The Korea Times

Chadwick has teachers from diverse countries

By Kang Shin-who The majority of internationals schools here in Korea are dominated by American or British teachers. Many also believed that Chadwick International, the first-ever American school in the Songdo Free Economy Zone would also be one of these schools. However, Soleiman Dias, admissions director at the school stressed that prospective students will learn from teachers of various nationalities. “Chadwick has a very diverse teaching staff from 12 different countries with a comprehensive international background. Chadwick’s education is not American, British or Korean but promotes global mindedness to every member of our student body,” Dias said. In an interview with The Korea Times, the director, who has been in Korea for over 10 years and is also an honorary citizen of Seoul, was sure that parents and students would learn from the school about the importance of experiences on a global scale and the richness of international educators. The following is a brief Q&A session with the Brazilian veteran educator, who has taught at international schools in f

Dec 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Society

ADeKo forum stresses roles of science journalists

By Kang Shin-who BERLIN ― It is not an exaggeration to say that science and technology could decide future of a country. The scientific field is a critical force that drives rapid changes in the world. In this regard, journalists are obliged to report science stories promptly and accurately. In the wake of the important roles of science journalists, Alumninetzwerk Deutschland-Korea (ADeKo), an alumni network of Koreans, who studied in Germany, hosted a forum to discuss the past, present and future of science journalism with renowned journalists from Korea and Germany. Under the “Science Coverage vs. Infotainment – Claim, Challenges and Best Practices in Today’s Media,” the forum was held in Berlin, Germany over the last few days. The Federal Ministry of Education Research and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Seoul along with Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) or the German Academic Exchange Service have supported the academic event. Some 20 participants and science experts discussed a wide range of topics with the following presentat

Dec 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Society

StudentCorner Stay seamless, stay social

By Jang Ye-beet As a student who is majoring in culture technology, my research focuses on investigating the social and psychological impacts of new communication technologies. I have long been interested in newly emerging technologies, including virtual environments, augmented-reality and especially games. In November, G-STAR 2010, the biggest global game exhibition in Korea was held at Bexco in Busan. Along with the game exhibition, the International Content Creator’s Conference (ICON 2010) was held at the same time. I attended the conference and looked around the game show for two days. It was an inspiring experience. Simply put, the two key trends were “seamless” and “social.” First, I went to the G-star. The hall was filled with famous game companies proudly launching their new game titles for Korean game goers. Since I was eager to play the two brand-new movement-based video games, Microsoft’s (MS) Xbox 360 KINECT and Sony Computer Entertainment’s (SCE) PlayStation Move, I went straight to those companies’ booths and spent a few hours playing the new games. At the “KINE

Dec 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Property of student-loan defaulters to be confiscated

By Kang Shin-who The government will confiscate the property of students those who haven’t repaid state loans three years after they graduate. The Ministry of Education and Science and Technology said Wednesday that it will audit collegians who have benefited from the government’s loan program if they fail to repay the money within three years of graduation. “Current rules also enable us to seize land, housing and financial asset of the borrowers, but there is a possibility that debtors could conceal their assets, so we will expand the categories,” a ministry official said. Under the new regulation, effective from next year, the ministry will be able to seize assets of college graduates in debt, such as overseas real estate, condominiums or fitness club memberships. The confiscated assets will be disposed of by the tax authority. Those subject to an audit will receive prior notice and if they pay back more than 5 percent of their debt, they will be given a grace period. The government began providing financially-strapped students with “study-now-pay-later” lo

Dec 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Clip of American rappers smoking weed causes stir

By Lee Hyo-sik A video clip of members of an American hip-pop group smoking marijuana in a Korean airport is causing a stir among Internet users who claim the singers should be brought back to the country for prosecution. The footage shows hip-pop group Onyx, which debuted in 1993 with an album titled “Bacdafucup,” smoking the banned substance here in Korea and was uploaded on Youtube in March 2009. In a 100-second-long clip, titled “Onyx Smoking weed in Korean airport,” three members of the group smoke marijuana and say such words as “Korea”, “Seoul” and “International Airport” in a place that looks like an airport smoking room. It also shows one member looking at passing-by maintenance staff and making taunting remarks. The video clip did not attract much attention at the time of the release more than one and a half years ago. But in light of the illegal substance abuse by celebrities getting coverage over the past week, the behavior of American hip-hop singers has become the center of the attention, particularly among netizens. On Saturday, actor Kim Sung-m

