Aug 18, 2014 | Writing
SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea have been divided for more than six decades, but on Monday Pope Francis moved his followers with a final prayer during Mass: It’s time to find a path to peace on the Korean peninsula, and to reject the “mindset of...
Aug 12, 2014 | Writing
SEOUL, South Korea — The muscular and imposing Antonio Inoki stands among Japan’s most revered former wrestlers, a WWE hall of famer who has settled into retirement as a member of the Japanese parliament. The athlete, 71, has a colorful reputation in his homeland. He...
Aug 5, 2014 | Writing
SEOUL, South Korea — Menacing battalions of police, wearing neon yellow uniforms and carrying anti-riot shields, regularly march through the South Korean capital, at times showing up en masse to small and harmless protests. In Gwanghwamun Square, a government district...
Jul 27, 2014 | Writing
SEOUL, South Korea — The citizens of this hyper-competitive East Asian nation are the most cosmetically enhanced people in the world, going under the knife more per capita than Americans, Italians, Greeks and Brazilians. Here in Apgujeong, a beauty belt in the...
Jul 24, 2014 | Writing
SEOUL, South Korea — Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi, who goes by the alias “Good For Nothing Child,” finds herself in an unusual bind in a country known for its blunt eroticism: fighting obscenity charges for a crowd-sourcing effort to build a kayak modeled after her...
Jul 10, 2014 | Writing
TOKYO, Japan — Few outsiders will ever get to witness Japan’s surreal state within a state, a network of businesses and schools that have sworn allegiance to North Korea. It’s a surprising sight: Some 10,000 children at schools all over Japan have been known to...
