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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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Environment & Animals

Wild boar sightings in Seoul surge 137%

A video of firefighters struggling to subdue a wild boar in an apartment building in Seoul’s Mapo District went viral, April 27. The footage shows four firefighters wrestling with the animal before it was eventually killed. Six days earlier, Ewha Womans University put up an unusual notice for dormitory residents, warning them about wild boars on campus and advising them not to walk alone at night, or make any sudden or provocative movements if they encounter one. The university said it had increased patrols while spraying repellent, but failed to spot or capture any animal. The number of wild boar sightings has been on the rise over the past few years. The incidents reflect a broader trend. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of wild boars reported in the city rose137 percent, from 205 in 2022 to 486 in 2024. Eunpyeong District recorded the most cases at 158, followed by Dobong District with 126 and Seongbuk District with 79. Fire department callouts related to wild boars in Seoul reached 589 in 2024, up 55.4 percent from 2022, with 290 cases already logged in th

May 1, 2026By Park Ji-won
Wild boar sightings in Seoul surge 137%
North Korea

Bukhan or Joson? Seoul debates official name of North Korea

“I have never thought of or called North Korea as 'Joson' in my life. Joson for me is the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910),” said Lee Ye-seul, 37, a South Korean office worker. Like Lee, most South Koreans would never consider calling North Korea by its official name — the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or "Joson" in its shortened Korean form. The familiar term here is "Bukhan," meaning North Korea in Korean. North Korea, for its part, calls itself Joson or the Republic and refers to its southern counterpart as "Namjoson," meaning South Joson. That ingrained habit is now the subject of a formal public debate. The Ministry of Unification has opened discussions on what South Korea should officially call its northern neighbor, after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young spent recent months consistently using the North's official name of Joson. Chung pointed to a reciprocal shift already underway in the North, where the former designation of Namjoson has gradually given way to the South's official name, "Daehanminguk," or its abbreviation "Hanguk." The move appears to align with the g

Apr 29, 2026By Park Ji-won
Bukhan or Joson? Seoul debates official name of North Korea
Foreign Affairs

UNICEF executive director visits Seoul to discuss AI hub partnership

Once one of the world’s poorest countries, Korea has become one of UNICEF’s largest donors — a transformation the agency’s executive director calls “one of the most remarkable in modern history.” “Korea has gone from being a recipient to a leading donor and one of UNICEF’s most important global partners ... Korea is a shining example that with the right investments in children — in education, health, nutrition and protection — transformation is possible,” UNICEF chief Catherine Russell told The Korea Times in a written interview ahead of her visit to Seoul. Korea now contributes $228.5 million to UNICEF annually from public and private sources combined, ranking sixth globally in 2025. Since joining the OECD Development Assistance Committee in 2010, the Korean government alone has contributed more than $800 million to UNICEF programs, helping reach over 110 million children worldwide. “What sets Korea apart is that it’s not just one type of partnership. It’s everything, all at once. I sometimes describe it as a whole-of-ecosystem partnership,” Russell said. O

Apr 28, 2026By Park Ji-won
UNICEF executive director visits Seoul to discuss AI hub partnership
North Korea

North Korea sends envoys to key posts in bid to act like ‘normal state’

North Korea is replacing people in decade-old ambassadorial posts across multiple countries in a diplomatic reshuffling, which analysts say is designed to project the image of "a normal state" and diversify its foreign ties beyond its heavy reliance on China and Russia. The moves include a series of appointments announced in quick succession. On April 7, Pyongyang named Song Se-il as ambassador to Brazil, followed by Ji Kyoung-su to Belarus on April 12. On April 18, Jo Yong-sam was appointed ambassador to Nigeria. On April 21, Hong Kwang-il was named ambassador to Indonesia and Mun Myong-sin to the United Kingdom. On Saturday, Kim Chol-hae was appointed ambassador to Sweden. The U.K. appointment is among the most significant. Mun will take over a key strategic mission handling North Korea's relations with the West, replacing Choe Il, who has held the post since 2016. Mun reportedly served as a second secretary at the North Korean Embassy in London alongside Thae Yong-ho — a high-profile defector to South Korea and former People Power Party lawmaker, who was then deputy to the ambassa

Apr 27, 2026By Park Ji-won
North Korea sends envoys to key posts in bid to act like ‘normal state’
Politics

Main opposition party struggles to find June election candidates, bringing back old guards

While the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) continues to list candidates for the June local and by-elections, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is struggling to field contenders, relying on old guards amid internal disputes and a declining support rate. With just 40 days remaining, the PPP has yet to finalize its candidates for key mayoral and by-election races, including in Gyeonggi Province and Busan, the country’s second-largest city, as of Friday. The conservative party is also showing signs of polarization over Chairman Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok’s leadership, with growing calls for his resignation. For the by-election for the parliamentary seat in Pyeongtaek B, Gyeonggi Province, political heavyweights have gathered. Minor Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk, Jinbo Party leader Kim Jae-yeon and former acting president and conservative party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn have all announced their bids. The PPP, however, has yet to field a candidate. While Choo Mi-ae, a former justice minister and six-term lawmaker, has been actively campaigning as the DPK candidate in the Gye

Apr 24, 2026By Park Ji-won
Main opposition party struggles to find June election candidates, bringing back old guards
South Korea

