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Wed, February 1, 2023 | 08:31

Resolution remains elusive for Seoul's disabled accessibility issues

Resolution remains elusive for Seoul's disabled accessibility issues

Following some 75 protests on Seoul's subway network since December 2021, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon declared a zero-tolerance approach in the last week of 2022.

2023-01-14 09:13

The Blue House, Korean Age - what next?

The Blue House, Korean Age - what next?

I've never really been able to wrap my head around the Korean age system, although I can understand it in principle, I just can't figure out what it means when someone tells me that a person is 10 or 20 or 30 in Korean age. I find myself unable to picture a Korean-age 10-year-old in the same way that I can instantly imagine an international-age 10-year-old. In response to the...

2022-12-25 16:56

Europe's sins and the World Cup

Europe's sins and the World Cup

Gianni Infantino, the head of football's governing body, FIFA, gave a pretty strange speech a few weeks ago, just before this year's World Cup started. It touched a nerve with a lot of people for all kinds of reasons. While he said plenty of things that merit no attention whatsoever, Infantino made one colorful claim that really sticks out to me: “I think for what we European...

2022-12-03 11:37

K-Censorship

Last month I wrote a piece for the Korea Times in which I argued that the New Jeans song “Cookie” contains strong sexual connotations and is therefore inappropriate for minors to be singing. When I sent it to my editor, I asked if she thought there would be any legal trouble considering the sensitive nature of the topic. She told me that she thought the article seemed fine bu...

2022-10-29 13:11

The Cookie Controversy

The Cookie Controversy

The past month has seen a controversy erupt surrounding the newly debuted K-pop group NewJeans, most members of which are under age 19, as listeners complain that the lyrics of the song “Cookie” have sexual undertones.

2022-09-24 13:04

They 'censored' you up, your mum and dad

They 'censored' you up, your mum and dad

The opening line of “This Be The Verse”, Philip Larkin's famous poem on parenthood, is far too vulgar for the delicate sensibilities of a reader of The Korea Times, so I won't repeat it here. But as those well-read in British poetry know, the central claim of Larkin's poem is that your parents mess you up. Here's the rest of the first stanza:

2022-08-27 11:44

Have we ever had it so good?

Have we ever had it so good?

In 1957 British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan gave a speech where he famously said that most Britons had “never had it so good.”

2022-07-16 10:16

Phone-free Fridays

Phone-free Fridays

On my way to work this morning I peered around in a quasi-somnolent state at my fellow commuters, probably over a hundred of them, all crammed into a carriage of the Seoul Subway, and I pondered. How did people cope with long commutes before we all had mobile phones? With the exception of a fair few sleeping passengers, almost everyone on the carriage, including me, was engag...

2022-06-11 12:05

566 Days Later

It's been a little over two weeks since the requirement to wear masks outdoors was lifted, but a visitor to Seoul would be forgiven for thinking that the rule is still in place. The majority of the population still seems keen to keep their noses and mouths firmly covered by the thin swatches of fabric we've come to associate so closely with the pandemic.

2022-05-21 09:00

Self-help?

Once when I was walking out of the British Library, I saw a woman outside on the floor having some kind of fit or seizure. It was a wintery evening - it may even have been snowy if I remember correctly - and the library was just closing, so there were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people all leaving through the main entrance, hurrying to beat the rush-hour traffic. And althoug...

2022-04-16 11:50

White House Easter Egg Roll returns after 2-year hiatus

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2	US bill introduced to honor Korean War hero

3	South Korea, US to expand size and content of joint military drills

4	Popular travel YouTuber recalls painful memories of being bullied at school

5	Samsung refuses to cut chip output despite plunging profits

6	Holy Moly concert series brings 4 punk bands to Haebangchon

7	Cyber University of Korea offers online Korean language programs for foreigners

8	Yonsei University global forum

9	IMF slashes Korea's 2023 economic growth outlook to 1.7%

10	Korea Exchange to toughen rules against unfair traders

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