RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – South Korea enjoys some of the world’s most advanced technology. In addition, the country enoys nearly ubiquitous and extremely fast broadband. Still, one thing keeps South Korea from realizing its full online potential: Heavy-handed government regulation. This may be about to change. In South Korea, the…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Overregulation of Technology Coming to an End?Author: Ryan Lippert
Ryan Lippert is a sophomore majoring in sociology and minoring in journalism. In his free time, he DJs for KLMU, an online radio station affiliated with LMU’s FM radio station KXLU. His hobbies include hanging out with friends and family, watching TV, and spending time on the Internet. After graduation, he wants to get a good job and attend graduate school.
South Korea: Propaganda Disguised as Education?
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – A new textbook awaiting publication by Kyohak Publishing Co. is now the subject of an intense argument between South Korean liberals and conservatives. On both sides, politicians, media personalities, and educators are making their opinions known. Following the South Korean Ministry of Education’s decision to require…
Full Article South Korea: Propaganda Disguised as Education?NORTH KOREA: Did Porn put Popstar in Firing Line?
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – A dozen North Korean musicians faced a government firing squad last month for allegedly making and selling porn. That might have gone unnoticed by the world if one of them hadn’t been Hyon Song-wol, national chanteuse and hottie former girlfriend of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Conspiracy…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: Did Porn put Popstar in Firing Line?NORTH KOREA: It’s A Very Hard Sell
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – It seems that some foreigners are growing tired of the international community’s casting of North Korea as the outcast on the block. Hoping to change its undesirable reputation, a group called the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) has been running a YouTube channel focused on portraying the…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: It’s A Very Hard SellSOUTH KOREA: Complaining About the Boss Gets Newspaper Staff Locked Out
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Bad bosses have made life miserable for employees since the dawn of time, but Chang Jae-ku is one boss who won’t tolerate complaints. Since June 15, approximately 180 correspondents have been kept from returning to their jobs at Hankook Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper. Their boss,…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Complaining About the Boss Gets Newspaper Staff Locked OutSOUTH KOREA: Looking Past the Gossip
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Stories about celebrity love lives are often more speculation than fact. But in South Korea, this may be changing thanks to Dispatch, a web site that’s made its name telling the truth. Though just two years old, Dispatch has already gained a reputation for both breaking…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Looking Past the GossipSOUTH KOREA: Just Short of Wedding Bells
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – The South Korean LGBT community has struggled with discrimination throughout the country’s history, but there are some signs that the tide is changing. In May, South Korean film director Kim Jho Gwang-soo revealed plans to hold a ceremony in September to celebrate the commitment between him…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Just Short of Wedding BellsNORTH KOREA: One Click from the Internet
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES -Simple lack of Internet access is one of the biggest obstacles to solving some of North Korea’s myriad woes. The hermit state has a computer network of its own, but citizens can only access those sites the government has OK’d. Further, the nation’s computers are designed to…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: One Click from the InternetNORTH KOREA: American Tried for Treason
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES- Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American tourist, is currently awaiting trial in Pyongyang for allegedly planning to remove the North Korean government from power. If Bae is found guilty, he may be executed. The government-owned media in North Korea has been fairly tight-lipped about the specifics of Bae’s…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: American Tried for TreasonSouth Korea: Making Nice Via More Trade
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES- South Korea, China, and Japan are making progress in efforts to create a free trade zone that would potentially tower over the combined European Union and North American economic hulk. Despite successfully setting aside their otherwise tension-ridden relations to start such discussions, any hope of advancement may…
Full Article South Korea: Making Nice Via More Trade
NORTH KOREA: Ball Is In China’s Court
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – It will take a lot more than a friendship with Dennis Rodman to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. After a short period of reduced tension between North Korea and the international community, things are now back to the way they were. North Korea’s nuclear program…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: Ball Is In China’s CourtNORTH KOREA: Change of Heart Through Basketball?
Last week, former NBA star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea, watched a basketball game with Kim Jong-un, and in the process showed that there may be hope for better relations between North Koreans and Americans, if not between the governments themselves. Rodman came to North Korea to work on a…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: Change of Heart Through Basketball?NORTH KOREA: International Drama Queen.
North Korea has been, and is increasingly becoming, a topic of heightened concern within the international community. In December, their government tested long-range rockets, violating international law. Although the North Korean government claims that the rockets were carrying satellites for their space program, the U.N. increased sanctions against North Korea…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: International Drama Queen.SOUTH KOREA: Pleasing the Press
There has clearly been no shortage of work for South Korean journalists in the past few weeks. Last month, Park Geun-hye was elected President of South Korea. An event as important as a presidential election tends to get a lot of media attention, but even after the election, there is…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Pleasing the PressSOUTH KOREA: A Little Sympathy Goes A Long Way!
Free speech advocate gets ten months behind bars for posting online? This sounds close to ridiculous in a democracy like South Korea. However, Park Jung-geun, a South Korean photographer and a supporter of free speech, suffered this exact fate recently. He is accused of supporting North Korea, an act that…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: A Little Sympathy Goes A Long Way!