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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

Lawyers sue foreign ministry over bid to suspend Gaza-bound activist's passport

A liberal lawyers' group filed a lawsuit against the foreign ministry Wednesday, over its attempt to suspend the passport of an activist believed to be preparing to sail to the Gaza Strip on an aid flotilla, calling the measure unlawful and urging the government to reverse course. Lawyers for a Democratic Society, also known as Minbyeon, said at a press conference that it filed the lawsuit against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over its move to invalidate the passport of activist Kim Ah-hyun — more widely known as Haecho — arguing the measure could cause irreparable harm and must be rescinded. According to the legal representatives, a notice of passport invalidation was delivered to Kim's home address in Korea on March 27, with the suspension set to take effect on Saturday if the passport is not returned to the ministry by then. Kim is known to have left the country in early March. She said in an interview in January that three Koreans, including herself, had committed to sailing on a Korean vessel to deliver aid to Gaza and were recruiting more participants. The lawyers' group out

Apr 2, 2026By Park Ji-won
Lawyers sue foreign ministry over bid to suspend Gaza-bound activist's passport
Foreign Affairs

Gov’t warns formerly detained activist not to attempt Gaza entry again

A Korean activist detained by Israel last October after joining a Gaza aid flotilla is attempting to enter the Gaza Strip again, the foreign ministry announced Tuesday, urging her not to proceed and cautioning that the region is far more dangerous than it was at the time of her previous attempt. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has learned that the Korean national who previously attempted to enter the Gaza Strip on a Gaza aid flotilla is again trying to visit the area," a foreign ministry official said. "We urge the individual against entering a region subject to a travel ban, as the person’s safety and life could be at risk.” The official noted that conditions throughout the region have deteriorated sharply. Israeli attacks have killed 670 people in the Gaza Strip since last October, with at least 36 deaths since Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel began their war with Iran. Missile and drone strikes are now occurring across the entire Middle East, the official added. The activist is widely identified as Kim Ah-hyun, also known as Haecho, who is believed to be planning to join a new

Mar 31, 2026By Park Ji-won
Gov’t warns formerly detained activist not to attempt Gaza entry again
North Korea

Seoul backs UN resolution on NK despite ministry row

South Korea cosponsored a United Nations resolution on North Korean human rights that passed Monday (local time), overcoming internal disagreements between ministries that had delayed its participation. Officials insist the move will not undermine Seoul's push for peaceful coexistence with the North. “As a directly concerned party, the government concluded that cosponsoring the resolution would better maintain credibility and consistency, while contributing to improvements in North Korea’s human rights situation through international cooperation, even though various views had been discussed among ministries,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said Tuesday. In a press release issued after the resolution passed, the foreign ministry said the adopted text recognized recent North Korean efforts to meet its human rights obligations, including Pyongyang's participation in the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, while underscoring the importance of engagement — including inter-Korean dialogue — in improving conditions in the North. "The government remains committed to

Mar 31, 2026By Park Ji-won
Seoul backs UN resolution on NK despite ministry row
North Korea

PPP slams unification minister's opposition to UN resolution on NK human rights violations

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) criticized Unification Minister Chung Dong-young as he opposed joining a United Nations resolution denouncing human rights violations in North Korea, in order not to provoke Pyongyang. Rep. Song Eon-seog, floor leader of the PPP, called for Chung's resignation Friday. “Should we prioritize North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s emotions over the human rights of North Koreans?” he wrote on his Facebook page. Rep. Na Kyung-won of the PPP also said on Facebook, “Chung Dong-young is ... effectively acting as a mouthpiece for North Korea.” She urged President Lee Jae Myung to dismiss Chung. Rep. Park Choong-kwon of the PPP said Chung failed to uphold the Constitution and urged him to apologize to the public. “The unification minister should seek unification, and Chung’s remarks show he is not qualified for the post," he said. The criticism came after Chung told reporters on Thursday that “South Korea sees no reason to co-sponsor this year’s resolution for the U.N. Human Rights Council,” adding that “North Korea considers it a major

Mar 27, 2026By Park Ji-won
PPP slams unification minister's opposition to UN resolution on NK human rights violations
Others

Korea risks losing Gulf defense deals by doing 'nothing' in Hormuz crisis, expert says

Korea risks undermining its defense export ambitions in the Middle East if it fails to support key Gulf partners during the current conflict, a Middle East expert warned, arguing that trust built in times of crisis, not just technology, determines future arms deals. Jang Ji-hyang, a principal fellow and director of the Center for Regional Studies at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said Seoul has focused too narrowly on its alliance with the United States and its role as a middle power, while overlooking its strategic ties with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. “Many claim Korea should consider the Korea-U.S. alliance and take a responsibility as a middle power country, but what we are missing here is Korea’s relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” Jang said in a phone interview with The Korea Times, Wednesday. Seoul holds a special strategic partnership with the UAE and a future-oriented strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia — yet is doing "nothing" while both countries endure the hardships of war, she said, likening Korea's stance to that of a "thief" toward

