South Korea

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Man's 'Life as a Devil' Stopped by 40-Year Prison Sentence

Cho Ju-bin blackmailed woman into making explicit videos that he sold in chatrooms

(Newser) - "Thank you for stopping my life as a devil that I could not stop." So said Cho Ju-bin to reporters after his March arrest. The South Korean 24-year-old was on Thursday sentenced to 40 years for his role as mastermind of a scheme in which prosecutors say 74...

Mystery of How Defector Got Over DMZ Fence May Be Solved

North Korean man tells South Korean officials he's a gymnast who simply jumped over it

(Newser) - The North Korean man who arrived in South Korea this month claims to be a former gymnast, and it makes sense, as he apparently propelled himself over a 10-foot-tall barbed wire fence during his trip across the Demilitarized Zone . The man, said to be in his late 20s, reportedly spent...

North Korean Crosses DMZ, Asks to Defect: Report

Man in plainclothes began crossing 2.5-mile-wide zone on Tuesday

(Newser) - South Korea has detained a North Korean man who showed up on its side of the heavily fortified border separating the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday. The suspected defector in plainclothes was first observed crossing barbed wire fences in the eastern section of the 2.5-mile-wide, 155-mile-long Demilitarized Zone around 7:...

Serial Killer: Cops Should Have Easily Caught Me

South Korea's Lee Chun-jae says he didn't try very hard to cover his tracks

(Newser) - One of South Korea's most notorious serial killers spoke publicly about his crime spree for the first time on Monday, and he expressed surprise police didn't catch him sooner than they did. "I still don't understand [why I wasn't a suspect]," Lee Chun-jae said...

Founder of Electronics Dynasty Has Died

Lee Kun-hee transformed Samsung

(Newser) - The man who turned Samsung into a tech powerhouse—and nearly lost it all amid white-collar crime convictions—died Sunday in Seoul, the Washington Post reports. Lee Kun-hee was 78. "Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse from a local...

13 South Koreans Die After Getting Flu Shots

Authorities say they haven't found a direct link between vaccination and deaths

(Newser) - South Korean authorities are scrambling to maintain public trust in vaccines after the unexplained deaths of 13 people who received flu shots. Authorities say they are conducting a full investigation and they do not believe the vaccines were the cause of the deaths, reports the BBC . Officials say the fatalities...

Some Fans Don't Like 'History of Pain' Comment by BTS

Chinese fans whose troops fought against South Korea and US see a lack of respect

(Newser) - When BTS received an award last week recognizing the ties between the US and South Korea, its leader acknowledged the nations' joint sacrifices 70 years ago during the Korean War. "We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless...

As Investors Scoop Up Shares, One Thing Looms Over BTS

K-pop group's star is rising—but military service awaits

(Newser) - Ordinary investors got a shot at shares in the management agency of K-pop sensation BTS on Monday and Tuesday. And they didn't hold back, requesting 58.4 trillion won worth—the equivalent of $50.2 billion. As AFP reports, that's 607 times more than the value of the...

Kim Jong Un Offers Rare Apology
Kim Jong Un
Offers Rare Apology
Sep 25, 2020 6:43 AM CDT

Kim Jong Un Offers Rare Apology

North Korean leader says he regrets the killing of a South Korean citizen

(Newser) - Kim Jong Un has offered a rare apology for what the BBC describes as the first killing of a South Korean citizen by the North in a decade. The South Korean government official may have been trying to defect to North Korea when he disappeared from a government ship, leaving...

S. Korea: North Shot, Burned Official Who Tried to Defect

S. Korean official vanished from government ship

(Newser) - South Korea said Thursday North Korean troops fatally shot a South Korean government official who may have attempted to defect and set his body on fire, after they found him on a floating object in waters near the rivals’ disputed sea boundary. According to Seoul’s announcement, the man disappeared...

South Korea Closes Down as 'Massive Outbreak' Nears

Churches and baseball stadiums are empty now

(Newser) - Churches were closed, and professional baseball games were played in empty stadiums on Sunday as South Korea stepped up measures nationwide to fight a resurgence in coronavirus cases that has raised concerns that the epidemic is getting out of control. The 397 new cases reported by South Korea's Centers...

