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The Hankyoreh

@hankyoreh.bsky.social

190 followers 2 following 590 posts

The official account of South Korea's leading voice in progressive, independent journalism — now in English.

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 27m

Education is no longer the ladder of social mobility it once was; instead, it has become a wall that keeps the classes separate and immutable. Meritocratic societies are societies in which class is inherited not through blood, but through educational capital.

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[Column] How meritocracy turns into tyranny

Two scholars point to educational systems as a crucial system undergirding the meritocracy we see today

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 1h

This is the moment of truth for Lee, who must put his idea of “pragmatic diplomacy for the national interest” into practice and prove it’s more than just a fancy slogan.

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Will Korea’s Lee succeed in walking the tightrope between the US, China?

Less than two weeks are left until world leaders converge on Gyeongju, where the Korean president will have to walk the tightrope between the US and China

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 14h

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 15h

Samsung Electronics is set to record its highest quarterly operating profit in three years, posting over 12 trillion won (US$8.4 billion) for July-September, driven by investments in AI and demand for memory chips.

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Samsung Electronics rides chip demand to post 12 trillion won operating profit in Q3

This is the highest quarterly operating profit the Korean firm has seen in three years

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 16h

Court denies arrest warrant for former justice minister accused of abetting Yoon

The court’s rejection of a request for a warrant for Park Sung-jae has thrown a wrench in the special counsel team’s plans to wrap up their investigations into members of Yoon’s Cabinet suspected of…

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 18h

“It’s essential we block irregular pricing or market abuse driven by misinformation. If you keep playing with fire, somebody’s going to get burned,” the Korean president said.

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‘Playing with fire’: Korea could face real estate bubble like Japan, Lee warns

The Korean president ordered measures to address the “extremely overvalued” real estate market

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 19h

“A lot of the Korean men live there, mostly ones in their 20s and 30s,” said a security worker in front of a mixed-use condominium building singled out as a criminal base in the heart of Phnom Penh.

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[Reportage] Behind luxe façades of Phnom Penh, fraud factories flourish

The Hankyoreh pays a visit to the notorious scam centers of Cambodia, where a 22-year-old Korean student was recently tortured to death

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 21h

“What South Koreans did in December and January was historic. The immediate mobilization to stop the declaration of martial law was absolutely decisive,” Levitsky said. “I tell my students: ‘That’s how you defend democracy.’”

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[Interview] Overcoming extremist politics is the next challenge for Korea’s democracy, says Levitsky

Asia Future Forum: Next Democracy | Keynote speaker Steven Levitsky talks polarization, tolerance, and the future of democracy

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 22h

Beijing slapped new sanctions on US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, accusing it of cooperating with the US government’s Section 301 investigation.

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Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean caught in crossfire of US-China port fee war

Beijing slapped new sanctions on US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, accusing it of cooperating with the US government’s Section 301 investigation

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 1d

“I am grateful to the many people in Korea who have supported us, and I ask that you continue to fight alongside us until Palestine is completely liberated,” Haecho said.

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[Interview] Korean activist on Gaza aid flotilla recounts mistreatment in Israeli detention

Haecho was sailing as part of the Thousand Madleens to Gaza to deliver aid to Palestinians when her vessel was boarded by Israeli forces, who detained her and her crewmates

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 1d

In 1918, fascists were able to effectively build their movement with political designs that tapped into what the public was feeling deep down. The same is true of Korea’s far right in 2025.

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[Column] The meritocracy to fascism pipeline

Before we villainize young men for buying into the far right, we should look at the social and economic conditions that have paved the way for their rightward shift

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 1d

Amid a surge of reports across the country of Koreans being kidnapped and disappearing in Cambodia after being lured by fake job opportunities, the limits of the South Korean police’s ability to investigate these cases are becoming apparent.

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Lack of local cooperation hinders police investigations into missing Koreans in Cambodia

A troubling trend of young Koreans being caught up in phishing schemes that hold them against their will in Cambodia highlights the need for international cooperation

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 1d

While the Israeli government provided interpreters and lawyers for the French activists, Haecho received no legal assistance.

“When I asked for a lawyer, a soldier mockingly told me, ‘I don’t have a phone. Use yours,’” she said.

