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Park Ji-won

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.

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Foreign Affairs

US Ambassador Steel leans into Korean American identity before diplomatic debut

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel is leaning into her Korean American identity through a series of personal, ground-level appearances across Seoul before formally beginning her diplomatic duties, a different approach from that of her most recent predecessors. Since arriving in Seoul on Thursday, Steel has visited several landmarks near the U.S. Embassy over the weekend, engaging directly with the public before completing the formal steps required to assume her post. Her public engagement has come notably faster than that of her predecessors, former Ambassadors Harry Harris and Philip Goldberg, who refrained from active public appearances before presenting their credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Posting on her X account for the first time as ambassador on Friday, Steel shared a photo taken in front of the King Sejong statue in Gwanghwamun Square — just across the U.S. Embassy, which is visible in the background — featuring captions in both Korean and English, with the Korean text appearing first. “Walking past the King Sejong statue today reminded me of Ko

1d agoBy Park Ji-won
US Ambassador Steel leans into Korean American identity before diplomatic debut
Books

Hangeul unites people through culture, not imperial power, says scholar

Robert Fouser, an American scholar and linguist, says the global spread of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is an interesting phenomenon in an era of increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) that bonds people culturally without aggression, unlike other languages that have found inroads through religious or colonial imposition. “It (Hangeul) has an interesting role, perhaps, as a kind of language that brings people together as with K-pop fans, and that's related to its history of not being an aggressive language in terms of dominating through religion or control through imperialism,” Robert Fouser, an independent scholar, said during a video interview with The Korea Times, Wednesday. In June, he published his seventh Korean-language book, titled “The Spread of Writing Systems,” which traces the creation, evolution and spread of writing systems across human history. In addition to his native English, Fouser speaks multiple Asian and European languages, including fluent Korean and Japanese. He has also studied Latin, Middle Korean and Esperanto. With a unique career path spannin

Jul 31, 2026By Park Ji-won
Hangeul unites people through culture, not imperial power, says scholar
Foreign Affairs

New US envoy hails Korea alliance as 'one of the world's strongest'

INCHEON — Michelle Steel, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Korea, pledged to strengthen the alliance in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's vision in her first remarks after arriving in the country Thursday. "I look forward to working with the Republic of Korea to ensure that our ironclad alliance remains a linchpin of peace and security in the region," she told reporters shortly after landing at Incheon International Airport. Speaking in fluent Korean, Steel described herself as someone shaped by both countries. "I offer my respectful greetings to the Korean people. I was born in Seoul, but I stand here today representing the United States. Standing here again, a thousand mixed emotions cross my mind," she said. Switching to English, she framed the alliance in historical terms. "The United States and the Republic of Korea have stood together for more than 140 years. Our alliance was forged in war and secured by blood of those who stood shoulder to shoulder to defend freedom. It has been proven again and again through unwavering trust. Today it stands as one of the world's st

Jul 30, 2026By Park Ji-won
New US envoy hails Korea alliance as 'one of the world's strongest'
Environment & Animals

Sweltering heat wave to continue through next week

A sweltering heat wave is gripping most of Korea, with temperatures reaching up to 39 degrees Celsius in some areas, a day after Busan recorded its hottest day in 122 years on Wednesday. Most of the country remains under heat wave alerts, with some areas under heat wave emergency warnings, as officials urged the public to avoid daytime outdoor activities. Extreme heat and sweltering nights are expected to persist into next week. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), morning lows are expected to range between 21 and 28 degrees Celsius, while daytime highs climb to between 32 and 39 degrees, with temperatures projected to stay above average in the days ahead. In particular, the southeastern part of the country — including parts of Busan and South Gyeongsang Province's Yangsan, Changwon, Gimhae, Miryang, Uiryeong and Changnyeong — faces the most severe conditions, with daytime sensible temperatures expected to exceed 38 degrees and air temperatures reaching 39 degrees. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, temperatures had already reached 35.8 degrees in Yangsan and 32.9 degree

Jul 30, 2026By Park Ji-won
Sweltering heat wave to continue through next week
Foreign Affairs

New US top envoy to arrive in Seoul Thursday, faces Coupang, N. Korea tests

Michelle Steel, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea, is set to arrive in the country Thursday, with attention turning to how she will navigate a stack of bilateral issues between Seoul and Washington amid mounting global uncertainties. Steel will land Thursday, according to sources, and begin preparations to formally assume the post, which has been vacant for a year and a half since her predecessor, Philip Goldberg, departed around the time U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January last year. The new top envoy faces a full agenda of pending bilateral issues but is expected to prioritize strengthening the alliance. A hawkish Korean American Republican, she stressed her commitment to "strengthening our alliance with the Republic of Korea" during her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on May 20 — remarks that are likely to extend to overseeing South Korea's $350 billion investment pledge in the U.S. Among the most closely watched issues is the handling of Coupang, the e-commerce giant often compared to Amazon. U.S. House Republicans have steppe

