Korea

We knew that many use Starbucks as an office. In South Korea they lead to the printer, and the chain has said enough

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Enter a Starbucks store and meet several people installed with your laptop It is no novelty. The spacious tables, the plugs available, the air conditioning and, of course, the coffee, make these premises a habitual shelter for students and remote workers. A printer on the table. A cardboard separator to isolate itself from the world. A strip to plug laptop, mobile and tablet at the same time. All this has been seen – and is still seen – in some South Korea Starbucks. The phenomenon has shot, and therefore, the chain has decided to intervene. New standards in South Korea. The new regulation is clear: no printers, multi -mitoms or accessories that convert the premises into a portable office. This is what The Korea Herald collects itwhich adds that it is also not allowed to occupy several chairs or leave belongings for hours to “reserve” table. The original poster (left), the translation of Google Lens (right) From this week, employees have instructions to warn those who fail these guidelines. The measure communicates with a poster that already decorates dozens of stores in the country. And although the message is illustrated with a smiling bear, the background has nothing tender. What does it mean to be a 카공족. In South Korea, 카공족 It is the name that receives “the tribe that studies in coffee.” The term combines the words 카페 (cafeteria) and 공부 (study), and is used to describe those who spend hours working or reviewing notes in premises such as Starbucks. What began as a practical and punctual solution has become such a widespread custom that now raises a dilemma: is it a legitimate use of space or silent abuse of the common environment? The social reaction. The Donga Ilbo medium collects The testimony of Professor Seo Kyung-Duk, from the Sungshin Women’s University, who shared the image of the computer equipment with the cardboard separator: “It looks like a private office.” SEgún explainedeven the foreigner who accompanied him was bewildered: “How can anyone mark their territory in a public place like a cafeteria?” He asked, surprised. Some of the images that account for 카공족 in South Korea The author of the photo explained that this person did not return in all the time he remained in the store: “I spent three hours there and did not return once,” he said. Meanwhile, Asia Economy echoed some Of the most repeated reactions among users: “There is not even room to have coffee because of the 카공족,” said a person. Another ironized: “They leave their things and they will eat … is this a ‘Study Café’ or what?” Why have Starbucks Korea acted now? Starbucks has not acted in whim. According to the company, what is at stake is the collective experience. When a large table is occupied for hours by a single person, or when a client is absent leaving their objects as a reservation, the balance between those who enter, consume and leave, and those who turn the place into a personal office. There is also a commercial logic. Maintaining rotation is key in a business where each table counts. If someone occupies a seat for four hours with a single coffee, the impact is not anecdotal. If not, tell the owners of coffees in Barcelona, They are applying their own formula “anti occupies terraces”. Images | Athar Khan | 서경덕 (Via Donga Ilbo) In Xataka | We already know who is going to drink all the coffee that Brazil will not export to the US for the tariffs: China

We knew that North Korea has been infiltrating workers in companies in the West. Now we know how they do

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North Korea has been infiltrating teleworkors with false identities in United States companies. After that country became more hostile, the actor’s attention turned to Europe. According to the FBI, the Department of Justice and Googlewhat these employees pursue is to get income to finance the North Korea Nuclear Program. He modus operandi It was a great unknown. Until now. A framework without any improvisation. A cybersecurity researcher who responds to the name of Sttyk It was made with a database that has shown the environment Wired. The files include, according to Sttyk, “dozens of data gigabytes” and “thousands of emails.” From this information an organized workers’ structure is extracted in twelve groups, which in turn have approximately other twelve members. They respond to a general “master boss.” Organization in spreadsheets. The group works using the Slack communication tool, Google, Github and spreadsheets accounts. In the latter, an exhaustive follow -up of the works and the progress of the objectives, both economic and strategic, is made. They even collect the needs of specific jobs (required programming languages) of the companies to attack and their locations, with a record of whether there have been contact with the companies or progress of the process. How they get work. A few days ago, the BBC collected Jin-Su’s testimonya false North Korean teleworking that managed to defect. He said that most of the time of his work focused on acquiring fraudulent identities to request work. He went through Chinese, but aware that he needed Western identities, more attractive to the labor market, he got identities of people from Hungary, Türkiye or the United Kingdom. From there, the most involved workers in the process of getting work are the ones who most dominate English, although the fact that communications with technology companies are done by platforms such as Slack helps a lot. Also that many interviews are not made face to face, although that can be reversed with the proliferation of interviews made with artificial intelligence. Researchers have found identical curriculum among the suspects of being false workers. What jobs do they point to. We knew that false teleworkors were looking for employment in technology companies. The filtration is confirmed and limited to the areas: artificial intelligence, blockchain, Bots development, web development and mobile apps and desktop, CMS development, etc. The question of income. Jin-Su said that several works between the United States and Europe, earned about $ 5,000 per month. From what I entered, I had to pay 85% to North Korea, and even so, he said “it is much better than when we were in North Korea.” According to a United Nations report in March 2024, workers manage to generate between 250 and 600 million euros per year for their country of origin. The money they retain has a lot of value when they return to their country (many work from Russia or China, where they have more freedom), so the reasons for dropout lose weight. In parallel to this group of teleworkors operate the hackers that They steal cryptocurrencies To pass at the hands of the regime. Only in a blow in March this year they got 1,500 million, but in December 2024 they accumulated Other 1.3 billion in 47 blows. Working conditions that scare. The filtration presents a scenario that, although better than the one in North Korea, is nothing flattering for the workers involved in the plot. According to a Slack recording, the boss’s account stated in a message that “everyone should work more than at least 14 hours a day.” Although it sounds a lot, it does not perform from the model of some Silicon Valley companies or of the Elon Musk vision and its 120 hours per week. Images | Kremlin and Altumcode in Unspash In Xataka | Now we know everything that the new North Korea resort offers for 2,000 dollars. There is only one rule: be Russian

