Max Kim
@maxsoeunkim.bsky.social
Journalist and former Seoul correspondent for the Los Angeles Times / X: @maxsoeunkim
South Korean convenience stores seem to be getting wilder with each passing year, offering hundreds of instant meals, gold bars, single malt whiskies and, at one point, BMWs. I wrote about why in my latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
70 new food items each week? South Korea is the convenience store capital of the world
TVs, gold bars, cocktails and up to 70 new food items each week: South Korea's convenience stores are not like ours.
www.latimes.com
September 1, 2025 at 2:33 AM
South Korean convenience stores seem to be getting wilder with each passing year, offering hundreds of instant meals, gold bars, single malt whiskies and, at one point, BMWs. I wrote about why in my latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Read the rest of our five-part @latimes.com series on how L.A. might become more climate-resilient in the coming decades: www.latimes.com/california/s...
August 11, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Read the rest of our five-part @latimes.com series on how L.A. might become more climate-resilient in the coming decades: www.latimes.com/california/s...
Americans often come to South Korea and balk at the glut of high-rise apartments, seen as soulless, sterile, suffocating. But as cities like LA face severe housing crises, there is something to be said about the very different idea of homes behind them
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Americans may aspire to single-family homes, but in South Korea, apartments are king
South Korea’s middle-class dream of home ownership? It's not a house with a white picket fence — it's an apartment.
www.latimes.com
July 25, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Americans often come to South Korea and balk at the glut of high-rise apartments, seen as soulless, sterile, suffocating. But as cities like LA face severe housing crises, there is something to be said about the very different idea of homes behind them
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Even before Trump, U.S. leaders complained about the lack of American cars in Asia, pointing to trade or regulatory barriers. But the reasons Asian consumers don’t buy American cars are far less complicated.
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
The U.S. has long wanted to sell more cars in Asia. Do Asian consumers want them?
U.S. cars have been getting bigger, more expensive and more polluting in the last several decades — all the things that make for a tough sell to Asian consumers
www.latimes.com
July 18, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Even before Trump, U.S. leaders complained about the lack of American cars in Asia, pointing to trade or regulatory barriers. But the reasons Asian consumers don’t buy American cars are far less complicated.
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Growing political gaps between men and women are being observed all over the world — including in South Korea, where the recent presidential election showed a staggering 40 percent point difference between 20-something men and women.
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Why South Korean young men and women are more politically divided than ever
In South Korea, right-leaning young men are less likely to focus on North Korea than feminism, which — for them — has become a dirty word.
www.latimes.com
July 4, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Growing political gaps between men and women are being observed all over the world — including in South Korea, where the recent presidential election showed a staggering 40 percent point difference between 20-something men and women.
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
The prospects of Trump wooing back Kim Jong Un were already looking rather dim, but his strike on Iran might have been the final nail in the coffin. In my latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Trump’s attack on Iran pushed diplomacy with Kim Jong Un further out of reach
Following U.S. strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, the chances of North Korea returning to the bargaining table have become even slimmer.
www.latimes.com
June 25, 2025 at 10:58 AM
The prospects of Trump wooing back Kim Jong Un were already looking rather dim, but his strike on Iran might have been the final nail in the coffin. In my latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
A group of 105 South Koreans — led by a lawyer who was behind two presidential impeachments — is suing former president Yoon Suk Yeol for emotional damages caused by his martial law declaration
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
105 South Koreans sue former president for ‘emotional damages’
Former Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of emergency martial law was short-lived. Now 105 citizens are suing him for emotional damages.
www.latimes.com
June 12, 2025 at 1:12 PM
A group of 105 South Koreans — led by a lawyer who was behind two presidential impeachments — is suing former president Yoon Suk Yeol for emotional damages caused by his martial law declaration
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
South Korea's new president, Lee Jae-myung, has had an extraordinary life and a uniquely difficult path to the presidency. My latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
How a former factory worker rose to South Korea’s presidency
'My personal experiences made me aware of how cruel this world can be to those who have nothing,' said Lee Jae-myung.
www.latimes.com
June 5, 2025 at 2:05 AM
South Korea's new president, Lee Jae-myung, has had an extraordinary life and a uniquely difficult path to the presidency. My latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Reposted by Max Kim
Korean Americans are finding themselves on the hook for service in the South Korean military — all because a rapper dodged it.
They didn't know they were citizens. Now they are expected to serve in the South Korean military
Korean Americans are finding themselves on the hook for service in the South Korean military — all because a rapper dodged it.
www.latimes.com
March 3, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Korean Americans are finding themselves on the hook for service in the South Korean military — all because a rapper dodged it.
Sometime In the last few years, I started noticing that South Korea's love of loanwords was reaching absurd levels. And as I discovered last fall, there's a government agency that's furiously trying to translate them:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
'Get on it AY-sep!' Foreign words have invaded Korea. The government is fighting back
How do you say "deepfake," "ASAP" and "digital" in Korean? The fight to keep foreign words from diluting the language
www.latimes.com
February 3, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Sometime In the last few years, I started noticing that South Korea's love of loanwords was reaching absurd levels. And as I discovered last fall, there's a government agency that's furiously trying to translate them:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
With historically opposing wildfire seasons, the US and Australia send each other firefighting resources when things are slow at home. But the L.A. fires hint this system is cracking. My latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
U.S. and Australia have long fought fires together. Climate change threatens joint efforts
U.S. officials didn't even bother to ask Australia for help battling the Los Angeles fires.
www.latimes.com
January 24, 2025 at 2:43 AM
With historically opposing wildfire seasons, the US and Australia send each other firefighting resources when things are slow at home. But the L.A. fires hint this system is cracking. My latest:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been impeached just 11 days after the martial law fiasco — but a constitutional court’s final sign-off remains:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
South Korean president impeached, ending an 11-day standoff
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had refused to resign. But a dozen lawmakers from his own party turned against him in an impeachment vote over his declaration of martial law.
www.latimes.com
December 14, 2024 at 1:35 PM
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been impeached just 11 days after the martial law fiasco — but a constitutional court’s final sign-off remains:
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
S. Korean President Yoon hasn't appeared in public since a brief public address on Sat. His party chief and PM have controversially deputized themselves in his absence. The military won't say whether they've been receiving orders from Yoon. Total chaos.
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
The biggest question in South Korea: Who is running the country?
The party of South Korea's embattled president has refused to join an impeachment effort, instead promising an 'orderly resignation.'
www.latimes.com
December 10, 2024 at 4:51 PM
S. Korean President Yoon hasn't appeared in public since a brief public address on Sat. His party chief and PM have controversially deputized themselves in his absence. The military won't say whether they've been receiving orders from Yoon. Total chaos.
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
My story for @latimes.com on the bizarre, short-lived martial law attempt that happened last night
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
South Korean president declares martial law, then backs down amid calls for his impeachment
South Korea's president declared martial law, accusing the country's opposition of paralyzing the government. Then he backed down.
www.latimes.com
December 4, 2024 at 1:29 AM
My story for @latimes.com on the bizarre, short-lived martial law attempt that happened last night
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...