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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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Health

Catholic Church calls for unconditional ban on abortion

Bishop Mathias Lee Yong-hoon, new president of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Korea / YonhapBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe newly-elected leader of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Korea (CBCK) announced that there has been no change in the Catholic Church's pro-life stance, saying abortion is unacceptable.During a news conference held at the CBCK in Seoul, Bishop Mathias Lee Yong-hoon said “protecting the dignity of human life is a value that cannot be compromised.” Lee, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Suwon, was recently elected as the CBCK president.After reaffirming the Church's view on abortion, he went on to urge the government to introduce “conscience objection.”“Conscience objection allows doctors and nurses to refuse to perform abortions requested by their patients. Healthcare workers shouldn't be punished just because they refuse to perform an abortion procedure,” he said. The government recently pre-announced the implementation of revisions to the Criminal Law, and Mother and Child Health Law, which decriminalizes abortions conducted wit

Oct 16, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
Catholic Church calls for unconditional ban on abortion
Books

South Korean poetry 'Hysteria' wins US translation award

By Kang Hyun-kyungPoetry “Hysteria” written by Kim Yi-deum, translated by Jake Levine, Seo So-eun and Choi HedgieThe South Korean poetry work “Hysteria” has won the 2020 National Translation Award (NTA) presented by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). Written by poet Kim Yi-deum, the volume was translated by Jake Levine, Seo So-eun and Choi Hedgie.On its website announcing this year's winner Thursday, ALTA said Kim's “Hysteria” is an “intriguing and illuminating volume.”“One of the co-translators of this good-humored and confrontations book notes in his afterword that the style of Korean poet Kim Yi-deum is intentionally excessive… and irrational,” it said. “Her speaker is a hipster who makes brash statements about quotidian experiences that may occur in any crowded city…. Yi-deum turns her glance on her specifically Korean milieu as well.”Levine is an American translator, poet and scholar and works as an assistant professor of creative writing at Keimyung University. Seo is a poet

Oct 16, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
South Korean poetry 'Hysteria' wins US translation award
Books

Bad blood brewing: Two authors at odds over Korea's colonial past

Novelist Jo Jung-rae during a news conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his literary debut at the Press Center in central Seoul on Monday / YonhapFamed novelist's irritated reaction to 'pro-Japan' Koreans explained By Kang Hyun-kyungJo Jung-rae, author of million-seller “Arirang” (1994), had caused the public to raise their eyebrows earlier this week for his sweeping hostile description of Koreans who had lived in Japan as overseas students. The award-winning novelist called all of them “Japan sympathizers.”Jo, 77, called for the reestablishment of the taskforce named the Special Investigation Committee of Anti-National Activities that was initially set up in 1948 to investigate Koreans who had cooperated with the Japanese Empire during the colonial period, calling for a purge of some 1.5 million Japan sympathizers in Korea. “People who studied in Japan are doomed to become pro-Japanese. They become traitors. Some call them 'homegrown Japanese pirates'…,” he said during a news conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hi

Oct 14, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
Bad blood brewing: Two authors at odds over Korea's colonial past
Trends

Eatery owner cancels franchise plan after caught copying recipes

gettyimagesbankBy Kang Hyun-kyungA Seoul-based restaurant owner, who copied rice porridge recipes developed by a Pohang-based chef and tried to use them to start a franchise business, publicly apologized for his actions. In a statement released on Monday, the owner of Seoul-based restaurant Dubjuk Dubjuk said he “plagiarized” the rice porridge, called “dubjuk,” and promoted it using deceptive marketing phrases while pushing for a franchise business, which could have misled customers to believe that his and the Pohang-based eateries are related. “I am deeply sorry for hurting (the Pohang-based chef) who developed the recipes through her months-long endeavor to offer new recipes for her customers,” it reads. “I went all the way down to Pohang on Oct. 11 to apologize to the chef in person. But I couldn't meet her because she didn't want to see me. So I chose to release a statement to deliver my regret to her.”The Dubjuk Dubjuk owner said he regretted what he had done and vowed to cancel his plan to start a rice porridge franchise business,

Oct 12, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
Eatery owner cancels franchise plan after caught copying recipes
Trends

Singer's dress code ignites speculation

On the cover of Na Hoon-a's new album, “A Tale of Nine Stories,” the singer in black clothes holds a black umbrella on rocks near an unspecified lagoon. Some conservative YouTubers claim that dressing in black reminds them of the “Black Protests” during which activists claim the April 15 National Assembly elections were fraudulent. Culture critics deny the allegation and say Na is not affiliated with any political party.Na Hoon-a craze continues, this time attention on his political orientationBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe Na Hoon-a craze, which enthralled the nation during the Chuseok holidays, shows no sign of abating. Talk about the singer has not waned in the days since the holiday as speculation has mushroomed about the trot singer's motives behind his rare open criticisms of KBS and partisan politics. His new songs performed during the show have gone viral and the way he presented his music has sparked people's imagination about his political orientation.Among others, “Brother 'Tes!” was the most popular among nine songs on his new album, “A Ta

Oct 7, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
Singer's dress code ignites speculation
Entertainment

