Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Korea (Page 14)
Barely a week after branding her a “blabbering peasant woman,” North Korea has labelled South Korean leader Park Geun-hye a “repulsive wench” via its state-run media. Not only that, but the same quoted source also alluded to the fact that the president has no children of her own, and said that she “makes a mockery of sacred motherhood.”
A group of Samsung Electronics researchers claim they’ve made a breakthrough discovery.
They’ve found a technique that could help the company make your future smartphone thinner, more durable, and even a deliver Internet 100 times faster.
The “wonder material” is called graphene— a substance that’s stronger than steel and so thin it’s considered to be two dimensional.
A joint military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea has freaked out North Korean leadership.
The annual drill, named Foal Eagle, runs from Feb. 24 to April 18 and features Marines from both countries.
North Korea views the drill as a possible threat and has responded by ratcheting up its own military rhetoric.
Further, The Hermit Kingdom has announced military drills of its own, and launched hundreds of missiles toward a disputed maritime border with South Korea. The country has also promised a new kind of nuclear test in response.
Yes. Yes, it did.
Relations between North and South Korea took a turn for the childish today as a spokesman for the notorious hermit nation labelled South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye a “peasant” and remarked that she ought to stop “blabbering” if she ever wants to see relations between the two countries improve.
Me, and indeed, ow.
Who doesn’t want to look as good as possible — and if a little bit of make-up helps, so much the better, right? Well, the staff at our sister site Pouch found an interesting video from what appears to be a Korean TV program containing some potentially useful beauty tips. And if there’s one thing we know, it’s that women, regardless of age and nationality, are always up for some beauty advice, especially if it doesn’t involve surgery or some other drastic measure (like having a bunch of snails crawl over your face), which is why we thought we’d share this with you. In this case, the video offers advice on how to achieve a double eyelid look using just make-up. So, let’s see how effective the make-up technique is.
“Let it go,” the most popular song from the smash-hit Frozen, is loved not only in the movie’s country of origin, but all over the world. We’ve already seen how beautiful the song is in Japanese, now let’s take a look at the song as performed on a Korean variety show. This version is impressive, not for the vocal performance, but for how they recreated the scenes from the movie in a television studio, including Elsa conjuring snow out of thin air and her icy quick change. Watch and prepare to laugh at how perfect yet completely ridiculous this new take on a soon-to-be classic is.
When I first started using Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3, almost everything about its enormous size annoyed me. I couldn’t text with one hand. It barely fit in my pocket, or didn’t at all. I felt silly holding it up to my ear to talk on the phone. It was the least subtle or elegant phone I’d ever seen.
Even my friends were horrified. I’d plop the Note onto a table or I’d whip it out to take a picture, and anyone I was hanging out with would double-take.
“What is that thing?!” they’d gasp.
There’s probably a scientific explanation for almost everything in the world, and that includes ice cream. Of course we knew there was some science going on in those delicious scoops of frozen creamy goodness, but this laboratory-themed ice cream parlor in Busan, Korea, works the science right in front of your eyes!
If you’ve never had ice cream made straight out of a laboratory flask, topped with syringes and droppers, read on!
Last April, a case of overdose on Photoshop caused a group of ‘Miss Korea’ contestants to look like cloned beauties produced by the same plastic surgeon. Though it is now clear that the ladies were not high technology clones created to take over the pageant, the incident made some of us feel that beauty pageants these days are geared towards finding a certain type of beauty standard, rather than celebrating the beauty in different women.
Is it really necessary to “enhance” the beauty of these already stunning women? Let’s take a look at the Miss Korea pageant ladies before the era of Photoshop and cosmetic surgery!
Here’s a striking example of how strained the relationship is between South Korea and Japan: The latest survey from Asian Institute for Policy found that among South Koreans, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un scored higher in favorability ratings than Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
A picture is worth a thousand words. That’s certainly the case with the following collection of stunning photographs taken in Korea between 1890 and 1903 by visiting foreigners. The diverse, everyday scenes they depict shed light on the lifestyles of people at the time. Interestingly, this pictorial set was circulated around the Internet in Thailand, where people were surprised to see such vast differences in lifestyle as compared to the lives of South Koreans portrayed in modern-day K-dramas…a lot can change in a hundred years! You don’t want to miss a single one of these photos or the reactions of Thai people after seeing them!
Samsung made a few product announcements today, including a new water-resistant phone, the Galaxy S5. But the coolest announcement of all may be its new fitness tracker, the Gear Fit.
The Gear Fit is entering a crowded market. Nike, Fitbit and Jawbone have been innovating on wearable fitness tech for years.
But the Gear Fit’s sleek design, curved glass, robust set of features and multi-color screen make it more alluring than any fitness device that’s currently available. The battery lasts 3 – 4 days.
We got our hands on the Gear Fit at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona. It won’t be available until April 2014, but you can check out big beautiful pictures of it now.
Mention the Winter Olympics or figure skating to any South Korean this week and they’ll likely respond with a scowl or a shake of the head. After an almost completely flawless performance at Sochi, 23-year-old figure skater and darling of South Korea Yuna Kim looked sure to claim the gold, but when the judges presented their scores for her performance, which came to a total of 219.11, the stadium erupted with cheers from Russian spectators who knew that the top medal would instead go to their own Adelina Sotnikova, who scored just five points more.
