Writing
North Korean leader’s nephew graduates from world peace school
The nephew of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, could be partying hard tonight. Kim Han Sol, 17, attended his high school graduation ceremony today in Bosnia, the Serbian daily newspaper Novosti reported. The news comes after the North Korean teenager went missing from class in April — a mystery that nobody has yet cracked.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 3, 2013
South Korea warns North not to harm returned defectors
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has warned North Korea not to punish a group of defectors who were forcibly returned to the communist state last week after attempting to flee.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 3, 2013
North Korea’s food conundrum
In the 1990s, North Korea suffered from a devastating famine that, by some estimates, left up to 1 million people dead.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
May 30, 2013
My teacher, the J-pop idol
FUKUOKA, Japan — With declining enrollments at his junior college, Tokutaro Ushijima thinks he’s found one way to attract more students: pop idol training.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
May 24, 2013
North Korea sends special envoy to China
SEOUL, South Korea — A top North Korean general and confidant of Kim Jong Un met with a senior Chinese official in Beijing on Wednesday.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
May 22, 2013
How China chokes its neighbors
FUKUOKA, Japan — When the Chinese smog arrives, the medical masks come in fashion. Every few months, this city of 1.5 million people in southern Japan, not far from mainland China, gets a dose of lung clogging courtesy of its neighbor.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
May 20, 2013
Is North Korea evil and clownish?
SEOUL, South Korea — You’ll learn far more about what’s going on in North Korea when you leave the country, several former residents of the country have told GlobalPost.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
May 17, 2013
The Real North Korea
For a glimpse into life in North Korea, take a peek into the country’s math textbooks. “During the Fatherland Liberation War [North Korea’s official name for the Korean War] the brave uncles of Korean People’s Army killed 265 American Imperial bastards in the first battle,” reads one question.
By Geoffrey Cain
The Christian Science Monitor
May 10, 2013
Japan’s yakuza gang wars
KITAKYUSHU, Japan — Visibly nervous, the chairman of a local construction company asks that we lower our voices at the lunch table, and that his name be withheld from publication.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
May 7, 2013
Gulags? Missiles? Not to fear, Choco Pies are here
SEOUL, South Korea — In the classic Korean mystery film JSA: Joint Security Area (2000), a South Korean soldier strays north of the demilitarized zone at the border between North and South Korea and unexpectedly befriends a handful of North Korean enemies.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
May 3, 2013