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wolf

South Korea’s Runaway Wolf, Neukgu, Returned To Zoo After Nine-Day Search 

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South Korea has been engaged in a nine-day internet journey following the escape of a runaway wolf from the O-World zoo in Daejeon. The epic saga has officially concluded as the 2-year-old wolf was safely captured on Friday and returned to captivity. 

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The male wolf named Neukgu burrowed out of his enclosure on April 8th, prompting an immediate search that quickly became viral in the nation while spiking fears about his safety. Neukgu became an internet celebrity with users constantly refreshing their timelines for updates and clues about the young wolf’s whereabouts. 

Animal rights activists were worried about Neukgu’s ability to survive in the wild and whether or not he would be killed upon capture, as back in 2018 an escaped puma from the same zoo was unfortunately killed when it was apprehended. 

President Lee Jae Myung made a statement to help reassure the public that police, fire officials, and the military were doing their best to capture the wolf safely and keep him alive, according to reports.

Tensions rose when authorities almost captured Neukgu after he was spotted on a mountain near the zoo in the beginning of the week, however, he quickly broke away from the perimeter that rescue workers set up. A driver also posted how he saw the wolf on a dark mountainous road. 

Neukgu was finally spotted, tranquilized, and safely retrieved on a hill close to the expressway after hours-long searches involving droves, police, emergency workers, and veterinarians concluded, according to city and zoo officials. 

The young wolf was said to be in stable condition after being returned to the zoo after he was checked out by veterinarians, who also stated they had to remove a fishing hook from his stomach. Other than that, he was said to have no other serious health issues. 

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Daejeon officials also eased the public by sharing videos on social media showing rescuers pulling the limp wolf from a ditch and placing him in a carrier before his medical examinations. 

South Korea’s social media exploded with celebratory posts and “welcome back” messages for Neukgu. 

Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo posted on Facebook to express his “deepest gratitude to citizens of Daejeon and also the entire nation for your support in ensuring Neukgu’s safe return.”

This is not Neukgu’s first time in the spotlight either. He was born at the zoo back in 2024, becoming a third-generation descendent of a group of wolves that was brought in from Russia in 2008 in an attempt to reintroduce wolves that resembled those that used to live in the Korean wild before they went extinct in the 1960s. 

Director of O-World, Lee Kwan Jong, said that Neukgu will now be kept in a separate area away from other animals while he receives care until he is fully recovered and stable. 

Jong stated that the zoo is currently reviewing its security measures while they prioritize Neukgu’s recovery. He is expected to be quite the celebrity when the zoo reopens.

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Junior Doctors In South Korea Risking Medical License Suspension And Prosecution Due To Walkouts

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Around 9,000 medical interns and junior doctors in South Korea have walked out of their jobs last week to protest a new government plan that would increase medical school admissions by around 65%. The government has now responded and given the walkout participants four days to return to work or they will potentially face consequences.

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South Korea And Japan Reach Deal Over Wartime Labor Disputes

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This week, South Korea announced a new deal that will compensate the nation’s forced labor victims from Japan’s occupation of Korea. The two nations have been working to better their relationship due to increased security situations. 

“[This is] a groundbreaking new chapter of cooperation and partnership between two of the United States’ closest allies,” said US President Joe Biden. 

Park Jin, South Korea’s Foreign Minister, announced on Monday that the government’s Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan will financially compensate 15 victims or their family members using private donations. 

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The decision also follows a 2018 South Korean Supreme Court ruling that stated Japan’s Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry should compensate 100 million Korean won ($77,000) to each of the 15 South Korean victims who were mobilized between 1940 to 1945 during Japan’s occupation. 

Today, only three of those 15 victims are still alive, and all of them are in their 90s. 

“We welcome the measures announced by the South Korean government today as a way to restore a healthy relationship between Japan and South Korea, which has been in a very difficult situation since South Korea’s Supreme Court ruling in 2018,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

“The measures announced by the South Korean government are not on the premise that Japanese companies will contribute to the foundation (in South Korea). The Japanese government doesn’t have any particular stance on voluntary donations by individuals or private companies both in Japan and abroad,” he said according to CNN.

