The Korea Times

How Daegu's largest market became 'go-to spot' for conservative politicians

President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee are surrounded by people during their visit to Seomun Market in Daegu, April 1, to attend the ceremony commemorating the centennial of the open-air market. Courtesy of presidential officeTactical voters give rock star treatment or cold shoulder to politicians as political circumstances change By Kang Hyun-kyungIt all started in October 1997 when then ruling party's presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang visited Seomun Market, the largest open-air market located in the southeastern city of Daegu, for a campaign rally. Back then, his political career was at risk, triggered first by his nose-diving support ratings following accusations that his two sons were draft dodgers and then by looming division within the ruling party. Reading a strongly worded statement during a news conference, the judge-turned-politician accused then President Kim Young-sam of smear politics, manipulating behind the scenes and attempting to switch Lee with a new standard-bearer of the conservative camp. Lee urged President Kim to stop trying to influence the rulin

Apr 6, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

How Daegu's largest market became 'go-to spot' for conservative politicians

Politics

INTERVIEW North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams

Seo Jae-pyeong, head of the Association for North Korean Defectors, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times on Monday at a library in Songpa District, Seoul. Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyungThis is the third in a series of interviews with North Korean defectors and their assimilation into South Korea―ED. Older North Korean defectors are predominantly conservative, yet some young people lean toward liberals, says activist By Kang Hyun-kyung“Finally, we are here.”That is what many North Korean defectors say when they arrive in Incheon International Airport after hiding in China for several years. Tasting freedom, they heave a sigh of relief because they no longer have to live in fear of getting caught by the Chinese security authorities and being sent back to the North. But that sense of relief is short-lived as their days in the South unfold.Most of them left behind impoverished family members back home. The defectors say they feel an overwhelming sense of sadness and guilt whenever they think of their parents, siblings and other loved ones who are struggling t

Mar 31, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

[INTERVIEW] North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams

Politics

Clock ticks for China's massive repatriation of N. Korean defectors

Activists rally in front of Chinese Embassy in Seoul to protest against China's repatriation of North Korean defectors in this 2012 file photo. The large blue banner in front of the protestors reads, “China urged not to send North Korean defectors back to the North.” Korea Times fileHumanitarian crisis looms as April 15 could be a turning point for North Korea's 3-year border closure, experts say By Kang Hyun-kyungMany North Korean defectors are believed to be detained in China, according to activists familiar with the situation. The number of North Korean detainees varies, depending on experts, but estimated figures range from 600 to 2,000.Once North Korea reopens its border with China ― sealed in January 2020 to keep out COVID carriers, Beijing is widely expected to repatriate the North Korean escapees back to the North as the country has done for decades. If the massive repatriation takes place, a humanitarian crisis will unfold. In the past, North Korean defectors faced human rights violations by the authorities in Pyongyang, including torture, beatings, sexual assaul

Mar 28, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

Clock ticks for China's massive repatriation of N. Korean defectors

Politics

INTERVIEW Expert pitches Laotian rural reform to solve NK's chronic food shortages

Cho Chung-hui, the director of Good Farmers Research Institute, speaks about a development assistance project in Uganda during an interview with his office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, March 14. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukThis is the second in a series of interviews with North Korean defectors and their assimilation into South Korea―ED.Defector recalls discrimination against Zainichi Koreans, their descendants in the NorthBy Kang Hyun-kyungSUWON, Gyeonggi Province ― Cho Chung-hui, the director of an in-house research institute of the development NGO Good Farmers, visited Laos recently to check with local partners on an egg farm project aimed at generating side income for local farmers. It was an eye-opening trip, he said. In Laos, he added he was inspired to think what North Korea's future could be like. “The agriculture sectors of North Korea and Laos have several things in common,” Cho said during a recent Korea Times interview in his office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. “Farmers of the two countries are poor. Agricultural automation has not been in

Mar 23, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

[INTERVIEW] Expert pitches Laotian rural reform to solve NK's chronic food shortages

Politics

INTERVIEW North Korean-born chef delights Southerners' taste buds, breaks down cultural barriers

Lee Myung-ae, the owner of catering company Jinmiga Foods, poses with fresh vegetables in her kitchen in southwestern Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District, March 7. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulThis is the first in a series of interviews featuring North Korean defectors and their assimilation into South Korean society. ― ED. Fighting cancer, N. Korean defector tries to rebuild her once-thriving catering business By Kang Hyun-kyungLee Myung-ae, a veteran chef and the owner of a catering company called Jinmiga Foods, said there is a single, universal factor that influences people's choices when it comes to eating: food served should be good enough to delight their taste buds. Once this condition is met, she added it doesn't matter to customers where the chef comes from. She learned these lessons from her decades of experience in the food industry, first as a chef and restaurateur in North Korea and now as the owner of a catering business in South Korea. “In my own experience, there is no cultural difference whatsoever in the food industries of the two Koreas,” she said durin

Mar 20, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

[INTERVIEW] North Korean-born chef delights Southerners' taste buds, breaks down cultural barriers

