Schadenfreude, a word of German derivation, is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people." A more succinct definition would be "malicious glee."

"Malicious glee" aptly describes Yukan Fuji's coverage of the MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) outbreak in South Korea. Yukan Fuji, a nationally circulated evening tabloid published by the conservative Sankei Shimbun, has adopted a strongly adversarial tone toward Japan's neighbor. From June 9 to 14, 5 out of 6 of its front page headlines concerned MERS, choosing to disregard (or downplay) such major domestic and foreign news as the worrisome uptick in volcanic activity, the FIFA scandal, hacking into Japan's national pension system, the sinking of a Chinese ferry with great loss of life and the publication of teenage serial killer Seito Sakakibara's autobiography.

In chronological order, Yukan Fuji's headlines read: "MERS spurs ugly infighting in Seoul" (Jun. 9); "World Health Organization issues urgent warning to Park government" (June 11); "President Park totally defeated in terms of public opinion and MERS" (June 12); "Major U.S. investors successively bailing out of S. Korea due to MERS scourge" (June 13); and "First quaternary MERS infection — China's estrangement from S. Korea rapidly increases" (June 14). The contents repeatedly harped on how the outbreak is hurting Korea's domestic economy, and cited a poll that showed support for the government of Park Geun-hye had dropped to 33 percent, a fall of 6 percent in one week, forcing her to postpone a visit to Washington.