Na Hoon-a comforts pandemic-weary Koreans

In this captured image from KBS, veteran singer Na Hoon-a performs his new song “Brother Tes” during his TV concert at KBS Hall in Seoul last week. The concert aired on KBS 2 on Wednesday, the first day of the Chuseok long weekend, and outperformed other TV shows in the same time slot, with a 29 percent viewer rating. “Tes” in the title of the song refers to Greek philosopher Socrates, whom singer Na asks for wisdom about men's lives full of suffering, troubles, hurdles and unknowns.'Emperor of Trot' cheers up people, rebukes partisan politicsBy Kang Hyun-kyungOnce again, singer Na Hoon-a proved that age is just a number. The 73-year-old star was tireless, energetic enough to perform 26 songs all during the two-and-a-half-hour concert which aired on KBS 2 first on Wednesday and once again on Saturday night in an extended version featuring his interview after the show. The Na Hoon-a concert gave KBS 2 incredible ratings ― viewership marked 29 percent for the Wednesday night show and 18 percent for the show that aired on Saturday night. These figures are strong

Oct 5, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
Na Hoon-a comforts pandemic-weary Koreans
Arts & Theater

Daydreamers hunt dragon for money

Kim Hyung-tae, front, artistic director of social enterprise Hab Good Village, plays Yongpal-ee in the madangnori (traditional performance) “Dragon Hunters.” It has been performed every Saturday at the Korean Traditional Culture Center in Jeonju Hanok Village of the southern city since May. / Courtesy of Hab Good Village Hilarious, educating madangnori 'Dragon Hunters' woos foreign tourists By Kang Hyun-kyungTraditional performance “Dragon Hunters” revolves around four main characters searching for a dragon, hoping to make a fortune. Although it tells the story of people chasing after money, the performance rarely seems materialistic. In the traditional open space musical, the dragon hunters are hilarious rather than greedy or self-absorbed.As opposed to seeking wealth out of a sense of greed, the four dragon hunters plan to use the sizeable financial compensation they hope to get by catching the mythical creature to solve different pressing issues they are facing.

Sep 29, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
Daydreamers hunt dragon for money
Entertainment

SM CEO speaks on founder factor behind K-pop's global success

Lee Sung-su, CEO of SM Entertainment, gives a keynote speech at MU:CON Online 2020 in Seoul, Friday. Due to COVID-19, the four-day annual music market event was held online. / YonhapBy Kang Hyun-kyungLee Sung-su, CEO of SM Entertainment, said on Friday that K-pop was able to become a global cultural phenomenon, partly because of SM founder and now producer Lee Soo-man's forward thinking, timely strategy and global network. In a keynote speech to the global music market event MU:CON Online 2020, Lee said SM founder Lee Soo-man introduced the concept of “culture technology” back in the late 1990s as part of his vision to take K-pop to the global stage. “Since then, it has become K-pop's engine for growth,” he said during the four-day event hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration of Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) which will wrap up on Saturday. According to the SM CEO, K-pop's culture technology is a three-staged strategy.“It first begins with culture creation,” he said. “Culture creation is about talent sea

Sep 25, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
SM CEO speaks on founder factor behind K-pop's global success
Trends

A tale of natural wine

French farmer and winemaker Dominique Herque, left, and his farmer-novelist wife Shin Yi-hyun check grapevines in their vineyard in Chungju City, North Chungcheong Province, on Sep. 17. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulFrench farmer, his Korean wife use European-style organic farming to make pure, natural winesBy Kang Hyun-kyungChungju, North Chungcheong Province ― Last Thursday was another fulfilling yet busy day for French-born farmer and winemaker Dominique Herque and his Korean wife Shin Yi-hyun. In the hot, humid weather, the farmer couple began their day in their newly created vineyard in Chungju's rustic area of Suanbo-myeon, about a 30-minute drive from their home in the city. Nestling snugly at the foot of a hill, the vineyard is their nature lab. They have experimented with European-style organic farming ― called biodynamic agriculture ― to produce “100 percent, additive-free” natural wine. The grapes will be harvested from next year and used for their wine project.“By natural wine, I mean there's no sugar or other artificial additives in it,” Sh

Sep 24, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
A tale of natural wine
Opinion

Self-serving representatives

By Kang Hyun-kyungThe National Assembly interpellation session held Monday turned into a state-sponsored farce. Some ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers tried hard to defend ― not criticize ― the embattled Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae who is accused of abuse of power ― as the former head of the party ― to help her son illicitly extend his leave of absence from the military back in 2016, among other allegations. I was curious about the motives behind their coordinated endeavors to save the troubled Choo, who has angered the public due to a series of allegations, while watching the session on YouTube. How could the ruling party lawmakers turn their back on voters, who were simmering with anger over the justice minister, and act like they knew nothing about the worsening public opinion which has already dealt a blow to President Moon Jae-in's approval ratings? What they did was insane; it was even worse than a farce. A farce is hilarious, gives its audiences laughter and satisfaction as it mocks corrupt politicians and greedy business tycoons. The reality show in the Assembl

Sep 16, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
Self-serving representatives
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