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☆ A China ‘spending boom?’ Your guide to emerging market investing in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"We're going to have a spending boom in China, at least in the first half of the year," said Mehran Nakhjavani, emerging market strategist at MRB Partners. How to play emerging markets in 2023 Regardless, there are several ways for investors to get exposure to emerging markets. Perhaps the easiest way is by investing in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM). Another vehicle through which to play emerging markets is the First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDex ETF (FEMS) . The fund is the best-performing emerging markets ETF this year, according to Morningstar, with a year-to-date return of just over 1%.

☆ North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles in resumption of testing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

South Korea’s military detected the launch of two North Korean ballistic missiles from its northwest Tongchangri area. It said the missiles were fired about 50 minutes apart but gave no further details, like precisely what type of weapons North Korea fired and how far they flew. Its coast guard said the missiles fired from North Korea fell in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. North Korea has defended its weapons testing as self-defense measures to cope with the expanded U.S.-South Korea military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea already has a growing arsenal of short-range, solid-fueled ballistic missiles targeting key locations in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.

☆ South Koreans set to become younger as traditional way of counting age is scrapped
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea on Thursday passed laws to scrap its traditional method of counting ages and adopt the international standard, a shift that will make its citizens either one or two years younger on official documents. Koreans are deemed to be a year old when born and a year is added every Jan. 1. A separate system also exists for conscription purposes or calculating the legal age to drink alcohol and smoke, in which a person’s age is calculated from zero at birth and a year is added on Jan. 1. Since the early 1960s, however, South Korea has for medical and legal documents also used the international norm of calculating from zero at birth and adding a year on every birthday. “The revision is aimed at reducing unnecessary socioeconomic costs because legal and social disputes as well as confusion persist due to the different ways of calculating age,” Yoo Sang-bum of the governing People Power Party told Parliament.

☆ North Korea fires more artillery shells into sea in response to South Korea drills
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said on Tuesday it had ordered military units to fire more artillery shells into the sea, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported, in response to South Korea’s ongoing drills across the border. The firing comes a day after North Korea said it fired more than 130 shells into the sea off its east and west coasts, some of which landed in a buffer zone near the sea border between the two Koreas. South Korean and U.S. troops have been conducting live-fire drills near the border since Monday. “The enemy must immediately cease provocative military actions in the zone near the front lines,” a spokesperson for the North Korean army said, according to KCNA. In addition to the artillery fire, the North Korean army issued a combat emergency alert to units at all levels and troops were ordered to step up surveillance, the spokesperson said.

☆ Despite stark gender inequality in South Korea, hostility to feminism is growing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Haeryun Kang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Lee Yunju has poked her head in the feminism aisle of the library at her university in Daegu, South Korea. President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol. In South Korea, it’s the gender issue.”To some, the gender ministry is a symbol of what they see as the excesses of feminism. The gender ministry was founded in 2001 under the Kim Dae-jung administration, South Korea’s first left-leaning government. The gender ministry aims to protect the marginalized in our society.

☆ ‘Squid Game’ actor indicted on indecent assault charges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Award-winning “Squid Game” actor Oh Young-soo will stand trial on charges of indecent assault after a woman accused him of inappropriately touching her in 2017, a South Korean court said. The district court in Seongnam city said Thursday that prosecutors indicted the 78-year-old Emmy nominee last week over the allegations and that his trial will begin in February. South Korean cable channel JTBC said Oh denied wrongdoing when reached by a reporter, saying that he had only held the woman’s hands to “show her the way” as they walked around a lake. Oh became the first South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe in January after he was named the top supporting actor for his role in “Squid Game,” a brutal Netflix drama about a desperate group of adults competing in deadly children’s games for a chance to escape severe debt. Oh was also nominated for an Emmy for his performance as Oh Il-nam, a mysterious elderly contestant who joined the games after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

☆ South Korea extradites suspect in New Zealand suitcase murders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea extradited a 42-year-old woman to New Zealand, two months after she was arrested following the discovery of the bodies of two long-dead children in abandoned suitcases. New Zealand police said the woman arrived at Auckland Airport on Tuesday after they sent three officers to South Korea to bring her back. New Zealand police said the South Korean warrant for the suspect’s arrest was in connection with two murder charges. South Korean police say the woman was born in South Korea and later moved to New Zealand, where she gained citizenship. Immigration records show she returned to South Korea in 2018.

☆ South Korea's LGBTQ community confronts crushing headwinds in fight for equality
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Michael Mitsanas | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

NBC News spoke with South Korean lawmakers, human rights organizations and dozens of LGBTQ South Koreans in three of the country’s largest cities: Seoul, Daegu and Busan. Most say a bill that would outlaw discrimination against all minority groups — including the LGBTQ community — is the critical first step toward legal equality. The documentary filmmaker turned progressive lawmaker calls herself an advocate for this country’s LGBTQ community. This, he added, “includes South Korea.”While support for a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill is strong in South Korea, Jang concedes that the odds of one passing, at least in the near future, are slim. The country’s conservative president and People Power Party oppose a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill, while the left-leaning Democratic Party has expressed lukewarm support.

