The deceased lay wrapped in a cotton blanket, surrounded by white roses and hydrangea, angelic figurines and lit candles and incense. A wall-mounted screen displayed photographs of him. His 71-year-old companion, Kim Seon-ae, convulsed with tears as she bid farewell, caressing his head and face. Next door, young uniformed morticians …
Read More »Boot Found at Everest Could Be From Climber Who Vanished 100 Years Ago
A well-preserved boot found by a group of climbers on Mount Everest could be a clue to solving one of the most enduring adventure mysteries in the history of exploration of the world’s highest peak. The climbers who made the discovery in late September have reason to believe that it …
Read More »For Atomic Bomb Survivors, a Nobel Prize and a Reckoning, 80 Years Later
Cities blasted to rubble. Burned bodies and flayed flesh. Invisible waves of radiation coursing through the air. And the indelible image of a mushroom cloud. The atomic bombs dropped by the United States on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed the world what an apocalypse looks like. Tens …
Read More »The Wily Spy Who Risked His Life to Meet North Korea’s Secretive Leader
When the South Korean spy met with Kim Jong-il, he declined the late North Korean leader’s offer of a toast, citing a promise to his mother that he would never drink. But the undercover agent, masquerading as a businessman, vowed to break his abstinence when the two Koreas reunified, until …
Read More »Forced From Home by War, They Found Solace in Soccer
It was just a regular practice, but the players were excited to get on the soccer field. They divided into teams and chose from an array of bibs that all bore the same message: “Women Win.” Just being on the field was a revolutionary act for some of these girls …
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