In South Korea, mandatory service is because of a looming threat from their neighbor to the north. A large standing army is how they defend themselves against that possibility. Even at the demilitarized zone, the DMZ that separates North and South Korea, fighting is really rare.
Elon Musk may be stepping down as chief executive, but he has already changed the firm’s fortunes—and shown that social media’s free-speech struggle is far from over. A bit of fried dough in Kenya reveals how cost-of-living concerns in Africa manifest as shrinkflation. And why members of South Korea’s pop behemoth BTS are headed into the armed forces.
For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer