Known as the "Korean Mata Hari" and the "Communists' Deadliest Weapon," Kim Soo-im was "The Korean Seductress Who Betrayed America," a Seoul socialite said to have charmed secret information out of one lover, an American colonel, and passed it to another, a top communist in North Korea. Nearly 60 years later, the official story surrounding one of Korea's most infamous women agents has been exposed as a farrago of lies and cover-ups. The truth — and a very different Kim — have now emerged from declassified US National Archives. Executed at the age of 39, she was not, as the South Koreans dubbed her, a “malicious international spy” or a pawn in the Soviet Union's so-called Operation Sex, but the victim of crude fabrication by a paranoid South Korean Government and a cover-up by the Americans.
Read all of: Truth Comes Too Late: The Real Story of 'Seductress Spy' Kim Soo Im |
|
|
 The "iPhoneGirl" remained unidentified till now. But the image of the smiling factory worker flashing a V sign continued to enchant Netizens across the planet.
Six days ago she labored in the obscurity of a southern China factory. But thanks to the instant connectivity of the cyber world, she is now known as "iPhoneGirl" to millions of people around the globe - all because of an apparently inadvertent photo slipped into an Apple cell phone that was shipped to England!
Read all of: A Cute Mistake: Smiling iPhoneGirl Dials World Fame |
|
|
Tokyo may not be ready for Shokotan’s 'cicada shell costume', but that doesn’t stop the multi-talented entertainer from decking herself out on occasion. Shokotan (中川 翔子, Shoko Nakagawa), who talked about her fascination with cicada shell and showed off part of her cicada shell collection in a television appearance last year, showed up at a recent concert wearing the bug shells on her head. According to Excite News, the crowd went wild at the end of her performance when she tossed the crispy shells into the front row.
Read all of: Bug Heads: Cicada Shell Costume from Japan |
|
|
 North Korea does not produce enough food to feed its population, as a result, North Korean scientists have developed a new kind of noodle that delays feelings of hunger!The special anti-hunger noodles were made from corn and soybeans, the Choson Shinbo said. They left people feeling fuller longer and represented a technological breakthrough, the newspaper said. North Korea is dependent on foreign food aid. Last month the UN warned that residents were experiencing their worst food shortages in a decade. But the communist country remains reluctant to allow experts to fully assess the scale of the problem or give them adequate access to deliver aid.
Read all of: North Korea Develops Special Anti-Hunger Noodle |
|
|
 NBC Sports executive David Neal told the AP that he'd attended a secret rehearsal of the Zhang Yimou–directed spectacular and that it was entertaining and "unlike any other closing ceremony I've ever seen."
On Sunday night comes the 2008 Olympics closing ceremony, traditionally the close is a more modest event, but considering how high the Chinese set the bar on opening night, even taking it down a few notches still leaves the anticipation level high, especially because Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who directed the opening ceremony, will again be in charge Sunday. The 2008 Olympics opening ceremony had 15,000 performers, while the closing ceremony will have 7,000, still a huge throng. And to bolster the idea of a different look, none of the 15,000 performers from the amazing opening night will be included in Sunday’s group. Sadly, this means no Lang Lang, but maybe they've got a spot for plucky little bucktoothed Yang Peiyi (杨沛宜)! Also appearing, from London, site of the 2012 olympic games: Leona Lewis and David Beckham.
Read all of: How Awesome Will Zhang Yimou's 2008 Olympics Closing Ceremony Be? |
|
|
 Forget the skimpily clad cheerleaders. The 2008 Olympics cheerleaders are beautiful, elegant and their eyes are three-tenths the length of their faces, as required by the Chinese selection committee.
All candidates have to be university educated, aged 18 to 24, between 1.68 and 1.78 metres in height, with a ‘ruddy and shiny complexion’, ‘elastic skin’ and ‘a plump but not fat body’. Their faces needed to meet standards including the ratio between the ‘width of the nose and the length of the face’ and ‘width of the mouth and width between the pupils’, with eyes three-tenths the length of the face.
Read all of: Beautiful Beijing 2008 Olympics Cheerleaders |
|
|
Other performers who have faced hurdles performing in Malaysia include pop singers Gwen Stefani (wore less-revealing clothes at a performance), Christina Aguilera (skipped the country on her Asian tour) and Beyonce (moved her concert to Indonesia). A Pussycat Dolls concert in 2006 was fined 10,000 ringgit (just under $3,000) after the U.S. girl group was accused of flouting decency regulations. Avril Lavigne is too sexy for Malaysia after all! Malaysia canceled a concert by Canadian rock singer Avril Lavigne, saying it may taint the Muslim-majority country's independence day celebrations after the Islamic opposition slammed her on-stage moves as being "too sexy."
Read all of: Malaysia Cancels 'Too Sexy' Avril Lavigne Concert |
|
|
German photographer Julia Baier spent several weeks documenting the vivid life inside a sento (Japanese Bathhouse). The result is 'Sento – the Japanese Bathhouse' published by Berlin-based Peperoni Books in German, Japanese and English. And for those of you that can’t make it to her photo exhibition right now at the Japanese-German Center Berlin, Germany — PingMag had a chat with Julia about her bathhouse experiences and unique Japanese bathhouse photos.
Read all of: Sento - Japanese Bathhouse Culture |
|
|
Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang has limped out of the Olympics Games, breaking a billion Chinese hearts in the process. Liu Xiang, the defending Olympic champion and icon of Chinese sport, managed just three steps in his opening heat in the 110m hurdles before pulling up lame with a hamstring injury.
Read all of: China's Olympic Nightmare: Liu Xiang is Out |
|
|
 Actroid DER-2, Kokoro’s uncannily lifelike female robot, has made her acting debut in a Japanese TV commercial for Kincho’s Preshower UV insect repellent/sunscreen spray. After a few squirts of the spray, she cheerily adds, “Surprisingly, I don’t rust!”
Read all of: Android Stars in Preshower UV TV Commercial |
|
|
|
