korea

Hudson Hongo · 08/08/15 12:00PM

“The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time while mercilessly trampling down its land with 5,000 year-long history and culture,” said North Korean state news on Friday, announcing the country’s new “Pyongyang time” zone.

Transformed Into White Gods: What Happens in America Without Love

David Byunghyun Lee · 01/04/14 01:28PM

It started before a friend told me that he wanted to date white women and before another friend told me “fuck white people.” It started before two 14-year-old girls on their way to a birthday party were crushed to death on the Yangju Highway, before George Bush put North Korea on the Axis of Evil, and even before either of my parents was born.

Max Read · 11/06/13 04:40PM

[Illuminated portraits of North Korea's late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il glow amid the dark buildings of central Pyongyang before dawn yesterday. Photo by David Guttenfelder via AP]

Photo Shows North Korea's 'U.S. Mainland Strike Plan': L.A., D.C. and Austin, Texas

Max Read · 03/29/13 07:29AM

Following a joint South Korea-U.S. stealth bomber practice mission, North Korea announced that it's pointing its rockets at the U.S. and putting them on standby, and a state news photo seems to show its main targets: Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and, uh... Austin. (Just a few weeks too late, Un!) NKNews.org points out that this photo, released in state media organ Rodong Sinmun, features a large map conspicuously labelled, "U.S. Mainland Strike Plan"; a close examination of the map shows vectors pointed toward Hawaii, D.C., L.A.... and, as far as anyone can tell, Austin.

'Skulls on Screens' at Korean Banks, Broadcasters Following Massive, Malicious Viral Attack

Max Read · 03/20/13 07:14AM

South Korea's three main broadcasters and two of its major banks were paralyzed on Wednesday by a massive outbreak of malicious code that crashed and displayed "skulls" on some computers, thought by many to be a retaliatory cyberattack from North Korea. The television channels KBS, MBC, YTN and the banks Nonghyup and Shinhan Bank had their computer systems simultaneously shut down at around 2 p.m., with employees unable to boot up their computers or access the internet; by 4 p.m., the systems had been restored. Media outlets were able to continue broadcasting, but Shinhan found that its internet banking and some ATMs were rendered inoperable. The South Korean government has launched an investigation and upgraded its information operations condition; North Korea has been threatening to launch a cyberattack since last week, when it accused the U.S. and South Korea of hacking computers in Pyongyang. The hack is believed to have come through services provided by LG. [BBC | Korea Herald | AJE]

This 16th-Century Korean Love Letter from a Woman to Her Dead Husband Will Break Your Heart

Max Read · 09/06/12 05:35PM

This brutal, heartbreaking love letter was found in 1998, lying on the mummified body of Eung-Tae Lee, a 30-year-old Korean man who'd died in 1586, some four hundred years before. Lee was tall and bearded — "The dark mustache made me feel that he must have had a charming appearance," says the former director of the Andong National University Museum — and left behind him a pregnant wife, the letter's author. Here it is, via Letters of Note:

Who Is Kim Jong-Un's Sexy Mystery Woman?

Adrian Chen · 07/10/12 12:40PM

Last weekend may have witnessed the geopolitical equivalent of the Kanye West-Kim Kardashian Date of the Century, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un showed up at a couple events with a mystery woman in tow. But was it his wife, his mistress or just his boring sister at his side? And what does it all mean?

Penis Size Related to Length of Index and Ring Fingers

Seth Abramovitch · 07/05/11 01:05AM

Finding a way to assess a man's penis size with all of his clothes on has long been the holy grail of, well, anyone with a vested interest in penis size. The old standbys — hand, foot and nose sizes — have been discredited as viable indicators, the LA Times reports. (Though I'm not so sure if I buy that.) But a team of Korean researchers think they have at last unlocked the elusive Hung Code, and the answer lies in comparing the lengths of the index and ring fingers.

Police Raid Google for Privacy Violations—In Korea

Ryan Tate · 05/03/11 12:10PM

Privacy is no trifling matter in Korea. Seoul police raided Google's offices looking for evidence the company illegally tracked users to target ads at them. Apple and Facebook, call your lawyers.

Does Your Vagina Need a Day at the Spa?

Maureen O'Connor · 12/20/10 12:17PM

Is your vagina feeling sluggish? Maybe it needs a day at the gyno spa. A new trend in vaginal hygiene has arrived in America. It involves the words "pungent steam," "mugwort tea," and "open-seated stool." Meet the vaginal steam bath.