But the official scores don’t seem to matter much in Yuna Kim’s native South Korea, since one broadcaster pretty much just awarded her a gold medal anyway.
Like many of the world’s largest and oldest metropolises, Seoul owes part of its development to its location on the banks of a river. In the case of the Korean capital, being situated along the Han River contributed to the flow of goods and resources necessary for a large community centuries before the development of trains or automobiles.
The Han River still flows through Seoul today, where the body of water is crossed by the Mapo Bridge. But while the bridge was built with the purpose of serving as a transit artery, it’s also been darkly co-opted by those looking for a place to end their own lives, and the site sees more suicides than almost any other in Korea. Unfortunately, a public service campaign looking to reverse the tragic trend has had the opposite effect, with suicides at Mapo Bridge increasing more than sixfold since the campaign began.
We’ve seen plenty of cat cafés, maid cafés and even owl cafés here on RocketNews24, but putting living things aside, this themed café in Seoul which features the characters of a Korean online comic MAJO&SADY, could probably top our list of cute cafés!
The simple yet chic café provides a cozy and relaxing atmosphere that anyone can enjoy, even if you’re unfamiliar with the comic’s characters. Check it out!
The South Korean Olympic Committee has filed an official protest of the result of the women’s figure skating event at the Olympics over ‘biased judging,’ according to the Associated Press.
This week saw a bizarre incident in the world of Korean pro basketball, when a coach decided that the usual method of yelling at one of his players just wasn’t enough to get his point across. His novel solution? Tape their mouth shut.
The Olympics gives the world’s most talented athletes a chance to show their abilities to people all over the globe. It also gives the world’s most wealthy marketers a chance to show their products to that same audience.
Among the Games’ biggest sponsors is Samsung, whose Galaxy Note 3 was granted the title of official phone of the Sochi Olympics in thanks of its manufacturer’s generosity. Some reports are claiming that the Korean electronics maker isn’t showing a respect for healthy competition, though, by asking athletes with iPhones to make sure they cover the Apple logo when on-camera.
Twelve years ago, South Korea’s Ahn Hyun-soo crashed into Apolo Ohno a few feet from the finish line in the men’s short track 1000m at the Olympics.
It sparked an intense rivalry between the two skaters that peaked at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, where Hyun-soo won three gold medals to Ohno’s one.
On Saturday night in Sochi, the Hyun-soo won gold again. But now his name is Viktor Ahn, and he skates for Russia.
I remember when I was a senior in high school and hung out with a sort of goofy crowd, we all spent several weeks wracking our brains trying to find a way to inject some kind of originality into our senior photos. We knew anything too outrageous or offensive would get stopped by yearbook censors, so about the only thing we could come up with was growing some dirty-looking caterpillar mustaches.
If only we’d been in Korea, where some high schools – realizing that senior year is the last time in their lives that youths really get to act like kids – allow nearly any kind of wacky individual and group photos the kids see fit to take:
Hayao Miyazaki says Happy New Year to Studio Ghibli fans with new art for Year of the Snake
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What’s in Starbucks Japan’s fukubukuro lucky bag for 2025?
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The top 5 Starbucks Frappuccinos we’d like to drink again in Japan this year
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Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive season
Bear breaks into house in Japan, quickly begins spending winter exactly like Japanese people do
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After being snatched up by scalpers, Sailor Moon chocolate returns in officially marked-up complete box
Starbucks Japan releases cute new zodiac goods for Year of the SnakePokémon fans aren’t happy with the Mister Donut fukubukuro lucky bag for 2025
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Ramen restaurant etiquette reminder follows altercation with angry couple: One person, one bowl
McDonald’s Japan announces Evangelion burger line, releases crazy anime video for them【Video】
Foreign resident of Japan sentenced to eight months in prison for vandalizing Tokyo shrine
J-pop mega star Ado reveals she’s been living in the U.S., may not understand language acquisitionBear breaks into house in Japan, quickly begins spending winter exactly like Japanese people doThe top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
Starbucks Japan is calling it quits with paper straws
Japan’s most popular castle raising ticket prices by up to 200 percent for non-local tourists
Japanese company develops classy heavy metal band frames for glasses
This downtown Tokyo cafe is like a time machine that takes you back 50 years into the past
Station of despair: What to do if you get stuck at the end of Tokyo’s Chuo Rapid Line
Studio Ghibli heroine cardigans give you warmth and strength to face everyday challenges
Starbucks Japan reveals new winter holiday goods to wrap up 2024
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Is there a big difference between Starbucks Japan’s fukubukuro lucky bags?
Pokémon fans aren’t happy with the Mister Donut fukubukuro lucky bag for 2025
The top 5 Starbucks Frappuccinos we’d like to drink again in Japan this year
Sacrificing bears for amazing hotpots with Kuma-chan Onsen’s fukubukuro lucky bag
Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive season
Japan’s Pokémon Visa cards are totally legit, completely adorable, may reveal Pikachu’s last name
Visit the birthplace of the Japanese daruma in Gunma Prefecture
Japanese men rank the top 10 complaints they hope to never hear from their wives
Do cold noodles from a Japanese vending machine fill us with joy or regret?
Studio Ghibli releases new Howl’s Moving Castle goods that capture the magic from the anime movie
5 amazing health and beauty benefits of eating wasabi
Studio Ghibli releases anime art calendars for 2025
Dangly Totoro Japanese sweets charms are every bit as sweet and charming as you’d imagine【Photos】