Back in 2018, Japan didn’t agree with the South Korean Supreme Court decision, and no compensation has been paid, leading to increased tensions between the two nations. Japan began restricting exports of materials to South Korea while South Korea disposed of its military intelligence-sharing agreement with Tokyo.

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While the two countries signed a treaty in 1965 meant to settle any lingering issues between them, tensions remained, and South Korea’s military dictatorship at the time led many citizens to feel like the deal wasn’t fair. 

Current South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been working hard to mend the relationship, specifically between Seol and Tokyo. The administration wants the two US allies to be on the best terms possible due to an increase in security risks coming from North Korea and their multiple missile tests. 

“Under Yoon, South Korea has been striving to come up with a reasonable solution that is in the common interest of both countries, while respecting the opinions of the forced labor victims,” Foreign Minister Park said Monday.

“I think we need to break the vicious cycle for the people in terms of national interest without neglecting such a prolonged strained relationship between South Korea and Japan,” Park said.

Biden stated that both nations were “taking a critical step to forge a future for the Korean and Japanese people that is safer, more secure, and more prosperous.”

Corey Wallace, an East Asia politics and security analyst at Kanagawa University in Japan, said he sees Monday’s “agreement as an outgrowth of Yoon’s much bolder embrace of Japan as a ‘partner’ over the last nine months.

Both sides have started to adjust their perceptions of the value of trilateral security cooperation and the costs of bilateral antagonism vis-a-vis North Korea. It is also related to broader concerns in both countries about the sustainability of the US military posture in East Asia given both military developments in North Korea and China and recent events in Europe,” Wallace stated. 

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North Korea Launches 23 Missiles, Crossing Maritime Border with the South

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According to the South Korean military, North Korea launched at least 23 missiles to the east and west of the Korean peninsula on Wednesday. It is the highest number of short-range missiles fired by the North in a day, with one missile landing in waters farthest south than ever before.

Many kinds of missiles were fired, including surface-to-air missiles that landed in surrounding waters. A short-range ballistic missile landed near South Korean territorial waters for the first time since the division of Korea in 1948. According to CNN, this is North Korea’s 29th launch this year.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said one missile landed in international waters 104 miles (167 kilometers) northwest of South Korea’s Ulleung island, which is also around 16 miles (26 kilometers) south of the Northern Limit Line. The NLL is a de facto maritime boundary between the two countries, which North Korea does not recognize.

An air raid warning on Ulleung island was sounded, and citizens evacuated to raid shelters. The sirens eventually lifted at 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday. 

The launches came shortly after North Korea’s threats to utilize nuclear weapons and have the U.S. and South Korea “pay the most horrible price in history” if they were to take any action against Pyongyang. The hostile rhetoric is in response to ongoing large-scale South Korean and U. S. military drills.

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said North Korea’s missile test was an “effective territorial encroachment” and ordered that “a stern response be swiftly taken so that North Korea’s provocation pays a clear price.”

As a direct response, South Korea launched three air-to-surface missiles from fighter jets into waters north of the NLL at an equal distance to that which the North Korean missile had earlier landed south of the line, according to JCS.

“Our military’s precise strike showed our will to firmly respond to any North Korean provocations including short-range ballistic missiles, and our capability and readiness to precisely target the enemy.”

Japan’s Defense Ministry shared that North Korea also conducted another launch later on Wednesday, including a ballistic missile that fell into waters outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 

“North Korea has rapidly escalated its provocations, launching more than a dozen missiles today alone and reportedly firing more than 100 artillery shells into the Japan sea since announcing an extremely provocative statement earlier in the day.”

According to CNN, no damage to aircraft or vessels has been confirmed as of right now.

The international response was swift. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that North Korea is launching missiles at an “unprecedentedly high frequency” and called for a National Security Council meeting to be held. 

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Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong tweeted about the rising tensions in the region.

“North Korea’s unprecedented launch of multiple ballistic missiles is recklessly threatening the security of the Republic of Korea. North Korea’s actions continue to undermine Indo-Pacific stability and violate multiple UNSC resolutions. Pyongyang must cease this action.”

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield condemned North Korea’s overnight missile launch.

“It’s unprecedented in the sense that there were so many this day, but they have been continuously launching missiles over the past year. And we have continued to condemn them because they break multiple Security Council resolutions.”

