South Korea

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Grinch N. Korea Shakes Fist at South's Christmas Lights

Pyongyang is not happy with Christmas tree-shaped tower on border

(Newser) - Dear Whos in Whoville, South Korea can surely feel your pain: It seems that Seoul opted to let Christians light a Christmas tree-shaped tower on the frontline over the weekend. This egregious affront predictably triggered a not-over-the-top-whatsoever response from Mount Crumpit, er, Pyongyang, which is now accusing its southern neighbor...

South Korea Elects First Female President

Park Geun-hye is the daughter of a former dictator

(Newser) - South Korea has elected its first female president in conservative candidate Park Geun-hye, who narrowly beating out liberal challenger Moon Jae-in with a 50.1% to 48.9% lead with 84% of votes counted, reports the BBC . More than 63% of South Koreans came out to cast their ballots this...

US Citizen Held Prisoner in North Korea: Report

Activist says Kenneth Bae detained while leading tour into the country

(Newser) - North Korea has been holding a 44-year-old American citizen prisoner for about a month, a human rights activist in South Korea alleged today. Kenneth Bae was reportedly detained while leading a tour group into the People's Republic, something he'd done several times before without a problem, activist Do...

Translators: Psy Didn't Really Say 'Kill Those Yankees'

Bad translation fuels controversy

(Newser) - If you've had trouble enjoying " Gangnam Style " ever since hearing that Psy once urged people to kill Americans , well, we've got some good news. It looks like the lyrics to "Dear American"—which was a cover from a band called NEXT—may have been...

PSY Apologizes for Anti-US Rap

Controversy comes before show in front of president

(Newser) - South Korea's PSY has issued an apology for an anti-American rap he delivered at a 2004 concert, reports TMZ . The lyrics spoke of slowly killing US soldiers and their families, and PSY says it was "part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the...

Uncovered: PSY's Anti-American Past

'Gangnam Style' star once rapped about killing US soldiers

(Newser) - There's no doubt Korean rapper PSY is beloved across America, but the "Gangnam Style" star doesn't necessarily feel the same way about America—or at least, he didn't a few years ago. During a 2002 concert protesting the presence of US troops in Korea, PSY smashed...

South Korea Ditches Whaling Plans

Outcry prompts shift to non-lethal study

(Newser) - South Korea has backed off its plan to resume lethal Japanese-style "scientific" whaling expeditions in its coastal waters, in the face of an international outcry, the Guardian reports. Instead, it will use non-lethal methods to study the massive mammals. The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, but...

Petraeus Pal to Lose Korean Consul Status

Jill Kelley misused title, Koreans say

(Newser) - South Korea has decided to strip one of the women at the center of the Gen. David Petraeus scandal of her honorary consul title, the AP reports. Tampa socialite Jill Kelley—who invoked her consul status in several 911 calls after the scandal surfaced—misused the title by using it...

Elephant Can 'Speak' Korean

Koshik apparently learned to make human sounds to bond with zookeepers

(Newser) - Who needs Doctor Doolittle when animals are learning to speak human languages? First a Beluga whale learns how to say "out" to a diver, and now an elephant in a South Korean zoo has learned to say five words, reports the BBC . Koshik, a male Asian elephant, can "...

North Korea: We Can Hit US Mainland

Pyongyang rattles sabers after US deal with South

(Newser) - After the US this week gave South Korea permission to extend the range of its missiles, everyone expected North Korea to respond in some fashion. It didn't disappoint: Pyongyang today declared that its missiles could hit not only the "puppet forces" of the South but the US mainland...

US OKs S. Korea Missiles That Could Hit North

Had long feared regional arms race; move a 'proportional response'

(Newser) - The United States has agreed to allow South Korea to possess longer-range missiles that could strike all of North Korea, officials said today, a development expected to draw an angry response from the North. Under a 2001 accord with Washington, South Korea has been barred from developing ballistic missiles with...

North Korea Soldier Kills Officers, Defects

He says he shot two superiors near border

(Newser) - A rarity in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea today: A soldier from the North defected and claims to have killed two commanding officers in order to do so, reports the Voice of America . Soldiers in the South heard about six shots, then allowed the soldier to cross...

Gangnam Style: The Substance Behind the Goofy Dance


 Gangnam Style: 
 The Substance 
 Behind the 
 Goofy Dance 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 23, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

Gangnam Style: The Substance Behind the Goofy Dance

It's a critique of South Korea's wealthiest residents

(Newser) - You might think PSY's viral horse dance , Gangnam Style, is hysterical, but the AP takes a look at the serious social commentary behind the rapper's theatrics. The video offers up a critique of Seoul's ritzy Gangnam neighborhood, which is filled with new money, plastic surgery clinics, and...

South Korea Fires on North Korean Fishing Boats

Fishing boats had crossed disputed border

(Newser) - South Korea's navy fired warning shots today toward North Korean fishing boats that crossed a disputed maritime boundary, but the shots didn't hit the fishing boats and the vessels retreated, a South Korean official says. No North Korean navy ships were involved in the incident along a tense...

Last Year, $495M in Skincare Sales for S. Korean ... Men

How the country became the men's cosmetics capital of the world

(Newser) - The biggest market for men's skincare around the globe? South Korea, whose 19 million men spent an incredible $495.5 million on skincare last year—that's almost 21% of global sales. And they're on track to spend more than $885 million on cosmetics this year, according to...

Unification Church Founder Rev. Moon Dead at 92

Sun Myung Moon died at a hospital owned by his church

(Newser) - The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who turned his Unification Church into a worldwide religious movement and befriended North Korean leaders as well as U.S. presidents, has died, church officials said Monday. He was 92. Moon died Monday at a church-owned hospital near his home in Gapyeong,...

Everyone Loves Korean Rapper&#39;s &#39;Horse Dance&#39;
 Everyone Loves 
 Korean Rapper's 
 'Horse Dance' 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 26, 2012 12:33 PM CDT

Everyone Loves Korean Rapper's 'Horse Dance'

Psy's 'Gangnam Style' the latest craze

(Newser) - The latest dance craze involves … galloping around as if you were riding a horse. Sounds awkward, but it's caught on, thanks to South Korean rapper Psy (that's short for Psycho; real name Park Jae-sang). "There's a saying in Korean. 'Let's ride a horse'...

S. Korean Court to Apple, Samsung: You're Both Guilty

3-judge panel makes both companies pay minor fine

(Newser) - Samsung did indeed violate one of Apple's patents in making its Galaxy mobile devices—but Apple violated two of Samsung's patents right back, a South Korean court concluded today. A three-judge panel awarded both companies damages that were a lot lower than what they were asking for, and...

China to North Korea: Loosen Up Those Markets

Powerful Pyongyang official visits Beijing

(Newser) - It's time for authoritarian North Korea to let in some free markets, urged Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today, following a rare meeting with a high-ranking North Korean official, reports Reuters . Wen and President Hu Jintao met yesterday with Jang Song Thaek, the powerful uncle of North Korea's young...

S. Koreans Claim Islands— by Swimming to Them

Japan also claims disputed Dokdo/Takeshima islands

(Newser) - South Korea is reasserting its control over disputed islands in a rather creative fashion: A singer and a team of students will swim a 144-mile, 55-hour relay to the site, arriving on Wednesday. That just so happens to be Liberation Day, which marks the country's independence from Japan. Tokyo...

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