The Chosun Ilbo is running an article listing their top stories of 2005. Here they are with my comments of course:

1. The Hwang Woo-suk Debacle – (Definitely the biggest story for Korea this year.)

2. North Korea Admits to Nuclear Arms; Six-Party Talks Resume – (Yawn)

3. Killing Spree at Guard Post – (Big wake up call for the ROK Army and the government)

4. Sixth Consecutive World Cup Qualification – (No mention of the coaching change?)

5. The Secret-Service Bugging Scandal – (Korea’s own wiretapping scandal.)

6. Constitutional Court Rules for Administrative City – (Residents in Jonju are being relocated for national security reasons and no one is complaining, USFK relocates to Pyoengtaek for national security reasons and the activist groups come out in force to protest.)

7. The Cheonggye Stream Restored – (May seem like a small thing in western country, but a big deal here.)

8. Three Divisive Laws – (I think the melee in the legislature made more news than the laws themselves.)

9. Stock Prices Hit the Roof – (Yet everyone is pessimistic about the economy.)

10. The Ruling Party in Crisis – (Thank God!)