[HanCinema's Digest] Culture Corner

CNBC explores how South Korea came to be a global cultural superpower, read a Master's paper on LGBT attitudes in Korea, the mascots for the 2018 Olympic Games is revealed, and why are tattoos still illegal in Korea?

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"From K-Pop to fried chicken: How South Korea became a trendsetter"

CNBC explores how South Korea become an international trendsetter, from K-Pop to chicken! From celebrity endorsements, international expansion, innovation, and localisation, find out how South Korea managed to become the cultural superpower it is today?

...READ ON CNBC

"South Korean University Students' Attitudes toward Homosexuality and LGBT Issues"

The topic of LGBT is a global human rights issue, and it's important that we come to understand the details moving forward, so this week I wanted to share little academia in the form of a timely Master's Thesis by Kata R. Naaranja: "My interest in this depressing topic stems from personal experience. Regardless, as I have often found myself telling my colleagues, Korea is eventually going to change, which in my opinion is a hopeful but also a truthful notion. Personally, I would like to believe that once the discussion regarding sexual minority rights has been started, it cannot be stopped. And as it happens, Koreans have started talking".

...READ ON THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

"South Korean Olympic organizers reveal mascot for 2018 Games"

South Korea recently revealed its mascot for the upcoming 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics: Soohorang and Bandabi: "Soohorang, created by South Korean designers, was picked as the mascot because Koreans have long equated the shape of the Korean Peninsula to the shape of a tiger, the committee said. White tigers are also considered as guardian animals in Korean folklore. Bandabi was picked as the Paralympic mascot because bears to Koreans represent strong will and courage, and also because the Asian black bear is the symbolic animal of the Gangwon Province, the region that governs Pyeongchang, the committee said". Cute!

...READ ON USA TODAY

"The illegal tattooists of South Korea"

Believe it or not, tattoos are illegal in Korea, but that hasn't stopped many people from getting inked, either outside the country, or quietly within. "[I]n South Korea, tattoos remain truly rooted in the counter-cultural underground, even as they increase in popularity amongst younger generations. The reason? Tattoos are still illegal unless performed by licensed medical professionals. Those without a licence are usually punished by hefty fines". Ouch!

...READ ON WORLD TRAVEL GUIDE