From the Scene
categoryRestaurant Pyongyang: Food, Drink and Propaganda in Phnom Penh
By SmurfyStew Restaurant Pyongyang sits on busy Monivong Boulevard, in the heart of Phnom Penh. The building itself is nondescript...
Behind Shanghai’s Skyrocketing Standardized Test Scores
By Jake Reed There’s an old Chinese saying ,“it's not how clever you are but how hard you work” and...
Can’t You Hear Me Knocking? Donald Kirk on China’s Refugee Dilemma
By Donald Kirk The Chinese by now must be getting the message. How long can they pretend not to hear...
Travel Scam Artist to Face Criminal Charges March 13
By John M. Rodgers On Tuesday, March 13 at 10:40 a.m., travel agent and serial scammer, Kang Wan Koo (aka...
How to Get Justice Korean-style–Cash Only (Pt. 2)
By Lee Scott When we arrived at the police station, the minivan's owner had gone out to have dinner. They...
The Older I Get: The Bright Side of SMOE English Teacher Layoffs
By Achilles “I don’t like teaching English!” said “Sally” to the class. “Matt” said the same. And then “Lisa.” And...
Sunday Morning in Itaewon: For Whom the Hell Rolls
By The Expat This morning’s early stroll around Itaewon started out peacefully. I parked my car and walked up what...
The Korean Look Travels Well in China
By David Wills During my three years in South Korea, there wasn’t much the locals would say to me about...
How to Get Justice Korean-style–Cash Only
By Lee Scott It was a little after midnight when we heard a loud police siren coming. A black minivan...
Directing ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’–An Interview with Quinn Olbrich
By Earnest Lee Have you ever thought about how weird life can get? Hoping from one culture to another as...
Andrei Lankov on Stealing from the State to Survive in N. Korea
By Andrei Lankov The largest factory in the far northeastern city of Hoeryong is Taesong tobacco plant. It is one...
The Pvt. Fisher Case: Conflicting Statements, Shoddy Speculation and an Elusive Witness
By Jamie Grimwood and John M. Rodgers The delay in covering further aspects of PVT Fisher’s case falls into two...
Expert Travel Shut Down, Scammer Kang (aka Kim) Still out There
By Iwazaru How do you stop a scammer? You contact the police, present evidence of the scam and wait for...
What Happens When Your Korean Dragon Lady Director Goes Hunting
By Allen Smithee As you the reader knows, no teacher ever plans to end up in a failing academy. However,...
Making Kimchi with the Hong Sisters: A Tradition of Taste (Pt. 2)
By Seon-Myung Yoo At 10 p.m., when Jin-Pyo gets up to leave, his older sisters see him out to the...