The Korea Times

Foreign nannies policy gains momentum amid low birthrate

GettyimagesbankBy Lee Hae-rinA plan to bring foreign nannies to Korea to ease the child care burden of working parents, aiming to help solve the nation's record-low fertility rate, is gaining momentum as the president and a lawmaker continue to push for it. Rep. Cho Jung-hun of the minor opposition party, Transition Korea, who had proposed the amendment to the Act on the Employment Improvement on Domestic Workers earlier in March, stressed, Wednesday that it would be a win-win strategy for both young Korean parents and foreign workers.Rep. Cho Jung-hun of Transition Korea / Courtesy of Rep. Cho Jung-hun's office“Child care service has been used only by the higher-income group (in Korea). The amendment aims to make it widely accessible with the help of foreign workers,” Cho said during a radio interview. According to his scheme, foreigners can work in Korea as child care and domestic helpers for a maximum of five years under a direct contract with the host family and be exempted from basic labor law and minimum wage requirements.Only Korean nationals and ethnic Koreans fro

May 24, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Foreign nannies policy gains momentum amid low birthrate

Travel & Food

First lady to promote K-tourism

First lady Kim Keon Hee, right, poses with The Shilla hotel CEO and Visit Korea Committee Chairperson Lee Boo-jin after being nominated as the committee's honorary chairperson at HiKR Ground, a promotion hall at the Korea Tourism Organization's (KTO) Seoul Center, Tuesday. Korea declared 2023 and 2024 as Visit Korea Year last December aiming to attract 30 million foreign tourists a year by 2027. Yonhap

May 23, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Travel & Food

Saudi Arabia expects 53,000 Korean travelers this year

AlUla, an ancient Arabic oasis city located in Saudi Arabia's northwestern province of Medina / Courtesy of Saudi Tourism AuthorityBy Lee Hae-rinWhile seeking to establish itself as a global travel destination with a budget of $1 trillion for tourism in the next decade, Saudi Arabia plans to attract over 53,000 travelers from Korea this year, its travel authorities announced, Monday.The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) held a roadshow in central Seoul, Monday, with 200 key Korean media and business partners from hotels, airlines and travel agencies. “We're expecting 53,000 (Korean travelers) this year and we plan to more than quadruple this by 2030,” the STA's APAC Markets President Alhasan Aldabbagh said. The figure is significantly higher than 2022's 11,000 and the pre-pandemic levels of 12,000 from 2019.Home to six UNESCO World Heritage sites and over 10,000 unearthed archaeological sites, the Kingdom has been outpacing G20 countries in tourism recovery with over 93.5 million visits and a total tourism spend of 185 billion Saudi riyals ($49.3 billion) in 2022, according t

May 22, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Saudi Arabia expects 53,000 Korean travelers this year

North Korea

North Korea promotes Pyongyang tours to locals as it mulls border reopening

North Korean travelers spend time at Munsu Water Park, a state-run entertainment facility east of Pyongyang, North Korea, May 16. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinNorth Korea is promoting one-day tours to Pyongyang to its own people as the reclusive regime mulls whether to reopen its borders to tourists following a three-year closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, a North Korean expert said, Sunday.Choson Sinbo, a newspaper run by pro-Pyongyang residents in Japan, reported May 16 that “Pyongyang tour is gaining popularity from all groups of (North Korean) people,” especially on Sundays and holidays.The tour of Pyongyang covers several key landmarks within the North Korean capital, such as Mount Ryongak, the Tomb of King Tongmyong, the Pyongyang Ostrich Farm and the Rungra People's Pleasure Ground.“We're seeing an increasing number of applicants to the Pyongyang tour program, which is advertised through newspapers, broadcasts, publications and mobile phones,” an official of the North's state-run travel agency, Korea International Travel Company (KITC), was quoted saying.T

May 22, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

North Korea promotes Pyongyang tours to locals as it mulls border reopening

Foreign Affairs

Trudeau's 'manner legs' pose welcomed in Korea, criticized in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, widens his stance to put himself at a similar height to the Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, during their meeting at the National Assembly, Seoul, May 17. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's “manner legs” pose with his stance widened to match the eye level of the Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo last week triggered contrasting reactions from media here and abroad.During his three-day visit to Korea last week in celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Trudeau spent his second day in Korea, May 17, at the National Assembly to deliver a speech at the plenary session and met with Kim and lawmakers.While having their photos taken, both were standing upright initially. However, in a playful move, Kim, who is reportedly 170 centimeters tall, stood on his tiptoes to match Trudeau's height. The Canadian Prime Minister towers over the Korean National Assembly speaker by almost 20 centimeters.In response, Trudeau bent his knees to align with

May 21, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Trudeau's 'manner legs' pose welcomed in Korea, criticized in Canada

Society

Gender divide leads to fewer Koreans dating

Gettyimagesbank By Lee Hae-rinA thirty-something office worker surnamed Han, who lives in Pangyo, south of Seoul, has not dated men for over five years because she does not believe she could ever find the right person in Korea. An increase in media reports about crimes targeting women evokes real fears in her everyday life of stalking, sexual assault and even femicide. Han said that men in her age group would always say, “'Not all men are like that,” or cast blame on the female victims.Han added that dating is no longer a part of her pursuit of happiness after realizing that almost all men she meets and knows fail to understand the discrimination and fear women face in Korea. Lee Bo-young, 33, an office worker in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province who has also stopped dating men by choice for nearly three years, thinks looking for Korean men of her age who understand and support gender equality is like “looking for a unicorn.” “I see them (men of my age group) as equal, ju

