Tag Archives: South Korea

North Korea Tests Trump With Missile Launch

The New York Times reports: North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, in what South Korea called the North’s first attempt to test President Trump’s policy on the isolated country. The projectile took off at 7:55 a.m. from Banghyon, a town near North Korea’s northwestern border with China, and flew 310 miles …

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Meet South Korea’s Monster Robot [VIDEO]

AFP reports: A giant South Korean-built manned robot that walks like a human but makes the ground shake under its weight has taken its first baby steps. Designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters, the four-metre-tall (13-foot), 1.5 ton Method-2 towers over a room on the outskirts of Seoul. The hulking human-like creation bears a striking resemblance to the …

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Samsung Scraps Production Of Galaxy Note 7

Reuters reports: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd scrapped its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on Tuesday less than two months after its launch, dealing a huge blow to its reputation and outlook after failing to resolve safety concerns. Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in early September following numerous reports of the phones catching fire and on Tuesday …

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SOUTH KOREA: Government Signs Off On US Military Protections & Benefits For Same-Sex Couples

Stars & Stripes reports: South Korea has signed off on a U.S. decision to give same-sex couples the same legal protections and benefits as military families under the status of forces agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. The statement came after the American Military Partner Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, announced that South Korea had been added to …

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SOUTH KOREA: Christian Activists Disrupt But Fail To Stop Seoul Pride Parade

Forbes reports: Gay pride faced Christian outrage in central Seoul in a showdown that dramatized the conflict between Korea’s deeply conservative values and the country’s latter-day surge toward democratic equality. Advocates and foes of gay rights clashed after a gay pride rally on the grassy plaza in front of Seoul City Hall that drew several thousand people — many celebrating …

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SOUTH KOREA: Court Rules Seoul Police Cannot Ban LGBT Pride Parade

Via Buzzfeed: A court in the South Korean capital Seoul ruled Tuesday that police violated the law when they banned a pride march to be held June 28 as the culmination of the Korean Queer Cultural Festival, according to a press release from organizers. Police had denied permits to hold the march, citing conflicting applications for events that overlapped the …

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SOUTH KOREA: Christian Activists Rally Outside Queer Cultural Festival

Citing threats from Christian groups who last year physically blockaded the Seoul Pride parade, last week the Seoul police denied a permit for what would be South Korea’s 16th annual such event. The Korea Queer Cultural Festival kicked off this week anyway, but not without a rabble of Christian protesters who were watched over by about 1000 cops. Via the …

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SOUTH KOREA: Organizers Vow To Defy Police Ban On Seoul Pride Parade

Earlier this week Seoul police banned this year’s gay pride parade, citing threats from Christian groups who disrupted last year’s parade by lying down in the street. Today the parade’s organizers are vowing to stage their event anyway. Woo Ji-Young, executive director of the festival’s organising committee, accused the police of caving in to pressure from conservative Christians. “The police …

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SOUTH KOREA: Christian Groups Force Police To Deny Permit For Seoul Pride

Last year Christian activists disrupted Seoul Pride when hundreds lay down in the street to prevent the parade from proceeding. That tactic may prevent this year’s parade from happening at all. Via the Korea Observer: South Korea’s Pride Parade has been rejected by the Namdaemun Police Station and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency due to pressure from conservative groups according to …

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SOUTH KOREA: US Ambassador Slashed In Face, North Korea Applauds Attack

Via RT News: North Korea has said the razor attack on the US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was “just punishment” for the two countries’ joint military drills. The assault has left the US official’s face slashed, but he is now recovering. Lippert was at a breakfast forum earlier in central Seoul when the attack occurred. During the attack, …

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SOUTH KOREA: LGBT Rights Protesters Thank Supporters Around World

Via press release: At 5 PM on December 10, the fifth day of the sit-in, the mayor requested a private conversation with the protesters. Consequently, a delegation consisting of six representatives from both LGBT activist groups and civil NGOs met with him. From the start, dialogue had been one of the protesters’ demands. During the private conversation, the mayor apologized …

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SEOUL: Activists Stage City Hall Sit-In After Mayor Backtracks On LGBT Rights

Just two months ago Seoul Mayor Park Won-Soon earned international headlines when he expressed his hope that South Korea would be the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage.  South Korea’s powerful Christian lobby screamed with outrage and Park soon recanted. Yesterday activists occupied Seoul City Hall after Park reportedly refused to allow LGBT rights to be added to the …

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SEOUL: Christians Storm Into City Council Meeting, Thwart LGBT Rights Panel

Via the Korea Times: The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) postponed a public hearing on gay rights Thursday after some 200 activists opposed to fair treatment of homosexuals stormed into the capital’s City Hall to stop the proceedings. SMG officials initially planned to gather opinions from a range of experts during the hearing in an effort to draft a Charter of …

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SEOUL: Mayor Hopes His Will Be First Asian Country To Legalize Gay Marriage

This weekend the mayor Seoul, Park Won-soon, expressed his hope that South Korea will become the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage. “I personally agree with the rights of homosexuals,” Park said. “But the Protestant churches are very powerful in Korea. It isn’t easy for politicians. It’s in the hands of activists to expand the universal concept of human …

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SOUTH KOREA: Seoul Pride Parade Disrupted By Christian Protesters

Seoul’s gay pride parade was disrupted multiple times today when hundreds of Christians laid in the path of the floats and refused to move. According to information provided to Gay Star News by a Ph.D student in South Korea, conservative Christians held mass prayer services during the 7 June event. “To put it simply today was a kind of battle …

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South Korean Military Spoofs Les Miz

The New York Times reports on this week’s hottest viral video, a spoof of Les Miz (or tribute to, depending on your view) created by the South Korean air force. In the 13-minute South Korean version, the nemesis is a taskmaster officer who keeps his exhausted conscripts clearing snow — a chore that many young South Korean men face while …

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K-Pop Rules Global Charts

Number one in America and pretty much everywhere else.

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Sun Myung Moon Dies At 92

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BoA – The Shadow

You might recall me posting about South Korean pop vixen BoA a couple of years ago when she played San Francisco Pride. Her real name is Kwon Boa but her Ke$ha-esque stage name is spelled BoA, which stands for “Best of Asia.” In BoA’s new single below you’ll probably be able to spot influences from Britney and Janet to Christina.

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Super Junior – Spy

A couple of years ago I went on a brief spate of K-pop postings, much to the horror of some of you. I’m not going to do that again (probably), but I do like the latest from top South Korean boy band Super Junior, whose press materials advise that the “official color” for the group is Pearl Sapphire Blue. And …

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