How is Brexit playing in South Korea? Barely.
While the western world is currently rattled by the outcome of referendum, South Korea seems to be the only place in East Asia with a muted reaction to the results.
Here’s how interest plays out if you look at a Google trend search by “Brexit” + ‘Asian country name.’ Notice Korea way at the bottom.
Why is this? Major Korean new outlets are busy covering Kim Jong Un boasting about North Korea’s latest cache of new missiles (link in Korean) and political in-fighting within the leading Saenuri Party (link in Korean.)
In other words, life goes on.
Meanwhile Sung Jun Lee, a freelance translator who spent four years working in Europe before returning to South Korea, tells us the media only began more comprehensive coverage of Brexit as the referendum approached.
So life goes on, albeit in a bit of news bubble.
Lee is not complaining though; “Well, Korean politics is never boring.”