The UN’s nuclear watchdog also warned that North Korea could be gearing up for a nuclear test, breaking its five-year hiatus. Satellite imagery showed heightened activity at North Korea’s underground nuclear test site. 

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the agency has acknowledged North Korea’s preparation for a test.

“Everybody is holding its breath about this, because another nuclear test would be yet another confirmation of a program which is moving full steam ahead, in a way that is incredibly, incredibly concerning. Further tests, of course, means that they are refining the preparations and the construction of their arsenal. So we are following this very, very closely. We hope it doesn’t happen, but indications unfortunately go in another direction.”

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North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Over Japan, South Korea And US Respond 

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According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan early on Tuesday morning. South Korea and the US responded by conducting a joint strike package flight and precision bombing drill, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told ABC News Tuesday. 

The Japanese government initially issued a “J-Alert” to citizens through its emergency warning system, telling residents to remain indoors in sturdy buildings or underground for safety. 

The government didn’t try to attempt to shoot the missile from North Korea down after determining it didn’t pose a threat, according to a spokesperson from Japan’s government. 

Residents in both Hokkaido and Aomori, and surrounding northern areas, were advised to report any debris sightings to police or fire officials immediately. 

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The last time North Korea flew a missile over Japan was in 2017, but this launch marks the seventh time that the nation has witnessed a missile from North Korea. 

Since January of this year, North Korea has shot 21 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles, which is considered a record-breaking number of launches in a single year, according to reports from ABC. Tuesday’s launch was North Korea’s fifth missile test in a week. 

Japanese government chief spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno spoke with the media at a press conference where he warned citizens not to touch or pick up any debris. 

“We ask that people return to life as usual, calmly,” Matsuno emphasized. 

“No damage has been reported so far and a search is underway for debris. Officials are gathering information and will work with South Korea and the U.S.,” another spokesperson said. 

“North Korea’s actions threaten Japan and the international community. Missile launches like this go against the U.N. resolutions. Japan will launch a strong protest against North Korea in light of this. All new information will be shared promptly.”

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“The United States strongly condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) dangerous and reckless decision to launch a long-range ballistic missile over Japan,” The White House said in a statement Tuesday. 

Jake Sullivan, US National Security Adviser, spoke with his counterparts from Japan and South Korea about the launch as well, according to Adrienne Watson, a White House National Security Council spokesperson. 

“In both calls, the National Security Advisors consulted on appropriate and robust joint and international responses, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reinforced the United States’ ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK [South Korea],” Watson explained. 

In response, Jaechun Kim, a professor in South Korea, stated that the US, Korea, and Japan need to “mobilize cooperation from like-minded countries in non-UN sanctions to thwart North Korea’s provocations.” 

“A unified front must be established that imposes sanctions on North Korea, as they did on Russia. This is the only way to penalize North Korea for its bad behavior.” 

“North Korea just does what it needs to do these days. So, with or without China’s support, it is quite likely for the North to conduct the 7th nuke test. It will be interesting to see whether Xi Jinping will throw his weight behind Kim Jong Un,” Kim said.

pop culture

UK’s First Major Exhibition Of Korean Culture To Open At London’s V&A Museum

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The term “hallyu,” meaning Korean Wave, entered mainstream culture in the 1990s. It refers to the prominence of Korean culture in things like movies, theater, music, and fandoms. Now, the London V&A is gearing up to host its first exhibition of Korean culture in the modern world.

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Back to School Materials

How Different Countries Are Handling Reopening Schools In The Middle Of A Pandemic 

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As schools all over the world gear up to reopen in the fall, many countries are still trying to figure out how to properly implement health and safety procedures while giving kids a sense of normalcy. The whole concept of reopening schools has been controversial to say the least, as many parents are concerned that kids aren’t going to be closely monitored enough, which will likely lead to massive spikes in case numbers.

Many countries around the world have already begun their 2020-21 school year with new safety measures put into place to help avoid a resurgence in cases, here’s what some are doing: 

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In France, there’s recently been a massive resurgence in case numbers already, so when it came to reopening schools the government knew it would have to issue out a heavily detailed list of procedures to be put into place. These procedures include requiring all children in secondary schools to wear face coverings at all times when in school and on the playground. Originally France has a class size restriction for the year, however, they now claim that there are no limits and social distancing in the classroom is advised, but not mandated. 

