South Korea

This year, the award went to six women activists for their work defending ecosystems and local communities. Among them, Papuan Theonila Roka Matbob, who played a crucial role in the long struggle for the cleanup of the Panguna mine, and South Korean Borim Kim, who led a legal battle over climate that culminated in a constitutional ruling in favour of future generations.

In the South Korea, single-person households now represent 36 per cent of the population. Faced with rising numbers of people hard pressed to cope with loneliness, the city administration is boosting its support services, including moving assistance and emotional support. The programme, already in place for hospital visits with high satisfaction rates, aims to combat loneliness and daily difficulties.

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho spoke in harsh terms to describe adoptions from South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s that were marked by serious irregularities. The government announced steps to facilitate compensation, stating that it will waive appeals in proceedings initiated by victims, although delays remain.

After liberation from Japanese rule, Chinese characters were dropped in favour of Hangul, the Korean writing system; nevertheless, 57 per cent of the Korean vocabulary is derived from them. At present, due to overuse of smartphones and video games, two out of ten students struggle to understand words in textbooks; for this reason, some educators are pushing for the reintroduction of Hanja to improve literacy. But the issue remains politically divisive.

The low costs and efficiency demonstrated by the Cheongung-II missile defence system in the United Arab Emirates are reviving South Korea’s ambitions, having more than doubled the volume of its arms exports over the last 15 years. But the conflict is also highlighting the opacity of the political agreements signed in 2009 with Abu Dhabi by then-President Lee Myung-bak.

The 2026 Seoul International Buddhism Expo was an unprecedented success, with more than 250,000 visitors in four days, mostly young men and women aged 20 to 30, nearly half self-identifying as non-religious. While official data point to a decline in Buddhism in Asia, the festival turned temples into true cultural and entertainment venues making the faith more accessible.

In the Philippines, more than six million people joined the Alay Lakad, the nighttime pilgrimage in Antipolo, while in Quezon province, a group of farmers interrelated the stories of the Passion with their own struggle to defend their lands. In Arunachal Pradesh, young people are celebrating the Easter Triduum by praying for religious harmony in India. The World Council of Churches in South Korea called for conversion and shared a prayer dedicated to the painful division between North and South.

During Holy Week, Korea’s bishops announced a major step in the cause of Father Thomas Choi Yang-up (1821-1861), a companion in the seminary of the martyred Saint Andrew Kim. For 12 years, he was the first priest to minister in Korea, visiting local Christians during a period of persecution. He died of typhus at the age of 40 after travelling thousands of kilometres and translating the catechism into Korean language. The local Church rejoices as it gets ready to host World Youth Day in 2027.

The Statement of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea on the Partial Amendment to the Maternal and Child Health Act, currently under discussion in the country, aims to fill a legal vacuum created by the 2019 Supreme Court ruling decriminalising abortion. The South Korean Church calls for mandatory counselling and a period of reflection before terminating a pregnancy and for the strengthening of men's shared responsibility in childcare.

The latest official demographic data show opposite trends in the two East Asian countries. Despite government measures and some tentative signs regarding fertility rates, Japan is failing to reverse the trend. South Korea is experiencing a rise in births among women over 30, but the country is still the most affected by the demographic winter.

At the Milano Cortina Games, three medals bear the mark of Venerable Hosan, abbot of the Bongseon Temple. All South Korean athletes in this discipline competed at the Dalma Open Championship, a tournament launched in 2002 by the Jogye Order. Born to support a marginal sport, it is now the country's leading snowboarding training venue. Like young people on snowboards, “In Buddhism, too, we seek ultimate liberation,” the monk said.

In some counties, local residents are organising campaigns to apply to host new nuclear reactors in an attempt to cope with economic and demographic decline. In return, municipalities receive subsidies and funds for infrastructure development. However, some associations fear that the concentration of power plants will increase the risk of accidents.