Lifestyle & Culture
Concerns have been raised, especially after the country’s response to the bird flu virus a decade ago, which required World Health Organisation intervention.
While such idols were once worried their popularity would drop once they announced their love lives, fans want to see a more personal side these days.
The country hasn’t officially confirmed a single case of the deadly new coronavirus, yet shoppers are still stocking up on everything they can lay their hands on. The only question is why?
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Many in South Korea see blind dates as part of the social fabric: a rite of passage as well as a gateway to relationships and possible future marriages.
Some 100,000 Chinese students enrolled at universities in the country remain stranded in China because of travel bans intended to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus. About 6,500 studying in New Zealand are also affected.
this week in asia
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Authorities have issued condemnations amid the sharp rise in such incidents, with the country’s race discrimination commissioner urging unity and calm.
From Singapore to Indonesia, dubious claims to prevent infection are spreading on social media and chat groups.
Animals from cats to bats to snakes and monkeys are bludgeoned, torched and served to tourists at Indonesia’s ‘Tomohon Extreme Market’. Experts say in the wake of the coronavirus, it’s a hazard waiting to happen.
K-pop fan clubs are more powerful than in other musical genres and the internet is making them more powerful still. Puncturing their fantasies has a price.
As the country recorded the first virus fatality outside China on Sunday, ethnic Chinese organisations have noted an uptick in ‘racist stereotypes and xenophobic attacks’.
A new book by an Indian scholar contends that the monkey god Hanuman belonged to an extinct human species, after finding that he and his companions inhabited a ‘distinctive’ human culture.
In South Korea, Confucian culture has resulted in a clash between societal beliefs and the needs of families.
The case is the latest instance of a Westerner being imprisoned or blacklisted on charges ranging from ‘visa violations’ to ‘espionage’.
True gender equality in the kingdom remains a long way off, with concerns including the male guardianship system and treatment of female rights activists.
Many of Thailand’s soap operas are based on patriarchal novels which have scenes of rape and sexual violence against women.
New series ‘The Ghost Bride’ airbrushes the wonderful hybridity that characterised colonial Malacca, a melting pot of cultures, faiths and languages.
Yang, married to Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, last week spoke up about her sexual assault by a gynaecologist.
The ageing population of huaqiao in Korea fear the end of the ‘good old days’ as a new generation loses interest in Lunar New year traditions. Except, that is, for cash-filled red envelopes.
A top Islamic cleric has called on Indonesians to monitor the streaming giant for ‘negative content’, promising swift action against reported transgressions.