Category: Korea (Page 2)

Korea

Bill Gates’ Casual Handshake Offends South Korean Netizens

Apr 23, 2013 by Master Blaster
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On the afternoon of 22 April, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates met with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. However, his seemingly innocuous greeting that sent many Korean netizens into a fury.

Apr 17, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
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South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai revealed its new E4U single-person concept car at the recently completed Seoul Motor Show. Egg-like in shape, the mobility device measures 92cm in width while standing 123cm tall. Hyundai believes the vehicle to be suitable for narrow streets in urban centers where speeds are generally slow.
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Seoul’s Stunning Sky-High Urinals

Apr 10, 2013 by Master Blaster
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South Korea has come a long way in toilet maintenance and design to the forefront of the world. With several cites boasting pristine public washrooms and at least one city offering tours of their facilities, potties are no joke here.

One highlight of South Korean toilet related beauty is the men’s room of N Seoul Tower atop Namsan Mountain in Seoul.

Built hundreds of meters above ground, these urinals are the perfect place for an acrophobe to confront their fears and keep a clean pair of pants. For the rest of us they offer a spectacular view while you take care of business.

Apr 10, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Mario! Mario!! Mari- oh… For gamers and excitable kids alike, it’s a curious feeling to spot one of your fictional heroes on the street, only to realise that it’s a little more than a clever knock-off. You’re at once drawn to them and want to dive in with your phone to take a quick selfie, yet a little bit saddened that it’s not the real deal and wrestle with a sense of betrayal.

The above Super Mario clone was spotted on the streets of Myeong-dong, Korea last week. Even with the subtle, lawyer-placating aesthetic changes, however, the character was still generating a lot of excitement among passers-by.

Apr 9, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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We’ve all seen those “before and after” images in ads popping up online or towards the back of magazines. Liposuction, bigger breasts, smaller nose, hair replacement, breast reduction, wrinkle removal, neck flaps for speed underwater; whatever the goal of the surgery more often than not the post-op photographs are shot from much more flattering angles and under softer light in an attempt to prove that the surgery was a complete success.

Although one or two of the following images are guilty of similar crimes, they are nevertheless undeniably shocking. We’d never dream of telling people what they can and can’t do with their own bodies, but you’ll have to forgive us for having gasped when we first laid eyes on these pre and post-op images. Some of them are so different that we started to wonder whether we were looking at the same people.

Apr 3, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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In a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday, a young Japanese girl gives a harrowing speech on the streets of Tsuruhashi, Osaka, in which she openly expresses her hatred of Koreans. Amid cheers of support from members of her own group, the girl goes on to state her desire to kill the “piece of crap” Koreans living in the area, threatening a repeat of the Nanking Massacre in response to the Koreans’ “arrogance”.

The full, shocking video after the jump.

Apr 2, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Despite the enormous popularity of K-Pop, Korean food and beauty products, relations between Japan and South Korea have been strained for quite some time. In recent months, however, right wing groups have become increasingly vocal, with anti-Korean protests occurring more and more frequently, especially in areas where many Koreans congregate and live.

On 31 March in Shin-Ōkubo — a town situated just a couple of minutes away from Shinjuku on Tokyo’s Yamanote line and the location of a large Korean ethnic neighbourhood — hundreds of anti-Korean protesters marched through the streets carrying signs reading “Go back to Korea!” and labeling Koreans in Japan “cockroaches”. Thankfully, equally large numbers of liberally-minded Japanese also showed up to protest the protest.

Mar 26, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
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As has been previously reported here, kimchi, the super-spicy fermented cabbage dish from Korea, appears to be one of the world’s healthiest dishes. Now, media sources in China are reporting that this fiery condiment is also beneficial for those seeking to lose a few pounds.

Mar 22, 2013 by Jessica
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On the Japanese TV show Nep & Imoto’s World Rankings, they conduct surveys to rate countries by random attributes. For example, recent shows have ranked everything from how common it is to cry at graduation ceremonies to the number of shotgun weddings and frequency of cellphone checking.

Another ranking that has generated some chatter in Japan was one people’s tendency to lie, which ranked … countries in accordance to how likely they were to bend the truth.

So where do you think Japan came in? Read More

Impressive Textbook Doodles From Asia 【Photo Gallery】

Mar 21, 2013 by Michelle
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Drawing in textbooks, although frowned upon, is prevalent throughout the world. It’s like a universal language that serves to perk up bored students in the middle of class. We’ve all seen the classic devil horns or stink lines drawn on pictures of famous figures, but the students who drew the following pictures have elevated textbook vandalism to an art. Take a look at the clever and hilarious doodles found in textbooks throughout Asia.

Mar 14, 2013 by Michelle
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Kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish from Korea that is often referred to as “Korea’s national dish.” It’s so pungent that those who enjoy eating copious amounts of kimchi have been known to purchase a separate fridge dedicated to storing it. For decades, Korean mothers have sworn by the health benefits of adding kimchi to one’s diet, but now it seems scientists agree as well. New research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food suggests that eating even a small amount of kimchi every day may help lower cholesterol, LDL (“bad cholesterol”), and fasting blood glucose levels.

