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Bahk Eun-ji

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.

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Health

Korea to bring back citizens from Japan cruise ship

A plane from the presidential flight takes off from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, to evacuate six South Koreans and one Japanese spouse from a quarantined cruise ship docked at a port in Yokohama, Japan. /Yonhap Gov't confirms 31st COVID-19 infectionBy Bahk Eun-jiA plane from the Korean presidential flight will return here early today carrying six Korean nationals and a Japanese spouse who were quarantined on a cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, the government said Tuesday.Among 14 South Koreans onboard the Diamond Princess ― nine passengers and five crewmembers ― only seven boarded the plane with the rest opting to stay on the ship. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it was mainly due to their lack of a connection to the country and their residential status.“Although only three of the passengers have relatives in South Korea, the government decided to bring them to Korea amid a rapid increase in onboard 2019-nCoV (COVID-19) infections,”

Feb 18, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea to bring back citizens from Japan cruise ship
  • Moon orders emergency economic policy
Society

Colleges at loss over Chinese students

Quarantine officials disinfect a dormitory for foreign students at Daejeon University, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, Monday, amid coronavirus fears, ahead of the start of the spring semester next month. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiUniversities are struggling to find ways of managing their Chinese student populations amid growing fears that nearly 70,000 students returning from the mainland for the spring semester could bring the coronavirus with them, according to school officials Tuesday.The health authorities here have been calling on colleges to temporarily stop Chinese students from interacting with their Korean classmates and others on and off campus to stop the possible spread of 2019-nCoV (COVID-19). However university officials are at a loss on how to properly prevent the virus from spreading as the schools are not equipped with effective methods of monitoring or controlling possible infections.Following a ministerial meeting outlining the challenges facing Chinese students re-entering Korea, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae announced a plan to strengthen preventive measures to bette

Feb 18, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Colleges at loss over Chinese students
  • Moon orders emergency economic policy
  • South Korean presidential plane arrives back from Japan with 7 evacuees aboard
Health

S. Korea confirms 30th case of coronavirus

A notice placed at an entrance to Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, Monday, warns of visiting restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. YonhapUniversities struggle with returning Chinese students By Bahk Eun-jiThe government said Monday it had confirmed a new case of the novel coronavirus infection, bringing the total number of affected people to 30.This and the previous case have raised concern among the health authorities over the spread of the deadly virus, and is likely to lead the government to strengthen its measures to prevent “community transmission.” According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the 30th confirmed patient is the 68-year-old wife of the 29th patient who tested positive Sunday. This patient, 82, had not traveled overseas nor been in contact with anyone infected with the virus. The 30th patient has been quarantined at Seoul National University Hospital, the same medical institution as her husband, the KCDC said. The couple had participated in a volunteer program to provide lunch boxes to elderly pe

Feb 17, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
S. Korea confirms 30th case of coronavirus
People & Events

On air in snow

A weather forecaster shoots a broadcast in the snow at Namsan Park in Seoul, Monday, when the capital received its largest snowfall of the winter measuring up to 4.1 centimeters, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Feb 17, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
On air in snow
Society

News anchor ignites debate on going braless

By Bahk Eun-jiMBC's news anchor Lim Hyun-ju has ignited a debate about women going braless in public places that started after she appeared on live TV without a bra and spoke openly about it.In the MBC program titled “Series M,” which was aired on Thursday, Lim was shown preparing for a live television show without wearing a bra as a part of her participation in a “No Bra Day” challenge for the program. Lim Hyun-ju, news presenter of local broadcaster MBC, appears wearing glasses on a news program in this April. 12, 2018 file photo. Her decision to wear glasses sparked debate online. Korea Times fileWhether or not it is acceptable to go braless is one of the most contentious issues here in Korea. Some people claim wearing a bra is unhealthy for women as it puts undue pressure on the chest while others say it is simply inappropriate for a woman to go braless in public. “I needed a bit of courage to participate in the challenge, because I felt strange without a bra at first. But I got used to it once I began shooting,” Lim said. She then said a lot o

Feb 17, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
News anchor ignites debate on going braless
Health

Korea confirms 29th case of coronavirus

A staff member carries out disinfection at the Korea University Anam Hospital Regional Emergency Medical Center in Seoul, Sunday, after the 29th coronavirus patient visited there and tested positive. /YonhapGov't steps up measures for Chinese studentsBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government stepped up its efforts to prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus here, Sunday, announcing a set of measures that includes testing all hospital in-patients who have pneumonia. With the re-opening of schools in March, the education ministry also said that it will allow universities to ask Chinese students who have yet to come to Korea to consider taking a leave of absence for the first semester this year. “Chinese students still in China will be recommended to take online courses or to take a leave of absence for the first semester if they have visa problems or don't have a domestic residence in Korea,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during a press briefing at the Government Complex Seoul. The series of measures come as the government confirmed an additional case of the 2019-nCoV (

