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Ju-min Park
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 28, 2020
South Korea's conscripted doctors feel like 'human shields' in virus battle
As the coronavirus pandemic began sweeping through South Korea late in February, Dr. Nam Ha-jong received an order to report overnight to Daegu, a city that was to become the epicenter of infections.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 22, 2020
South Korea union says 14 delivery staff died from pandemic overwork
CJ Logistics publicly apologized for five of the deaths and vowed to improve working conditions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 8, 2020
Can K-pop superstars be exempt from military service?
Calls are mounting within South Korea for members of megaband BTS to be granted alternatives or delays to mandatory military service, with some lawmakers and fans arguing they are doing plenty for their country without wearing a soldier's uniform.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 4, 2020
Last Korean war criminal in Japan still pushing for compensation
'Listen to me. Why are they treating us differently? It's unfair and doesn't make any sense. How can I accept this unbelievable situation?' 95-year-old Lee Hak-rae says.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 28, 2020
Cushy coronavirus aid contract puts Japan ad giant Dentsu under spotlight
The ad giant has acquired the task of distributing a $20 billion package to help ailing businesses.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 28, 2020
As Japan reopens, coronavirus testing slowed by red tape and staff shortages
Health ministry technocrats wanted to maintain a tight grip on information rather than cooperate with private institutions, critics say.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 7, 2020
How lax rules and missed warnings led to Japan's second coronavirus-hit cruise ship
Costa Atlantica cruise ship crew members' movements in Nagasaki went largely unmonitored and unregulated as virus spread across Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2019
No money, no hope: South Korea's 'dirt spoons' turn against President Moon Jae-in
Hwang Hyeon-dong lives in a 6.6-square-meter (71-square-foot) cubicle near his university campus in Seoul, which comes with a shared bathroom and kitchen plus all the rice he can eat, that he rents for 350,000 won ($302) a month.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2019
Anti-Moon YouTubers in South Korea win fans in Japan
Japanese citizens angry at South Korea's role in a diplomatic row over their wartime history that has spilled into trade have found some unlikely allies: South Korean commentators using YouTube to attack their own president, Moon Jae-in.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 7, 2019
K-Pop stardom lures young Japanese hopefuls to South Korea despite diplomatic chill
Yuuka Hasumi put high school on hold and flew to South Korea in February to try her chances at becoming a K-pop star, even if it means long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend and even no phone.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 23, 2019
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departs by train for Vietnam ahead of summit with Trump: report
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set off by train for Vietnam on Saturday for his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, Russia's TASS news agency reported.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 23, 2018
Japanese and other Asian firms shifting production from China as U.S. tariffs take toll
As the U.S. imposes tariffs on Chinese imports, a growing number of Asian manufacturers producing items there are moving to shift production from China to other factories in the region.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jun 22, 2018
Peace doesn't pay: How foreign companies have lost a fortune in North Korea
Months before the first summit between the leaders of the two Koreas in 2000, South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Inc. invested $730,000 in Pyongyang's top computer lab. North Korean programmers there would develop online chess games and food recipes for Samsung to sell outside the North.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2018
Crisis-plagued private Pyongyang university seeks revival after Trump-Kim summit
When the only private university in North Korea held a commencement in March, the school's American president wasn't there, blocked by Washington's ban on travel to the country.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2018
Distrust of unions and GM hangs over South Korean efforts to stem job losses
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in a bind.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2017
North Korea's Kim works to turn missile-testing outpost into tourism cash cow
In the seaside city of Wonsan, North Korean families cook up barbecues on the beach, go fishing, and eat royal jelly flavored ice cream in the summer breeze. For their leader Kim Jong Un, the resort is a summer retreat, a future temple to tourism, and a good place to test missiles.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2017
North's unhappy mix of tourists and military
The Wonsan resort is not North Korea's first attempt to mix the military and tourism.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 26, 2017
Kim's rocket stars: the trio behind North Korea's missile program
After successful missile launches, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un often exchanges smiles and hugs with the same three men and shares a celebratory smoke with them.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 21, 2017
North Korea's Unit 180, the cyberwarfare cell that worries the West
North Korea's main spy agency has a special cell called Unit 180 that is likely to have launched some of its most daring and successful cyberattacks, according to defectors, officials and internet security experts.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 4, 2017
In the South, voters seeking 'Korea first' leader may head to polls in near-record numbers
Jason Lim, a 36-year-old South Korean engineer living in Washington, thinks it is important to maintain a solid alliance with the United States — but not at any cost.

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