Breeze in Busan

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What Are Koreans Really Drinking? Soju, Solitude, and a Culture of Escape

What Are Koreans Really Drinking? Soju, Solitude, and a Culture of Escape

South Korea has one of the highest alcohol consumption rates in Asia, but its drinking problem doesn’t look like chaos—it looks like composure. Soju, once a communal spirit, has evolved into a quiet, everyday anesthetic, deeply woven into food, media, and workplace culture.

Funding Without Philosophy: The Limits of Busan’s RISE Program

Funding Without Philosophy: The Limits of Busan’s RISE Program

Busan’s RISE program ambitiously seeks to revitalize regional universities, but with 20 institutions and 122 projects under one banner, the initiative risks scattering limited resources across a fragmented landscape.

Hyperloop or Hype? The High-Speed Trap in South Korea’s Transport Vision

Hyperloop or Hype? The High-Speed Trap in South Korea’s Transport Vision

South Korea’s plan to shrink the country with a 1,200 km/h train promises speed, sustainability, and regional revival. But if history is any guide, faster trains may only bring faster inequality.

Why American TV Dramas Are Losing Their Edge

Why American TV Dramas Are Losing Their Edge

Once a global benchmark of narrative innovation, American TV drama is now trapped in a loop of overextended seasons, formulaic conflict, and emotional shortcuts. The solution? Less spectacle, more sincerity.

Why the Far-Right Rises from Capitalism’s Shadows

Why the Far-Right Rises from Capitalism’s Shadows

Across democracies, far-right movements are gaining ground — not despite economic dislocation and inequality, but because of them. As liberal institutions fail to offer emotional resonance and material security, the vacuum is filled by nativist myths and authoritarian certainty.

Busan’s Broken Blocks: Why Alley Commerce Alone Won’t Save the City’s Urban Core

Busan’s Broken Blocks: Why Alley Commerce Alone Won’t Save the City’s Urban Core

Despite millions in revitalization funds, Busan’s neighborhood markets continue to empty out. A deeper structural crisis—marked by aging districts, hollow high-rises, and disconnected urban planning—demands a shift from short-term fixes to long-term ecosystem design.

Why Busan’s Skyscraper Ambitions Fall Short

Why Busan’s Skyscraper Ambitions Fall Short

Busan’s Special Architectural Zones promise innovation, but deliver exclusion. The recent rejection of a 99-story redevelopment reveals the limits of spectacle-driven planning in a city facing depopulation and inequality.