It was a fairy tale ending for the two American journalists detained in North Korea, when former President Bill Clinton swooped in to save them. But for the 1000 South Koreans and 20 Japanese being held by the secretive state, there is no such knight in shining armour.
South Korea
Political snippets: Why QLD politics got the feminine touch
Why Peter Beattie handing the Premier’s reins in Queensland to Anna Bligh should have been a tip-off to just how crook things there have become, South Korean dog meat, and more meaty chunks of news from the mind of Richard Farmer.
South Korea goes on a spending spree
South Koreans are the new world leaders in conspicuous consumption, churning through their household savings for new cars, overseas travel and designer clothes. But the culture of “competitive spending” is taking its toll on the country’s economy, with debt rising and growth slowing.
Europe one-ups America. Again.
Most of Europe will soon have lower income tax rates than most of America, says an unhappy WSJ. And now the EU is finalising a free trade deal with South Korea, while the US loses ground.
North Korea’s capitalist heartbeat
North Korea may boast itself as a “socialist republic”, but a capitalist heart beats strongly within its borders at the Kaesong industrial complex, a manufacturing plant providing dirt cheap production for over 100 South Korean companies.
Confucianist corruption in South Korea
Government corruption in South Korea is a problem spanning back thousands of years, rooted in Confucianism.
A new spin on ‘mobile art’, care of Prada
The Prada Transformer, fashion’s latest starchitect-designed metamorphic space, opens in Seoul, South Korea, this month.
The Burchett debate: Korean War POWs
For the record: Wilfred Burchett did not report the Korean War but the Armistice Talks to end the war, writes his son George Burchett.
South Korea versus Australia – our pathetic savings record
Peter Costello has had plenty of ups and downs as Treasurer since March 1996, but when asked about his toughest single day in the job, he cites Christmas Day 1997 – the day South Korea ran out of foreign reserves.
Australia punching well above its weight in international research
Data released this week by Thomson Scientific, show that on a per capita basis, Australia and Canada are neck and neck in leading the world in research publication output. Crikey has the figures.