Now we know everything that the new North Korea resort offers for 2,000 dollars. There is only one rule: be Russian

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The first time we listened to the idea there was talk of setting up a Benidorm species North Korean version. That first outline mutated until woning already North Korea in a holiday place. The doubt since then, and more after Its inaugurationIt was knowing what attractions this resort had in one of the most isolated enclaves in the world, and what guests would go to the call. All that and something else has just known. Exclusivity and Russians. I told this week The journal wallstreet through a trip that has lasted seven days. The coastal complex by Wonsan Kalmaone of Kim Jong’s emblematic projects to exhibit an image of modernity and prosperity in North Korea, opened its doors to foreign visitors for the first timealthough very selectively: Russian citizens could only access. Conceived in 2018 and announced by the leader himself in his New Year speechthe project was inspired by leisure destinations Like Benidormwith plans for hotels of high height, casino, shopping centers and an aquatic park. According to the Official propagandait is a sample of the “policy centered in the people” and the large investments of the regime in social welfare, although satellite images show that a good part remains unfinished. Pompa and reopening. The partial reopening of borders In Februaryafter the total closure by the pandemic, it has served at the same time to strengthen cooperation political and military With Moscow, in a context in which Kim has promised Unconditional support to the Russian war against Ukraine. The Journal told that the inaugural visit of 13 Russian tourists It coincided With the arrival of Foreign Minister Serguéi Lavrov, housed in the best hotel and personally received by Kim on his private yacht. Experiences. The group of the first visitors, composed of experienced travelers and High purchasing powerhe started his tour with three days in Pyongyang before moving to Wonsan. Although the initial plan was to fly, they were redirected on a 10 -hour train trip to cover the 120 kilometers to the eastern coast, a change attributed to preparations for the preparations for the Arrival of Lavrov. Once at the resort, they met deserted beachesan extremely attentive service and disposal of the staff to satisfy any request, from preparing custom breakfasts to deliver chairs and speakers in the sand. And more. The beaches, apparently, They are segregated For premises and foreigners, the aquatic park remains closed to the latter and payments are made with recharged electronic bracelets only in dollars, euros or yuan. Prices ranged from 60 cents of a beer and the $ 465 of a model of a HWASong-17 missilewhile some activities, such as the use of aquatic motorcycles or quads, were free due to the absence of fixed rates. The visitors claimed to have enjoyed an unusual freedom to take photographs, documenting curiosities such as imported Heineken beer, war toys and buses with propaganda slogans. Of inside doors. The Arrival of Lavrov It altered the routine of the complex, which was filled with North Korean visitors apparently belonging to the elite, identifiable by its careful clothing and latest generation mobiles, something uncommon in the country. More. The hotel staff apparently showed behaviors that They surprised to tourists, such as ignoring “not disturbing” posters or reducing the temperature of hot water without consent. In a striking episode, the medium that dozens of North Koreans were equipped with swimsuits And they threw themselves into the sea next to the Russian visitors, including the group’s own guide, who did not know how to swim and spent hours clinging to one of them. Objectives and projection. What’s doubt, Wonsan Kalma It is not only an leisure center, but a propaganda instrument that the regime uses to demonstrate that it can offer luxury and recreation despite international sanctions and internal precariousness. In the domestic sphere, access to North Koreans is expected to be used as Loyalty Award Politics, reinforcing the official narrative of prosperity under the direction of Kim. The initial restriction of Russian visitors underlines the narrow tune strategic with Moscow and adds an element of exclusivity that enhances its symbolic value. In this way, experts point out that attracting international tourism in volume It will be difficultsince most travelers interested in North Korea seek their capital, their ideological monuments and military enclaves, Not a vacation on its beaches. It does not seem to import much in Pyongyang, where the regime plans to receive a second group of Russian tourists shortly, using Wonsan as a showcase of his political alliance and as an outgoing exterior. A place where the hospitality and the staging reinforce the message that, even under sanctions, North Korea can offer experiences that it intends to present as exclusive and luxurious. Image | Clay Gilliland, Heute In Xataka | North Korea has built a resort so great that it now faces another problem: find tourists to fill it In Xataka | After years with its closed borders, North Korea has opened to foreign tourism. The price: more than $ 600

