Writing
Why one North Korean defector wants to return home
SEOUL, South Korea — Nearly 25,000 North Koreans have fled their homeland to South Korea, escaping the repression and poverty of the world’s most militarized nation.
By Geoffrey Cain
Anchor Daily News
Aug 8, 2013
Despite Obama’s claims, the Korea-US free trade agreement has cost American jobs
SEOUL, South Korea — Although the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) has been in effect for little more than a year, it is already drawing vehement condemnation from both sides of the Pacific.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Aug 7, 2013
Kim Jong who? Meet the cabal that really runs North Korea
Update: In early December, 2013 South Korean intelligence reported that General Jang Sung-taek was removed from power. If true, this would be the Kim Jong Un’s boldest leadership shakeup yet.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Aug 1, 2013
How North Korea is celebrating the war you never knew it won
SEOUL, South Korea — This week, North Korea is celebrating. An auspicious date approaches. Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the armistice that halted the Korean War of 1950 to 1953.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 26, 2013
North Korea: where playing ‘jazz’ is a crime
SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Cheol Woong belonged to North Korea’s coddled elite. Then in 2001 he was accused of treachery. His crime: playing a Richard Clayderman piece on his piano.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 24, 2013
Is the world ready for a muscular Japan?
SEOUL, South Korea — For more than 60 years, a US-imposed constitution has barred Japan from raising a standing army. Instead, it has been forced to rely on American troops for protection.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 23, 2013
Young, female, and ambitious — the glass ceiling in South Korea
SEOUL — Jiyeong Kim, 25, embodies the pinnacle of female ambition in South Korea. She dreams of making it to the top, and dedicates all of her free time to achieving her goals.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 23, 2013
If you think the NSA is bad …
SEOUL, South Korea — Americans are apparently blasé about government eavesdropping. In the days after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that Washington spies extensively on its own citizens, polls found that about half of Americans have no problem with such snooping, as long as it protects them from terrorism.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 18, 2013
New Cuban missile crisis? Why it’s no surprise that North Korea was caught in Panama
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea, as usual, looks menacing, but can’t seem to keep its black ops under wraps. On Wednesday, Cuba came forward as the culprit behind a stash of weapons bound for North Korea. Panamanian authorities uncovered the illicit cargo last week—hidden in a shipment of brown sugar.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 17, 2013
Cockpit Confucian: Why the racial mudslinging in the Asiana tragedy?
SEOUL, South Korea — It started out as an airline tragedy. Then it grew into a racially charged row. On Monday, Asiana Airlines announced it will sue a San Francisco television broadcaster for defamation — after a news anchor unknowingly read a distasteful ethnic joke on air, thinking it was a major scoop.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 16, 2013