MATEO VALLES QUINTANA WRITES — In the previous article SOUTH KOREA: WHY KOREAN WOMEN DOMINATE THE LPGA, I explained how the cultural and structural aspects of South Korean society have created a national junior golf system that produces professional players (gets results). However, their golf system is not perfect and…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: HOW GOLF BECOMES A PRESSURE COOKER — PART II
MATEO VALLES QUINTANA WRITES — Since the early 2000’s South Korean female professional golfers have been a dominant force on the LPGA tour and are repeatedly found at the top of the money list. In 2017, South Korean nationals Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu were first and second…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: WHY KOREAN WOMEN DOMINATE THE LPGA — PART I
KATHLEEN STEPHENS WRITES — It was only a couple of Saturdays ago that I was walking, masked of course, on a gorgeous autumn day along a Washington street lined with gingko trees aflame in gold, four days after the Nov. 3 general election, when I heard the news that Joe…
Full Article US-SOUTH KOREA RELATIONS: BUILD BACK BETTER
MONICA KELLY WRITES — President Moon Jae-in announced last Wednesday that South Korea will be carbon neutral by 2050. This will be achieved through the Green New Deal – a multi-billion- dollar plan that will invest in energy technologies to create jobs and help curb greenhouse emissions. The hallmark plan…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: POLITICAL WINDS HAVE SHIFTED ON CLIMATE CHANGE
SARA ALTUWAIJRI WRITES — The flu season is fast approaching. The South Korean medical establishment took steps to prevent a severe epidemic by giving out flu vaccines, but this took a tragic turn when more than 1500 elderly people died seven days after receiving it last year. This year there have been…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: CAN THE FLU VACCINE KILL YOU?
MALCOLM KAM WRITES — With the COVID-19 crisis, South Korea remains open to most incoming travelers as long as they participate in a 14-day quarantine. So if you are planning to visit South Korea, it is recommended that you check online for official information regarding the quarantine process (short-term foreign…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: LOCK ‘EM UP…FOR 14 DAYS OF COVID QUARANTINE
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — This year, the best-selling North Korean novel Friend was translated into English and approved for publication in the US by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea – a first in that nation’s history. Immanuel Kim, 42, professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies at George…
Full Article KOREA: ARE WOMEN’S RIGHTS, NORTH AND SOUTH, AN OPEN BOOK ON THE LITERARY LANDSCAPE?
COURTESY OF THE PACIFIC CENTURY INSTITUTE — We are pleased to share PCI board member Dr. Chung-in Moon’s recent interview in a South Korean TV news special on “North Korean Killing of a South Korean Government Worker at Sea: Getting to the Bottom of the Truth with Moon Chung-in” that…
Full Article TOP PROF ADVISOR GRILLED OVER N. KOREA OUTRAGE
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Lizzie Buehler, 25, raised in Texas, is the translator of The Disaster Tourist, South Korean author Yun Ko-eun’s first novel to be translated into English and published in the US recently. This truly original book is about international tourists who thrive on visiting world-famous tragic sites…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: THE ACCIDENTAL TRANSLATOR
ROBERT SONG WRITES (courtesy the Korea Times, Seoul) — As the world grapples with the virus originated in China, an ominous dark cloud of worsening U.S.-China relations looms over the global arena. From human rights abuses, to unfair trade practices, to unlawful militarization of the South China Sea to thousands of…
Full Article CHINA DEBATE: IS THE PROFESSOR A PANDA HUGGER?
JOSEPH LITTAUA WRITES — Most popular songs have a lot of things in common. For example, whether it’s a soloist or band song, most songs will have a short, catchy melody that gets stuck in your head, like Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” or One Direction’s “What Makes…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: FORGET ABOUT SILENCING THAT ANNOYING BABYSHARK TUNE
(This is the sixth in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea whose work has started to reach English language readers via superb translations.) ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Imagine this book as a movie: “Silence of the Lambs” meets “Thelma and Louise.” The Law of Lines (Arcade…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: THE LAW OF LINES – THEY’RE MADE TO BE CROSSED
WILLIAM LIGHTHART WRITES — For almost every elementary school, secondary school, and institution of higher learning around the world, the last 4 months have been comprised of exclusively online instruction. Schools at all levels of education are attempting to create systems so that students can return for at least partial…
Full Article BEIJING AND SEOUL: OPENING UP SCHOOLS DURING A PANDEMIC
SARA SHARPE WRITES — Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, countries have been scrambling to create effective and realistic economic stimulus packages. China has promised a year-long fiscal stimulus package amounting to 3.6 trillion yuan ($500 billion USD) in an attempt to continue its strong rate of economic growth,…
Full Article CHINA: UNCERTAIN COMMITMENT TO COVID-19 STIMULUS PACKAGE
(This is the second in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea) ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Is this the face of modern-day feminism in Seoul? If I Had Your Face, Frances Cha’s debut novel (Ballantine Books), tells the story of four young women struggling to succeed in…
Full Article KOREA: NEW WAVE LITERATURE AS WOMEN’S LIBERATION (PART TWO)