☆ Kim Jong Un’s sister warns U.S. of ‘a more fatal security crisis’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

After the meeting, Thomas-Greenfield also read a statement by 14 countries that supported action to limit North Korea’s advancement of its weapons programs. During the Security Council meeting, the United States and its allies strongly criticized the ICBM launch and called for action to limit North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. But Russia and China, both veto-wielding members of the Security Council, opposed any new pressure and sanctions on North Korea. The status of North Korea’s nuclear capability remains shrouded in secrecy. Some analysts say North Korea already has nuclear-armed missiles that can strike both the U.S. mainland and its allies South Korea and Japan, but others say the North is still years away from possessing such missiles.

☆ From digital wallet accounts to shares in project ownership, the metaverse will reimagine money as we know it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Mastercard With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In Asia, brands have an opportunity to drive value by creating new experiences for customers in the metaverse. At its core, the metaverse is an interconnection of immersive, real-time virtual experiences. It's still more idea than reality — virtual or otherwise. Making virtual reality realFor "value" in the metaverse, we can substitute the word "experiences." Money will be expressed in new ways, from digital wallet accounts to tokens (like cryptocurrency) that represent rewards, vouchers, or a slice of ownership in a project or service.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile Friday, the South Korean and Japanese governments said, a day after it resumed weapons tests as it vowed “fiercer” military responses to the U.S.’s strengthening its alliances with South Korea and Japan. It would be the second ICBM North Korea has fired this month and the third this year, after it refrained from conducting such tests since 2017. Japan’s Defense Ministry also said it appeared to be an ICBM-class ballistic missile. In a statement Thursday, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said the summit would lead to a “more unpredictable phase” in the situation on the Korean Peninsula. U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea is also preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test, which would be its first since 2017.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile as it vows ‘fiercer’ military response to U.S. and allies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, hours after the North threatened to launch “fiercer” military responses to the U.S. bolstering its security commitment to its allies South Korea and Japan. It said South Korea has strengthened its surveillance of North Korea while maintaining military readiness in close coordination with the United States. It was North Korea’s first ballistic missile firing in eight days and the latest in its barrage of tests in recent months. North Korea previously said some of the tests were simulations of nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets. Many experts say North Korea would eventually want to enhance its nuclear capability to wrest bigger concessions from its rivals.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile toward sea, South says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern sea on Wednesday as it extended a recent barrage of weapons demonstrations including what it described as simulated attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets last week. Some experts earlier said the results of the U.S. elections were not likely to change the Biden administration’s policies on North Korea. North Korea fired dozens of missiles last week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that set off evacuation warnings in northern Japan, in an angry reaction to the U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Some experts say it’s possible that North Korea reached into the inventory of some of its older weapons to support the expanded scale of last week’s launches. “It may be in North Korea’s interest to hold some of its modern capabilities in reserve and test them at opportune occasions.

☆ North Korea denies supplying weapons to Russia for war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said on Tuesday it has never had arms dealings with Russia and has no plans to do so, its state media reported, after the United States said North Korea appears to be supplying Russia with artillery shells for its war in Ukraine. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said last week the United States has information that indicates North Korea is covertly supplying Russia with a “significant” number of artillery shells. Kirby said North Korea was attempting to obscure the shipments by funnelling them through countries in the Middle East and North Africa and that Washington was monitoring to see whether the shipments are received. North Korea was one of the only countries to recognize the independence of breakaway Ukrainian regions, and it has expressed support for Russia’s proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine. “North Korea is clearly using the Ukraine war to tighten its relations with Russia,” Victor Cha, of the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in a statement.

☆ In Halloween crush, South Koreans see young people being failed again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Soo Youn | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Then they placed white chrysanthemums on a memorial altar for the 156 mostly young victims of the Halloween crowd crush, and wrote condolences for scores of people who had departed this life decades too soon. Older generations, she said, failed them like they failed the costumed partygoers on Oct. 29. “Why couldn’t the police have gotten there sooner?”South Koreans across the country are asking the same questions. On Monday, Yoon apologized for the crowd crush, vowing to improve police and safety management systems and hold accountable anyone found responsible. The anti-Yoon protests have been going on for weeks with a heavy police presence, including the night of the Halloween crush, which has also angered critics, as has Yoon’s move out of the official presidential residence into a luxury apartment building.

☆ North Korea says missile tests were practice to attack South and U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s military said Monday its recent barrage of missile tests were practice to “mercilessly” strike key South Korean and U.S. targets such as air bases and operation command systems with a variety of missiles that are likely nuclear-capable. Almost all other North Korean missiles launched last week were likely short-range, many of them nuclear-capable weapons. They place key military targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there, within striking range. Later Monday, South Korea’s military disputed some of the North’s accounts of its missile tests. On Saturday, the final day of the air force exercises, the United States flew two B-1B supersonic bombers over South Korea in a display of strength against North Korea, the aircraft’s first such flyover since December 2017.