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[Interview] Korean activist on Gaza aid flotilla recounts mistreatment in Israeli detention

Haecho was sailing as part of the Thousand Madleens to Gaza to deliver aid to Palestinians when her vessel was boarded by Israeli forces, who detained her and her crewmates

english.hani.co.kr

The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 2d

Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Monday that he “cannot agree” with US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll’s recent statement that US Forces Korea ought to respond to threats posed both by North Korea and China.

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Korean defense chief ‘cannot agree’ that USFK should respond to threats posed by China

The comment came in response to recent remarks by US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 2d

Cho said that the US has softened on its demand for an all-cash investment of US$350 billion and that the two sides were “slowly finding common ground.”

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US has backed down on demand for $350 billion all-cash investment, says Korea’s top diplomat

Korea hopes to secure a tariff deal with the US by the time of the APEC summit later this month

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 2d

China’s export controls on rare earths and US tariffs on Chinese goods have made it unclear if Trump and Xi will meet at the Asia-Pacific forum in Korea later this month.

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US and China go back on the trade warpath with only weeks left until APEC summit

China’s export controls on rare earths and US tariffs on Chinese goods have made it unclear if Trump and Xi will meet at the Asia-Pacific forum in Korea later this month

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 2d

The Korean American singer who provided the singing voice of Mira in the Netflix smash hit “KPop Demon Hunters” reflected on the movie while appearing on “The Jimmy Fallon Show.”

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The scene from ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ that made Audrey Nuna emotional

The Korean American singer who provided the singing voice of Mira in the Netflix smash hit “KPop Demon Hunters” reflected on the movie while appearing on “The Jimmy Fallon Show”

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 3d

Internally, Kim emphasized placing the North Korean people first. Externally, he stressed policies of simultaneous nuclear and conventional armament.

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[News analysis] Kim Jong-un sends differing messages to domestic, foreign audiences at key party anniversary

While the North Korean leader stressed the people and the economy to domestic audiences, he emphasized the state’s pursuit of nuclear and conventional firepower in remarks made with an international…

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 3d

“I believe that we sent at least 200 folks who escaped from those crime syndicates back to Korea in 2024, and this year, the number has already reached 400,” Jeong Myung-kyu, the chairperson of the Korean Association of Cambodia, told the Hankyoreh.

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Employment scams preying on desperate Koreans turn deadly in Cambodia

The recent death of a young man who was a victim of a scam compound highlights a worrying trend

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 3d

The question of whether Trump and Xi will hold a summit could impact not only the schedule of the APEC summit but also the potential for Lee to hold summits with Trump and Xi.
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Trump’s threat to nix summit with Xi could throw a wrench in Korea’s diplomatic efforts

The question of whether Trump and Xi will hold a summit could impact not only the schedule of the APEC summit but also the potential for Lee to hold summits with Trump and Xi

english.hani.co.kr

The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 4d

We are an ally of the US, not an enemy that it has defeated in war. What does the US seek to gain by stoking such bitterness and anger in its allies?

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[Column] Korea is not an enemy to be plundered

Trump’s demands for a pound of flesh are no way to treat an ally

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 5d

The Hankyoreh verified the OED’s update history and found that 33 of 48 Korean loan words were added within the last four years.

From ‘kimbap’ to ‘maknae,’ Oxford English Dictionary sees explosion of Korean loanwords

The lion’s share of terms of Korean origin have been added within the last four years, with a total of 48 Korean loanwords now listed in the OED

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 5d

The election of Sanae Takaichi as the next leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has sparked concerns that South Korea could face even further challenges to its foreign policy.

Takaichi’s rise raises concerns about stability of Seoul-Tokyo relations

The hard-right politician set to be Japan’s next prime minister could reignite historical and territorial issues

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 5d

China and Russia are ramping up their diplomatic efforts on the Korean Peninsula with high-level officials, including heads of state, set to visit both Koreas in the days and weeks to come.

What parallel visits to both Koreas by leaders of China, Russia may mean for NE Asia

October may prove to be a crucial inflection point in the region’s affairs

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The Hankyoreh @hankyoreh.bsky.social · 5d

The special counsel team investigating Korea’s martial law crisis last December has requested an arrest warrant for Park Sung-jae, who was justice minister at the time.

Special counsel seeks arrest of former justice minister on suspicion of aiding insurrection

Park Sung-jae is the latest figure from the administration of Yoon Suk-yeol to face the possibility of detention amid a widening probe into last year’s martial law crisis.

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