South Korea’s international hit show Squid Game, one of the most popular shows offered by streaming giant Netflix, is reportedly spreading through North Korea via bootleg copies on flash drives and memory cards.
Two weeks after Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) passed a bill that gave local officials the power to ban movies “deemed contrary to the interests of national security,” China announced the premiere of its Korean War propaganda film The Battle at Lake Changjin in Hong Kong and Macao.
South Korean health officials recently discouraged “foreigners and young people” against gathering for Halloween celebrations in the coming days, warning that government authorities will seek to deport any foreign nationals found guilty of violating South Korea’s coronavirus restrictions, the Korea Herald reported Thursday.
The city of Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday filed a police complaint against members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) for holding an illegal demonstration that violated coronavirus social distancing policies.
North Korea conducted its latest provocative missile test on Tuesday, sending two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan. One of the missiles appears to have been launched offshore, possibly from a submarine.
Tokyo cannot delay plans to release 1.25 million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean starting in 2023 because such a setback would foil Japan’s goal of decommissioning Fukushima’s nuclear reactor, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said on Sunday.
South Korean regulators are expected to take issue with Apple in the coming weeks following recently passed laws that state smartphone vendors must allow app developers to use third-party payment processors. Google has told the country it intends to comply with the law, but Apple is courting a fight over its stranglehold over developers.
The creator of Netflix’s wildly popular series “Squid Game” has compared one of the show’s “VIP” villains to Donald Trump, claiming the former president seemed like he was “running a game show, not a country.”
North Korean propaganda website Arirang Meari argued on Tuesday that South Korea’s TV show Squid Game, a surprise international hit for Netflix, proves that “corruption and immoral scoundrels are commonplace” in capitalist countries like South Korea.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on Wednesday ordered the cross-border hotline to South Korea restored, indicating a willingness to resume peace negotiations with Seoul. However, Kim said he had no desire to speak with the “hostile” and “cunning” U.S. government.
North Korea state media claimed on Wednesday that a hypersonic nuclear-capable missile was successfully tested on Tuesday. The provocative Tuesday test-launch into the Sea of Japan was previously described by U.S., Japanese, and South Korean officials as a short-range ballistic missile.
North Korea apparently launched a short-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, its third provocative test of banned missiles in the past month. The North Korean regime insisted the weapons tests were an appropriate response to the “hostile policy” of the United States and South Korea.
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, violating U.N. Security Council resolutions and drawing a sharp condemnation from the Japanese government. The provocative launch suggested tensions are rising on the Korean peninsula again after a relatively peaceful interlude during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
A recent article from Wired outlines how tech giants including Google and Apple are finding themselves increasingly under the scrutiny of global antitrust regulators. When countries like South Korea force tech giants to change policies within the country such as easing their stranglehold over app developers, the changes often occur on a global level.
Tech giant Google has been fined $177 million by South Korea for abusing its dominance in the smartphone market. The government criticized the Masters of the Universe for “anti-fragmentation” agreements
The Chinese embassy in South Korea insisted on Wednesday that Beijing’s crackdown on “fan culture” does not target any particular foreign country. South Korean media organizations have suggested the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the crackdown because it was worried about the cultural influence of popular “K-pop” entertainers.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un called for “urgent action” on climate change at a meeting of his Politburo on Thursday, blaming “disastrous weather” brought on by climate change for North Korea’s food shortages.
In a major policy shift, tech giant Apple has announced that it will allow music, video, and other media apps to direct users towards sign-up pages on their websites. This will allow companies like Spotify and Netflix to bypass Apple’s 15 to 30 percent payment processing fee.
South Korea has officially passed a bill designed to prevent tech giants like Google and Apple from forcing app developers to exclusively use the internet giant’s own payment systems.
According to recent reports, countries such as South Korea are considering altering their laws to force tech giants Apple and Google to allow third-party payment systems in their app stores. The change would give app developers the freedom to offer payment options outside of Google and Apple’s app stores, bypassing the company’s massive 30 percent cut of revenues.
A grim report from Japan’s Asahi Shimbun on Thursday told the stories of people who died alone and went undiscovered for up to six months because the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic eliminated their social interactions.
South Korean Archbishop Lazarus You Heung-sik arrived in the Vatican this weekend to assume his new post as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and said that times have never been better for a papal visit to North Korea.
A South Korean public broadcaster was forced to issue an apology on Monday after social media users accused the TV station of using “inappropriate” images and commentary during its coverage of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on July 23, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Strained relations between South Korea and Japan took another hit on Monday when South Korean President Moon Jae-in canceled his visit to the Tokyo Olympics and a planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide because a Japanese diplomat made “unacceptable” remarks comparing Moon’s diplomatic outreach to masturbation.
In an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus, gyms in South Korea’s capital have banned the playing of fast music to prevent residents from sweating as much during their workout.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful younger sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, warned President Joe Biden in a statement published Tuesday that “greater disappointment” lay ahead for Washington if it sought dialogue with Pyongyang.
A North Korean cyber hacking group breached the security of a South Korean state-run nuclear research institute’s computer network last month, a South Korean opposition lawmaker alleged Friday.
South Korea’s government on Monday raised the maximum capacity of “K-Pop” and other musical concerts from fewer than 100 to 4,000 as part of a nationwide effort to ease Chinese coronavirus restrictions.
Belgium will bring home its ambassador to South Korea amid public anger over his wife’s alleged assault of two employees at a shop in Seoul.
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper accused Vice President Kamala Harris of “disrespect,” “arrogance,” and possible “discrimination” on Tuesday after a video of her meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in showed her apparently wiping her hand on her clothes after shaking hands with Moon.
The Chinese state propaganda outlet Global Times revealed Friday that Weibo, a Communist Party-controlled social media outlet, had taken action to ban some of the most prominent accounts for fans of the South Korean pop group BTS from the site.
The government of Japan completed an investigation Thursday that found a disturbing number of Chinese-funded land purchases near Japanese defense facilities, including the Japanese Self-Defense Force (SDF), coast guard, and space research laboratories, as well as bases used by the American military.
China’s CHUANG 2021, a reality television competition designed to create the world’s next great boy band sensation, ended on Sunday, finally freeing contestant Vladislav Ivanov from weeks of involuntary participation on the show.
British warships billed as the “largest concentration of maritime and air power to leave the U.K. in a generation” will depart next month.
A senior government official in Japan apologized Tuesday, dramatically bowing to the public before a television camera, for the creation of a “mascot” meant to endear the public to tritium, a radioactive waste product.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered officials on Wednesday to explore filing an international court injunction against Japan over its recent decision to release 1.25 million tons of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday opposed Japan’s proposed release of contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima reactor and suggested shipping the radioactive waste to the United States instead.
North Korean state media on Friday quoted dictator Kim Jong-un telling members of his totalitarian Workers’ Party (WPK) to prepare for an “Arduous March” against economic hardship.
South Korea’s ruling, left-wing Democratic Party (DP) suffered a “crushing” defeat on Wednesday in two mayoral by-elections viewed by political observers as a bellwether for the country’s presidential election next year.
A South Korean couple accidentally vandalized a $500,000 piece of American art by splattering paint all over it.
