By , SHINAN, South Korea (Reuters) - Dressed all in purple, bent-over women held long rakes aloft as they walked in a line to a lavender field to carry out some pruning on an island in southwest South Korea.Inspired by their native balloon flower, residents of the Banwol and Bakji Islands, known as the ‘Purple Islands’, have painted their houses, roads and bridges in shades of the hue, and planted purple flowers such as lavender and asters to transform their town into a tourist attraction.“Old people like us have a secluded life here, since all the young people left the town,” said villager...…By , SHINAN, South Korea (Reuters) - Dressed all in purple, bent-over women held long rakes aloft as they walked in a line to a lavender field to carry out some pruning on an island in southwest South Korea.Inspired by their native balloon flower, residents of the Banwol and Bakji Islands, known as the ‘Purple Islands’, have painted their houses, roads and bridges in shades of the hue, and planted purple flowers such as lavender and asters to transform their town into a tourist attraction.“Old people like us have a secluded life here, since all the young people left the town,” said villager...WW…

By , PYEONGCHANG, South Korea/TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government reacted angrily on Tuesday to a statue in South Korea that appears to depict Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, kneeling and bowing to a seated “comfort woman,” a euphemism for women forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels.Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said if reports of the statue on display were true, it would be an “unforgivable” breach of international protocol.“If the reports are accurate, then there would be a decisive impact on Japan-Korea relations,” Suga told a news conference in...…By , PYEONGCHANG, South Korea/TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government reacted angrily on Tuesday to a statue in South Korea that appears to depict Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, kneeling and bowing to a seated “comfort woman,” a euphemism for women forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels.Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said if reports of the statue on display were true, it would be an “unforgivable” breach of international protocol.“If the reports are accurate, then there would be a decisive impact on Japan-Korea relations,” Suga told a news conference in...WW…