Korea Times Editorial Reporter
Kim Ji-soo joined The Korea Times in 2006, and worked on such desks as culture and politics and is currently a member of the Editorial Board. Previous workplaces include The Korea Herald and the Korea JoongAng Daily.
MANILA, Philippines — For the majority of Korean travelers to the country, the capital city usually meant a blip en route to Boracay, Palawan or Cebu. But post-pandemic, and with the growth of integrated resorts in the capital city such as Solaire Resort, Korean tourists are being urged to stay longer.
This Chuseok, also known as Korea's Thanksgiving holiday, in late September, was one of the longest, six days in total. For working Koreans such as me, at the tail end of the Korean baby boomer generation, six days amounted to a full summer holiday. Suddenly with time on my hands and fatigued from work, after searching numerous online travel platforms, I walked into an old-fashioned travel agency with my hair wet after a workout. "Do you have any slots where people have canceled?" The agent there kindly provided me with some last-minute options. "You can fly to Vietnam, or opt for the small cities with hot springs in Japan," ― major and popular destinations were all sold out at that point.
By Kim Ji-sooThe few months before monsoon season are a great time to hit the road outside of Seoul, to discover Korean localities. I am not talking about the well-known, popular ones such as Jeju Island or Dokdo islets but more approachable cities and counties reachable by express bus or train. For non-mountain climbing, day-trip-seeking travelers, local cities and counties offer a respite unlike more well-trodden ones. As one webtoon artist said of his solo bike rides out to small cities on the popular program “I Live Alone,” “Here are places where one can smell the change of seasons.”First Buan ― not Busan ― in the southwestern region was an odd mix of familiarity and advanced technology. The county, which will host the 25th World Scout Jamboree, Aug. 1-12. On closer inspection, it boasts of beaches and lush parks but also a reclaimed seawall, one of the world's longest, at 33.9 kilometers, and therefore connects Buan, Gimje and Gunsan. Here, an estimated 43,000 scouts from some 170 nations around the globe will gather. Because the Saemangeum reclaimed site
By Nathan Price and Leroy HoodThe Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of new Alzheimer's drugs sparked a flicker of hope for the millions affected by this devastating disease. But this progress casts a puzzling shadow.The drugs come at a high cost for relatively limited benefits, offering only a brief respite in the pace of cognitive decline. This reality raises a question: Are we fixated on such marginally effective treatments at the expense of more promising preventive measures?The pharmaceutical industry stands to profit substantially from these drugs, which promise to bring in billions. Eli Lilly's stock price jumped 6.7 percent after it announced positive results from a trial of one new Alzheimer's drug, increasing the company's value by more than $25 billion that day. This isn't surprising given that Alzheimer's disease is estimated to be a $500-billion problem today and, due to our aging population, projected to double in cost by 2050.Despite the market and media frenzy around the new drugs, their efficacy is contested. When another Alzheimer's drug, aducanumab, was
On this day...1456-23rd recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet1822-Charles Graham receives first patent for false teeth1898-China leases Hong Kong's new territories to Britain for 99 years1940-Norway surrenders to Germany during WW II1978-Gutenberg Bible (1 of 21) sells for $2.4 million, London1980-Soyuz T-2 returns to Earth1984-Cyndi Lauper's first No. 1 "Time After Times"1984-NASA launches Intelsat V, it failed1989-Michael Chang's French Open win makes him youngest male to go to finals1990-Kerry Kennedy (daughter of Robert) & Andrew Coumo (Mario's son) wed1997-British lease on New Territories in Hong Kong expires
By Kim Ji-sooWhen the young May verdant gives way to deeper summer greens in June, many Koreans ― particularly older Koreans who remember directly or have indirect memories from stories told by their parents who went through the Korean War ― pause to remember.The layers and passages of time and the urgency of problems posed by extreme polarization in the world's 10th-largest economy may have weakened the violent and bloody memories of the fratricidal war whose end is the current cease-fire. But two recent government structural changes jolted back to our minds the sacrifices made by the Korean people. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs was upgraded to full ministry status, 62 years after its inception. Its chief is a full-grade Cabinet member. Essentially, the upgrade tasks the ministry to govern and oversee the Seoul National Cemetery ― to date carried out by the Defense Ministry ― and to strengthen economic, medical and living assistance for veterans and patriots. Another priority task will be identifying the remains of the 121,879 Korean soldiers still unaccounted for du
On this day...1810-Argentina declares independence from Napoleonic Spain (National Day)1946-Abdullah ibn Hussein becomes king of Jordan1949-Chinese Red army occupies Shanghai1950-Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel opens in NYC1951 New York Giant Willie Mays 1st major league game (goes 0 for 5)1961-JFK sets goal of putting a man on Moon before the end of decade1962-U.S. unions AFL-CIO starts campaign for 35-hour work week1969-Sudanese government is overthrown in a military coup1983-"Return of the Jedi" (Star Wars 3) released1983-First National Missing Children's Day is proclaimed1983-Fire in Nassermeer Egypt kills 3571983 France performs nuclear test1989-Mikhail Gorbachev elected Executive President in the Soviet Union1991-Israel evacuates 14,000 Ethiopian Jews1992-Jay Leno becomes permanent host of "The Tonight Show"1992-Oscar Luigi Scalfaro elected President of Italy