SEOUL, South Korea — The first warning came around four hours before the crush turned deadly in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood as revelers celebrated Halloween. Emergency workers aid victims of the crush in the Itaewon district of Seoul on Sunday. Two women console each other near a memorial outside a subway station in Seoul, two days after the deadly Halloween surge. Yoon said police have launched an internal probe into the officers’ handling of the emergency calls and other issues, including the on-the-spot response to the crowd surge in Itaewon that night. Noting that screams were heard over the phone, the transcript of the call says: “We are going to be crushed to death here.

North Korea has escalated its weapons tests and fiery rhetoric as the U.S. and South Korea continue large-scale joint military exercises this week. An hour later, North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea from the Gaechon area of South Pyongan province. North Korea last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in March, its first such test since 2017. Early last month, North Korea sent an intermediate-range ballistic missile soaring over Japan in its longest-ever weapons test. Tensions had already risen Wednesday when South Korea responded to North Korea’s barrage by firing three air-to-surface missiles of its own.

☆ South Korea issues air raid alert after North fires missiles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Air raid sirens sounded in South Korea after the North fired about a dozen missiles in its direction Wednesday, at least one of them landing near the rivals’ tense sea border. South Korea’s military said North Korea launched more than 10 missiles of various kinds off its eastern and western coasts. The North Korean missile’s landing site is also 104 miles northwest of South Korea’s Ulleung island, where an air raid alert was then issued. It said South Korea has strengthened its surveillance posture on North Korea. Some experts still doubt North Korea could use nuclear weapons first in the face of U.S. and South Korean forces.

☆ North Korea launches 23 missiles as Kim Jong Un climbs the 'escalation ladder'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Stella Kim | Jennifer Jett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

North Korea's provocations on Wednesday, while highly symbolic, are "more for show than for military escalation," he told NBC News. Hours before firing its first missiles, North Korea threatened the United States and South Korea over joint military exercises continuing this week that the North considers a rehearsal for invasion. Yoon's office said the timing of the North Korean launches "clearly showed the nature of the North Korean government." Over the course of the day, North Korea fired at least 23 ballistic missiles toward the sea. But Russia and China are also wary of North Korea and its unpredictability, Foster-Carter said.

☆ After deadly Halloween crush, lost shoes await owners in Seoul
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The deadly crush in the nearby nightlife district Itaewon happened after tens of thousands gathered for Halloween celebrations Saturday evening. Most of the victims were women and many of them were missing shoes, which experts say reflects the force of a crowd surge that stripped footwear from their feet in the crush. Some 250 pairs of shoes at the gym are part of a huge collection of abandoned items found in Itaewon following the tragedy. As of Tuesday afternoon, 156 people were confirmed dead and 151 were being treated for injuries, with 29 of them in critical condition. Officials say 26 of the dead were foreign nationals, including five Iranians, four Chinese, four Russians, two Americans and two Japanese citizens.

☆ North Korea warns U.S. of ‘powerful’ response to allied drills
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s Foreign Ministry criticized the United States for expanding joint military exercises with South Korea that it claims are practice for a potential invasion, and it warned Tuesday of “more powerful follow-up measures” in response. North Korea has ramped up its weapons demonstrations to a record pace this year, launching more than 40 ballistic missiles, including developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles and an intermediate-range missile fired over Japan. Some of those launches have been described by the North as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets. North Korea has said its testing activities are meant as a warning amid the joint military drills. North Korea has said that firing was in reaction to South Korean live-fire exercises at land border areas.

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean government will conduct a thorough investigation into the Halloween crowd crush that killed more than 150 people in the capital over the weekend, officials said Monday, as the country mourned its worst disaster in years. Tens of thousands of people had gathered on Saturday in Itaewon, a nightlife district of Seoul that is popular with foreigners, when a crowd surge began in a sloped and narrow alleyway, setting off a deadly panic. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pays tribute in front of City Hall in Seoul on Monday. The crowd surge is the country’s deadliest peacetime accident since the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry. Stella Kim and Thomas Maresca reported from Seoul, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.

☆ A rule of physics dictates when a crowd crush turns deadly, like in Seoul, South Korea, where 154 died
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Halloween party in Seoul ended in at least 154 deaths after the streets became badly crowded. The phenomenon, called crowd surging, comes down to basic physics, an expert told Insider. At least 154 people died in Seoul on Saturday when a Halloween street party caused a crowd so dense it crushed people to death. Drone footage of the empty stage that hosted the 2021 Astroworld Festival where people died from crowd surging. Nathan Frandino/ReutersInformation is keyThis is not the first time crowd surging has killed.

SEOUL, South Korea — As morning arrived in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood, quiet prevailed at the scene of the tragedy where at least 153 people died on what should have been a night of Halloween revelry. What we know about the deadly incident in Seoul At least 153 people were killed and 103 injured, officials said. While Halloween is not a traditional holiday in South Korea, Itaewon is known for its costume parties at bars and clubs, which have soared in popularity in recent years. The last major tragedy in South Korea also hit young people. Stella Kim and Thomas Maresca reported from South Korea.

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