my timesThe Korea Times
jwpark

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Environment & Animals

Heavy rains, passing showers expected during 3-day Constitution Day holidays

Following the reinstatement of Constitution Day as a public holiday this year for the first time in 18 years, Korea will enjoy a three-day holiday weekend from Friday to Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather forecast calls for passing showers and periodic heavy rain throughout the three-day weekend in most regions. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Korea will sit on the edge of a high-pressure system moving eastward from near China's Bohai Bay on Friday. The Chungcheong provinces, southern regions and Jeju Island will have cloudy skies or rain due to the influence of a stationary front. As the front gradually moves northward, rain is forecast to expand to the Seoul metropolitan area starting in the afternoon on Friday. The rain is expected to persist through Sunday, the final day of the Constitution Day holiday weekend. With strong UV rays and passing showers forecast for this Friday, carrying a dual-use sun and rain umbrella is recommended. As temperatures remain high despite the rain, the high humidity will make it feel even hotter. The maximum feels-like temperature i

Jul 16, 2026By Park Ji-won
Heavy rains, passing showers expected during 3-day Constitution Day holidays
Defense

Merged military academy in Daejeon to train soldiers for high-tech operations

A government plan to integrate the country's Army, Navy and Air Force academies is taking shape, as a new campus in Daejeon is being eyed to train soldiers in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered all-domain military operations in preparation for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the Ministry of National Defense announced Thursday. “We aim to nurture military officers who possess creative minds, interdisciplinary thinking, professional expertise and high technological literacy,” Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said during a briefing at the National Assembly on Thursday after his meeting with the DPK. “The officers trained in the upcoming academy must lead the ROK-U.S. combined defense post-OPCON transition. To educate them for the future security environment, we need a new curriculum, elite faculty and advanced educational facilities.” He explained that the Jaundae military compound in Daejon would be a fitting location for the planned academy due to its high concentration of tech-focused universities and research in

Jul 16, 2026By Park Ji-won
Merged military academy in Daejeon to train soldiers for high-tech operations
Foreign Affairs

UNESCO review finds Japan's Sado mines follow-up still falls short

Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday that a draft UNESCO decision validates its long-standing position that Japan has failed to adequately address the "whole history" of Korean forced labor at the Sado Island Gold Mines, as the World Heritage Committee (WHC) prepares to adopt the review at its 48th session in Busan. The draft decision, reviewing of Japan's State of Conservation (SOC) report on the site, welcomes the progress Japan has made on "management, conservation planning and visitor management." But on the history question, it finds that "further clarification is needed" on how the site's interpretation strategy addresses "the whole history of the property throughout all periods of mining exploitation" and asks Japan to keep the World Heritage Centre "regularly informed of its progress." The committee also recommends that Japan hold "close consultation with the States Parties concerned," referencing Korea, to improve the site's interpretation strategy, after finding that Japan's approach to presenting the whole history "has shown some progress but remains to be fully developed

Jul 15, 2026By Park Ji-won
UNESCO review finds Japan's Sado mines follow-up still falls short
Foreign Affairs

'Coupang issue persisting longer than expected,' Korea's top envoy to US says

Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha said the conflict between Seoul and Washington over the U.S.-headquartered e-commerce firm Coupang's data breach last year is persisting longer than expected. She made the remarks on Wednesday before meeting Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the ministry headquarters in Seoul, after Cho requested her to come to Korea to discuss various bilateral issues affecting relations between the two countries. As such a request for in-person discussion is unusual, her visit has brought about speculation that the Coupang issue and other bilateral matters may require deep coordination between Korea and the U.S. When asked about the pressure coming from the U.S. with regard to Korea's handling of its Coupang investigation, Kang told reporters, “This issue is dragging on much longer than I expected," adding that Korea is managing the issue on its own while continuing to discuss other matters across various levels and on multiple fronts. “Bilateral relations between Seoul and Washington are intertwined, which means the two have many issues to be handle

Jul 15, 2026By Park Ji-won
'Coupang issue persisting longer than expected,' Korea's top envoy to US says
Society

Korea should give dual citizenship to its diaspora to fight population crisis, says OKA official

Korea should expand dual citizenship for its overseas diaspora to help counter the country's population decline, a senior official at the Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA) said Tuesday, urging the government to treat ethnic Koreans abroad as strategic partners rather than subjects of regulatory control. “Considering our current demographic challenges, Korea should allow dual citizenship for Korean diasporas, who share Korea’s historical and cultural identity, for a better future for the country,” OKA Vice Commissioner Kim Min-cheol said during a press briefing. "In line with global standards, the basic philosophy of the OKA is clear; Korea must proactively embrace the diaspora of 8 million, recognizing them as both citizens and strategic partners of Korea ... It is time for Korea to redefine what nationality means." He pointed to Japan as a cautionary example, warning that Korea risks repeating its neighbor's prolonged economic stagnation if the population continues to shrink. To tackle the diaspora issue, Kim called for a fundamental shift in approach, saying past policy had treated r

Jul 14, 2026By Park Ji-won
Korea should give dual citizenship to its diaspora to fight population crisis, says OKA official
Education

