Take Shorter Showers: South Korea Kicks Off an Energy-Saving Drive
Why it matters: South Korea faces a complex web of energy insecurity, historical grievances, and escalating regional hostility.
- President Lee Jae Myung launched an energy-saving drive, urging public cooperation due to supply disruptions from the Iran war (Content).
- Kim Jong Un formalized South Korea as a 'primary hostile state,' escalating inter-Korean tensions (The Diplomat).
- South Korea expressed 'regret' over Japan’s approval of history textbooks, demanding rectification and highlighting ongoing historical disputes (Straits Times Asia).
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung has initiated a national energy-saving campaign, drawing parallels between the current energy crisis, exacerbated by the Iran war, and past national emergencies like the Asian financial crisis and the pandemic. This domestic focus on resource scarcity unfolds amidst significant geopolitical tensions, including North Korea formally designating the South as its 'primary hostile state' and South Korea expressing strong regret over Japan's approval of new history textbooks.
