The Korea Times

60thAnni Flexible working to help women pursue careers

Gender equality minister pledges measures for immigrant wives By Cho Jae-hyon, Kang Shin-who Competition is getting fiercer in every sector of the Korean society. To hang onto their jobs and get promoted, many salaried workers here come to office early in the morning and work late into night. In order not to lag behind their colleagues, they are under pressure to overwork, leaving little time for their families. Tied to their work, fathers can ill-afford to share house chores with their wives. Women eventually tend to sacrifice their career to take care of their children. Against this backdrop, women are increasingly opting not to give birth to children due to the difficulty raising children without support from their husbands. Gender Equality and Family Minister Paik Hee-young is committed to fixing this vicious cycle. As the chief overseeing the nation’s policies on women, she believes a greater role from fathers in every family is the most important ingredient to make women policy a success story. “With fathers taken hostage at workplaces, our homes are brimming

Oct 31, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

Opinion

A street vendors tale

By Cho Jae-hyon City Editor He sells packs of chewing gum on the street. If it’s not a rainy day, he can be spotted every afternoon on the corner of the entrance to the Myeongdong commercial district in central Seoul. Park Sang-sin, 46, has been selling gum for about 16 years there, sitting on a tiny stool right beside the roads crowded with vehicles emitting exhaust gas and blaring, ear-splitting horns. The only thing that soothes his monotonous work hours is some folk music coming from an old, black transistor radio that he puts on a bag beside him. In front of him are a notebook, a pencil and several boxes of gum. At first sight, he doesn’t look normal ― he is mentally retarded. He has been rated at disability grade 1 by a hospital. His face is skewed and he walks with a limp. I’ve recently struck up an acquaintance with him as I often buy gum from him. I eventually chatted with him and had the opportunity for a glimpse at his life. It’s hard to grasp what he says. You need to get close to listen to him as he cannot pronounce words articulately. He always s

Oct 20, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

People & Events

Save The Earth exhibition to be held

By Lee Hyo-sik The United Nations plans to organize a cartoon exhibition, titled ``Save The Earth,’’ in cooperation with the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, and Future Forest, an environment protection group here, at Coex in southern Seoul and multiple places in central Seoul from Nov. 8. The exhibition will last through the Nov. 11 and 12 G20 Seoul Summit. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), adopted in 1994 to fight desertification and deforestation, and mitigate the effects of drought, will take the lead in preparing the exhibition, displaying caricatures of G20 heads in the context of environment protection. The show will also feature over 100 paintings and sculptures created by youths across the globe. UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja said the planned exhibition is aimed at increasing the awareness of desertification and other impending environmental problems among Koreans and foreign visitors during the G20 Summit.

Oct 15, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Humanities to boost potential of students

By Cho Jae-hyon Humanities are withering at universities as schools are abolishing and reducing liberal arts courses to make room for job-friendly departments. But Kyung Hee University is going against the trend. It plans to bolster the liberal arts and invite internationally-renowned scholars in the field. With the aim to help revive sagging humanities and bring university education back to its basics, it established the “Humanitas College” at the end of last month to revamp and rejuvenate its liberal arts. From next semester, liberal arts courses that have been dispersed at different colleges and departments will be united under the Humanitas College. “Universities have put too much focus on teaching students particular skills or technology needed for employment, while social sciences and humanities have taken a back seat. This trend should change,” Kyung Hee University President Choue In-won said in an interview. “Pragmatic and vocational specialties and knowledge are necessary but they are simply not enough. They should be based on humanities that teach about being

Oct 13, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

KTO wins TTG travel award

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), headed by Lee Charm, has been named the best “National Tourism Organization” in the 2010 TTG Travel Awards held in Centara Grand and Bangkok Conventions Center, Thursday. The tour agency said the award is in recognition of its contribution to boosting Korea’s image as a travel destination with aggressive marketing in the Asia-Pacific region and other active tour promotion activities, citing TTG Asia Media. Singapore-based TTG Asia Media hosts the annual TTG Travel Awards to recognize toptier airlines, hotels, tour agencies and other tourrelated enterprises and institutes. It is one of the most prestigious awards in the travel industry. “We take pride in the award and also feel great responsibility. We will strengthen marketing to attract more tourists from Indonesia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations,” the KTO said in a statement.

