중앙데일리

New political force conquers Seoul

This year, Seoul citizens watched three unusual political shows in their city: a city-wide referendum on school lunches; the resignation of a mayor; and the Seoul mayoral post going to an independent candidate. Former mayor Oh Se-hoon stepped down…

Dec 30,2011
Newcomer shakes up political scene

Ahn Cheol-soo is a doctor-turnedsoftware mogul with no experience in politics. But in the space of a few days in September, he became many Korean’s favorite to be their next president. All Ahn did was say he supported an independent candidate, lib…

Dec 30,2011
Navy sends Somali pirates packing

After years of Korean ships being hijacked by pirates off of Africa, the Korean government showed what it’s got on Jan. 21 when it led a successful rescue mission for the Samho Jewelry and its 21 sailors, who had been hijacked by Somali pirates in th…

Dec 30,2011
Pyeongchang gets 2018 Olympics

On July 6, the mountain town of Pyeongchang, located about 180 kilometers east of Seoul, was finally named the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics after falling in two earlier bids. The alpine town in Gangwon beat out Munich and Annecy, France, …

Dec 30,2011
A marriage made in heaven or hell

Samsung Electronics and Apple have been busy this year churning out hot new cell phones — and then suing each other for alleged patent violations of the same products. The feud officially began in April, when Apple filed a lawsuit in the U.S. s…

Dec 30,2011
Free trade agreement finally passes

The Korean and United States legislatures finally passed the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement this year after a more than four year impasse since its initial signing. The main chamber of the National Assembly broke out into a violent melee in the proc…

Dec 30,2011
Savings banks fall like dominos

Almost a year ago, authorities suspended the operations of Samhwa Mutual Savings — basically closing it for insolvency — and that touched off the shutting of 15 more savings banks over the succeeding months, separating depositors from any…

Dec 30,2011
The summer of the ‘water bombs’

The fiercest torrential rain in almost a century battered Seoul and other parts of the country in July, triggering fatal landslides and turning highways into canals and knocking out electricity to neighborhoods. Especially on July 27, Seoul received …

Dec 30,2011
Korean Wave makes second splash

Although many experts say the resurgence of the Korean Wave is only in its beginning stage, the second round has reached almost every continent in the world. The main beneficiaries of ubiquitous hand-held smartphones may, of course, be mobile phon…

Dec 30,2011
Kim’s aunt, uncle are North’s power couple

The uncle and aunt of new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continue to emerge as key powers behind the throne, with Jang Song-thaek finally clinching a military title he had long been denied. Jang, 65, husband of late leader Kim Jong-il’s beloved…

Dec 29,2011

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