Korea Fm Talk & News | Koreafm.net

OinK (Only in Korea) creator Travis Hull, Korean TV and YouTube sensation Alex Sigrist, and German university student Marie Schade are on today's episode of "This Week Korea", an anything goes panel discussion program featuring some of the biggest yet often underreported stories from the last week, brought to you by Korea FM. Host Chance Dorland joins our three guests to discuss 1) The Korea Times' apology to its readers for a series of problematic editorial pieces (including the publication of a “bogus” article that contained the mug shot of a sex offender), 2) the announcement that it will soon be illegal in Seoul to smoke within 10 meters of subway exit, and 3) how more and more Koreans are using the upcoming Chuseok holiday as a chance to travel abroad or around the peninsula instead of traveling to their home towns.

This weekend in Sindorim, the Irish Association of Korea held one of its yearly Irish Folk & Dance Festivals to what eventually became a standing room only crowd of both Koreans and international residents. Korea FM was there and spoke to the organizers of the event as well as audience members to learn more about Irish culture in South Korea and how many Korean men and women have have learned to love it.

Thursday, September 17th - The Korea Times says its publication of a “bogus” editorial article containing a photo of the supposed author that was in fact the mug shot of a registered sex offender is “inexcusable” and “beyond an apology”, in the last year more than 5,000 men including 18 sons of ranking officials have been exempted from South Korea’s mandatory military service, and smoking near subway exits in Seoul will soon be illegal. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe to the Korean News Update Podcast in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

Wednesday, September 16th - South Korea and the European Union are asking North Korea to stop its planned rocket launch, global credit appraiser Standard & Poor's has raised South Korea's rating to AA-, and after more than six years of construction, South Korea's first dome baseball stadium opened today, but still doesn’t have a team. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe to the Korean News Update Podcast in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

Earlier this month, nearly 800 people traveled to the National Museum of Korea for the "International Folk Music & Dance Concert" featuring musical performances and dancing from Korea, France, Mongolia, Cambodia, Indonesia, China and other countries from around the world. Korea FM . net attended the event, and spoke with some of the organizers and performers.

By 2023, the Ministry of Education hopes to attract 200,000 international students to South Korea. But, with record numbers of young South Koreans unemployed, is that still possible? Korea FM attended the graduation ceremony for Yonsei University, one of Korea's top "SKY" universities, to ask recent graduates why they chose South Korea.

"This Week Korea" is an anything goes panel discussion program featuring the opinions of expats and Korean nationals on some of the biggest yet often underreported stories from the last week. On today's show, fashion street photographer & Busan University of foreign studies professor Michael Hurt, German journalist Sören Kittel, and punk zine "Broke In Korea" self-publisher and urban explorer Jon Dunbar discuss 1) the ongoing decline of English teaching jobs in South Korea 2) Jeb Bush's Asian anchor baby comments and 3) the growing number of problems for busking and other street performances in Hongdae. "This Week Korea" is an original program produced by KoreaFM.net, an online radio station featuring independent musicians and podcasters from the Korean peninsula. Subscribe to our daily "Korean News Update Podcast" or weekly "This Week Korea Podcast" at http://feeds.feedburner.com/koreafm . The music for today's program is provided by Korea FM artist "Dead Buttons" - https://www.facebook.com/Deadbuttons

Saturday, September 5th - South Korean prosecutors have asked for a 15-year prison sentence for the 55-year-old Korean man who earlier this year attacked the US ambassador to Korea, a new report shows each day more than three cases of sexual crimes are reported at schools across the country, and The Ministry of National Defense says it will issue receive-only phones to soldiers to improve morale and prevent human rights violations. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe to the Korean News Update Podcast in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

This weekend, 11 comics from 6 different countries made their way to the O'Lounge Comedy Club in Pyeongtaek to the 2nd annual "Korea International Comedy Competition." With more than 200 people attending the standing-room-only, two-day event, both Korea-based and visiting comics from around Asia competed in three rounds of stand-up comedy to impress judges, win over the crowd, and win 700,000 won in prize money. Korea FM traveled to the event and spoke with some of comedians and those who organized the event.

