The Korea Times

Women against cohabitation without marriage in mind

This image is unrelated to the article. / GettyimagesbankBy Kim Jae-heunA growing number of single women here are open to living with their partner, but more than half of them say they wouldn't do so if marriage was not part of the plan.Lee Ji-yeon, 30, is an office worker planning to get married to her boyfriend next year. Growing up in a conservative family, Lee is almost certain that her parents would never condone her living with her fiance prior to marriage. But she thinks it is not a bad idea to experience living with a partner before getting married.“You think you know all about your boyfriend or girlfriend just because you have been going out for more than a couple of years,” Lee said during an interview with the Korea Times. “But it is said dating and living together are two very different things. You can experience a totally different person that you never knew.”Another single woman surnamed Kim said cohabitation was a good way to prevent divorce, which has become very common here these days.“My two uncles got divorced recently. In the past, li

Feb 7, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Women against cohabitation without marriage in mind

Others

Snow-capped statue

A “hareubang,” or stone statue of an old grandfather, is covered with snow near Mount Halla on Jeju Island, Thursday, when a heavy snow advisory was issued in the mountainous area of the island. Southern parts of the country had heavy snowfall while the temperature dropped across the nation. The mercury is forecast to plummet further on Friday, with Seoul's morning lows reaching minus 7 degrees Celsius. / Yonhap

Jan 31, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Law & Crime

'Kindergarten body attempted to lobby lawmakers against tougher regulations'

Lee Deok-sun, head of the Korean Kindergarten Association, hands over a written opinion to an official at the Ministry of Education to request withdrawal of bills proposed by Rep. Park Yong-jin to make private kindergartens' use of government subsidies transparent at the ministry building in Sejong City on Jan. 23. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunAn interest group for private kindergartens attempted to lobby lawmakers into siding with them in opposing three bills aimed at strengthening regulations on their operations, the regional education office in Seoul said, Thursday.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said it would ask the prosecution to investigate the Korea Kindergarten Association's (KKA) alleged violation of the Political Fund Law and other irregularities, after conducting a special inspection last month.Based on the prosecution's probe results, SMOE, which holds authority over the KKA, will decide whether to revoke its license.The SMOE said it will consider revoking the license of the KKA. “We will wait for the investigation results by the prosecution and decide

Jan 31, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Must-visit tourist attractions in Seoul

By Kim Jae-heunSeoul has many attractions, and 14 of them were recently included in the “100 Must-Visit Tourist Spots of Korea” listed by the Korea Tourism Organization and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.The list will help visitors select places to see, foods to eat and activities to do.Street of shopping, eateriesMyeong-dong / YonhapThe area near Hongik University, known as Hongdae, was home to many underground rappers and indie band musicians for decades. Unlike other popular shopping areas in Korea, Hongdae has many distinctive individual shops attracting young shoppers to purchase trendy apparel at reasonable prices. However, the best reason for tourists to visit Hongdae is for its busking culture hosted by young performers. People can enjoy various street shows including dance performances.Myeong-dong is the tourist mecca for shopping here. The shopping street is the most-visited attraction by foreign tourists as it is situated in the center of Seoul where other popular destinations like N Seoul Tower and Itaewon can be reached within 20 minutes. Visitor

Jan 30, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Foreign Affairs

Citizens commemorate late comfort women at Wednesday Rally

Participants in the anti-sex slavery Wednesday Rally hold posters commemorating Kim Bok-dong, a former victim, during the demonstration in front of the former Japanese Embassy, Wednesday, two days after her death. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Jae-heunMore than 500 citizens and activists participated in the regular Wednesday Rally held in front of the former Japanese Embassy building in central Seoul to protest Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women, two days after one of its victims, Kim Bok-dong, passed away.The number of participants was almost double the usual figure as many came to commemorate Kim's death. The rally began with a silent tribute to the former human rights activist. Students made up most of the increase, coming to speak out against the Japanese government and to urge it to make a sincere apology.“This is my first time participating in the Wednesday Rally,” said 17-year-old high school student surnamed Han. “I've always wanted to join the demonstration but never had the chance to do so. Now I am on vacation and so decided to come

Jan 30, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Citizens commemorate late comfort women at Wednesday Rally