Feb 16, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea confirms 29th case of coronavirus
  • Suffering in silence: Stories from Wuhan
  • VIDEO Wuhan coronavirus: Are Koreans really scared?
  • China toll leaps past 1,600 as first death reported outside Asia
Health

Knowns and unknowns doctors face about coronavirus

By Bahk Eun-jiAs the coronavirus continues to spread, doctors are striving to find ways to fight this new virus, which has raised panic around the world.The novel coronavirus has infected tens of thousands of people in China, with 28 confirmed cases here, and doctors are still struggling to track or predict its transmission pathways as the virus was previously unknown to scientists. Korea's top infectious disease experts also said the novel coronavirus is not one scientists have encountered before and potentially developed over decades.“Even if the virus and its hazards are fully unknown, our role in society is to give consultations based on our accumulated knowledge based on scientific grounds. However, even experts have various points of view for analyzing data when it comes to a new type of disease,” said Peck Kyong-ran, president of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases in a meeting with a group of reporters at the society's building in Seoul. The 11 doctors of the society shared their understanding of the new virus in a recent meeting.The experts who participated

Feb 16, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Knowns and unknowns doctors face about coronavirus
Health

Wearing masks in office: etiquette or overreaction?

By Bahk Eun-jiIt has become a norm to wear face masks on subways and buses, and in other public spaces since the coronavirus outbreak, but there has been a raging debate over whether or not it is appropriate to wear them at the office.Some say it is necessary for people to wear a mask at all times to protect themselves from the contagious virus, but others argue covering one's face is considered ill-mannered among office workers.Yoon Hae-rim, a 34-year-old office worker in Seoul recently had an unpleasant experience when she wore a face mask at her office. After reading a number of articles about benefits of wearing a face mask, she decided to wear it for herself to cover her mouth and nose, even at her office where she works in close proximity to others throughout the day. “I saw the news about two confirmed cases of the viral disease among the 28 patients here, who carried on with their daily lives for days or even weeks, and unknowingly put others at risk of the viral disease. Because the virus spreads through respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes, I think I should we

Feb 14, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Wearing masks in office: etiquette or overreaction?
Health

Gov't advises against traveling to Southeast Asia

Travel agency counters at Terminal 1 in the Incheon International Airport, remained largely empty, Tuesday, amid fears of coronavirus infection. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government is urging citizens to limit travel to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and also eastern neighbor Japan which have all reported community transmission of the coronavirus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Tuesday.“The measure is a part of the government's efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in Korea from visitors to other countries, in addition to China” said Kim Gang-lip, vice minister of the Ministry of Health and deputy head of the central disaster headquarters during a regular media briefing.The decision is based on a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday, which named the six countries as places where the coronavirus is thought to be spreading through communities. It is a separate advisory from the regular travel warning announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The foreign ministry has mai

Feb 11, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Gov't advises against traveling to Southeast Asia
  • Seoul city offers coronavirus information in 12 languages
  • Third evacuation flight sent to Wuhan
  • Couples in dilemma over wedding ceremony amid coronavirus fears
  • South Korea's 3rd evacuation plane arrives from virus-hit Wuhan
Health

Couples in dilemma over wedding ceremony amid coronavirus fears

Couples wearing masks pray during a mass wedding ceremony at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, Korea, Friday, held despite the growing concerns over the new coronavirus outbreak. /AP-YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiSoon-to-be married couples are facing a dilemma over whether to hold a wedding ceremony amid growing fears over the spread of the coronavirus, according to officials at wedding halls and hotels, Tuesday.Some have decided to cancel the event and instead organize small-scale family gatherings, while others holding the ceremony as planned are anticipating small numbers of guests, they said.“Monthly sales in January decreased around 20 percent from a month earlier. Many customers have been asking us to cancel or at least delay the event due to fear of the virus,” said an official at a five-star hotel in Seoul. The official said even though staff at his hotel told their customers that the hotel has been undergoing regular disinfection, and following the government's guidelines to prevent further infection among guests, people are still deeply concerned about using

Feb 11, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Couples in dilemma over wedding ceremony amid coronavirus fears
  • Third evacuation flight sent to Wuhan
  • Gov't advises against traveling to Southeast Asia
  • South Korea's 3rd evacuation plane arrives from virus-hit Wuhan
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