Writing
Japan’s ‘Abenomics’ — sugar high or national revival?
KYOTO, Japan — Natsuki Ohshima, 24, has found a gem. Straight out of college, he has scored a professional job as a corporate recruiter. His generation, born in the 1980s, has grown up in the midst of economic stagnation lasting two decades. So even he admits that landing a corporate job at such a young age is unusual.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 12, 2013
Prop Art: The best of weird North Korean art
SEOUL, South Korea — On Tuesday, a Chinese artist made headlines when he offered North Korea its very own wax figure of the deceased dictator, Kim Jong Il It’s a nod to the hermit state’s ruling family. The Dear Leader, as he’s called, is the father of the current head, Kim Jong Un.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 11, 2013
China’s love affair with South Korea
SEOUL — There’s no question that China and South Korea are uneasy neighbors. Over the years, relations have been tense over issues like North Korea’s nuclear program, and illegal Chinese fishing in South Korean waters, to name a few.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 28, 2013
Red threat: Kim Jong Un makes the Koreas’ best beer
SEOUL, South Korea — If there’s one key art form where North Korea beats the South, it’s beer-making. Pyongyang is home to Taedonggang, a government-made, full-bodied lager that The New York Times called one of the finest beers on the Korean peninsula. The beverage is named after Pyongyang’s Taedong River.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 27, 2013
Telling Kim Jong Un’s ‘secrets’
SEOUL, South Korea — If North Korea’s government had its way, the world would know nothing about what really happens within the country’s borders. Journalism is essentially forbidden. Those who dare ask hard questions do so at the risk of torture and imprisonment.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 21, 2013
Spread the curd
In a workshop a few minutes away from the sprawl of downtown Kyoto, a young man walks up and down aisles of steaming vats filled with a soya milk mixture.
By Geoffrey Cain
South China Morning Post
Jun 21, 2013
Japan to the UN: Leave us alone on WWII sex slaves
SEOUL, South Korea — This week, it’s not North Korea or Zimbabwe resisting a call for justice from the United Nations. Rather, it is East Asia’s wealthiest and oldest democracy: Japan.
By Geoffrey Cain
Anchorage Daily News
Jun 21, 2013
Denuclearized North Korea was Kim Jong Il’s ‘dying wish,’ says diplomat
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s founding father, Kim Il Sung, and his son and successor, Kim Jong Il, both wanted to banish nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula, a North Korean diplomat claimed Wednesday as he renewed his government’s call for international talks.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 20, 2013
Kim Jong Un has a $7m yacht now
SEOUL, South Korea — The 29-year-old generalissimo of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, loves riding his $7-million yacht, NKNews reports.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 19, 2013
North Korea plays phone tag
SEOUL, South Korea — You may find something odd about China hosting talks with North Korea on Wednesday.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 17, 2013