The speakers with which “bombarded” North Korea have disappeared

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South Korea wants to relax the tensions with their neighbors of North Korea. It is demonstrated by the symbolic decision of dismantle giant speakers that he had installed a few months ago and that they served for an unusual purpose: “bombard” to North Korea with K-pop at full volume. Will that gesture of something serve? The Korean conflict. The Korean division that the US and Russia defined after World War II caused the beginning of the Korean conflict, which is still in force since 1948, when both countries created separate governments. That division ended up causing the war of Korea (1950-1953) in which both countries losing and unleashed a definitive division between North Korea and South Korea. Since then, above all, tension. A lot of tension. Constant reprisals. The relationship between the two countries began to become more problematic when last summer South Korea received A rain of balloons loaded with garbage. This country did not stay still, and replied by sending propaganda drones which in turn generated two very different reprisals. From noise to K-Pop. First, North Korea described his neighbor as a “hostile state” in its constitution. And second, “bombing” to South Korea with unbearable noises for 24 hours in border areas. Although these types of measures seem unusual, they are actually a kind of psychological attack that is being used From the aforementioned Korea War. Be that as it may, South Korea responded again with a creative variant: he installed giant speakers on his border with North Korea and began to Put K-pop songs at full volume. White flag. But in June, in a sudden turn of events, South Korea decided to turn off the speakers of propaganda that transmitted both those songs and ideological messages. The decision was made by the New President Surcoreano, Lee Jae-Myung, who since his inauguration has shown a much more appeaser profile than his predecessor, a battalist Yoon Suk Yeol who had no problem that the tension rose level in the Korean conflict. North Korea adds to the gesture. In his first public speech Lee made clear that he intended to initiate a dialogue with his archienemigo, North Korea, to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. Turning off the speakers was also a gesture that – sortingly – had an immediate response: North Korea also stopped broadcasting strident noises in the border speakers that he had launched months ago. The activists of both countries, yes, maintained the tension. While the south They sent balloons Loaded with critical pamphlets to Pyongyang, from the north they replied with balloons Full of plillas and garbage. President Lee has already asked Stop shaking the tension With those propaganda shipments. Disassembling the speakers. After that “sound truce”, South Korea has taken a new step, and they have begun to disassemble giant speakers They were installed to broadcast K-pop music at full volume. Lee Kyung-Ho, spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Defense, explained that this was a “practical measure that can help soften interorean tensions without affecting military preparatory.” North Korea continues in his thirteen. Despite this gesture, in Pyongyang they do not seem intention to bring positions. Kim Yo Jong, sister of the Korean leader, Indian Last week that “blind trust” of Seoul in his alliance with the US made the new administration for North Korea not different from that of his predecessor. North Korea seems to be especially concerned about strengthen your relationship With Russia, with which he is collaborating in the war in Ukraineand is in no hurry to soften relations with South Korea. And South Korea, for his perhaps, warns. Although the measure is a clear symbol of Lee’s intention to relax the tension, the South Korean president highlighted that “the army maintains a constant high level of preparation.” Or what is the same: they pray for the best, but they are prepared for the worst. Restore trust. South Korea Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young, explained that there were no similar movements on the other side of the border, but for them this was “the right step.” In addition, he added, “ultimately, the key issue between the two Koreas at this time is to restore confidence, which has been completely lost. I consider that this is a step towards reconstruction of that trust. Image | Firstpost In Xataka | Russia is beginning to run out of the weapons inherited from the USSR. So he is pulling those of North Korea

Russia is beginning to run out of the weapons inherited from the USSR. So he is pulling those of North Korea