Lawmaker Wears Colorful Dress to Work, Scoffs at Flak

South Korea's youngest lawmaker, Ryu Ho-jeong, says she wanted to 'shatter tradition' of dark suits

(Newser) - The "pink dress effect" has consumed South Korean politics after the country's youngest member of the National Assembly wore a colorful wrap dress this week to a parliamentary session, and she's got both supporters and detractors. The South China Morning Post —which deems the short dress...

Someone Tries Laundering Money—Literally

South Korean loses 'considerable' sum after washing-machine debacle

(Newser) - Money laundering is not a good idea, as a South Korean found out when he or she put banknotes in a washing machine to remove possible traces of the coronavirus, the AP reports. Officials say the loss was considerable. The person living in Ansan city, near Seoul, placed an unspecified...

World Has a New No. 3 in Virus Deaths
Things Are Getting
Worse for Mexico
Aug 1, 2020 10:30 AM CDT

Things Are Getting Worse for Mexico

The nation edges into third place with coronavirus deaths

(Newser) - Mexico now has the third most COVID-19 deaths in the world, behind Brazil and the US, the AP reports. Mexican health officials on Friday reported 688 new deaths, pushing the country's confirmed total to over 46,600. That put Mexico just ahead of the UK, which has more than...

Japan Has Big Issue With Statue of a Kneeling Man

Tokyo questions whether bronze figure in South Korean garden represents Shinzo Abe

(Newser) - A pair of new statues in South Korea of a man kneeling in front of a girl symbolizing a victim of sexual slavery by Japan's wartime military is the latest subject of diplomatic sensitivity between the countries, with Tokyo's government spokesperson questioning whether the male figure represents the...

Ambassador's Mustache That Irked a Nation Is No More

Harry Harris' facial hair was too harsh a reminder of Japanese colonialism for some

(Newser) - To most Americans, Harry Harris' mustache likely wouldn't cause a second glance. But to South Koreans, the US ambassador's facial hair became a lightning rod —and over the weekend, he finally shaved it off. The envoy headed to a barbershop in Seoul on Saturday to go under...

First Baseball Fans Return
First Baseball Fans Return 
Jul 26, 2020 10:40 AM CDT

First Baseball Fans Return

South Korea allows small crowds to watch games in person

(Newser) - Masked fans hopped, sang and shouted cheers in baseball stadiums in South Korea on Sunday as authorities began allowing spectators to return to professional sports during the coronavirus pandemic. After a weekslong delay, South Korea’s 2020 baseball season began in early May without fans in the stands amid a...

South Korea's Biggest Manhunt Ever Is Over

Yoo Hyuk-kee, wanted after 2014 sinking of Sewol ferry, was nabbed at home in New York

(Newser) - He may not have been steering the ferry that sank six years ago in South Korean waters, but Yoo Hyuk-kee was nevertheless a wanted man. Now Yoo—also known as Keith Yoo—is in police custody in New York, accused with other family members of embezzling millions from the company...

&#39;Honjok&#39; Lifestyle Growing in Popularity in South Korea
'Honjok' Lifestyle Growing
in Popularity in South Korea
in case you missed it
Jul 19, 2020 10:40 AM CDT

'Honjok' Lifestyle Growing in Popularity in South Korea

Many young people, especially women, are opting out of traditional society and living alone

(Newser) - The group of young people collectively known as "honjok" is growing in number in South Korea, but this isn't your typical mass movement. As restofworld explains, the term translates to "alone tribe," and it refers to young South Koreans—many of them women—who are opting...

With Children in School, Study Suggests, Expect Transmission

Those ages 10-19 are big coronavirus spreaders

(Newser) - We may have been kidding ourselves about the likelihood of children spreading the coronavirus. A major study conducted in South Korea shows that children under 10 do give the virus to each other and to adults less often than other age groups do, the New York Times reports. But it...

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