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History
The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
The narrow, twisting Ho Chi Minh Highway. Photo: Fiona Ching
Asia travel

From Hoi An to Hanoi: a ride along Vietnam’s twisty Ho Chi Minh Highway

Mountain scenes, quaint villages, chaotic traffic, cheap motels and repetitive noodle soup, punctuated by the occasional flat tyre.

Science

Chinese sweat and blood – not soldiers – have left their mark on Panama Canal

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Japan

Court ruling over Koreans enshrined in Japan’s Yasukuni reopens wartime wounds

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Tourism

Depression-era house where FBI shot it out with gangsters now a museum

In 1935 agents traded fire with Barker-Karpis Gang members for over 4 hours at their Florida hideout. 90 years on, it’s open to the public.

The Bradford-Ma Barker House in Ocklawaha, Florida, where Fred and Ma Barker died in a shoot-out with FBI agents in January 1935. Photo: TNS
War and conflict

Opinion | Are the 2020s doomed to be a repeat of the 1920s?

As ethno-nationalist populism and propaganda threaten human society, we need leaders who can offer an alternative to confrontation and war.

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From our archives

When China put a journalist under house arrest in retaliation for jailings

Anthony Grey was caught in the crossfire when Hong Kong jailed a Chinese news agency correspondent over anti-British demonstrations in 1967.

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Hong Kong economy

4,000 visitors expected for festival at once-abandoned Hong Kong Hakka village

The Countryside Harvest Festival: Kuk Po ‘Sound-Sight-Taste Fusion’ Tour will run for two consecutive weekends.

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Visitors enjoy themselves at the Countryside Harvest Festival: Kuk Po “Sound-Sight-Taste Fusion” Tour on Saturday. Photo: Eugene Lee
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Why are Chinese couples so set on Western wedding fashion?

Chinese brides used to wear black, then red, before the Western white gown became ubiquitous. Some push back now and don hanfu bridal wear.

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United States

Biden grants clemency to 2,500 people, most ever in a day

Biden may issue further commutations or pardons before he hands over power to president-elect Donald Trump on Monday.

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Photography

Recap | How famous photographers capture the essence of Hong Kong over the years

Explore the rich history and cultural evolution of Hong Kong through the lenses of renowned photographers.

Fan Ho with his Rolleiflex 3.5 A (type K4A) camera which he used to take phots of Hong Kong in the 50s and 60s. Photo: Fan Ho
Old Hong Kong

An abandoned village is brought to life in this debut Hong Kong festival

The Countryside Harvest Festival takes place at the 400-year-old village of Kuk Po in Hong Kong’s far north.

The interior of a typical farmer’s residence in Kuk Po, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Architecture and design

No need to ask, it’s a smooth calculator

Few office devices can be as desirable as the Divisumma 18, designed in 1972 by Mario Bellini for Olivetti.

From our archives

Recap | Quirky tales from old Hong Kong, from exorcised ghosts to nudists

Explore quirky stories from PostMag’s archives, featuring a woman waking up at her own funeral and a bank’s very costly blunder, to supernatural goings-on and naturists letting it all hang out.

South Korea

Martial law, memes and mayhem: the rise and fall of Yoon Suk-yeol

Once a celebrated anti-corruption crusader, on Wednesday Yoon became South Korea’s first sitting president to be arrested.

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A placard of impeached South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol with horns is seen on an installation during a rally against Yoon near his residence in Seoul on January 5. Photo: AFP
Old Hong Kong

Recap | Hong Kong is a foodie mecca, but what is the history of its culinary evolution?

PostMag writer Jason Wordie explores how Hong Kong’s culinary landscape evolved from British army camp food to street food hawkers and even the influence of Chinese railroad builders.

American visitor Ellen Clark enjoys dim sum in a local Hong Kong restaurant in 1977. Photo: SCMP
Hong Kong

He escaped death by beheading in 1940s Hong Kong, then became a British oil exec

Now 98 years old, Hui Yin-kan survived the Japanese occupation during World War 2.

Asia travel

All technology will eventually ‘die out’. This Tokyo museum preserves it

From Betacam videotapes to cameras, defunct tech is the main attraction at the Extinct Media Museum.

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War and conflict

UK security service MI5 to reveal some of its secrets in exhibition

A World War II-era guide to tailing a target, and files on notorious double agents such as Kim Philby, feature in MI5: Official Secrets show.

A file about British double agent Anthony Blunt to feature in the MI5: Official Secrets exhibition. Photo: Reuters
King Charles III

Britain’s King Charles to visit Poland for Auschwitz commemorations

Auschwitz, the largest Nazi death camp in World War II, was liberated on January 27, 1945.

Architecture and design

Glamorous and luxurious, art deco style is back – with modern twists

Art deco is enjoying a comeback in decor and fashion 100 years after its introduction, embraced by celebrities such as Zendaya and Beyoncé.

Archaeology and palaeontology

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle, Iraq’s historic treasures become whole again

Archaeologists are painstakingly putting together artefacts at Nimrud shattered by Islamic State jihadists, undaunted by the colossal task.

An archaeology expert catalogues destroyed artefacts - which range from bas-reliefs and sculptures to decorated slabs depicting mythical creatures - at the archaeological site of Nimrud, south of Mosul, Iraq, on January 3, 2025. Photo: AFP
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The earliest Chinese lotteries, and a cheating operator’s gruesome death

Various forms of lottery have existed in China for centuries, as have attempts to ban them for reasons like the social problems they induce.

People queue to buy lottery tickets at a branch of the Hong Kong Jockey Club in the city’s Central business district for the Mark Six Snowball draw of HK$100 million on January 2, 2025. Photo: Edmond So
Asia travel

A Bengaluru train ride back in time

A journey into the colonial past visits four restored railway stations on the Bengaluru-Kolar line.

From our archives

Recap | Hong Kong’s star-studded past, from The Beatles to Muhammad Ali

Discover the fascinating stories of some of the biggest ever names from the worlds of music and sport during their memorable visits to the city.

Vietnam

Squid Game accused of whitewashing South Korea’s Vietnam war ‘atrocities’

Vietnamese authorities are reviewing whether the second season of the Netflix smash-hit series violates the law amid calls for a boycott.

Masked characters appear in a scene from the South Korean Netflix hit show “Squid Game”. Photo: Netflix/TNS
Asia travel

Italy’s bee buzzes off to India after failing EU emissions standards

Piaggio Apé 3-wheeler is slow but carries a big load. A feature of Italian life for 75 years, it will now be built in India.

A Piaggio Apé three-wheeler van in Rome, Italy. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Japan

Nagasaki atomic bomb survivor, who devoted his life to peace, dies at 93

Shigemi Fukahori was only 14 when the US dropped the bomb on Nagasaki and hoped to pass on ‘the baton of peace’ in reference to his advocacy.

India

Shock and gore: why Indian street plays resort to the outrageous and grotesque

Street theatre in India has had to adapt to the digital age and ideological threats to stay relevant amid a changing cultural landscape.

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