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The vast Soviet arsenals that Russia used at the beginning of her invasion of Ukraine They are running out. According to An analysis From the Institute of the kyiv Economy School, shipments from the main Russian military stores have plummeted: from 242,000 tons in 2022 to about 119,000 tons planned by 2025, practically the levels prior to the conflict. The context of the problem. For decades, Russia maintained huge armament deposits Inherited from the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Moscow handed off these stocks to quickly equip their forces. T-72 and T-80 tanks of the 70s were reconditioned and sent to the front. Even some T-54, who entered production in the late 40s, have seen fight in Ukrainian territory. The current reality. He analysis It reveals that the best quality equipment and easier restoration was the first to be mobilized. Pavlo Shkurenko, an institute analyst, explains that now “Russia is sending less material for reconditioning and repair than we know they can handle repair stations.” This fall would suggest that the reserves have dropped the level significantly. The desperate solution. To compensate for this shortage, the Kremlin He has massively resorted to his Asian allies. The data show that 52% of the shipments marked as “explosive materials” towards the Russian arsenales in 2024 came from Nakhodka, a port in the sea of Japan used by North Korea. These shipments went from zero before the war to 250,000 tons in 2024. According to Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, 40% of all Russian ammunition now comes from Pyongyang. Beyond North Korea. He analysis It also identifies about 13,000 tons of explosive material that, due to its entrance point near the Caspian Sea, probably come from Iran. Meanwhile, China has become the key supplier of the Russian defense industry, even if it does not send direct military aid. Shipments from the Eastern Border Regions of Russia towards military production centers have almost doubled since 2021, exceeding 3 million tons. The strategic dilemma. A priori, it seems a lie that Russia depends both on its external partners, especially considering that they want to breastfeed their self -sufficient image. Franz-Stefan Gady, Viennese military analyst, suggests that Moscow is using North Korean ammunition to maintain the rhythm of fire on the front while reserving higher quality Russian ammunition for possible future conflicts with NATO. What is coming. Russia plans to invest huge sums In rearme futurebut its current situation exposes the limitations of its local military capacity. The war that Putin imagined as a demonstration of force has become a resistance test in which he has ended up depending on allies and an increasing economic cost. Cover image | Kremlin In Xataka | We already know what Russia’s trick is to multiply its drones: it is called “cooling units” and comes direct from China

North Korea is transforming its army into the Ukraine War. And the strangest thing is the response of South Korea

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Russia and North Korea confirmed In April an open secret: that Pyongyang It is cooperating With Moscow in the War of Ukraine at various levelsincluding from troops to military arsenal. In return, Russia is giving North Korea what longs for: a functional army and a military capacity that could represent a challenge to global strategic balance. Thus, the strangest thing is the position of South Korea. Seoul’s silence. I remembered this week The Guardian. Although South Korea reacted rapidly to condemn the launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea in May, his government kept absolute silence when a KN-23 missile North Korean (designed precisely to attack South Korean objectives) hit a residential building in kyiv, Killing 12 civilians. That omission was not an isolated case: there was no answer when Russia displayed An anti -aircraft system To protect Pyongyang, or when it was learned that Russian instructors They were training to North Korean drones operators in their own territory. All this points, According to analyststo a disturbing lack of understanding by Seoul about the scope of the military transformation that is experiencing North Korea, a fed transformation not (alone) into theoretical exercises, but in the real crucible of war in Ukraine. A metamorphosis. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, North Korea supplies 40% of ammunition that Russia uses in its offensive against Ukraine. In parallel, Pyongyang has accelerated its own arms production and has sent an initial contingent of 12,000 soldiers to the Russian region of Kursk, a figure that has grown with another 6,000 troopsmilitary engineers, bridge experts and railways, logistics staff, military police, electricians and even interpreters. Although officially these soldiers unfold in reconstruction tasks, the real gain for Kim Jong-un lies in what their troops They are learning: Modern War, Coordination of Combined Weapons, Management of Recognition and Attack Drones, Electronic War and Technological Systems unknown so far for its Army. And more. Moscow’s support has also been translated into Technology Transfersincluding improvements in the precision of KN-23 ballistic missilesalready used against urban centers such as Járkov. According to Ukrainian intelligence, North Korean soldiers captured They revealed such an extreme ideologization that they tried to commit suicide biting their own veins to avoid being interrogated. One of them proudly said would return to your country as a hero for having fought in a modern war. Political calculation It is the other leg that slides. While Zelenski warns directly To South Korea that the time to act is now, before thousands of North Korean missiles and improved drones begin to threaten Seoul or Tokyo, the South Korean authorities seem look. The posture, According to expert Yang Ukresponds to a delicate balance Between strategy, internal policy and economic considerations. The reason? Openly recognize the danger of North Korean rearmament and his experience in combat would imply have to answer With firm measures (including perhaps sending weapons to Ukraine), something deeply unpopular among the South Korean population. In addition, Lee Jae Myung’s government is committed to a pragmatic foreign policy focused on economic recovery, in a context where Russia was one of its main commercial partners before war. On the political level, the South Korean ideological division revolves around the position against the north: while the right insists on the rearme and the hardening of the defense, the left Defend the dialogue And he maintains that South Korea has no obligation with Ukraine. The recent political crisis derived from the attempt of declare martial law He has left many officials reluctant to expose themselves publicly or make decisions that may be subject to political attacks. Between ambiguity and paralysis. If you want, Seoul’s hermeticism can be understood as an extension of its traditional “strategic ambiguity”, an unwritten doctrine of not getting involved in international conflicts that may put their own relations with key actors such as China or Russia at risk. However, some analysts warn that this position is staying dangerously outdated Faced with threats that evolve in months while military bureaucracy continues to work with planning times that require years. Godzilla level. He told the Guardian The retired general Chun In-bum that South Korea faces a threat comparable to a “level 10, super Godzilla”, but his institutional apparatus still acts as if only saw a tiger. In his opinion, the South Korean military doctrine remains anchored in a paradigm prior to the era of drones and is not adapted to face an adversary that is assimilating, In real timethe lessons of the most brutal conflict of the 21st century. From its point of view, the country is in front of a train that approaches at full speed, and is still in time to move or prepare, but not for much more. Reconfigured future. In short, the Military cooperation Public between Russia and North Korea is already leaving a mark on the Asian power structure. Moscow is integrating Pyongyang into its logistics chain and long -term supplies, in an alliance that could alter regional military balance even after the war ends in Ukraine. Meanwhile, South Korea seems willing to Keep observing From the barrier, trapped between fear of conflict, economic calculation and a political class immobilized by polarization. The problem is that northern neighbors seem to be gaining experience, technology and internal prestige to full machine for his role in a real war. And in that scenario, the question no longer points to whether that experience will turn against Seoul, but rather when. Image | Morning Calm, Getharchive In Xataka | North Korea has been sending armament for months to Russia. In return, Russia is giving him what longs for her: a functional army In Xataka | Russia gave animals, artillery and raw to North Korea. His last gift places his army at another level: space

