Tag Archives: Korean Peninsula

History, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Previews: History Today Magazine – July 2023

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HISTORY TODAY MAGAZINE (JULY 2023) – Civil war in Ancient Rome, England’s most useless charities, agents of anarchy in the fin de siècle, the battle for the Korean peninsula, a Catholic sympathiser at Elizabeth I’s court, Bardolatry, Hong Kong’s floating population.

The Year of the Four, Five, Six Emperors

Vitellius led through the streets of Rome by the people, by Georges Rochegrosse, 1883
Vitellius led through the streets of Rome by the people, by Georges Rochegrosse, 1883.

For citizens of Ancient Rome, the recurrence of brutal civil war was par for the course. For writers, it was an opportunity. 

During the Roman Empire, outbreaks of civil war (and the assassinations which often preceded them) were generally intended to change the emperor, not the imperial system. Even though there was a brief moment after the emperor Caligula’s assassination in AD 41 when a change in the political system might have been triggered, the rudderless and leaderless soldiers quickly reverted to the reassuring default mode of imperial rule after conveniently finding Claudius hiding behind a curtain and making him emperor. 

How to Make a Devil

Image from Ravachol’s anthropometric file, 1892

The legend of Ravachol, the terrorist ‘mastermind’ of the fin de siècle. 

Travel, Videos

Aerial Travel: ‘South Korea’ (8K UHD Video)

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South Korea, an East Asian nation on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, shares one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders with North Korea. It’s equally known for its green, hilly countryside dotted with cherry trees and centuries-old Buddhist temples, plus its coastal fishing villages, sub-tropical islands and high-tech cities such as Seoul, the capital. 

Travel, Videos

Aerial Travel: ‘Seoul – South Korea’ (Video)

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Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is a huge metropolis where modern skyscrapers, high-tech subways and pop culture meet Buddhist temples, palaces and street markets. Notable attractions include futuristic Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a convention hall with curving architecture and a rooftop park; Gyeongbokgung Palace, which once had more than 7,000 rooms; and Jogyesa Temple, site of ancient locust and pine trees. 

South Korea, an East Asian nation on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, shares one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders with North Korea. It’s equally known for its green, hilly countryside dotted with cherry trees and centuries-old Buddhist temples, plus its coastal fishing villages, sub-tropical islands and high-tech cities such as Seoul, the capital. 

Culture, Travel, Videos

Travel Videos: Pyongyang, North Korea – “A Rare Look Inside At Daily Life”

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It is another rainy day in Pyongyang and the long boulevards of utilitarian buildings have taken on a misty shade of grey. School children do daily exercises before saluting a portrait of Kim Jong-un and adults don lapel pins depicting their leader before a day’s work at the farm or factory. Tracing a form of cultural uniformity that is unfamiliar to many in the West, two Brazilian directors ventured to the capital to paint an evocative portrait of life behind the world’s last iron curtain…