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Kang Hyun-kyung

Korea Times Editorial Reporter

I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.

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Opinion

Politician who said no to partisan politics

By Kang Hyun-kyungThe late President Roh Moo-hyun (1946-2009) has been wielding influence posthumously ahead of the March 9 presidential election to be held over a decade after his tragic death.Just like celebrities or leaders in other industries, politicians become forgotten once they disappear from the public eye. Thus, it's unusual that the late president who was in office from 2003 to 2008 was summoned out of the blue in the middle of the current presidential race. What's intriguing is that the liberal politician's popularity among presidential candidates is bipartisan, with three candidates representing conservative, liberal and center-right parties all pledging to succeed Roh's legacy. The main opposition People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol ignited the Roh nostalgia in his emotional campaign speech on Feb. 5 at Jeju Island's small fishery village of Gangjeong. “Back in 2007, President Roh emphasized that a naval base on Jeju was necessary. He went on to say that the coexistence of arms and peace may sound awkward but this doesn't mean they shouldn't be together,&rd

Feb 9, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Politician who said no to partisan politics
Politics

Why do polls show different results for presidential race?

A signboard installed inside the National Election Commission shows that there are 30 days left to the presidential election. YonhapExperts say polls can be wrong, as pollsters find it tougher to conduct surveys after mobile phones replaced landline telephonesBy Kang Hyun-kyungOne poll finds that ruling Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung is ahead of main opposition People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol within a margin of error. Another says the opposite: Yoon is comfortably leading the presidential election race, with the gap between the two outside of the margin of error.Nearly 20 public opinion surveys of the presidential candidates are made public every week. These poll results share one thing in common: there's certainly a two-way race going on between Lee and Yoon, with Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party behind in third place. Other than that, those polls share almost no other details, including who is leading and what qualitatively characterizes the competition between the two leading candidates. Amid these confusing results, a closer look at these po

Feb 6, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Why do polls show different results for presidential race?
  • Ahn Cheol-soo rejects unified candidacy, vows to finish race
Politics

Court rules against Lee-Yoon TV debate

Clenching his fist, People's Power presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo speaks during a meeting with his party members at a hotel in western Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe Seoul Western District Court ruled in favor of minor People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo in his request to ban three TV broadcasters ― namely KBS, SBS and MBC ― from hosting and airing a one-on-one TV debate between two presidential candidates.The three broadcasters were scheduled to hold and televise a TV debate between the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on either Jan. 30 or 31.In a ruling on Wednesday, the district court said TV broadcasters can hold debates and invite candidates based on their own criteria. However, it went on to say there are limits to the media's rights to host TV debates, considering that TV debates are an effective and important medium for candidates in their campaigning, through which voters can compare the candidates and decide how to vote on

Jan 26, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Court rules against Lee-Yoon TV debate
  • Yoon rebounds, Lee stagnates in polls
Politics

Mid-campaign break makes Sim bolder progressive standard bearer

The presidential candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party, Sim Sang-jung, left, shakes hands with a pedestrian near Mangwon Station while on the campaign trail in Seoul on Tuesday. YonhapBy Kang Hyun-kyungPresidential candidate Sim Sang-jung took a five-day break in mid-January. For a presidential candidate on the campaign trail, taking a hiatus for five days without reaching out to voters seemed like something akin to a gamble ― if not a detrimental move. At that time, there were just over 50 days left before the March 9 presidential election.The clock for the election was ticking and it seemed like every minute counted. Other candidates were intent on engaging with as many voters as possible, adding events and gatherings into their already busy schedules in order to appeal to people's hearts and minds. What Sim did, however, was the opposite. She chose to take some alone time. Canceling her fully packed schedule from the early morning to late at night, while making the surprise announcement that all her campaign would be suspended from then on, Sim then temporarily vanished

Jan 26, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Mid-campaign break makes Sim bolder progressive standard bearer
  • INTERVIEW 'I will end the era of super-presidents:' Sim Sang-jung
Books

US scholar explains Confucianism as time-honored teachings for self-growth

GettyimagesbankIn upcoming book 'Growing Moral,' Stephen Angle untangles misunderstandings about ConfucianismBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe 2015 census released by Statistics Korea presented interesting information about how Confucianism is viewed by the Korean public: unlike people of many other countries who deem it as a philosophy, Koreans consider it a religion. Out of 49 million adults aged 18 and older, the survey found that some 75,000 people identified themselves as believers of Confucianism. Protestants took up the largest proportion with 20 percent, followed by Buddhists (16 percent) and Catholics (8 percent). Although its figure is relatively small compared to those of the top three religions, those who answered that their “religious affiliation” is Confucianism came in fifth, following Won Buddhists. The census and its results made news at that time, mainly because Protestants had replaced Buddhists in the top spot, defying the findings of the 1995 census.For people outside of Korea, however, the results present another intriguing finding that is not discussed much in

Jan 14, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
US scholar explains Confucianism as time-honored teachings for self-growth
Shows & Dramas