Poland plans to begin reopening their schools next week after being shut down since March. Late last week, however, the country saw a record high number of single-day new infections. When it comes to school policies, the government seems to be relatively relaxed about what they will be requiring of students. Mask wearing is not being mandated by government officials, but instead will be up to individual principals to decide. 

Belgium currently has one of the world’s highest death rates from Covid-19, and as a result they’ve looked into the best ways to run their schools this fall. Schools will begin reopening on September 1st, and all children aged 12 and up will be required to wear masks; teachers and other staff members will also be required to do so. 

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Germany had many schools in Berlin reopen two weeks ago, which has already led to several dozen of them closing down due to new spikes in infections. Officials have claimed that the transmission of Covid-19 is believed to have occurred outside of the school setting, however, that doesn’t make it any less risky to remain open. The cases so far are more so isolated incidents, but bigger outbreaks are still a major concern. German schools in general are run at a regional level, so it’s up to each individual district to require facial coverings and social distancing procedures. 

In South Korea they struggled to reopen their schools while maintaining proper health measures, so they’ve delayed reopening multiple times. They have begun phasing in different age groups back into the schools, however, a recent resurgence in cases have caused them to shut down indefinitely. 

Denmark surprisingly reopened their schools back in April by separating younger children into “micro-groups” of 12 or less. School starting times have been staggered for different groups, and desks are being kept 6 feet away from each other. In May, kids aged between 12-16 were able to return to school as well, as the country has maintained a relatively low number of cases and new infections. 

Israel is another country that’s been able to manage it’s initial outbreak of the coronavirus. They did such a successful job that they were able to reopen schools in May, sending back kids with limited classes and in small groups, similar to Denmark. Within the past couple of months, the country lifted class size restrictions and informed all students that they could return back to school. However, this led to a resurgence of the virus, and many students have been forced back into virtual learning and a life of quarantine.

South Korea Coronavirus

South Korea Reports Worst Covid-19 Outbreak In Six Months

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South Korea warned its citizens this week that they could be facing a wave of new novel coronavirus outbreaks after a church reported more than 300 congressional members being infected. The Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul is responsible for what is now South Korea’s largest outbreak of Covid-19 in six months.

Now, the country is tightening their social distancing rules and discussing even more potential lockdown measures for the upcoming weeks. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported a total of 197 new cases this past Saturday (8/14).

Besides this recent outbreak, South Korea has been one of the world’s only countries to almost completely eradicate the virus, and has acted as a success story of inspiration for other countries and their handling of the pandemic. Spikes in infections have occurred consistently throughout the entire pandemic, however, the country handled each spike with strict quarantine enforcement and intense contact tracing to get to the source of every outbreak.

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South Korea has endured 15,515 positive cases of Covid-19 and 305 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. KCDC director Jeong Eun-Kyeong recently offered an update to the press and citizens of South Korea regarding the recent outbreak.

“We’re seeing the current situation as an initial stage of a large-scale transmission. We’re facing a crisis where if the current spread isn’t controlled, it would bring an exponential rise in cases.”

This rise in cases could lead to a complete collapse of South Korea’s medical system and do some major damage to its economy, according to Eun-Kyeong. The outbreak at the Seoul church parallels a similar incident that occurred at a Christian sect church in the city of Daegu in February. That outbreak became South Korea’s deadliest cluster of Covid-19 cases, as authorities struggled to contain it due to a reluctance from members of the congregation in wanting to cooperate with contact tracing; something that’s also occurring with the new outbreak.

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The vice health minister of South Korea, Kim Gang-Lip, recently spoke with the media about this lack of cooperation and claimed that the church provided inaccurate lists of it’s 4,000+ members. 320 of those members have already tested positive for Covid-19, and more than 600 members – who authorities want to quarantine themselves due to their close-contact with the other 320 infected members – are currently unaccounted for.

The leader of the church is named Jun. He’s 64-years-old and a conservative activist who has spent the past few months organizing anti-government rallies that are in defiance of the government orders for all church members to self-isolate and get tested. These protests have also raised a lot of concerns among healthcare professionals, as they believe participants are getting infected during these gatherings.

