NEW: I sat down with the highest-ranking defector known to have fled the North Korean regime in 8 years. He told me Pyongyang wants Donald Trump to return to the White House. It would be “a once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity” for North Korea, he said. bbc.com/news/articles/…

Na Kyung-won is the latest South Korean politician to endorse the idea that foreign workers shouldn't be paid the same minimum wage as Korean workers. South Korea is an aging country whose birth rate is plummeting, and this is the nonsense politicians say. donga.com/news/Politics/…

1/ A deepfake porn crisis is gripping S. Korea following revelations of the widespread creation/distribution of such content on Telegram, affecting women of all ages. Victims incl. minors, students, teachers etc. Authorities struggling to contain spread. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN202408…

South Korea facing deepfake porn 'emergency' Over the past week a large number of Telegram chat groups have been discovered - where members were creating and sharing sexually explicit "deepfake" images of women they knew – including of underage girls. bbc.com/news/articles/…

NEW: "The most horrific thing was a deepfake group for underage pupils that had more than 2,000 members" We delve into the deepfake pornography crisis that has engulfed hundreds of South Korean schools. bbc.com/news/articles/…

Human Rights Watch: South Korea’s commitment to equal rights has suffered a dangerous setback with the appointment of Ahn Chang-ho as chairperson of the government’s National Human Rights Commission of Korea. hrw.org/news/2024/09/2…

정치인들은 시민 의식이 나아지지 않는다고 믿고 싶겠지. 어린이집에 성소수자 차별하는 부모? 없다면 거짓말이다. 그런데, 그런 사람이 나타났을 때 다들 동조하기 꺼려하더라. 우리 부부를 응원하고 지지하고 혹시 차별 받는 일이 생기면 같이 돕게 알려달라 하더라. 정말 시민 의식이 문제인가?

1/ A groundbreaking lawsuit advocating for marriage equality is being launched in South Korea. Eleven same-sex couples are filing a legal challenge against the current civil code that denies same-sex marriage.

Last year, a female clerk at a convenience store was assaulted for having short hair. Today, the appeals court ruled that "the perpetrator's motive for the crime was unfounded hatred of women". This is the first ruling in Korea to recognise misogyny as a reprehensible motive.

“The dictator Mr Yoon has now disappeared. I’m so happy”. Our TV piece on President Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday for BBC News (UK) featuring Mr Lee Seung-bang. With @JakeKwon88 Hosu Lee

“If you want to say you’re a feminist in South Korea you have to be very brave or insane” We’ve been investigating how feminists are being hunted down online, sacked and attacked. Listen to our documentary South Korea: The Feminist Hunters on BBC Sounds bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0…

“I got death threats when men thought I put a feminist gesture in a video game” In South Korea it is increasingly dangerous to be a feminist. Read how young men are attacking women they suspect are feminists and trying to get them fired. bbc.com/news/articles/…

The winner of the 61st Korea Press Photography Awards is a photo from the day of Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration, captured by Kim Ji-ho of ChosunMedia. 제61회 한국보도사진전 뉴스 부문 대상 수상작: 조선영상비전 김지호 기자의 '다시 보고 싶지 않은 '서울의 밤''

This may seem odd to anyone who has watched a Korean drama or listens to K-pop. While they remain popular, the businesses that fund them are struggling. Sohee Kim and I explain why here bloomberg.com/news/newslette…

Look at how polarized young generations are, particularly people in their 20s: 58.1% of women in their 20s voted for Lee Jae-myung while only 24% of men in their 20s voted for him. More than 70% of men in their 20s voted for either Kim Moon-soo or Lee Jun-seok, both conservative.

North Koreans tell BBC they are being sent to work 'like slaves' in Russia bbc.in/3UVwzB3

North Koreans tell BBC they're being sent to work like slaves in Russia First Kim sent Putin ammunition, then soldiers. Now he's sent thousands of construction workers to fill a shortage exacerbated by the Ukraine War. We’ve spoken to six who’ve escaped. bbc.com/news/articles/…

I talked to Lee Soo Man, the founder of SM Entertainment, about his lifelong music journey, the latest movie he’s watched, and behind-the-scene episodes growing K-pop beyond Asia 🎶 apnews.com/article/lee-so…

Researchers in Munich have released a map of every building on Earth. It’s interesting that you can still make out the outlines of countries from the map. It can be used to track inequality, disaster response, climate planning etc. NK-SK comparison below tubvsig-so2sat-vm1.srv.mwn.de

My latest: Make Korea great again: The right-wing group wooing disenchanted youth bbc.com/news/articles/… With Leehyun Choi and Hosu Lee