Cho Wan-kyoo, former education chief and SNU president, dies at 98

Cho Wan-kyoo, a pioneering biologist who served as president of Seoul National University (SNU) and later as education minister, died of old age on Monday. He was 98. Born in Hwanghae Province in North Korea in 1928, Cho graduated from SNU with a degree in biology in 1952. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from SNU in 1956 and 1969, respectively. Starting his career as an SNU professor in 1957, he discovered the key mechanisms regulating the maturation process of mammalian oocytes. He is widely recognized for conducting original research, which includes developing a culture method to safely transport eggs and embryos. He is also regarded as the godfather of basic biology in Korea. Among his most cited findings was his research on the sex ratio at birth in Korea, in which he identified 110 male births for every 100 female births, a result he published in an international academic journal. Believing that a university should be completely independent, Cho, while serving as SNU president between 1987 and 1991, used his authority to remove the campus ban on political activities. He

Jul 14, 2026By Park Ji-won
Cho Wan-kyoo, former education chief and SNU president, dies at 98
Law & Crime

Gwangju schoolgirl murder suspect admits rape-murder charge

Jang Yoon-gi, the 23-year-old suspected of killing a high school girl in Gwangju, admitted to the rape-murder charge on Monday, reversing his earlier claim that the killing was the result of an impulse and not sexually motivated. His admission was made only after a dashboard camera video clip showing his crime was collected as evidence through the prosecution's supplementary investigation. Jang's case has added to controversy over the government's move to strip prosecutors of their supplementary investigative powers amid systemic failures within the local police. At a court hearing in Gwangju, Jang, who was indicted last month on charges of stabbing and killing the 16-year-old girl in the southwestern city in May, told the court “Yes” when asked whether he admitted to the charges, including full rape-murder charge. Following his arrest, Jang had claimed the murder was the result of an impulse, repeatedly saying he wanted to kill someone before taking his own life. The police initially forwarded the case with simple murder charges. The prosecution, however, upgraded the charges to rap

Jul 13, 2026By Park Ji-won
Gwangju schoolgirl murder suspect admits rape-murder charge
Foreign Affairs

US State Department expresses 'significant concerns' over Korea's 'fake news' law

The U.S. Department of State expressed “significant concerns” over Korea's recently revised Information and Communications Network Act, commonly known as the “fake news” law, amid worries that the law could restrict free speech and negatively affect American platforms operating here. “The United States has significant concerns with the ROK government’s approval of an amendment to the Network Act that risks negatively impacting the business of U.S.-based online platforms and undermining free speech,” the department's press office said in response to an inquiry from The Korea Times, referring to Korea by an abbreviation of its official name, the Republic of Korea. “We expect the ROK to deliver on its commitment to ensuring that U.S. companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary barriers in terms of laws and policies concerning digital services,” it added. The response came as the “fake news” law came into force on Tuesday to regulate illegal and fabricated information on designated large online platforms — four domestic platforms, Naver, Kakao

Jul 12, 2026By Park Ji-won
US State Department expresses 'significant concerns' over Korea's 'fake news' law
Defense

Korea must adapt to NATO-aligned defense ecosystem to win contracts: experts

With Korea's failure to secure Canada's multibillion-dollar submarine procurement contract being the latest in a string of high-profile defense export losses in Western markets, experts advise the country to make a fundamental shift in how it approaches buyers aligned with NATO. The Canada deal, which went to a German-Norwegian consortium largely on grounds of NATO interoperability, followed a series of similar setbacks. In June, Hanwha Aerospace lost a 900 billion won ($599 million) French multiple-launch rocket system upgrade contract to a U.K.-French consortium. In May, it lost a 6 trillion won contract for Romania's next-generation infantry fighting vehicles to Germany's Rheinmetall. In November 2025, Hanwha Ocean lost an 8 trillion won bid for Poland's next-generation submarine program to Sweden's Saab. After losing the Canadian submarine deal, President Lee Jae Myung said the competition demonstrated the potential of Korean defense products, while a senior Defense Acquisition Program Administration official pledged to focus on improving product quality and technological competiti

Jul 9, 2026By Park Ji-won
Korea must adapt to NATO-aligned defense ecosystem to win contracts: experts
Law & Crime

Google, Meta, TikTok named under 'fake news' law

Korea's media regulatory agency on Wednesday designated eight major online platforms — including Google, Meta, TikTok and domestic giants Naver and Kakao — subject to regulation under the revised Information and Communications Network Act, commonly known as the "fake news" law, which took effect Tuesday. Shin Young-kyu, director general of the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC)’s consumer policy bureau, announced during a briefing that the watchdog had finalized the list and notified the platforms of their designation. The full list covers four Korean platforms — Naver, Kakao, Nate and DC Inside — and four overseas services — Google, Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. The law applies to services where users can post information that others can view and share — covering social media platforms, online communities and video-sharing services. Private one-on-one messaging and closed message services are excluded. Open chat services accessible to an unspecified number of users, however, may fall within the scope of the law. These platforms are subject to regula

Jul 8, 2026By Park Ji-won
Google, Meta, TikTok named under 'fake news' law
previous page
45678
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.