Jul 29, 2026By Park Ji-won
New US top envoy to arrive in Seoul Thursday, faces Coupang, N. Korea tests
Foreign Affairs

US-Saudi nuclear deal offers opportunities, challenges for Korea's own enrichment bid

The United States and Saudi Arabia's landmark nuclear cooperation agreement, signed July 22, has opened a conditional pathway toward uranium enrichment on Saudi soil — stopping short of granting Riyadh independent enrichment authority. The deal has nonetheless drawn close attention in Seoul, where Korea's foreign ministry says the precedent presents both "opportunities and challenges" as it pursues its own enrichment rights in separate talks with Washington over nuclear submarines and fuel. Known as the 123 agreement, the deal between Washington and Riyadh is described by the U.S. Energy Department as providing "great access for American companies in the Saudi nuclear energy program, benefiting American industry, workers and supply chains," while helping to meet Saudi energy needs. The full details are not been made public and remain subject to a 90-day congressional review period. According to U.S. media reports, the 30-year agreement could allow Saudi Arabia to host uranium enrichment facilities built and operated by American companies, contingent on a two-year joint feasibility stu

Jul 28, 2026By Park Ji-won
US-Saudi nuclear deal offers opportunities, challenges for Korea's own enrichment bid
Defense

PHOTO Honoring Korean War veterans

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, second from left, greets a foreign veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War during a ceremony marking United Nations Forces Participation Day at KBS Hall in Seoul, Monday. During the event that coincided with the 73rd anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, Han pledged that Korea will defend freedom and peace through its alliance with the United States and close cooperation with U.N. veteran nations, honor every war veteran with the highest courtesy, expand exchanges with their descendants and carry the friendships with participant countries into future generations. Yonhap

Jul 27, 2026By Park Ji-won
[PHOTO] Honoring Korean War veterans
Foreign Affairs

Nearly 100,000 cyberattacks hit foreign ministry, affiliates in 6 months

Cyberattacks targeting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its affiliated agencies nearly tripled in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, data showed, raising fresh concerns about the security of sensitive diplomatic information following a recently disclosed data breach at the ministry. According to data provided by Rep. Kim Joon-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, cyberattacks targeting the foreign ministry, the Korea Foundation and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) totaled 96,483 between January and June, far outpacing the 73,785 attempts recorded across the entire previous year. By organization, the Korea Foundation bore the brunt of the attacks with 70,043 cases, followed by the foreign ministry with 16,254 and KOICA with 10,186. By attack type across all three agencies, attempted server data hacking topped the list at 49,602 cases, followed by server vulnerability information gathering attempts with 18,852, website hacking attempts with 17,844, and email account takeover and phishing with 4,535. By origin, attacks from untra

Jul 27, 2026By Park Ji-won
Nearly 100,000 cyberattacks hit foreign ministry, affiliates in 6 months
Politics

Shincheonji sect's political meddling allegations expand to ruling party

The political scandal involving the Shincheonji Church of Jesus — a Korean religious sect whose members allegedly joined the then-ruling People Power Party (PPP) en masse to back former President Yoon Suk Yeol — is now spilling over into the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) amid its leadership race. Two leading candidates in the DPK leadership race have been exchanging barbs over the religious sect's alleged intervention in the DPK, escalating into a negative blame-game campaign. Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, a DPK leader candidate, has been raising allegations since last week that the religious sect is seeking to intervene in the DPK to influence the party. “The essence of the upcoming national convention (party leadership race) lies in dismantling the three-way alliance of anti-Lee Jae Myung forces, factional division and Shincheonji,” Kim said, implying that his rival, Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who stepped down as party leader before seeking reelection, might have been involved in the scandal. Kim did not elaborate on the grounds for his claim, but said he raised this t

Jul 26, 2026By Park Ji-won
Shincheonji sect's political meddling allegations expand to ruling party
North Korea

Seoul shifts from denuclearization-first to peace-first on NK, minister says

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the Lee Jae Myung government has effectively abandoned the previous administration’s denuclearization-first policy toward North Korea, reorienting its approach around a peace-first strategy aimed at eventually achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. "In its first year, the Lee Jae Myung administration virtually scrapped the prior administration's stance of 'denuclearization-first' and Complete, Verifiable and Irreversible Dismantlement (CVID), shifting its policy focus to a peace-first policy instead,” Chung told reporters during a press conference marking his first year in the post, which falls on July 25. Chung said the government has also dropped the term "denuclearization of North Korea" from its official vocabulary, replacing it with the broader goal of a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." "We reestablished the goal to build a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and decided not to use the term 'denuclearization of North Korea,'" he said. The minister outlined a strategy centered on first freezing North Korea's nuclear program ra

Jul 23, 2026By Park Ji-won
Seoul shifts from denuclearization-first to peace-first on NK, minister says
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