A man bows toward the statue of independence fighter Lee Bong-chang at Hyochang Park in Seoul’s Yongsan Ward on Jan. 8, 2016, to mark the 84th anniversary of Lee’s patriotic actions against Japanese imperialism. In 1932, Lee threw a grenade toward Japanese Emperor Hirohito in a failed assassination attempt in Tokyo before being captured and hanged the same year. The Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. (Yonhap)
A customer shops for Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co.’s soju, a distilled beverage made of ethanol and water, at a giant retailer in Seoul on Jan. 4, 2016. Lotte, the maker of one of the top soju brands in the country, raised the price of its soju by an average 5.54 percent starting on the day, following suit of its rival Hite Jinro. With the hike, the factory price of the liquor passed the 1,000 won level per a bottle of 360 milliliters. (Yonhap)
This image, captured from North Korea’s Korean Central Television on Jan. 4, 2016, shows a scene from a North Korean film, “Comrade Kim Goes Flying,” that the broadcaster aired for the first time on the previous day. The romantic comedy, the first North Korean film co-produced with British and Belgian partners in 2012, is a tale of a young woman coal miner who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist. (Yonhap)
These photos carried by North Korea’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Dec. 29, 2015, show the country’s leader Kim Jong-un at a commendations ceremony for fishermen. According to the report, Kim lauded the exemplary fishermen and fisheries officials for their remarkable successes. (Yonhap)
Shown in this photo dated Dec. 29, 2015, is a helicopter tailored for the Marines, developed by the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The chopper, based on the KAI-developed Surion, was built for amphibious operations to support airlifting of troops and equipment between ship and shore. KAI said it will start full production of the new choppers in the first half of next year, aiming to sell 1,000 units at home and abroad over the next 20 years. (Photo provided by KAI) (Yonhap)
Structures set up for display for the Namdaecheon Ice Festival in Muju, North Jeolla Province, are frozen on Dec. 28, 2015, as the mercury dipped to minus 10.6 degrees C. Weather forecasters said the nation’s temperature on the day was the lowest so far this winter. The ice festival opens on Jan. 8. (Yonhap)
These file photos show Chey Tae-won (L), the head of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, and his wife Roh Soh-yeong, whom the business tycoon wants to divorce. Chey confessed in a letter released through a local daily on Dec. 29, 2015, that he has been living with another woman and had a daughter with her, now six years old. Chey and Roh had married in 1988, soon after Roh’s father, Roh Tae-woo, took office as president. SK Group-related shares fell on speculation that Chey’s control of the conglomerate may weaken as the couple sort out their financial settlement for the divorce. (Yonhap)
Passengers sit with their feet aligned with heart-shaped stickers on the floor of a subway car on Seoul’s Line No. 3 on Dec. 24, 2015. Seoul Metro, the operator of the subway system, has introduced the stickers in a bid to rid its passengers of the habit of spreading or crossing their legs beyond the confines of their hips and taking up too much space. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) talks with a senior official of the North Korean People’s Army during his inspection of actual maneuvers between the Army’s large combined units 526 and 671 in this photo released by the North’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Dec. 24, 2015. Kim was also quoted as saying, “Practical drills should be conducted so often to cope with the hardest and severest war.” The paper, published by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, did not report when the photo was taken. (Yonhap)
President Park Geun-hye (front), wearing a military uniform, visits an observatory at a front-line Army unit in Yeoncheon, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, on Dec. 24, 2015, to check up on the military’s preparedness against North Korea’s possible provocations. (Yonhap)
