South Korea has lived through a series of disasters and tragedies, but the sinking of the Sewol ferry with the loss of over 300 passengers and crew nearly 10 years ago left a lasting mark on Korea's collective psyche. The failure to save hundreds of people trapped in the slowly sinking ship, shown live on TV, and learning that it was another humanmade disaster caused by corruption, incompetence and a chronic insensitivity to safety enraged and saddened South Koreans to the point of what f

South Korean bands claiming a spot on the top global charts is by no means a surprise at this point, with acts like Blackpink, NewJeans and BTS commanding massive international fan bases. But just a little more than a decade ago, even cracking Billboard's top 100 singles chart would put a K-pop act in the national headlines. And it could be argued that BTS and its contemporaries owe just a bit of their worldwide success to the first K-pop song to enjoy worldwide success: Psy's 2012 meg

On the night of March 26, 2010, an explosion was heard by crew members on a South Korean Navy corvette which had been patrolling off the country’s west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the West Sea. Five minutes later, the 1,200-ton Pohang-class patrol ship named the Cheonan was broken in half, and the rear half sunk into the ocean, killing 46 Navy personnel inside. “I heard a loud bang at 9:22 p.m. that night, with which the ship tilted to the right, and my body was flung up in the

South Korea stopped assigning numbers to its national treasures a few years ago, but for many, the expression National Treasure No. 1 still remains synonymous with Namdaemun, or Sungnyemun by its official name. So when this gate from the 14th century burned down one night in 2008, the shock was indescribable, akin to what the French people might have gone through during the 2019 blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral. Koreans watched helplessly on TV as the wooden pagoda atop the arch-shaped stone gate b

In the winter of 2005, South Korea experienced a roller coaster of emotion, looping between shock, disbelief and relief multiple times after Hwang Woo-suk, then the country’s most revered scientist as well as a symbol of national pride and hope for the terminally ill, faced whistleblower accusations for grave ethics breaches, followed by even graver matters of data fabrication. After a whirlwind of claims and counterclaims that left many at a loss as to what to believe, by December of that

In the summer of 2004, South Korea was jolted by one of the most gruesome crime stories the country had ever witnessed. Driven by hatred for the rich and women, Yoo Young-chul committed 20 murders before he was apprehended, a fraction of his self-imposed mission to kill 100. The serial killer’s dramatic capture, along with shocking details of his crimes, which involved claims of cannibalism and dismemberment, left a lasting impact on the nation’s collective memory. The chilling sag

In July 2006, a 40-year-old French national residing in Seoul made a macabre discovery at home in his freezer. Before he could store some fish inside, he found the bodies of two infant boys. Jean-Louis Courjault, an engineer working for a car parts company in Seoul, was home alone in Seorae Village, southern Seoul, after returning from a family holiday in France. His wife, Veronique Courjault, 39, was still on vacation in France with their two teen sons. He promptly reported the findings to

About 20 years ago, a soft-spoken, bespectacled man with a scarf around his neck showed the world how spellbinding South Korean dramas can be. “Winter Sonata,” a television drama series starring Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo, dazzled countless Japanese women, some 6,000 of whom gathered at the Tokyo airport to catch a glimpse of Bae in November 2004. Some of them -- mostly aged 43 to 65 -- were even injured while pushing through the crowds to get a better view of the actor, whom they

“South Korea has had the most lively movie industry in the world for the past decade,” remarked French filmmaker Luc Besson during this year’s Busan International Film Festival that closed last week. Although it may appear as though Korean cinema’s meteoric rise to prominence occurred just over a decade ago or even more recently, its foundation runs deeper. For many, 2003 stands out as a pivotal year when Korean cinema made its mark on the global stage, with films from di

Passengers traveling on the South Korean subway system may have encountered seats lacking fabric covering, resulting in a more slippery experience than expected. Keen-eyed riders might have also noticed the presence of manual door handles, gas masks and flashlights inside the train or on the platforms. These are part of the safety features of Korean metro system, introduced after a hard and painful lesson: the 2003 arson attack on a subway train in the southern city of Daegu. “Subway arson