The tradition of nepotism in Korea runs deep and long in this society.  It's everywhere you look.  Whether it's the best and the biggest of the Korean companies or your local English Hagwon, it wouldn't be surprising to see the founder's son running things with his father's blessing.  But the department of foreign affairs of the Korean government is not a place where you'd expect nepotism.  Well, there might have been a case of it and it's making quite a news story now.

Does success change a person?  Does money change a person?  Looking at the latest case of one of Korea's best known over-achievers and her coach, the evidences seem to point to a 'Yes.'  The people I am talking about are Yuna Kim and Brian Orser, the reigning Olympic champion in women's figure skating and her beloved coach.  

The whole nation of Korea is always fascinated by being the first and the best in the world.  The level of fascination sometimes has a negative side effect of producing pretenders yearning for the lime light.  The first woman to climb the world's 14 highest mountains in the world, or so we thought, Eun-seon Oh, is again mired in a heap of controversy, this time questioned by Korea's own media.

Samsung Group, best known for Samsung Electronics, is the largest company in Korea.  Its business areas range from electronics, building residential buildings to building ships.  The blue oval-shaped logo signifies quality and class to most Koreans and the company's rise to the top by and large drove Korea's economic growth.  Yet, the family behind this great conglomerate hasn't fared well when it comes to personal lives.

Even for those that do not follow the world of high fashion in Korea, the name Andre Kim is as familiar as any name gets in Korea.  The name stands for the first generation of fashion and designers of Korea.  He was the very first male designer.  He was the very first to achieve international fame through his craft in designing clothes.  Of late, his unique sense of style, his style of speech and his appearance have been subjects of numerous comic acts and imitations done by the best known actors and actresses as well as comedians.

Anyone who is fascinated by conspiracy theories should pay attention to Cheonan incident now more than ever.  The left wing media are shouting 'foul' as a dramatic new development has taken place last week.  It seems that there is a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea only about 230 yards away from the original site of the incident.

Do you like being one with the nature in your most earnest form -- buck naked?  If so, you will jump out of your seat to hear that Korea is about to get its first 'nudist colony', or if you prefer a naturist park.     According to Korea Times, a 'nudist forest' is getting ready to open in late August in Jangheung, Jeollanam-do.  A shocking fact is that the 'nudist forest' is the product of hard work by the local county government office.  One of the officials was quoted in the article saying, "We will soon complete construction of the facilities and people can enjoy nature and release stress in the nude."  We know for sure that Korea is home to some of the most stressed people in the world.  Perhaps this is exactly what the surgeon general of Korea ordered.

Her name is Yoo Soo-youn.  She earns about 10B KRW (technically about $8M USD but who cares?) teaching English in Korea.  And no, she doesn't play in the LPGA (ladies pro golf assoc.) on the side.  Well, she must have a ph.D in education from Yale and a MBA from Harvard, making her the most supremely educated English teacher in Korea.  Well, no again.

Rain has been a subject of a couple of chatters in the past but this time the chatter on him has turned ugly.  Rain, real name Jeong Ji Hoon, is now being accused of misappropriation having cheated his shareholders regarding his management practice and stock transactions involving his management company J-Tune Entertainment.

The profession of politics doesn't always attract the most ethical and clear-minded people, it seems.  Especially in Korea, where the history of democracy is short and its leaders constantly mired in corruption scandals, people have come to expect the worst from their elected leaders.