Oct 8, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Clip showing foreigner beating man causes stir

A video clip showing a foreigner beating an old Korean man during a street scuffle was spreading on websites Friday, with many netizens posting comments demanding the police investigate the case. In the clip, the American man initially argues with an older Korean man on a street flanked by restaurants in Itaewon, Seoul, while some people were attempting to break them up. But the American suddenly bolts towards the old man and pounds him in the head with his fist five to six times. He was stopped by two or three Korean passersby as the old man collapsed on the street. Still, he, being pulled away by other Koreans, yelled at him, “I fought in Iraq for six years. I killed more men than you have ever met,” using abusive words in between. Many netizens are claiming that police should investigate the case and hold the attacker accountable. The scuffle took place in Itaewon on Oct. 2, according to the Police. Police said they dropped the case as the Korean, 58, did not want either party to be punished. Police said the American, 31, is not a soldier as opposed to speculation b

Oct 8, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

MC Mong indicted for draft-dodging

By Cho Jae-hyun The prosecution Tuesday indicted singer MC Mong on charges for intentionally having healthy teeth extracted to dodge mandatory military service. The indictment came after a special nine-member committee comprised of citizens representing all walks of society determined to prosecute the entertainer. MC Mong has been accused of having pulled out at least three healthy teeth in a period of three years from 2004 to get disqualified for the draft. He has denied allegations that he intentionally pulled out healthy teeth.

Oct 5, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Smokers in public places face 100,000 won fine

By Cho Jae-hyun The Seoul Metropolitan Council said Tuesday it plans to pass an ordinance this year to slap a fine of up to 100,000 won on those who smoke at bus stops and other public places legally designated as non-smoking areas. Cho Kyu-young, chief of a welfare committee of the council, said that the city’s plan to fine those who smoke at non-smoking zones has not been implemented due to a lack of legal grounds. He said the law is needed to counter the increasing discomfort to non-smokers from the indirect smoke from cigarettes at public places. “We are going to submit a bill containing details of the steps to reduce damage from second-hand smoke to an irregular session of the council that started today,” Cho said. The bill is expected to get approval by the end of the year, council officials said. The council’s move to institute the ordinance follows the National Assembly’s passage of a revised bill on the promotion of people’s health in April. Among the public places designated as non-smoking areas are bus stops, urban parks, school zones, children’s playg

Oct 5, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

Opinion

Fair Society

By Cho Jae-hyon City Editor Popular singer and TV-show host MC Mong is no longer to be seen on TV. At the peak of his career, the entertainer, hit by draft-dodging allegations, has been ditched by every program. Despite his strong denials, police have concluded that he had at least three of his healthy teeth plucked out to get himself disqualified from the draft. It’s obviously one of the most ingenious and courageous draft-dodging methods ― it’s not easy to think of pulling out teeth and actually putting it into practice. But he did it and succeeded in steering clear of the mandatory military service. He opted to sacrifice his teeth to keep the military service from ruining his career. Sadly, his trick did not work for long. It’s the latest in a series of draft-dodging scandals in which entertainers have taken starring role. Influential public figures and celebrities tend to easily fall victim to the temptation that they can do away with joining the army. Draft-dodging techniques are becoming sophisticated ― some pretend to be insane and others dislocate join

Sep 29, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Man arrested for killing father

A 30-year-old man was apprehended on suspicion of killing his own father and hiding the body in a closet for about 19 months, police said Monday. According to the Goyang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, the man, identified only as Lee, allegedly strangled his 63-year-old father to death after beating him during an argument over his father’s excessive drinking. The suspect told police that his father became violent when drinking. The suspect wrapped up his father’s body using dozens of plastic bags and hid it in a closet in a room of their house. A police investigation began after a report that the father had gone missing from one of his relatives. The son was caught shortly thereafter.

Sep 27, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

Cho Jae-hyon

Read more

60thAnni Flexible working to help women pursue careers

A street vendors tale

Save The Earth exhibition to be held

Humanities to boost potential of students

KTO wins TTG travel award

Clip showing foreigner beating man causes stir

MC Mong indicted for draft-dodging

Smokers in public places face 100,000 won fine

Fair Society

Man arrested for killing father

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