Writing
Can kimchi cure Ebola?
SEOUL, South Korea — It’ll smack you in the face the instant you walk into any decent Korean restaurant: the pungent smell of kimchi — the piquant pickled cabbage whose bold tanginess is increasingly exalted by Western foodies.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Aug 18, 2014
Why the Koreas matter to the pope
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 confrontation and suspicion” that plagues both sides.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Aug 18, 2014
This badass Japanese politician is organizing a pro wrestling match in North Korea
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.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Aug 12, 2014
South Koreans really, really don’t trust their government
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.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Aug 5, 2014
Korean reality show aims to undo excessive plastic surgery
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.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 27, 2014
Arrested Japanese artist: ‘My vagina is not obscene’
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 own vagina.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 24, 2014
Although they live freely in Japan, these Koreans still support Kim Jong Un
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.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 10, 2014
Seoul’s eccentric mayor is building hotels for insects. Yes, bugs
SEOUL, South Korea — This sprawling East Asian capital is renowned for its epic commutes, hard-charging work force and money-making ethos. But Seoul’s beloved mayor, Park Won-soon, is determined to soften the city’s aesthetic and transform it into a greener, cooler, more creative and livable place.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jul 8, 2014
Those adorable teacup pups, loved by celebrities, often begin life in abusive breeding mills
SEOUL, South Korea — The biggest shock to Dr. Robert Jiao wasn’t Tinkerbell’s size. He had heard of teacup puppies: cute canines bred to grow so small that they can, as the marketing gimmick goes, supposedly fit in a teacup.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 16, 2014
Why the Japanese live so long
SEOUL, South Korea — The world’s oldest known man, Alexander Imich, born in 1903, died Sunday in New York. The torch will most likely be passed to 111-year-old Sakari Momori, who comes from a country full of elderly people: Japan. The Guinness Book of World Records is investigating.
By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World
Jun 14, 2014