The Xiaomi Su7 has surprised the entire industry. So much that Hyundai is taking them to Korea to inspect them

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A Xiaomi Su7 Max It has been sighted being transported to the Hyundai offices in Seoul. It has been caught since it carried a provisional research registration. As affirms The South Korean medium Bloter, Hyundai has imported several units of Chinese electric Berlin to analyze them in depth in their R&D centers. Xiaomi is hoarding great success In the world of motor racing with its latest proposals and everything indicates that the South Korean firm seeks to decipher the keys to the success of a model that has revolutionized the market. Hyundai also asks the question. Su7 has become the phenomenon of the year in the world of electric car. Xiaomi has achieved something that seemed impossible: to match the performance of a Porsche Taycan in a car that costs significantly less. With more than 300,000 units sold in just 15 months and The nürburgring record For a production electric, the Chinese model is raising blisters in traditional manufacturers. Su7 Max being carried by a truck to the Hyundai Research Center. Image: Weibo A car to investigate. The South Korean company You will transfer the units acquired to your research center Namyang in Hwaseong and his Seoul headquarters to submit them to an exhaustive analysis. In the reverse engineering process they seek to understand every technical aspect of the vehicle, from its electrical architecture to its Hyperos infotainment system, inherited from Xiaomi’s experience in smartphones. What interests most. Hyundai engineers will pay special attention to the user interface and the SU7 entertainment system, which They have been compared Favorably with Bluelink Connect of the Korean brand. Xiaomi has a great career in the software of its phones, and its work in the SU7 has been so prominent that it has become one of the aspects most valued by users and experts in the sector. A generalized concern. The Chinese advance in the automobile sector is sitting like a jug of cold water to traditional manufacturers. Euisun Chung, executive president of the Hyundai group, already He warned In an internal meeting that “there are inevitable challenges ahead”, clearly referring to competitors such as Byd and Xiaomi. Hyundai’s investment in this segment has grown 15% in the last year, reaching 32.4 billion dollars. And now what. With an expected investment of 17.6 billion dollars by 2025, almost half aimed at R&D, the company seeks to maintain its competitive position in a market where the rules of the game They are changing at a dizzying speed. Although SU7 will not officially reach Europe until 2027, its influence is already predicting an earthquake in the sector. Cover image | Xiaomi In Xataka | Xiaomi will try to repeat in 2027 what worked with mobile phones: that Europeans forget that they need expensive cars

South Korea has been celebrating its particular “bullfights”. And now he faces the same dilemma as Spain