Veteran actor sees career breakthrough in sunset years

Actor O Yeong-su, left, features a poster for a theatrical show “Last Session.” YonhapBy Kang Hyun-kyungActor O Yeong-su, 78, is a late bloomer who eventually saw the dramatic rise of his career against all odds in his sunset years. Debuting as a theater actor in 1963, he has appeared in over 200 productions, including theatrical shows, movies and TV series. Among other works, he appeared in late director Kim Ki-duk's 2003 romance film, “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring,” and the 2009 TV series, “Queen Seondeuk.” In those works, he played a Buddhist monk. Despite his prolific career mostly in theatrical shows, O has been an obscure actor for the most part of his nearly six-decade acting career, and like many other theater actors who helplessly endure “cold and starving days” as a result of their choice to live a life by their passion, he barely made ends meet. The Netflix original series, “Squid Game,” has become a game changer in his life. His career took off as the Netflix show became a global sensation. There he pl

Jan 10, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Veteran actor sees career breakthrough in sunset years
  • 'Squid Game' actor O Yeong-su wins Golden Globe
Travel & Food

Korea's kimchi exports set new record

Getty ImagesBy Kang Hyun-kyung South Korea's kimchi exports last year reached a record-high of $159.9 million with a 19.2 million surplus, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.It's the first time for the nation to see a surplus in kimchi trade since 2009. South Korea also imports kimchi mainly from China. According to the agriculture ministry, kimchi exports have grown annually 18 percent in the past five years. Over the past five years, the number of importing nations has increased from 61 countries in 2016 to 89 countries last year. The popularity of Korean pop music and dramas overseas is believed to be one of the factors that boosted the growth of kimchi exports as overseas hallyu fans' interest in Korean food has grown. The agriculture ministry said it would continue to make efforts to increase kimchi exports while putting an equal emphasis on discovering other food and agricultural products that can be exported.

Jan 9, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Korea's kimchi exports set new record
Trends

INTERVIEW Joseon pop's fanbase in the making

Bill Bragin, co-founder and co-drector of the globalFEST world music festival and executive artistic director of the Arts Center at New York University in Abu Dhabi / Photo by Waleed Shah  GlobalFEST co-founder Bill Bragin discusses Korean folk fusion bands and how the world music festival helped them become visible in North AmericaThis article is the third and last in a three-part series on Joseon pop ― ED. By Kang Hyun-kyung Bill Bragin, co-founder and co-director of the globalFEST world music festival held every year in New York, has witnessed some Korean folk fusion bands gaining a foothold in the United States. “I have seen audiences respond with a great deal of enthusiasm, both at festivals like Roskilde where I saw Black String as well as nightclubs in the United States like Joe's Pub, the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center and of course globalFEST, where SsingSsing and ADG7 both had ecstatic receptions,” he told The Korea Times. “We saw how that also translated to video performances on NPR Tiny Desk and elsewhere.”Bragin, also executiv

Jan 4, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
[INTERVIEW] Joseon pop's fanbase in the making
Books

Book discloses presidential candidate's bad blood with brother

Lawyer Jang Young-ha points to a printout showing packs of 50,000 won bills to support his client's claim that the money was allegedly handed over to then Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung in this October 20 file photo. Jang recently released a book, “Bye! Lee Jae-myung” which tells the story of the presidential candidate and his bad blood with his older brother who passed away in 2019, years after he was diagnosed with cancer. Korea Times fileLawyer who was once close to Lee Jae-myung, releases book to discredit the DPK candidate By Kang Hyun-kyung“Bye! Lee Jae-myung,” is a book written by Jang Young-ha, a former confidant of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) presidential candidate. The book, however, was penned after Jang became Lee's bitter enemy. Officially released on Christmas Eve of all possible dates, the politically-motivated book printed by the Jiwoo publishing house has emerged as a headache for the DPK, not to mention its presidential candidate.A former judge, Jang was once close to Lee and worked for him when he ran for mayor of Seongnam

Jan 1, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Book discloses presidential candidate's bad blood with brother
Trends

Joseon pop tantalizes US music fans

Shawn Choi, center, poses with Korean folk fusion band ADG7 in Ottawa, Canada in November during the band's North America tour. Courtesy of Shawn Choi SORI Artists' Shawn Choi brings Korean folk fusion musicians to US This article is the second in a three-part series on Joseon pop ― E.D. By Kang Hyun-kyungKorean folk fusion band Ak Dan Gwang Chil's 35-minute concert on the Seattle-based radio station, KEXP, which was released on Nov. 29, offers listeners a unique cultural experience. Created by several different traditional stringed instruments, flutes and percussion, the intense composite sound and the powerful yet restrained vocals of the female singers create a unique sound that is both colorful and highly addictive.Viewers are drawn into their masterful presentation of Korean traditional or folk music with modern twists, as the band, also known by the acronym, ADG7, performs one song after the other. Introducing the Korean band, producer and DJ Darek Mazzone, th

Dec 30, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung
Joseon pop tantalizes US music fans
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