May 20, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Gender divide leads to fewer Koreans dating

Travel & Food

INTERVIEW Hong Kong airport invites global travelers through 'World of Winners' campaign

Airport Authority Hong Kong's Chief Operating Officer Vivian Cheung poses during an interview with The Korea Times at a hotel in Seoul, May 11. Courtesy of Hong Kong International AirportBy Lee Hae-rinAirport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), the operator of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), is aiming to attract global attention through its free air tickets giveaway campaign called “World of Winners.”The campaign aims to “let everyone know that Hong Kong is back to normal,” after the social upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vivian Cheung, chief operating officer of AAHK, said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.The free tickets were purchased in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.“At the time, airlines had hard times because there was no flight, no passengers moving around. So many countries started to put together some resources to help the aviation industry, same as in Hong Kong, hoping that when the pandemic is over, we can use the tickets to provide free trips for people to come to Hong Kong,” she said.Following the lau

May 17, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

[INTERVIEW] Hong Kong airport invites global travelers through 'World of Winners' campaign

Society

INTERVIEW Korea's LGBTQ community seeks visibility through Seoul Pride Festival

Yang Sun-woo, chairperson of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival organizing committee poses during an interview with The Korea Times at the committee's office in Mapo District, Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Hae-rinFor an estimated 2.5 million Koreans identifying themselves as sexual minorities, the annual Seoul Queer Culture Festival (SQCF) is the long-awaited “national queer holiday,” a rare occasion where they feel safe and encouraged to gather and express their identity.The festival, which celebrates its 24th anniversary this year, started in 2000 with 50 participants on a road in northeastern Seoul's Daehangno area. The event grew to over 135,000 participants last year, and despite opposition and interference by conservative Christians, it seemed to have nestled at Seoul Plaza, one of the biggest public venues in the capital.The inaugural edition of Seoul Queer Culture Festival takes place in Daehangno in northern Seoul, Sept. 9, 2000. Around 50 Korean sexual minorities participated in the event titled “Rainbow 2000.” Courtesy of Se

May 16, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

[INTERVIEW] Korea's LGBTQ community seeks visibility through Seoul Pride Festival

Society

American couple who took in Korean travelers during snowstorm visit Korea

Alexander Campagna, right, and his wife, Andrea, hold a press conference at a restaurant in Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of Korea Tourism OrganizationBy Lee Hae-rinAlexander Campagna, a 41-year-old dentist based in Buffalo, New York, still vividly remembers hearing the knock on his door amid intense snowfall around 2 p.m., Dec. 23, 2022. “Who could be outside right now? Everyone should already be inside, safely,” he thought.Yet, at his door, he found two Korean strangers in soaked clothes in the snowstorm. Park Gun-yong, 55, and his tour guide reached the closest house they could find and asked for shovels in order to dig out their van from the heavy snow. Along with eight other Korean tourists, they were stranded on their way to Niagara Falls amid the deadly blizzard.“I said, 'Sure, of course,' but immediately realized there was no point in using a shovel,” he said during an interview with reporters in Seoul, Sunday. Campagna and his wife, both of whom are lifelong residents of Buffalo, deemed the idea of shoveling one's way out ― in one of the worst storms they'v

May 15, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

American couple who took in Korean travelers during snowstorm visit Korea

Law & Crime

Top court rules against foreign embassy in property dispute

The Supreme Court building in Seocho District, southern Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Lee Hae-rinWhen a foreign embassy occupies part of a private property, the owner cannot demand demolition of the building or transfer of the land, but is entitled to receive compensation equivalent to rent, the Supreme Court ruled, Friday.This is the first time the Supreme Court has ruled that even when a foreign mission's occupied area is recognized as extraterritorial under international law, domestic jurisdiction can still be applied for monetary claims.The Supreme Court recently delivered the decision in favor of a company demanding the return of undue profits from the Mongolian government, partially overturning the previous rulings which stated that the case was beyond the scope of Korean courts' jurisdiction.The territory in dispute is the land occupied by the Mongolian Embassy in central Seoul's Yongsan District. The Mongolian government purchased the property in 1998 and has used it ever since for its embassy in Korea.VAIV Company, formerly Daum Soft, a big data and artificial intelligence comp

May 13, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Lee Hae-rin

Read more

Foreign nannies policy gains momentum amid low birthrate

First lady to promote K-tourism

Saudi Arabia expects 53,000 Korean travelers this year

North Korea promotes Pyongyang tours to locals as it mulls border reopening

Trudeau's 'manner legs' pose welcomed in Korea, criticized in Canada

Gender divide leads to fewer Koreans dating

INTERVIEW Hong Kong airport invites global travelers through 'World of Winners' campaign

INTERVIEW Korea's LGBTQ community seeks visibility through Seoul Pride Festival

American couple who took in Korean travelers during snowstorm visit Korea

Top court rules against foreign embassy in property dispute

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