The Korea Times

7 int’l schools in bid for Gaepo Foreign School

By Lee Hyo-sik Seven schools from the U.S., Britain and other countries have expressed interests in establishing and operating a foreign school to be set up in Gaepo-dong, southern Seoul, in September 2013, Seoul City said Sunday. The tentatively named Gaepo Foreign School will run kindergarten to high school curricula, and accommodate a total of 800 students. The candidate schools are Ellesmere College, Manchester Grammar School and Brighton College in Britain, Eaton House in Singapore, The Waterford School in the U.S., Jyvaskyla Lyceum in Finland and Seoul European School. ``We received applications from private school organizations both at home and abroad from June 13 through Aug. 18. After reviewing their business plans, we will select up to five preliminary candidates next month,’’ a city government official said. The city plans to visit the selected schools to evaluate their management know-how, financial soundness and other assessment criteria before picking up to three preferred bidders in October. ``We will do everything we can to choose the most-qualified

Aug 21, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Ewha campus in Paju canceled

By Lee Hyo-sik Ewha Womans University has scrapped a plan to construct a second campus consisting of a multi research and educational complex in Paju, a city north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, saying that the Ministry of National Defense refused to accept its offer to buy the proposed site. In a statement released Friday, the school said after due consideration, it decided the plan was not feasible. “We asked the defense ministry to allow us to build a campus on the site of Camp Edwards after the U.S. military relocates to Pyeongtaek but the proposal was rejected.” The university said when the idea was first proposed by Paju City in 2006, the purchase value of the U.S. military base was estimated at 29.2 billion won ($27.3 million). “Soon after the plan was publically announced, the price more than doubled to 65.2 billion won. We told the ministry that we are willing to buy the land at that price. But it demanded 175 billion won,” the statement said. Considering the huge difference in land price, it is unlikely we will reach an agreement, the school said. “Given ce

Aug 19, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Discover Korea Tour offered for foreigners

By Lee Hyo-sik The nation’s largest travel agency, Hana Tour, is introducing a tour package especially for foreign visitors seeking to venture out of Seoul. The Discover Korea Tour, launched in March, provides non-Korean tourists with a unique opportunity to travel across the country and see popular tourist spots in the provinces, while staying at decent hotels and tasting distinct cuisines in each region. “With most tour packages, foreign visitors are only able to visit tourist attractions in Seoul and the surrounding area. Since there isn’t a reliable program our Discover Korea Tour is a perfect option for those who would like to see the real Korea,” a Hana Tour spokesman said. He said the agency currently only offers a program for English-speaking tourists, but added that packages for Chinese and Japanese visitors will begin in September. Discover Korea Tour offers three packages. The first is a three-night and four-day package to travel the western part of the country. Another three-night and four-day program is available for the eastern part of the nation. Both a

Aug 19, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Investors commit suicide due to stock market plunge

By Lee Hyo-sik The country is witnessing the repeat of what was a serious social problem during the 1997-98 Asian currency crisis and the 2008 global financial turmoil: a chain of suicides by stock investors who suffered huge financial losses due to volatile markets. As the Korean equity market was heavily impacted by the U.S. credit rating downgrade and the European debt crisis over the past two weeks, retail investors have lost huge amounts of cash. For some, the losses were too severe to endure, driving them to take the most extreme measure. The latest in a series of suicides by money-losing retail investors was a 37-year-old man who killed himself by inhaling toxic fumes coming from burning coal briquettes inside his car. Police in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, said Friday that the man’s coworker found him dead inside the vehicle at around 5 p.m. Thursday and reported it to law enforcement authorities. Officers secured testimony from bereaved family members that the man sustained huge financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of won from investment

Aug 19, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Seoul stocks plunge 6.2%

South Korea

’Sponsor cafe’ operator arrested for pimping

By Lee Hyo-sik A 43-year-old man surnamed Lee was arrested on suspicion of brokering prostitution online in breach of the country’s Anti-Prostitution Law, the prosecution said Thursday. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Lee opened the so-called “sponsor cafe” on one of Korea’s largest portal sites in July last year. Using the service, women would search for men to support them financially in exchange for sex. Until June this year, he operated the cafe recruiting a total of 81 female members. Lee was found to have promised the women that he would introduce them to wealthy men willing to give them money in exchange for sex. He even had sexual relations with some of the women, telling them that they would be paired with wealthier sponsors. Under the law, those caught brokering prostitution on the Internet face a maximum jail sentence of three years or a 30 million won ($28,000) fine. The prosecution said the majority of the cafe members were women in their 20s to early 30s who wanted to earn money to purchase luxury goods, receive cosmetic su