Mar 8, 2013 by Andrew Miller
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In Japan, pachinko – a game similar to pinball but with multiple balls in play and minus the flippers – has always been a big business. ”Pachinkoten” (dedicated pachinko parlors) have become about as commonplace as temples and hot springs, and it’s not uncommon to see small crowds of men waiting outside such establishments early in the morning, waiting for them to open.

A phenomenon that is particularly noticeable in recent years is that of the large numbers of Koreans coming to Japan to gamble. Up until seven years ago, Korea’s pachinko industry was booming. However, when gambling laws were introduced to combat the recent rise in addictions, many players were left out in the cold with nothing to fill the gap. But with a thriving pachinko scene just a couple of hours away on the plane, many Koreans are heading to Japan to pick up where they left off.

Mar 7, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Taiwanese baseball fans have been condemned in the South Korean media this week for their unsporting and antagonistic behaviour during a game between the two countries held in Taipei on Tuesday. Brandishing signs and banners depicting the leader of North Korea – with which the south remains technically at war - Taiwanese fans began provoking the Korean players.

Mar 7, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Delivering flyers, brochures and leaflets in winter is no fun. It’s cold, windy, you get barked at or chased by dogs and the pay is bad. If only there were a way to cruise by, fling your wares and be off in the blink of an eye, safe in the knowledge that they won’t blow away or sit on the ground waiting to be stepped on or soaked through by the rain and snow…

Feb 28, 2013 by Michelle
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It happened again! Yet another “large order” at McDonald’s has caused controversy on the Internet. This time, a group of young people in Korea gathered at their local McDonald’s restaurant and ordered an obscene amount of french fries. These kids could be described as mischievous or simply hungry, but either way the end result of their fry ordering rampage was a row of tables filled with greasy fried potatoes that cost 270,000 won (US$250) in total. After witnessing the mound of french fries in his store, a McDonald’s worker decided he had had enough of these shenanigans and told the kids, “Stop causing trouble, you brats! Get out of here!”

As it turns out, a majority of the Internet supports the McDonald’s worker’s harsh words.

Feb 27, 2013 by Esther
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Korea’s chart-topping boyband BIGBANG has been cited in Korean high school music textbooks as an example of plagiarism.

The above image was taken by a second year high school student moments after she received the book. She then uploaded it to Twitter where it has since shocked many Korean Internet users.

Feb 6, 2013 by Master Blaster
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A South Korean woman recently made national news when she boasted about her boyfriend’s present on Facebook, because when this loverboy wanted to say how he felt, he said it with a grenade.

The boyfriend is said to be enrolled in the military, and was quite likely a big Bruno Mars fan.

Jan 28, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Whether it’s luxury hotel rooms or a seemingly ordinary computer mouse, it’s important to present whatever you’re selling online as attractively as possible. Advertisements must be concise and informative, and of course the product presented in as aesthetically pleasing a manner as possible. In the 21st century where digital air brushing is the norm and we have learned to filter the information we receive through an Internet-ready sieve of cynicism, advertisers have their work cut out for them, and without big budgets to transform ordinary snaps into tantalizing vistas, hoteliers and real estate agents must find other ways to make their resorts and accommodation look good.

The above image was spotted on a Korean real estate website by a Japanese Internet user. Advertised as a “stately residence complete with outdoor pool”, the fantastic wooden-framed structure and spacious pool look quite nice, don’t they? While it’s hardly Olympic size, we could certainly imagine ourselves doing a few lengths in that pool each morning before heading out to take care of business or ensure that our dozens of employees were working sufficiently hard.

There is, however, a little more to this image than meets the eye. Click the link to see the same pool photographed from a shall we say “less flattering” angle.

Jan 26, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Spontaneous physical arousal, also known in the western world as “random wood” amongst other monikers, has happened to most men at some point in their lives. For those just entering adulthood, it can can be painfully embarrassing – and in some cases even lead to some taking drastic action – but thankfully the majority of us are not TV stars being watched by millions when it happens.

As part of a romantic comedy sketch acted out on a recent Korean variety show, popular TV personality Gili Kim embraced beautiful Jimin Kim and lifted her up in the air. From there, tragically, physiological instincts took over, leaving poor Gili with no way of concealing his excitement. The images were soon shared thousands of times via Twitter and Korean Internet bulletin boards, prompting the star to speak out and admit that he may have become lost in the moment.

Dec 29, 2012 by Steven
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Ttongsul, or “feces wine”, is a traditional Korean beverage made from soaking human feces and medicinal herbs in soju alcohol for three to four months until it ferments.

Regular readers of our site may know that we managed to acquire two bottles of ttongsul earlier this year. This may have been a bit too much. While ttongsul doesn’t necessarily taste bad, it’s still poo and you don’t really feel inclined to knock it back like your nightly glass of scotch.

So here we are with several liters of feces wine that no one in the office wants to drink, the problem being that everyone knows what the stuff is made from. What does RocketNews24 do? Find five cute Japanese girls who have never heard of ttongsul, have them drink it for us, and then tell them there’s human feces in it after, or course!