The Korea Times

INTERVIEW 'Long way to go for Korean studies to fully prosper'

Baik Tae-ung, head of the Center for Korean Studies of the University of Hawaii at Manoa poses in front of the center building during an interview with The Korea Times, June 30 (local time). Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jinBy Lee Hyo-jin HONOLULU ― A global boom of Korean pop music, films and TV dramas in recent years has generated worldwide interest in Korea and its culture as a whole. And this has led to an increase in people seeking to pursue an academic career in Korean studies.However, there is still a long way to go to create a sustainable environment nurturing Koreanist scholars, said Baik Tae-ung, head of the Center for Korean Studies in the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the oldest and largest research center dedicated to Korean studies outside the country.Established in 1972, the institution serves as an educational hub with over 40 faculty members offering courses or conducting research related to Korea and organizing various academic events.The center recently co-organized the World Korea Forum on June 29 and 30 (local time), marking the 120th anniversary of the arrival o

Jul 4, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

[INTERVIEW] 'Long way to go for Korean studies to fully prosper'

Global Community

Forum revisits lives of first-generation of Koreans in Hawaii

Participants of the World Korea Forum make the Shaka sign, a Hawaiian hand greeting, during the World Korea Forum held at the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in Honolulu, from June 29 to 30 (local time). The event was held to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the arrival of first-generation Korean immigrants in Hawaii. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jinScholars, experts discuss first-generation Korean immigrants to Hawaii, marking 120th anniversary of their arrival By Lee Hyo-jin HONOLULU ― It was on Jan. 13, 1903, when the first organized group of Koreans arrived on the shores of Honolulu. Numbering slightly over 100, they became the first-generation Korean immigrants in Hawaii. Over the next two-and-a-half years, nearly 7,400 Koreans immigrated to Hawaii in search of a new future, escaping famine and the turbulent political climate in their home country amid imminent Japanese colonization. But life wasn't as glorious as they had expected. They worked in sugarcane and pineapple fields from early morning to sundown, earning about 60 cents per day. Des

Jul 2, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Forum revisits lives of first-generation of Koreans in Hawaii

Society

Missing family's car discovered underwater in Wando

Police search for a missing family of three, including 10-year-old Cho Yoo-na, on the southwestern island of Wando, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin A vehicle owned by a family of three that went missing on Wando Island off the southwestern coast of Korea was discovered in the ocean on Tuesday around 80 meters from the coast. But police were unable to look inside the vehicle due to low visibility.A joint search by Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency and Wando Coast Guard found a silver Audi sedan submerged 10 meters underwater off Songgok Port on the island at about 5:10 p.m. Divers found that the license plate number of the submerged vehicle matched that of the missing family's car.Less than two hours before the discovery, the authorities found a front grill of an Audi A6, the model owned by the missing family, in waters near the port. The finding led the search crew to believe that the car may be nearby.The divers found the car capsized underwater with its trunk open and four doors closed. They were unable to discern whether there were bodies inside the car because the windows were heav

Jun 28, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Missing family's car discovered underwater in Wando

Global Community

Children from multicultural backgrounds losing interest in foreign parents' native languages

Students from multicultural backgrounds attend a foreign language and culture class at an elementary school in Seoul, in this 2012 file photo. Korea Times fileBy Lee Hyo-jin Bilingualism is widely considered a strength of children from multicultural backgrounds, but children from these families living in Korea are becoming less enthusiastic about learning their foreign parent's mother tongue, according to government data, Monday.The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family shared the results of a 2021 survey of over 15,000 multicultural households across the country. The triennial survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with multinational married couples and their children aged between nine and 24 on their economic activities, family life, childcare situation and education.Only 27.3 percent of the children responded that they are willing to become fluent in the mother language of their non-Korean parent, a sharp decline from 42.4 percent in 2018. The survey also found that only 19 percent of the children were being encouraged to speak in the language of their immigrant par

Jun 27, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Children from multicultural backgrounds losing interest in foreign parents' native languages

Health

Pets of monkeypox patients to be placed under isolation

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin Pets of people who have tested positive for monkeypox virus should be isolated for three weeks, according to a guideline announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Friday. Rodents ― including hamsters, guinea pigs and mice ― which are known to be particularly susceptible to the disease, should be placed under isolation at a government-designated facility. Other companion animals such as dogs and cats should quarantine with their owners at home while being monitored for any signs of clinical symptoms.The measures came after Korea identified its first case of the monkeypox virus on Wednesday.Monkeypox is caused by a viral infection which can be found in animals including rodents and monkeys. According to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), no cases have been detected in pets or livestock animals so far. “Although the risk of infections among pets is low, with infections among cats or dogs yet to be reported worldwide, we have come up with the protocol considering that there have been some cases of infections among

Jun 24, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Pets of monkeypox patients to be placed under isolation

Health

How much should Korea worry about monkeypox?