Aug 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

South to disregard validity of NK laws

By Lee Hyo-sik The government has decided not to recognize the validity of North Korean court rulings on family background for North Koreans seeking inheritance from their family members living here. The move comes as a growing number of North Koreans are expected to file lawsuits against mostly their half brothers and sisters living in the South to claim part of the fortunes left by their deceased parents. The Justice Ministry said Thursday that it took out all clauses that acknowledge the legitimacy of North Korean laws and court rulings from a special law governing inheritance issues among family members in the two Koreas. In January, the ministry enacted the special law to cope with the increasing number of North Koreans who file suit here to claim the fortune of their family members south of the border. The original version had mandated courts here to recognize the rulings of North Korean courts when verifying family ties between plaintiffs and defendants. However, with growing concerns over the possible capital flow into the impoverished communist state when

Aug 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Travel & Food

Malaysians mark end of Ramadan

By Lee Hyo-sik Malaysia will hold Hari Raya Aidilfitri, a two-day festival to mark the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting. The celebration allows non-Muslims the unique opportunity to experience the ways of Islamic life in Malaysia. Falling on Aug. 30, Hari Raya Aidilfitri is a Muslim celebration to stop fasting. During the holy month of Ramadan, which began Aug. 1, Muslims perform an obligatory abstinence from food and drink lasting from dawn to dusk. The event signifies the victory of self-restraint and abstinence as well as symbolizes purification and renewal. Beginning with a special prayer at mosques and followed by a gathering of family members and relatives, specially prepared dishes for the occasion are enjoyed together. Muslims also visit their friends and neighbors and seek forgiveness from each other. Lots of tasty delicacies make the long-awaited celebration worthwhile and memorable. Non-Muslims and guests can mingle with the locals and taste traditional goodies while watching fascinating performances at the Hari Raya Open House. It is an occasion to expe

Aug 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Travel & Food

Visit Singapore for sports, entertainment

By Lee Hyo-sik Singapore will host Asia’s biggest sporting and entertainment extravaganza on Sept. 16 to 25 by showcasing a Formula 1 race as well as hundreds of musical and theatrical performances. At the center of the upcoming festival is the Singapore Grand Prix. Attracting hundreds of thousands of race fans from all over the world since its inaugural event in 2008, it is Asia’s only night-time race held on a street circuit. This year the race will take place on Sept. 25. In 2010 the event attracted 96,000 spectators, 40 percent of which were non-Singaporeans and generated revenue of $160 million. ``With the Grand Prix as our centerpiece, we’ve packaged the event as a whole weekend of festivities and treats for the entire family,’’ a spokeswoman for the Singapore Tourism Board said. She said the event organizers will pack in a host of entertainment activities to ensure every ticket offers great value for money for Singaporeans and international audiences. During the 10-day festival, more than 300 entertainers from both home and abroad will feature everything f

Aug 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

26,691 iPhone users file suit against Apple

By Lee Hyo-sik Nearly 27,000 iPhone users here have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple over the phone’s indiscriminate collecting of users’ location information, demanding the California-based firm pay them 1 million won ($930) each in compensation for violating their privacy, a law firm said Wednesday. Miraelaw, based in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, said that it lodged the suit with the Changwon District Court against both Apple Korea and Apple headquarters in California through the Supreme Court’s electronic litigation portal (ecfs.scourt.go.kr) on their behalf. It said 921 more iPhone users will soon join the lawsuit as soon as their paperwork is completed. A total of 26,691 iPhone users registered with the law firm to join a suit against Apple, paying 16,900 won each in litigation fees for which they will receive 1 million won each if they win the case. Applications were received through the website (www.sueapple.co.kr) from July 15 to 31. The amount to be claimed in court will be more than 27 billion won. Given the fact that over 3 million iPh

Aug 17, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

1 in 3 office workers habitually tardy

By Lee Hyo-sik Choi Min-kyung, a 33-year-old salaried worker living in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, commutes by bus on a roughly one hour trip to southern Seoul. On the bus she often worries about being late as an accident on the road or other variables can make the trip take longer and make her late for work. Choi, who works at a small information technology firm on Tehran Road in Gangnam District, also checks a fluctuating bus schedule every morning using her smartphone because if she missed the bus, she would have to wait at least 20 minutes for the next one, which actually happens quite often. “I am really busy in the morning. I have to fix my husband breakfast and get my 5-year-old daughter ready for daycare. I also have to get myself ready for work,” she said. Choi said she really tries hard not to be late but one or two days a week she is not on time getting to the office. “If I miss a bus or something unexpected happens at home, I cannot help but arrive at work late. But my team manager understands my situation and doesn’t’t make a big deal out of it. I am re

Aug 17, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

7 int’l schools in bid for Gaepo Foreign School

Ewha campus in Paju canceled

Discover Korea Tour offered for foreigners

Investors commit suicide due to stock market plunge

’Sponsor cafe’ operator arrested for pimping

South to disregard validity of NK laws

Malaysians mark end of Ramadan

Visit Singapore for sports, entertainment

26,691 iPhone users file suit against Apple

1 in 3 office workers habitually tardy

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