South Korea

Concerning an Assassination Attempt on Song Young-gil

On March 7, 2022, on the eve of the presidential elections in South Korea, the leader of the Democratic Party, Song Young-gil, was campaigning in Seoul’s Sinchon district and became the victim of an assassination attempt. The attacker approached him from behind and hit him on the head several times with a hammer wrapped in […]

Elections in South Korea – Who Voted for Whom, and Why did Yoon Win?

So, the elections have finished and a winner has been declared! The election results have been discussed in detail in the Korean media, with breakdowns of the results by region and in terms of the age and sex of voters. According to data published by the Korean Electoral Commission following the counting of votes, elector turnout […]

Shamanism and Politics in South Korea

After publishing the materials about the traces of shamanism in Yoon Suk-yeol’s case, the author received many comments asking him to clarify this case in more detail. Therefore, it was decided to offer some more insights on such issues as shamanism and politics in South Korea. Despite traditional role and popularity in the society, the […]

On the Ethics of Preemptive Strikes

The South Korean presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol recently stated that he thought a preemptive strike against the DPRK would be justified, since, if the latter were to launch a rocket armed with a nuclear warhead against Seoul, it would be almost impossible to intercept itю The only option would be to forestall the attack. This statement […]

A Chronicle of the Pre-election Race in ROK: Ahn Cheol-soo’s Game.

For only so long, the author did not pay attention to the third candidate, but now the time is ripe to talk about Ahn Cheol-soo. This is already the third election that this 59-year-old former doctor and software entrepreneur takes part in. In 2012, he ran for president as an independent candidate but dropped out […]

A Chronicle of the Pre-election Race in ROK: Lee Jae-myung’s Family Problems

As the author has written many times, the 2021-22 election race in South Korea is breaking records in terms of the amount of mud slung at both candidates, and clearly whoever saves the tastiest stuff for last has a better chance of success. It seemed that the scandals surrounding Yoon Seok-yeol’s wife drew attention to […]

Olympic Hanbok Scandal, or Two Types of Nationalism

In his previous material about the tricky relations between China and South Korea this author already mentioned how a demonstration of the traditional Korean clothes was viewed in South Korea. However, this is worth telling in greater detail as this story illustrates the conceptual difference between the two countries’ national policies. So, South Koreans took offence […]

Two Sentences and One Charge

The closer to the end of Moon Jae-in’s rule, the bolder the judiciary confirms the verdicts and charges personnel from the president’s entourage, and these stories also pour water into the mill of conservatives. Completion of the Chung Kyung-sim Case 60-year-old Chung Kyung-sim is the wife of ex-Minister of Justice and Senior Secretary of the […]

A Chronicle of the Pre-election Race in ROK: Yoon Suk-yeol’s Dirty Laundry

After describing the Conservatives’ internal party problems, it is time to talk about the scandals accompanying Yoon, because as the election nears, the author gets the impression that the 2022 election is unprecedented in terms of mudslinging by the candidates on each other. On the one hand, Yoon and his family have been spared a […]