Assembly speaker blasts US Republicans for ‘meddling in’ Korea’s domestic affairs over Coupang

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik condemned U.S. Republicans’ claim that Korea is discriminating against e-commerce giant Coupang, calling it “interference in domestic affairs.” His remarks followed a letter sent by 54 U.S. lawmakers in the Republican Study Committee to Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha, in which they claimed Korea is taking discriminatory and unfair actions against the U.S.-based company that is under police investigation and government scrutiny for a massive customer data leak last year. “Coupang is under multiple allegations, such as a massive data breach and algorithm rigging. If U.S. Republicans say it is a discriminatory measure against U.S. firms, it means they do not respect Korean laws," Woo said on an SBS radio show Friday. "This is an apparent intervention in domestic affairs and should not happen ... If Korean companies did the same things [data leak and algorithm rigging] in the U.S., would the U.S. let it go?" he said. "I urge Republicans not to meddle in Korea’s legal affairs.” Woo also lashed out at Coupang, saying tha

Apr 24, 2026By Park Ji-won
Assembly speaker blasts US Republicans for ‘meddling in’ Korea’s domestic affairs over Coupang
Foreign Affairs

Seoul rejects US Republicans' claims of discrimination against Coupang

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected claims by dozens of U.S. Republican lawmakers that Seoul is discriminating against American companies operating in Korea, including Coupang, stressing that the investigation into the e-commerce giant is being conducted in accordance with domestic laws and due process. This came in response to a letter signed by 54 Republican lawmakers who accused the government of "targeting American companies," with Coupang, which is under investigation in relation to a massive customer data leak, at the center of the dispute. "Measures and investigations related to Coupang are being carried out in accordance with our domestic laws and due process and are being applied in a nondiscriminatory manner regardless of nationality," the ministry said in a statement Thursday. It stressed that Seoul is faithfully upholding a commitment in the Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet that U.S. companies will not face discriminatory barriers in laws and policies concerning digital services. "The government has been continuously explaining this stance to the U.S. Congress and will contin

Apr 23, 2026By Park Ji-won
Seoul rejects US Republicans' claims of discrimination against Coupang
North Korea

Unification minister at center of controversy over intelligence sharing with US

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is at the center of a deepening intelligence controversy, with the U.S. military and embassy officials allegedly filing complaints over his public identification of the city of Kusong, Pyongan Province as the site of a North Korean nuclear facility, prompting rebuttals from Seoul and raising concerns over trust between the two allies. Rep. Sung Il-jong, a member of the main opposition People Power Party and chair of the National Defense Committee, said Tuesday that U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson allegedly lodged a complaint with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back over Chung’s reference to Kusong as a nuclear facility. Sung added that the U.S. Embassy’s intelligence official in Seoul also filed a complaint with the National Intelligence Service over the matter. The Ministry of Defense immediately refuted the claim, saying, “It is not diplomatically inappropriate for the U.S. Forces Korea Commander to file a complaint with the defense minister and it is not true.” “South Korea and the U.S. are maintaining close, ongoing communica

Apr 21, 2026By Park Ji-won
Unification minister at center of controversy over intelligence sharing with US
Politics

Concerns rise as key ambassadorial posts remain vacant

France, Australia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, New Zealand, Switzerland and UNESCO all share a distinction: none currently has a Korean ambassador or consul general in post. The vacancies are part of a broader diplomatic gap that has widened since President Lee Jae Myung's inauguration in June 2025. More than 15 senior career diplomats had held no titles for over three months according to a March 25 local report. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said 23 ambassadorial posts were vacant as of April 15. As of April 20, The Korea Times confirmed that key missions — including France, Australia and the UAE among Korea's 173 overseas diplomatic posts — remain without chiefs, as do consul general offices in major cities such as New York, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Analysts and former diplomats point out that the prolonged vacancies are creating a diplomatic vacuum and weakening consular support for Korean nationals abroad, concerns that have sharpened as the Middle East crisis deepens. The Ministry of Foreign Affair

Apr 21, 2026By Park Ji-won
Concerns rise as key ambassadorial posts remain vacant
Politics

DPK’s Chong Won-o, PPP’s Oh Se-hoon to compete in Seoul mayoral race

Seoul’s mayoral race scheduled for June 3 has taken shape, with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) selecting incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon as its candidate to compete with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) nominee, Chong Won-o. Oh won the PPP’s primary on Saturday, beating Rep. Park Soo-min and former PPP Rep. Yun Hee-suk. It was widely expected that Oh would be chosen as the conservative candidate in the crucial Seoul race, as he is one of the few heavyweights remaining in the conservative camp as its approval ratings plummet, driven by the party’s internal feud over whether to distance itself from impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol. It is Oh’s fifth bid for the Seoul mayor position. Up to three consecutive terms are allowed for a local government head, and while Oh was elected mayor in 2006 and won a second term in 2010, he resigned following a row over a school lunch policy. He then won a by-election in 2021 for a third term and was reelected in 2022 for a fourth term. If reelected again, he will serve a record fifth term as a local government

Apr 19, 2026By Park Ji-won
DPK’s Chong Won-o, PPP’s Oh Se-hoon to compete in Seoul mayoral race
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