were recently renamed Changbaishan, 'raising concerns by Koreans that Beijing is trying to claim its historical sovereignty over Korea's ancient kingdom which ruled north-east China for over 700 years. (Monsters and Critics.com)
Trip into heart of Baekje Kingdom - Buyeo Jan 19, 2007
If, 14 centuries ago, thousands of girls killed themselves by jumping off that big rock right there, if they smashed their heads into the stone, and made the river run as red as the Yangtze when the Japanese threw countless bodies into it during their rampage in Nanjing in the winter of 1937-38, if this place was the scene of one of the most awful events in Korean history, it does not matter to any of us now. We course downstream as the sun begins to descend. (Korea Herald, Korea)
Kim Jong-il's policy a silver bullet Jan 4, 2007
For the first time in Korean history, Kim Jong-il has fulfilled this historic aspiration as he has put the Korean Peninsula under North Korea's own nuclear umbrella, neutralizing the US nuclear umbrella. In other words, North Korea under Kim has emerged as a de jure nuclear-weapons state with deep-strike capabilities, making it totally unnecessary to seek written US security assurances. (Asia Times Online)