A monitor installed at a terminal of Incheon International Airport warns passengers about the monkeypox virus, Thursday. YonhapExplosive spread of monkeypox unlikely: expertsBy Lee Hyo-jin After Korea identified its first case of the monkeypox virus, health experts say that it is unlikely to cause an explosive spread as the country experienced with the coronavirus, considering the differences between the two viruses. But at the same time, they called on the government to implement preemptive measures such as the swift introduction of third-generation vaccines and the enhancement of detection capacity.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed the first case of monkeypox, Wednesday, involving a 30-something individual who entered Korea from Germany on the previous day. Without providing further details of the individual, the authorities said the patient is receiving treatment at an isolation ward at Incheon Medical Center.The agency raised the alert level for the infectious disease to “caution,” the second level in the government's four-tier system. &

Jun 24, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

How much should Korea worry about monkeypox?

Global Community

INTERVIEW Scholar-activist immerses herself in dire working conditions facing Cambodian farmworkers

Woo Choon-hee, migrant rights scholar and activist, poses during an interview with The Korea Times at the newspaper's office in Seoul, June 20. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulPh.D. student Woo Choon-hee brings migrant workers' long working hours, inhumane living conditions to light in her recent bookBy Lee Hyo-jin A day in the life of a female Cambodian migrant worker on a perilla leaf farm in Gyeongsang Province begins at 6:30 a.m. She squats and picks the leaves, ties 10 of them into a bundle and then tosses it into a box. The process is repeated until 5:30 p.m. To meet the daily target of harvesting 15,000 leaves, equivalent to 15 cartons, she often skips bathroom breaks or even lunch breaks. If she misses the daily harvest target, her employer may threaten to cut her monthly salary, which is barely set at Korea's minimum wage.At the end of each day, the freshly-picked perilla leaves are sent to a cold storage warehouse and then to local grocery stores across the country, to be eventually served on Koreans' dinner tables. In her recent book titled, “Struggles with Perill

Jun 23, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

[INTERVIEW] Scholar-activist immerses herself in dire working conditions facing Cambodian farmworkers

Health

Medical experts, businesspeople discuss partnerships between Korea, Africa

Lyeo Woon-ki, president of the Korea-Africa Foundation, delivers an opening speech at the Korea-Africa Health and Medical Business Seminar held at the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) office in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of KITABy Lee Hyo-jinMedical experts and businesspeople from Korea and Africa discussed ways to bolster ties in the healthcare sector amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, during a business seminar hosted by the Korea Africa Foundation (KAF), Tuesday.Established in 2018, the KAF is an affiliate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that aims to promote relations with African countries in various sectors. As cross-border partnerships have become increasingly vital in tackling the ongoing pandemic, the foundation, along with the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), jointly organized the Korea-Africa Health and Medical Business Seminar, bringing together disease experts and businesspeople from the two sides.Attending Tuesday's seminar were KAF President Lyeo Woon-ki, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Acting Director Ahmed Ogwel

Jun 22, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Medical experts, businesspeople discuss partnerships between Korea, Africa

Health

'Africa can share clinical experience on monkeypox with Korea': Africa CDC interim chief

Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea-Africa FoundationTop disease expert stresses bilateral collaboration By Lee Hyo-jin Partnerships between Korea and Africa in the healthcare sector will go beyond the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as the two sides seek to bolster collaboration in responding to emerging diseases, said Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Tuesday.During his four-day visit to Korea, he sat down for an interview with The Korea Times to talk about how the African and Korean health authorities can scale up cooperation in order to overcome the ongoing pandemic and be better prepared for future health crises.“Our partnership with Korea started even before the pandemic. We were already working closely with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on hepatitis. And during the pandemic, the partnerships have expanded very rapidly,” he said. Throu

Jun 22, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

'Africa can share clinical experience on monkeypox with Korea': Africa CDC interim chief

Global Community

Korea remains harsh country for asylum seekers

Members of civic groups supporting refugees hold a rally in central Seoul, May 4, calling on the new government to come up with better measures for asylum seekers. NewsisRefugee acceptance rate stands at 1 percentBy Lee Hyo-jin Koita Boh Saran, a 26-year-old woman from Guinea, West Africa, was just 17 years old when she was forced to marry a 45-year-old man, becoming his fourth wife in the process. She is among the many underage girls who are coerced into early marriages in the country where child marriage is quite a common phenomenon.She had no choice but to marry the man as her family threatened to assault her if she refused. A few months into the unhappy marriage, Koita fled to Korea and applied for refugee status in December 2015. “My friend's father told me that Korea is a safe country for women and that I would be able to begin a new life here,” she told The Korea Times, speaking in fluent Korean.However, entering Korea was just the beginning of her hardship. She was not aware that Korea is one of the strictest countries for asylum seekers. Over the past six years,

Jun 20, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

INTERVIEW 'Long way to go for Korean studies to fully prosper'

Forum revisits lives of first-generation of Koreans in Hawaii

Missing family's car discovered underwater in Wando

Children from multicultural backgrounds losing interest in foreign parents' native languages

Pets of monkeypox patients to be placed under isolation

How much should Korea worry about monkeypox?

INTERVIEW Scholar-activist immerses herself in dire working conditions facing Cambodian farmworkers

Medical experts, businesspeople discuss partnerships between Korea, Africa

'Africa can share clinical experience on monkeypox with Korea': Africa CDC interim chief

Korea remains harsh country for asylum seekers

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