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Spain is not the only country that debate the future of bulls. More than 10,000 kilometers away, in South Korea, politicians, animalists and livestock are engaged in a similar discussion: yes or no to the runs? There the shows are not exactly equal to those of Spain, there are no bullfighters as such, no light costumes, nor picadores or flags, but competitions based basically on violence and on which It is not strange that animals end up bleeding. Perhaps South Korea is far away and its cultural tradition is different from ours, but The debate that is cooked in his society is not so different from that of Spain. Bulls in South Korea? Exact. South Korea may be known for its technology, The K-Popits gastronomy and (sadly) a demographic crisis record, but it is also a bull country. At least it is part of its territory, such as CheongdoGyeongsang del Norte, where there is a bullfighting stadium with capacity for thousands of people and that each spring welcomes A festival Very popular in the region. It is not a novelty or a fashion. In local folklore are references to runs dating at least of the 16th century. And how are they? Quite different from what we are used to seeing in Spain. South Korea presume that, unlike what happens in many other countries, including Spain, in its places animals do not die. Nor do people who deal with them. The reason is that the show has Little to see With ours. There is sand and a square, but in it a bullfighter and a bull are not measured, but two bulls that face each other, sometimes hired by their owners with the help of rings that are stuck when the young have Just half a year. And when does it end? The fight ends when one of the animals turns around and shows its back to the opponent in retirement, without the need for any opponents to end up sacrificed. The show is somewhat unpredictable, although it usually adjusts to some guidelines. As needed Korea Heraldthe usual thing is that the game lasts about 30 minutes and divided into six assaults, half a dozen “acts” during which bulls are rammed with each other. “In Spain it is a game between a human and a bull and in the end the bull dies. In Korea we are proud of not killing him and never dies in a fight,” claims The mayor of Cheongdo, Lee Seung-Yool, in an interview with NPR. “We simply let them express themselves and when one loses the forces he turns around and shows the spine. The bull says he has finished and the fight concludes.” Perfect then? It depends on who you ask. As is the case In Spain or Other countriesin Korea it has emerged The debate whether or not they should be kept around Cheongdo. The reason? Their detractors are convinced that it is a clear case of animal abuse, that the bulls suffer in the runs and the show is harmful to the little ones. Its defenders They hold However, bulls are care and its fights are a South Korean tradition. A percentage: 40%. To support their position, the first (critics with runs) take advantage of a series of studies. One of themprepared by Animal Liberation Wave and Last Chance for Animals (LCA), suggests that bulls are often reluctant to participate in fights. According to their data, of 131 runs organized between February and June in several counties of the country, 54 ended up canceled or shortened because the animals refused to collaborate in the show. “The fact that 40% of bulls flatly reject the struggle and the rest require coercion shows that it is a form of abuse,” reason Kim Doh-Hui, from one of the associations. Sometimes the farmers cause the struggles by pulling strongly from the rings, which, as the animalists have verified, in some cases derives in serious nasal trauma. Animal Liberation Wave has also made A survey which shows that 70% of respondents are concerned about bets that revolve around runs and 62.1% believe that children and adolescents should not see them. The study was done in the southeast region, with a greater ragame of bullfighting. Another report It reveals that 77 fights, 48 ended with the animals bleeding. To those data, animalists add A final reflection: Modern shows are “a form of entertainment for profit disguise of tradition.” “It’s an ancient tradition”. The thing changes if we talk to the defenders of the runs. Lee Kang-Min, an amateur who has been going to Cheongdo for years explained Recently, NPR that bulls are “an ancient tradition” of the nation and sees nothing unnatural in the shows. “The bulls fight when they take them to graze. The fights then became part of our culture.” Around the games there is also a lucrative business: that of bets, which as clarified The chain can develop legally, although with limited amounts. From the street to politics. The debate in Korea has achieved sufficient impact so that it can be followed through national media, but also foreigners, such as The New York Times either The Economistand has crystallized in concrete initiatives. Those who advocate ending the runs have launched a signature collection campaign that already exceeds the 45,000 supportsabout the 50,000 necessary for Parliament to review the proposal. Some municipalities have already chosen to stop financing shows with bulls. South Korea has a law of animal protection that dates back in the early 90s and prohibits hurting animals for entertainment, but leaves the activities that can be considered “folk games” out of that umbrella. Images | Last Chance for Animals (LCA) In Xataka | The great dilemma of South Korea: in an increasingly aging country to become old is a condemnation of poverty

In South Korea there are parents voluntary in cells. There is a word that explains it: “Hikikomori”

