Les Miserables: the film that is taking Korea by storm

It has been said that the Bible, Karl Marx’s Das Kapital and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables are at once the most famous and least read books of all time. Whether that’s true or not, the recent film adaptation of Hugo’s classic tale has engaged the fascination of millions in South Korea since it opened last [...]

Korea: Greenpeace sues after staff denied entry

Greenpeace yesterday filed a legal challenge against the government over what it called attempts to prevent anti-nuclear criticism after six activists were banned from entering the country. Filed on international Human Rights Day, the lawsuit calls for 70 million won (US$65,000) in compensation and recognition that the decision to bar staff represented an attack on [...]

Korea: Jesuits call for release of activist priest

Jesuits in South Korea have urged authorities to release a man arrested last month after he bit the forearm of a police officer during a protest against a controversial naval base on Jeju Island. Father John Lee Young-chan, 61, was protesting against the violent arrest of a female activist at the entrance to the base [...]

Korea: Defectors send leaflets North by balloon

Activists have succeeded in sending propaganda leaflets across the border into North Korea despite attempts yesterday by police to stop them. Around 80 activists, most of them defectors from the North, had planned to launch balloons carrying 200,000 leaflets from Imjingak, near the border, yesterday morning. The leaflets criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and [...]

Korea: Toxic gas site declared disaster zone

The South Korean government declared a special disaster zone in the south yesterday amid criticism over poor handling of a toxic gas disaster. The central government will finance recovery and rehabilitation efforts, while offering tax cuts and compensation for residents. “We are drawing up all possible measures to reduce damage and protect residents,” said Yook [...]

Korea laments more restricted internet

South Korea has found itself soul-searching over the past few days after US-based Freedom House placed the country at the same level as Uganda in an assessment on global internet freedom. Following Monday’s report, domestic news media have drawn attention to the country’s poor showing with Uganda still notorious in South Korea for its undemocratic [...]

Korea: North accepts South Korea’s aid offer

The North Korean government has accepted a South Korean aid offer, raising hopes for an improvement in relations between the neighboring countries. North Korea contacted KRC – the South Korean Red Cross – yesterday to accept the South’s offer for assistance in flood-hit areas in the North. Last month, typhoon Bolaven killed 176 North Koreans [...]

Catholics jump on viral video trend with ‘Seongdang Style’

Countless parody videos of South Korean rapper Psy’s viral sensation Gangnam Style have been released, and now a Catholic parish in Seoul has added its take on the humorous song and dance phenomenon. Seongdang Style, made by a Catholic priest and his students, has received more than 110,000 views since it was uploaded on August 28. [...]

Korea: Rape of seven-year-old girl prompts outcry

A series of sex crimes, including the kidnap and rape of a 7-year-old girl last week, has shocked the nation, prompting President Lee Myung-bak to offer a public apology. A girl was abducted from her home Wednesday night in the southern city of Naju and raped, allegedly by a 23-year-old man with the surname Ko who [...]

Korea: Groups seek permission to aid North

Relief groups say they plan this week to send the first aid shipments from South Korea to the flood-hit north since they were suspended six months ago, providing they can get permission from Seoul. South Korea has not sent any aid north of the Demilitarized Zone since an unsuccessful missile test by the Communist regime [...]

Korea Church, police partner on alcohol abuse

The Catholic Church and law enforcement signed an agreement earlier this week to work together to reduce the number of incidents of violence involving alcohol.

Korean riot police break up protesters’ Mass

The diocese of Cheju in South Korea has demanded an official apology after about 20 riot police disrupted a Mass Wednesday on Jeju island.

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