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November 12, 2007
Change
Comes by Way of Resort in North Korea
Had Prince Potemkin been a 21st century man, he would have
gone into the luxury hotel business.
With help from South Korea and one of its major corporations
(the Hyundai chaebol), North Korea presents a deluxe picture
to more than 1.5 million tourists, nearly all from South
Korea, who have arrived at the Mount Kumgang resort, a complex
of nine hotels and lodges as well as a spa, gift shops and
a coffee stand that sells lattes at Starbucks prices.
November 9, 2007
Demilitarized
Zone Reminder of War and Tenuous Peace
Stretching 155 miles wide and two and a half miles deep
across the entire peninsula, the Demilitarized Zone divides
the two Koreas. It also separates the universes of a war
long forgotten by most Americans and a peace tantalizingly
close for nearly all Koreans.
November 8, 2007
Passion
for Korea Unification Giving Way to More Pragmatic Approach
Nearing 84, his gait has slowed and he walks with a cane.
But former South Korean president and Nobel laureate Kim
Dae Jung still delivers with quiet intensity his message
that the two Koreas are on the path to peace and unification.
It is outside the confines of his presidential library in
Seoul (the first of its kind here) that the unification
issue has diminished as a priority for South Koreans, especially
those several generations younger than the man who symbolizes
Korea's struggle to establish democracy.
November 7, 2007
Music
Blends Korean Tradition with Modern American Sound
She is a fusion person. She sings what she calls fusion
music, part of a Korean wave of song, film and TV soap opera
that has gained wide popularity across Asia. Her name is
Insooni.
November 5, 2007
Among
Sea of Glittery Crosses, Christianity Makes Its Mark in
South Korea
As dusk turns to dark in this capital city, the skyline
glitters with more than the urban lights of office towers
and apartment blocks. From the hills that define Seoul's
topography and neighborhoods it is easy to spot lighted
electric crosses. They are among the most visible reminders
of just how deeply Christianity shapes South Korea.
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