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Jin Young-Hae is a fictional name. Your story is not. Last year this South Korean mother explained to the BBC Under the condition of the anonymity what has led him to – in a totally voluntary way – a blue monkey and spend hours and more hours held in a tiny, austere cell, not much greater than a closet and in which he did not have a company, mobile, or portable spent hours. Alone, with your thoughts. The only link with the outside from his peculiar prison was the small hole open at the door through which he was given food. Sounds strange, but there is a word that explains it: Hikikomori. Objective: to isolate yourself from the world. The choice of Mrs. Jin may seem extravagant, but she is not the only one who has made a similar decision in South Korea. BBC has spoken with other inmates and voluntary inmates. In addition to demanding anonymity, they all share two fundamental characteristics. The first, who are parents of young people who are between adolescence and thirty. The second, which have decided to participate in a special program that keeps them held during a brief period in isolation cells. And this last word can be understood in its most literal sense. Jin and the rest of the participants are housed in tiny habitats to which they cannot take or mobile phones. But … why? To understand. Jin or Park Han-Sil, another pseudonyms used by BBC to tell a real case, are mothers of South Korean youth who share another peculiarity: they have been isolated from the world. Jin is the mother of a 24 -year -old who lives withdrawn in his room, neglecting his cleaning and food. Park has a little older, 26 years old, who has already decided to cut all communication with society. Now he barely leaves his room and refuses to take the medication that doctors have scheduled. When voluntary, ladies Jin or Park try to better understand their offspring, put themselves into their skin in an extreme way and especially look for tools to communicate better with them. “I’ve been wondering what I did wrong … it’s painful,” Jin admits50 years. Now, and after passing through the cell, he claims to have “some clarity.” Park also recognizes that isolation has helped him understand the feelings of his offspring. “I have realized that it is important to accept his life without forcing him to fit into a specific mold.” “Confinement experience”. Neither Park nor Jin decided to be a good day in their homes, improvised. His have been planned experiences and the isolation have been done in the Happiness Factory rooms, where the inmates They arrive to experiment in their flesh the “confinement”. For this they can dress a uniform, leave their phones and laptops and be held in bare wall cells, without company. The BBC clarifies That since April there are other parents who have been participating in a 13 -week special education program funded by organizations such as Fundación for the Youth of Korea or the Blue Whale Recovery Center. The program has a clear, and complicated objective: show these fathers and mothers how to communicate better with their children. To this end, it includes a peculiar experience, a three -day period during which participants spend time in rooms in the province of Gangwon that replicate an isolation cell. The keyword: Hikikomori. Jin and Park are mothers of Hikikomoria term coined in Japan already decades ago and that identifies young people who at a certain time of their lives decide to be disturbed almost completely, cutting contact with the world that opens beyond their homes or rooms. The phenomenon is not new, but serious. At least according to the estimates that the authorities handle. Not long ago, the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea conducted a survey between 15,000 young people between 19 and 34 years old and discovered that More than 5% They lived in isolation. If these figures move to the country as a whole, they would show that in South Korea there are hundreds of thousands of people in a similar situation: just over half a million (540,000). Understanding isolation. The program confesses Park, allows the parents of these young people to better understand the reason for seclusion. To her, for example, reading notes written by others Hikikomori He helped him understand his own son’s silences. The South Korean government also has studies that help become a clear idea of ​​the phenomenon of isolation among young people without going through an experience like Hapiness Factory. A study by the South Korean Ministry of Health reflects that 24.1% of young people between 19 and 34 years old who deconciate from the world do so by difficulties in finding work, 23.5% due to problems to relate and 24.8% due to family or health issues. Of backdrop is The competitive society Surcoreana, where from a very young age parents take their children to academies to end up accessing the most prestigious universities in the country. South Korea also stands out for its Work Days marathon. Concern beyond home. The one of Hikikomori It is a phenomenon serious enough to generate concern beyond families. In 2023 the government came to launch A campaign To encourage solitary young people to leave home and “reintegrate into society”, for which he did not hesitate to offer 450 euros designed for young people up to 24 years. Then there was talk that in the country there would be hundreds of thousands of people living in isolation. The advantages of a pause. The mothers and fathers of Hikikomori They are not the only ones in South Korea who seek voluntary isolation. In the country there are those who decide to confine themselves on their own choice, paying even hundreds of euros in exchange for the experience, simply to take a respite from their busy routines. The CBC chain told in 2018, which The case said From Suk-Won Kang, … Read more

