Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk People who split hairs over semantics ask if decapitation is the same as assassination. The debate assumes relevance in the wake of the killing of the Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. No, he wasn’t exactly decapitated, meaning his head wasn’t literally cut off from the rest of his body though […]
by WorldTribune Staff, January 8, 2020 As critics continue to protest what they say is a threat to the rule of law and national sovereignty by the leftist South Korean government, citizens have even resorted to calling an emergency espionage hotline to report President Moon Jae-In as a spy, a report said. The man “was […]
by WorldTribune Staff, January 1, 2020 Distrust in the mainstream media is not limited to the U.S. but is said to be more intense in South Korea which lacks conservative alternative media and is facing what earlier would have seemed impossible: the threat of a left-wing dictatorship. For many, YouTube is the only platform for […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk From the viewpoint of a foreigner, one common denominator marks South Korea’s seismic shifts from left to right, liberal to conservative, socialist to capitalist. That is the level of authoritarianism, the threat of dictatorial rule, the demands for complete loyalty if not subservience to one particular viewpoint or another. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk In the first annual “Transactions” published by the venerable Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1900, James S. Gale, one of the early missionaries, wrote, “The more we read, the more we are forced to the conclusion that Korea was under a mesmeric spell at the hands […]
by WorldTribune Staff, December 17, 2019 South Korea’s National Assembly on Monday canceled a vote on fast-tracked legislation being pushed by leftist President Moon Jae-In after a massive protest by opposition lawmakers and their supporters in the streets outside the parliament. “I will not open a plenary session today because it won’t be possible to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk BUSAN ― Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, had his hands in his pockets and a bored expression on his rugged face as President Moon Jae-In extolled high-tech Korean manufacturers on the big day of his summit with the leaders of 10 Southeast Asian countries. Having sat or […]
by WorldTribune Staff, December 1, 2019 Several South Koreans are going on hunger strikes in front of the presidential Blue House in Seoul to protest what they say is the Moon Jae-In government’s undermining of separation of powers under the guise of “judicial reform.” Tara O, Director at East Asia Research Center, authored a report […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Though out of the limelight for nearly a year, North Korea’s quiet and covert push for intercontinental ballistic missile capability along with the communist regime’s continuing political crackdown on its own population has not abated. While tough American diplomacy has pressured Kim Jong-Un’s regime from […]
FPI / November 21, 2019 By Tara O, East Asia Research Center Gat is a hat Korean men used to wear during the Chosun Dynasty. It has a large brim with two strings that go around the sides of the face to tie in the middle to secure the hat in its place. According to […]