Thursday, September 3rd - South Korea’s suicide rate is the highest in the OECD for the 11th year in a row, the number of native English teachers in Korean public schools continues to drop, and the South Korean military says despite being tracked on radar, a North Korean surveillance drone successfully crossed the DMZ multiple times before and during last month’s high level talks. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe to the Korean News Update Podcast in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

Wednesday, September 2nd - South Korea has demanded a Japanese newspaper retract its column that compares Korean President Park Geun-hye to an empress killed by Japanese agents, an appeals court has ruled the Korean government does not have to disclose criminal records of U.S. soldiers, and the number of children born in South Korea has risen for the fourth straight month. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

A new report from The Economist on the "livability" of cities around the world ranks Seoul #58, one spot below Detroit, a city that has become the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. Korea FM spoke with the editor of the report and a researcher on the project, who helped compile rankings for many Asian cities on the list, to find out why Seoul didn't rank higher. We also spoke to a partner of "Reurbanist", a  company that works in Seoul with many of the factors used in the rankings, to hear if they agree with Seoul's #58 "livability" ranking.

Saturday, October 29th - South Korea says it will increase its military budget for 2016 to boost defenses against North Korea, South Korean civic groups and other organizations say new nationwide sex education materials from Ministry of Education are biased, and for the first time ever, the amount of college students in Korea has dropped. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

This weekend, seven North Korean defectors gathered in Seoul to answer the question "What freedom means to me?" The event was organized by Teach North Korea Refugees, and despite technical difficulties that prevented the use of microphones, true to their own stories of triumph and persistence, each defector rose to the challenge of delivering a 10 minute speech - in English.

Tuesday, August 25th - After 43 hours of talks, North and South Korea have agreed on a six-point plan to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula, despite this weekend’s threat of armed conflict with North Korea, residents along the DMZ are questioning why municipal governments held multiple fireworks displays, and South Koreans have one of the highest gender gaps in life expectancy in the OECD. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

"This Week Korea" is an anything goes panel discussion program featuring the opinions of expats and Korean nationals on some of the biggest yet often underreported stories from the last week. On today's show, poet, feminist, and pop culture writer Mary Hickman, Seoul food writer and businessmen Joe McPherson, and longtime expat journalist Philip Iglauer discuss 1) North Korea's ultimatum 2) a hidden camera video of women and minors showering at a Korean water park 3) and if Detroit is really more "livable" than Seoul."This Week Korea" is an original program produced by KoreaFM.net, an online radio station featuring independent musicians and podcasters from the Korean peninsula. Subscribe to our daily "Korean News Update Podcast" or weekly "This Week Korea Podcast" at http://feeds.feedburner.com/koreafm . The music for today's program is provided by Korea FM artist "Dead Buttons" - https://www.facebook.com/Deadbuttons

No shots have been fired and high level talks are continuing between North and South Korea as yesterday’s ultimatum passed without incident, a hidden camera video of more than 100 women and children showering at a Korean water park has gone viral, and the Economists says Detroit Michigan is a more “livable” city than Seoul, South Korea. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has ordered military units to retaliate if they are provoked by North Korea, a US army captain has been found dead in a Seoul parking lot in an apparent suicide, and nearly nine out of 10 young South Koreans say they’re open to dating foreigners. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.

Haeundae beach is one of the most popular summer destinations on the peninsula, and during South Korea's recent 3 day "Liberation Day" holiday weekend, despite temperatures as high as 32 degrees, more than 600,000 visitors made their way to Haeundae Beach. Korea FM was there, and spoke to international visitors and Koreans about beach culture here in South Korea.

Thursday, August 20th - A South Korean court has ruled police can use vehicles to seal off roads during a protest, green tide algae warnings have been issued for the Han river and another connected body of water, and South Korean President Park Geun-hye has reached a decision regarding whether or not to attend a controversial Chinese ceremony commemorating the end of World War II. For more news, talk radio & independent music from Korean peninsula, subscribe in the iTunes Store, with your favorite Android application, or visit KoreaFM.net.