If China attacks Taiwan, Russia and North Korea will also do so … but to Europe

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An interview of the New York Times It has opened the possibility of a scenario that concerns a large number of nations. NATO general secretary Mark Rutte, explained The closest thing to a chess board where the movement of a key piece produced a geopolitical earthquake of extraordinary dimensions, according to the leader, everything would begin if China finally decides Attack Taiwan. What would come later would be the closest thing to world war. The context. The extensive interview He came to a key point: the fear of an escalation of Chinese military intervention on the island of Taiwan It has increased drastically He launched his invasion On a large scale of Ukraine. The approach: the war has served as possible model How both taipéi and the international community could answer if Beijing decides to invade. Of course, Rutte took the opportunity to spread the message we listen to incessantly: rearmamentbut from a disturbing perspective. Routte word. “There is more and more awareness, and let’s not be naive about it: if xi jinping attack Taiwan, he would first make sure his smallest partner in all this, Vladimir Putin, and say: ‘Hey, I will do this and I need you to keep them occupied in Europe attacking NATO territory’”, Routte declared. “It is very likely that this is how this advances. And to dissuade them, we need to do two things. One is that it, collectively, is so strong that the Russians never do it. And the second, collaborate with the Indo -Pacific, something that President Trump is promoting vehemently,” added. The strategic clamp. We have coming counting These months. As the military pressure China on Taiwan reaches levels unprecedentedthat key date of 2027 It is glimpsed on the horizon and, meanwhile, Western strategists begin to fear a more gloomy scenario: than Beijing, when launched into an eventual invasion of the island, activate its Russian partner to open a second front in Europe. That was about Rutte’s wordsthat this coordination would not be an improvised act, but a deliberate play. They remembered the Analysts on Twz That, although it seems alarmist, the warning fits with the growing alignment between Moscow and Beijing, which not only share strategic interests, but also reinforce each other in their respective wars: Russia with Chinese technical support in Ukraine, and China benefiting from the distraction that represents the European conflict for US military resources. NATO troops The 2027 horizon. A few months ago We point that Western intelligence reports agree that both China and Russia would be working with similar temporal horizons. Xi Jinping would have ordered the EPL armed forces to be ready to Take Taiwan in 2027a period supported For the CIA and by The statements of the then head of the IndoPacom, when talking about the call “Davidson Window.” In turn, the Rutte ownas well as high controls military from Germany and Ukraine, they argue that Russia could reconstitute your abilities To attack NATO territory Towards 2029. That is, by the end of this decade, both powers would be (it does not mean that it will be so) in technical and logistics conditions to open A double front which would test the American reaction capacity. In practice, this would mean that any Chinese offensive on Taiwan It could coincide With a Russian offensive on the eastern flank of Europe, forcing the United States to divide its resources between two simultaneous war theaters. Pressures on Taiwan. The United States Indo-Pacific Command data (INDOPACOM) leaves no doubt: Chinese military pressure on Taiwan has Increased 300% Annual, with Naval maneuversexercises amphibians, drills landing, rocket and operations releases of aircraft carriers Around the island. Admiral Samuel Paparo warned of a “boiling point” that could crystallize in a real operation if Beijing considers that Washington is too dispersed to respond effectively. Although some analysts consider unlikely that Russia is ready Right to attack NATO, others recognize that even a credible threat or hybrid war actions could force the United States to mobilize resources preventively. And the simple expectation of conflict would already be enough to dilute the American response capacity in the Pacific. Iran and North Korea. Beyond Russia, experts agree that China has other “saturation actors” to divert US attention and media. The recent offensive With B-2 Spirit bombings on Iranian nuclear facilities, it shows that Washington already has part of its arsenal committed in the Middle East. The maintenance of Two groups of aircraft carriers In the region, along with the sustained war Against the hutis In Yemen and the constant tension with Iran, they already suppose a drainage considerable operation. To this is added the latent threat North Koreawhose structural dependence on China makes it a strategic pawn willing to sow chaos if Beijing demands it. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow would have to launch into a total war: it would be enough with actions of “Gray Zone” Sufficiently to force a reaction from the United States and its allies, dispersing strength, anticipating conflicts and undermining the logistics and tactical concentration that would require a Taiwan effective defense. Wear strategy. The key to the scenario that is emerging is not in the immediate brute force, but in asymmetric deterrence. China knows that a Taiwan invasion is not simply a military operation, but a total geostrategic bet. To have any chance of success, It must guarantee that the United States cannot concentrate your forces quickly in the region. Russia, North Korea and even latent conflicts in the Middle East are part of this architecture. In that context, a weakened, distracted or forced to defend their eastern flank while Washington has to operate on several fronts, would offer the “Window of opportunity” that Beijing needs. Hence the revitalization of the European rearmethe reinforcement of the Defenses in Finland and Poland, and the Increase in spending Military in almost all the countries of the Alliance, are not only reactive measures against Russia, but essential elements of the strategy to also deter China. Washington and unpredictable deterrence. The Trump … Read more

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