Dec 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

High school girl boycotts rights agency award

By Park Si-soo A high school student and an Internet-based TV station for migrants have refused to receive awards from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), saying the commission does not deserve to award the human rights prize. Kim Eun-chong, a third grader at Youngbok Girls’ High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and the Migrants’ Network TV said “no” to the annual prize that has been awarded since 2003 to honor those who have made a contribution to human rights conditions within the nation. The award ceremony for them was supposed to be held, Friday — the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was the second refusal of this kind since Hyun Byung-chul took the helm of the state human rights watchdog in July last year — liberal-minded awardees of last year, including Lawyers for a Democratic Society, vetoed the award for the same reason. Hyun has been accused, among liberal activists, of leading the independent commission in a manner friendly to the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration. In protest agai

Dec 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Mundane qualifications for ideal bride and groom

By Lee Hyo-sik What are the qualifications to be an ideal spouse for Korean women? He should be taller than 177 centimeters, work for the government or state-run companies, earn over 43 million won per year and have 240 million won in assets, according to a survey conducted by the matchmaking firm Duo. What about qualifications for an ideal female spouse? Korean men want to marry a 163.6 centimeters-tall school teacher earning 32 million won per year with 160 million won in assets, Duo said Wednesday. In a survey of 978 single men and women aged 20-39 nationwide, conducted by the Duo Human Life Research Institute, single women want their future husband to make an average of 43.4 million won a year. It marks a fall from the 45.8 million won salary marked the previous year. Men also said they would be satisfied if their future wife earned an average annual salary of 32.1 million won, inched down from 32.4 million won in 2009. The institute attributed the drop in expected wages for potential spouses to the prolonged sluggish job market and other unfavorable economic conditi

Dec 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

4 in 10 salaried workers harassed during commute

By Lee Hyo-sik More than four out of every 10 salaried workers here were found to suffer sexual harassment while commuting to and from work, with the majority taking place on the subway. In a survey of 828 salaried employees, conducted by online job portal Career, Tuesday, 42.5 percent said they experienced sexual harassment at least once on the subway and on other public transportation during rush hour. Of them, 79 percent were women. Nearly 72 percent of the incidents occurred on subway cars, followed by buses at 27.3 percent and taxis at 1.1 percent. Nearly 60 percent said they experienced harassment between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. when most workers are on their way to work, while 17 percent were between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. while returning home from work. About 61.9 percent said at the time of the sexual harassment, it was too crowded for them to move within the subway train or bus. In response to the harassment, 43.2 percent said they did nothing about it, and 25 percent moved to a different place. Only 18.2 percent strongly protested against the assailants and 6.3 percent sh

Dec 7, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Elementary school teacher commits suicide in classroom

A 52-year-old female elementary school teacher in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, was found dead Monday in a classroom in an apparent suicide, according to the police. The Gimhae Police Station said a fellow teacher found her hanging from a scarf in the classroom at around 6 p.m. The fellow teacher told the police that she went to check on the teacher since she did not call it a day even after classes had ended. The fellow teacher said the deceased teacher had fought with the school principal earlier over her performance scores before she was found dead. Police suspect that the teacher took her own life as she was disappointed with the lower-than-expected evaluation scores given by the principal, which are crucial for promotion to a vice principal post. Police officers said the teacher left a suicide note and there was no sign of external injuries to her body. They said that she had wanted to become a vice principal and killed herself out of despair after the principal refused to give her high performance grades. The police are still looking into the case to c

Dec 7, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

2 civilian Yeonpyeong victims laid to rest

By Lee Hyo-sik The funeral for the two civilian construction workers killed by North Korea’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island was held at an Incheon hospital, Monday, 13 days after their bodies were found on Nov. 24. The bodies were discovered on the island a day after the North’s attack. The bereaved families had previously refused to hold a burial service for the dead unless the government designated them as men of national merit who sacrificed themselves for others. But the government was reluctant to accept their demands, saying the late Kim Chi-baek and Bae Bok-cheol were just unfortunate civilian casualties. Only after Incheon City had promised the families monetary compensation and subsidies for the funeral service, they decided to hold the funeral. The service was held at 9:30 a.m., attended by family members, friends and dignitaries, including Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil and Rep. Won Hee-ryong of the ruling Grand National Party. However, no senior officials representing the central government attended the funeral ceremony. After the funeral, the

Dec 6, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

Chadwick has teachers from diverse countries

ADeKo forum stresses roles of science journalists

StudentCorner Stay seamless, stay social

Property of student-loan defaulters to be confiscated

Clip of American rappers smoking weed causes stir

High school girl boycotts rights agency award

Mundane qualifications for ideal bride and groom

4 in 10 salaried workers harassed during commute

Elementary school teacher commits suicide in classroom

2 civilian Yeonpyeong victims laid to rest

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