news
15530
South Korea Migrant Workers Publicize Dire Work Conditions
In a viral video posted by Facebook page “Khmer people in Korea,” a migrant worker is violently beaten and abused by a man assumed to be his South Korean boss. It has reached more than 2 million views since July 13. The video shows the worker being forcefully dragged around,
Park Geun-hye Has Made Her Bed. Now, Who Will Lie in It?
Former president Park Geun-hye’s administration has come under fire recently for documents it left behind in the presidential office. But now it turns out she left something else behind too: three rather expensive beds. During her presidency, Park purchased the beds with taxpayers’ money at a total cost of
Praise for Nuclear Industry Grows. Guess Who Is Paying for It.
As Moon Jae-in’s government looks for ways to implement its promised move away from nuclear power, publicly-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) appears to have dramatically upped its spending on pro-nuclear publicity. Data obtained by independent lawmaker Yoon Jong-o and the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) and
South Korea Drops HIV Screening of Foreigners, but Stigma Remains
The Ministry of Justice announced earlier this month that English teachers will no longer be screened for HIV during the visa application process to be eligible to enter and stay in South Korea. The decision comes 10 years after the government changed its visa policies for foreign English teachers, in
Soy Sauce For Your Baby's Ear Inflammation
An online community for anti vaccination in South Korea, called “Ahn-a-ki,” is finally closing. In this infamous Naver cafe, users called “mom-doctors” individually diagnosed other online members — there were about 60,000 of them — consulting with each other the symptom of their babies. And some of their advice,
We Need to Tak about Hyeon-min
In a chapter of “A Manual for the Male Mind,” author Tak Hyeon-min provides a succinct bit of mansplaining. He recommends the old-fashioned pull-out method during intercourse as a means of birth control, his point being that since using a condom impedes the formation of “a next-level emotional rapport,” women
Who Are the Agencies Behind North Korea Tourism?
When hundreds of foreign journalists visited Pyongyang in April to cover North Korea’s latest military parade, Otto Warmbier had already been in a coma for about a year. And nobody knew. Earlier this month, Warmbier’s parents received the first update about their son’s condition since Jan. 2016,
Reporter's Notebook: Summer in Tapgol Park
As my colleague Jieun and I stepped into Tapgol Park in downtown Seoul, all eyes immediately turned to us: two young women in a space where elderly people come to spend their free time. Many approached with a smile, looking intrigued by our presence, but wary of the bulky camera
Money Is Key: Weddings for the Willingly Unmarried
While myriad reasons are causing young South Koreans to shun putting rings on their partners’ fingers, money is often the definitive factor. An average wedding costs 270 million won (24,000 U.S. dollars); not only that, finding affordable housing in major cities is close to impossible for newlyweds. As
G-Dragon's "Album" is a USB: What's the Problem?
In the fifth track of his latest album, Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon raps, “Right, wrong, I don’t understand…. I’m not the problem, I’m the solution to the problem.” The 30-year-old rapper has long traversed a fine line between the so-called problems and solutions, simultaneously defining
Murder, Mystery and Character Communities
In March, the murder of a young girl at the hands of a 17-year-old sent shockwaves beyond her neighborhood in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. The anonymous perpetrator, only identified by the surname Kim, is a high school dropout with a history of mental illness. She is accused of luring a seven-year-old girl,
How S. Korea's Abandoned Schools Return to Life
Perched in the highlands of Gangwon Province, Hwacheon is a rural county within reach of the armistice line between South and North Korea. Some parts are as close as nine kilometers from the demilitarized zone; unit after unit of troops stands in the county’s silent mountain ranges, in areas