Category: Society

  • A Life Built Over Thirty Years, Erased in Forty-Eight Hours

    A Life Built Over Thirty Years, Erased in Forty-Eight Hours

    On December 5, 2025, Dispatch reported that actor Cho Jin-woong (born Cho Won-jun) had been involved in a violent juvenile incident thirty years ago. The controversy quickly escalated into a nationwide debate over the purpose of juvenile justice, the possibility of rehabilitation, and the standards by which a public figure’s past should be disclosed. Within…

  • “We could only watch the fire. We were all the same.”

    “We could only watch the fire. We were all the same.”

    The blaze at Hong Kong’s Tai Po “Wang Fuk Court,” which spread across multiple high-rise blocks during exterior renovation work, revealed a convergence of structural vulnerabilities: flammable construction materials, malfunctioning fire alarms, and resident warnings that had gone unheeded. This tragedy raises a pressing question—why do disasters built into the system keep repeating?

  • What Do Humans Live On in the Age of AI?

    What Do Humans Live On in the Age of AI?

    A growing divide defines the AI era: while some gain new high-skill opportunities, many workers fear AI as a quiet signal of future layoffs. This essay examines Korea’s rising anxiety, global restructuring trends, and what it means for human dignity and the right to live well in a world where machines take on more human…

  • NewJeans: A Year of Defiance, Defeat, and the Return of the ‘Five’

    NewJeans: A Year of Defiance, Defeat, and the Return of the ‘Five’

    NewJeans is returning to ADOR after a year-long conflict involving lawsuits, injunctions, and internal disputes following Min Hee-jin’s dismissal. Their attempt to rebrand as “NJZ” and pursue independent activity collapsed after the court upheld ADOR’s exclusive contract through 2029. While the group’s creative identity—once shaped by Min Hee-jin—was widely praised as a breakthrough in K-pop,…

  • The 64 Koreans Who Returned from Cambodia

    The 64 Koreans Who Returned from Cambodia

    A deeper look into the repatriation of 64 Koreans from Cambodia — a story of deception, survival, and moral awakening.