The ban on church services was lifted in South Korea in April, although participants were required to register for each service and continue to social distance. Because of this, Jun’s lawyers claim that he did not violate any quarantine rules nor intentionally provide inaccurate information to authorities regarding members and their health status’.

Kim stated to the press that if the rate of new infections doesn’t start to go down after this week the government would be tightening their lockdown measures which would likely shut down all indoor meetings of 50 people or more, and outdoor gatherings of 100 or more. The health ministry has also filed a formal complaint against Jun specifically for violating quarantine rules and “obstructing contact tracing by failing to provide a full list of members” to authorities.

South Korea Flag

Deteriorating South Korea-Japan Relations Highlight Long-Standing Feud

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Most Americans, even the politically-engaged, don’t play close attention to Asian politics. But new developments throughout the region are important to understand, particularly because of their potential impact on the future of global politics.

Most recently, South Korea announced that it would abandon a pact to share intelligence with Japan. As a result, both countries will have to rely on sharing information through the United States instead of directly with each other. The dissolution of the pact complicates efforts among the countries to monitor North Korea’s nuclear missile program, an ongoing threat to global stability. According to analysts, the end of the agreement to share information could lead to even greater problems in the event of a crisis.

South Korea’s withdrawal comes as a response to a recent decision from Japan to remove South Korea from its “white list” of trading partners and initiate restrictions on trade. In response to the decision, the Pentagon has expressed “strong concern and disappointment,” and urged the two countries to reconsider, as a recent conflict that began with trade disputes now has national security implications. Japan has also criticized South Korea for the decision, lamenting a perceived dissolution of trust between the two countries.

The history of conflict between the two countries motivates the trade and national security disagreements occurring today.

Though the feud between Japan and South Korea has intensified in recent years, the two countries have a long history of conflict. The dispute started in 1910 after Japan colonized South Korea and recruited workers who were extremely underpaid. During World War II, the Japanese army forced South Korean women to serve as sex slaves. Although Japan signed treaties in 1965 and 2015 to compensate the families of the victims of the country’s exploitative actions, the pain South Korea experiences as a result of these crimes remains. The history of conflict between the two countries motivates the trade and national security disagreements occurring today.

Last year, a lawsuit on behalf of the underpaid laborers sued the offending Japanese companies in South Korean court. The South Korean Supreme Court ruled that the Japanese companies were obligated to reimburse the victims for stolen wages, but the companies in question refused to comply. In response, the South Korean government threatened to seize Japanese assets, and a trade war began.

Donald Trump has expressed annoyance at the suggestion of playing a role in negotiating agreements between the two countries.

In the past, American leadership has served to mitigate the consequences of the two countries’ dispute. Most recently, in 2016 the Obama administration played a significant role in encouraging Japan and South Korea to sign the treaty enabling the sharing of intelligence about North Korea. But the Trump administration has been reluctant to get involved in foreign politics,  and Donald Trump has expressed annoyance at the suggestion of playing a role in negotiating agreements between the two countries.

Elsewhere in Asia, an ongoing conflict between the people of Hong Kong and China is underway. Although Hong Kong is a part of the country of China, Hong Kong is set up as an independent territory operating within the country of China, but with a different system of government. Whereas China is governed under one-party communist rule, Hong Kong is meant to be set up with free and open elections. However, Beijing has in recent years exerted increasing control over the Hong Kong political crisis, and many residents of Hong Kong consider China a threat to their way of life. As such, massive pro-democracy protests are taking place throughout Hong Kong, and China has responded by increasing their military presence at the Hong Kong border. Notably absent from the conversation is the United States, which usually speaks out in support of democratic efforts that take place around the world. President Trump, as with the conflict between South Korea and Japan, doesn’t see why he should get involved, and instead prefers to show his support for leaders of totalitarian regimes, such as Kim-Jung Un of North Korea and Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Though it may be unwarranted to directly blame a lack of US involvement for these conflicts in Asia, the difference in American leadership around the world before and after the start of the Trump administration is striking. Only time will tell how the absence of a strong American voice in support of democracy will impact world events.