Politics

More North Korean defectors pursue entrepreneurship for better life

A still of the 2017 documentary “The Jangmadang Generation” produced by the humanitarian NGO, Liberty in North Korea (LiNK). The film features young North Koreans who were born and raised after markets popped up in North Korea in the wake of the deadly famine in the mid-1990s. Courtesy of LiNKWith the arrivals of a total of 33,882 North Korean defectors to date, their assimilation into South Korean society has emerged as a key issue. From next week, The Korea Times will publish regularly a series of interviews with North Koreans living in the South to hear their stories about life here and find possible policy implications to make the country more inclusive. ―ED. By Kang Hyun-kyungStartups have become a buzzword among North Korean defectors living in South Korea as they mull various options to start their own business in order to escape what they perceive as discrimination at South Korean companies against people from the North. A 2022 survey conducted by Korea Hana Foundation, which was set up to help defectors settle here, found that 17.9 percent of North Koreans living

Mar 15, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

More North Korean defectors pursue entrepreneurship for better life

Society

South African photographer pays tribute to Korean bus drivers

Lee Soon-il, a city bus driver, smiles in this photo taken on June 6, 2021, at Iksan Bus Terminal in North Jeolla Province. Courtesy of Nathi SihlopheNathi Sihlophe prepares to publish photobook featuring bus drivers in Iksan CityBy Kang Hyun-kyungBus driver Lee Soon-il was taking a break at the bus terminal in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, on June 6, 2021, when Nathi Sihlophe from South Africa approached him for a chat. Due to the language barrier, Lee, 62, said he found it difficult to make himself understood at the beginning of his conversation with the South African. “As our conversation continued, however, I came to understand what he was trying to say,” he told The Korea Times. “Although we met briefly, I had a good first impression of him.”Their brief interaction was mostly non-verbal as neither speak the other's language fluently. As an icebreaker, the South African photographer familiarized himself with the bus driver before asking if he could take photos of him. Welcoming the offer, Lee posed inside and outside of his bus. “When we checked the

Mar 10, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

South African photographer pays tribute to Korean bus drivers

Politics

Interview Late African leader's daughter recalls life in N. Korea under Kim Il-sung's protection

Monica Macias poses near Tower Bridge in London in this recent photo. She is the fourth and youngest child of Francisco Macias Nguema, the first president of Equatorial Guinea since the country gained independence from Spain in 1968. She was sent to North Korea for education in 1979 at the age of 7. Photo from Duckworth BooksIn memoir, Monica Macias delves into her journey from North Korea to the WestBy Kang Hyun-kyungMonica Macias' brown skin, big eyes and curly hair made her stand out wherever she went in North Korea. She had lived in Pyongyang for 15 years since 1979 when she and two other siblings, Maribel and Fran, were sent there in 1979 by her father, Francisco Macias Nguema (1924-79), the first president of Equatorial Guinea. She was 7 at that time. In hindsight, Monica Macias, now 50, said living apart from her mother during her childhood and adolescent years made it difficult to adapt to North Korean society, as she spent most of her early days in Pyongyang homesick and missing her mother. The strict military discipline she was required to undergo at Mangyongdae Revolutiona

Mar 3, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

[Interview] Late African leader's daughter recalls life in N. Korea under Kim Il-sung's protection

Foreign Affairs

INTERVIEW Last 'Imjin Scout' brings DMZ warriors to light

Two soldiers stand guard duty near the military demarcation line in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province in this 2019 file photo. Korea Times fileBy Kang Hyun-kyungFrom 1965 to 1991, a group of specially-trained forces conducted perilous missions inside the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas. These warriors were part of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division. Each team consisted of 10 members and their main duty was patrolling the then-U.S. section of the DMZ. Their DMZ mission continued for three months, then another 10-member team replaced the previous one with another three-month operation inside the buffer area. The military operation continued all year until the responsibility was transferred to the Korean Army in October 1991. Soldiers who had participated in the DMZ mission 20 times or more called themselves “Imjin Scouts” ― a name inspired by the very same river that flows from North Korea to the South. Nine out of every 10 Imjin Scouts were Americans. The remaining 10 percent were South Koreans who served in the 2nd Infantry Division as members of

Feb 19, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

[INTERVIEW] Last 'Imjin Scout' brings DMZ warriors to light

Opinion

President caught in quarrel with lawmaker

By Kang Hyun-kyungWinning the March 8 convention to select the ruling People Power Party's (PPP's) new chairman is part of Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo's playbook to make his dream come true. It's a contest he must win. Otherwise, his ambition to become Korea's next president will be in danger. Depending on political circumstances, his bid to become president may end up as unfinished business. If Ahn wins the upcoming race, the entrepreneur-turned-politician will have a greater say in the selection of the PPP's candidates to run in the 2024 National Assembly elections. He can fill the list with candidates with whom he is politically aligned.The more PPP candidates that win the parliamentary elections, the better for Ahn. The ruling party's primary to select its presidential candidate boils down to a competition to win the hearts of party delegates. A candidate more popular among their party members has more chance to become a presidential candidate. Lawmakers and other PPP candidates who ran unsuccessfully in the parliamentary elections are eligible voters in the primary. Therefore, winning t

Feb 8, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

Kang Hyun-kyung

Read more

How Daegu's largest market became 'go-to spot' for conservative politicians

INTERVIEW North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams

Clock ticks for China's massive repatriation of N. Korean defectors

INTERVIEW Expert pitches Laotian rural reform to solve NK's chronic food shortages

INTERVIEW North Korean-born chef delights Southerners' taste buds, breaks down cultural barriers

More North Korean defectors pursue entrepreneurship for better life

South African photographer pays tribute to Korean bus drivers

Interview Late African leader's daughter recalls life in N. Korea under Kim Il-sung's protection

INTERVIEW Last 'Imjin Scout' brings DMZ warriors to light

President caught in quarrel with lawmaker

Top 5 stories