Society

Cyber University of Korea to support Korean teachers abroad

President of the Cyber University of Korea Kim Jin-sung / Courtesy of Cyber University of KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunThe Cyber University of Korea (CUK) and the Overseas Koreans Foundation (OKF) have agreed to cooperate on a support program to help Korean teachers overseas strengthen their job capabilities, the school said, Monday.The program aims to support language instructors working at Korean institutions around the world to earn the second-level Korean language teaching certificate to improve their ability. Instructors will also have the opportunity to participate in research projects and exchange programs run by the two organizations to strengthen their competitiveness in the education field. The Cyber University will not charge admission fees will give tuition discounts to instructors who have worked at Korean language institutions overseas for a certain period of time and received recommendations. The foundation will give additional scholarships to instructors who perform well.Employees at the foundation are also eligible to apply for the support program and study at CUK.The Departm

Jan 28, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Cyber University of Korea to support Korean teachers abroad

Health

Concern growing over spread of influenza in Japan here

Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the situation in Japan is not serious and people don't have to worry too much about influenza spreading here. / Courtesy of GettyimagesbankBy Kim Jae-heunConcern is growing here over an influenza outbreak in Japan that has been spreading at an alarming rate a week ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, during which a large number of Koreans are expected to visit the neighboring country.According to Japanese media outlets, the number of flu patients was estimated at 5.41 million as of Sunday following an increase of 2.13 million last week. During last year's Lunar New Year holiday, nearly 940,000 people traveled overseas, and over 24 percent of them visited Japan, according to the country's largest tour agency Hana Tour. A similar number of Koreans is expected to travel to various regions in Japan this year.As a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reviewing whether to designate Japan as a travel-alert area if the outbreak worsens. Japan issues an alert and recognizes an outbreak as an epidemic when the average

Jan 27, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Concern growing over spread of influenza in Japan here

Society

'Learning should focus on process'

Matthew Leishman, middle school principal of St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the newsroom in central Seoul, Jan. 11. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Jae-heunMany young people do not know what they want to become. It was same for Matthew Leishman, the middle school principal at St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju (SJA Jeju).Growing up in Seattle, Washington State, Leishman had no idea what he wanted to do when he grew up and to some extent felt insecure. “It was in my high school year when I became a ski instructor and taught handicapped people. That's when I realized I wanted to be a teacher,” Leishman said during an interview with The Korea Times at the company's office in central Seoul, Jan. 11.He went on to pursue a bachelor's degree in educational leadership and curriculum development at Gonzaga University in 1994. Leishman also studied at Washington State University, where he became aware of international schools and thought that one day he wanted to teach overseas.In 1998, China gave Leishman the opportunity to work as

Jan 25, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Korea, China to establish early warning system for fine dust

China is regarded as a source of the growing fine dust problem in Korea. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunKorea and China have agreed to establish a joint early warning system for fine dust as part of cooperation on the ever-worsening air pollution problem, the environment ministry said Thursday.“The government has told China about its concern over disastrous levels of highly concentrated fine dust here,” Yoo Je-chul, a senior ministry official, said at a press briefing. “The air quality in major areas in China has improved 40 percent since 2013 and we stressed the importance of cooperation to reduce fine dust both here and there.”The joint early warning system will allow the government to prepare for fine dust approaching the peninsula and issue alerts for affected areas. Beijing has agreed to provide its forecast data in real-time. “We will receive the newest long- and short-term forecast information from China and compare it with our own to improve the accuracy of forecasting air pollution here. This will allow us to issue an earlier warning on fine dust and sm

Jan 24, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Korea, China to establish early warning system for fine dust

Society

Sejong University's business school ranks 5th in Korea by THE

 By Kim Jae-heunSejong University said Wednesday that it had achieved fifth place among local universities in the business administration and economics sectors in the 2018 rankings by Times Higher Education (THE), a U.K. publication. It ranked 26th in Asia and 151st in the world.The rankings are based on evaluations on the learning environment, volume and reputation of research, research influence, international outlook and industry-university cooperation.“The placement is a result of the business school's efforts to strengthen its research capabilities by inviting excellent scholars from prominent universities around the world,” said Kim Kyeong-won, the dean of the College of Business Administration. “We will make consistent efforts to advance into the world's top 100. Moreover, we will strive to become a hub for education research in Asia.”The college became the fourth institution in the country to acquire a certificate from the global business education network, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 2007. Since then, the

Jan 23, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Women against cohabitation without marriage in mind

Snow-capped statue

'Kindergarten body attempted to lobby lawmakers against tougher regulations'

Must-visit tourist attractions in Seoul

Citizens commemorate late comfort women at Wednesday Rally

Cyber University of Korea to support Korean teachers abroad

Concern growing over spread of influenza in Japan here

'Learning should focus on process'

Korea, China to establish early warning system for fine dust

Sejong University's business school ranks 5th in Korea by THE

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