Mar 27, 2026By Park Ji-won
Korea risks losing Gulf defense deals by doing 'nothing' in Hormuz crisis, expert says
Others

Tehran to prioritize evacuation of Koreans, envoy says

Tehran will prioritize helping Korean nationals leave Iran safely if they want, Iran’s Ambassador to Korea Saeed Koozechi said Wednesday. “We consider Korean nationals in Iran to be our guests, so if they want to leave, we will give them the highest priority to move to safe places,” the Iranian ambassador said during a closed-door meeting at the National Assembly, according to Rep. Kim Seok-ki, chair of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. Kim briefed reporters on the hourlong meeting, which was also attended by Rep. Kim Young-bae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Rep. Kim Gunn of the main opposition People Power Party, both executive secretaries of the committee. Koozechi explained that Iran has “taken proactive steps on evacuation from the early stages of the war,” according to Kim. According to the foreign ministry, some 40 Korean nationals, most of whom are believed to have long-established livelihoods in Iran, remain in the country. Another 30 Korean nationals have left Iran through two rounds of evacuation after the United States and Israel began their

Mar 25, 2026By Park Ji-won
Tehran to prioritize evacuation of Koreans, envoy says
Defense

PHOTO Korean-developed sub embarks on trans-Pacific journey

Sailors aboard the ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, a 3,000-ton Korean-developed naval submarine, bid farewell to their families at a naval port in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, March 25, as the vessel departs for its first-ever trans-Pacific voyage to take part in joint drills with Canada in June. The deployment comes as Korea intensifies its bid for a Canadian submarine development contract valued at around 60 trillion won ($40 billion). Yonhap

Mar 25, 2026By Park Ji-won
[PHOTO] Korean-developed sub embarks on trans-Pacific journey
Korean Heritage

Ahn Jung-geun calligraphy returns to Korea for Seoul exhibition

A rare calligraphic work by independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) will go on public display in Seoul to mark the 116th anniversary of his death. The piece, bearing the phrase “Poor but without flattery, rich but without arrogance” in Chinese characters, will be exhibited at the Ahn Junggeun Memorial Museum from March 26 to April 30, according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The piece is on a six-month loan from Japan’s Tokutomi Roka Memorial Museum of Literature, facilitated with the support of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. It arrived in Seoul for the exhibition on March 20. The calligraphy is believed to have been acquired by Japanese novelist Tokutomi Roka during a visit to Lushun, China, in 1913. In the upper left corner, Tokutomi wrote a commentary in 1918, which reads “It is natural that Mr. Ahn Jung-geun chose these words. Had he attained the state of finding joy in poverty and observing propriety in wealth, he might not have been content as the assassin of Ito Hirobumi — which is regrettable.” This calligraphy work was previously shown

Mar 25, 2026By Park Ji-won
Ahn Jung-geun calligraphy returns to Korea for Seoul exhibition
North Korea

North Korea pushes two-state paradigm, declares South ‘most hostile state’

North Korea’s designation of South Korea as “the most hostile state” signals the effective end of the “provisional special relationships” framework that has governed inter-Korean ties since 1991, experts said, urging Seoul to adapt to Pyongyang’s fundamentally redefined stance and recalibrate its approach to reflect a two-state reality. “Up until now, the North has defined the relationship with the South based on the understanding that we are the same people, seeking unification. But upon the North’s designation of the South as an independent and ‘hostile’ nation, the two countries can no longer make an agreement under the provincial special relationships written on the 1991 Basic Agreement,” Koh Yu-hwan, professor emeritus of North Korean studies at Dongguk University, told The Korea Times Tuesday. Koh said it remains unclear whether the term “hostile state” will appear in the North’s revised constitution, but he expects the document to delete language defining the two Koreas as one. “That is one of the reasons the unification ministry of South Korea had n

Mar 24, 2026By Park Ji-won
North Korea pushes two-state paradigm, declares South ‘most hostile state’
Others

Korea pressured by Taipei, Beijing over labeling of Taiwan

Korea is receiving pressures from two countries over the labeling of Taiwan, with the Taiwanese government requesting it be treated independently from China in official documents. Meanwhile, Beijing is asking Seoul to maintain its “One China” principle, which considers Taiwan as part of China. Taiwan had earlier warned the Korean government that it will change the name of the “Republic of Korea” to “South Korea” in its own electronic arrival card in a reciprocal move unless Korea stops listing Taiwan as “China(Taiwan)” in its electronic arrival card dropdown menus. The Taiwanese government said it had already changed the country name from the “Republic of Korea” to “South Korea” on the foreign resident cards of South Korean nationals living in Taiwan. This comes after the Korean government launched its e-arrival card system on Feb. 24, 2025 to expedite entry into the country. In the electronic system, Taiwanese nationals are forced to select “China(Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” sections. The Taiwanese government has been is

Mar 22, 2026By Park Ji-won
Korea pressured by Taipei, Beijing over labeling of Taiwan
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