John Riley

1 month ago | asianreviewofbooks.com | John Riley

South Korea is famous for its workaholic culture: although things are slowly changing, white collar workers often feel pressure to work long hours and to satisfy every whim of their superiors in a rigidly hierarchical company structure. There is pressure to spend evenings at company dinners and even weekends hiking with the team. Among OECD countries, South Korea is ranked at number 5 for working hours, and at number 33 for worker productivity.

2 months ago | asianreviewofbooks.com | John Riley

Kyungha, a woman living in contemporary Seoul, is burdened by the emotional toll of her past. Deeply empathetic, Kyungha experiences panic attacks and symptoms of anxiety and depression stemming from a harrowing book she wrote about a massacre in a South Korean city. When her friend Inseon suffers an accident, she asks Kyungha to travel to Jeju, an island of Korea's south coast, to feed her pet bird which will die soon if not tended to.

Feb 8, 2025 | asianreviewofbooks.com | John Riley

For fans of Korean film, the uncompromising film director Lee Chang-dong needs little introductions. With a brief but powerful filmography of six films made between 1997 and 2018, he has braved controversial topics to critical acclaim. Burning, his 2018 comeback film after an eight-year hiatus, was shortlisted for an Oscar and won numerous other awards. Lee also served as South Korea's Minister of Culture from 2003 to 2004.

Feb 7, 2025 | ktvh.com | John Riley

HELENA — On Friday, the Montana lawmakers weighed in on one of the most debated issues of the 2025 legislative session, Medicaid Expansion. House Bill 245, which effectively continues the current program, passed a key vote in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. “We did something really special for the people in Montana in 2015 and again in 2019. We created a system that unlike in other states actually moves people out of poverty and onto the road to success,” said Rep.

Feb 7, 2025 | kxlh.com | Allie Kaiser |John Riley

HELENA — From the Paradise Valley to the Montana State Capitol Building, film production here in the Treasure State has increased over the last decade. New legislation is looking at the possibility of increasing funding to help these production companies. Still, opponents of the bill have concerns that it might be too much money being allocated. "This bill is about infrastructure. It's about careers. It's about industry. It's about the local impact and it's about the economic development," said Rep.