Archive for the ‘ Korea ’ Category
The BBC reports that a number of regional airports in Korea a struggling for a lack of visitors, some operating at as low as 3% of capacity and another with a staff of 146 serving an average of 26 passengers a day. Looks like poor coordination with construction of the high-speed rail link across the [ READ MORE ]
It seems that Korean dry cleaners in NYC are pushing for international recognition of Dokdo as Korean territory. [ READ MORE ]
One of my goals during my trip to Korea was to find a street of Nepali shops that KB had told me about. I knew it was in Changshin-dong, near Dongdaemun, but that was it. I’ve become increasingly interested in ethnic enclaves in Korea. They’ve been there forever, but globalization is increasing their number and [ READ MORE ]
While I was in the plane flying to Korea, a terrible accident occured on Hankangno (road) in Yongsan, Seoul. A combination of skyrocketing property values, rampant land speculation, expectations of new and improved construction, extremely large construction companies, and a strong central government has led to very large-scale redevelopments of lower income neighborhoods into expansive apartement [ READ MORE ]
I went to Central Park to hear the Philharmonic with some firends last night. The music was so far away that our area was all about chatting rather than listening. Amidst the topics that came up was, of course, employment in Korea. My friend JYK quite simply asserted that there are many other schools in [ READ MORE ]
Lee Myung-bak (2MB) has abandoned his plans to build a canal system across South Korea (a peninsula the size of Indiana), reports the Chosun Daily. It means abandoning a source of domestic stimulation for the economy and the struggling construction sector, but it also means preserving the environment and saving billions of dollars in tax [ READ MORE ]
The NYTimes reports on the new “space kimchi” that Korea’s first astronaut will bring with him to the International Space Station. They had to take the microbes out to keep the kimchi from exploding or mutating into some dangerous because of cosmic space rays…and they had to cut the smell down for non-Koreans. I love my [ READ MORE ]
Korea and the US have signed a far-reaching free trade agreement. I’m not sure if this makes Korea the 51st state or the 52nd (Puerto Rico) or the 53rd (Iraq?) or 54th… The Korean press is calling it the ‘KORUS era’. Regardless, it’s going to decimate Korean farming, though it seems like rice will be [ READ MORE ]
Despite the classic accusations of Korea being an imitative nation, the continue to prove that they have a culturally unique outlook. They love hypermarkets and department stores, but now Wal-Mart, which first landed on the peninsula in 1998, has announced that it has sold its stores for $882m to Shinsegae and is leaving Korea,  joining other [ READ MORE ]