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Lee Hae-rin

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.

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Music

Chamber music festival in Seoul highlights Mozart, young prodigies

This year's edition of the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music will mark Mozart’s 270th birthday with a two-week long program dedicated to the composer and young prodigy musicians slated for April 21 to May 3 in Seo Founded in 2006 by violinist and artistic director Kang Dong-suk in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the festival has grown into one of the city’s representative arts events, serving as a launchpad for young virtuosos and challenging the notion that chamber music is difficult. Titled “Mozart and Prodigies,” the festival offers 13 concerts with a record lineup of 82 artists from Korea and abroad. Instead of simply repeating Mozart's greatest hits, the musicians are expected to explore two core keywords, “genius” and “beginnings.” The opening concert on April 21 pairs Mozart’s “String Quintet No. 5” with works by Camille Saint-Saens, Claude Debussy and Cesar Franck, all of whom are celebrated as prodigies or early bloomers in French music history. A subsequent concert on April 22 will focus on early works by Mozart, Beethoven and Schu

Mar 17, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Chamber music festival in Seoul highlights Mozart, young prodigies
Travel & Food

RM’s Seoul art trail: Museum and gallery guide for ARMY visiting during BTS comeback

For BTS fans who also love art, a trip to Seoul shouldn’t be just about watching BTS live on Saturday. Several members — particularly RM — have expressed a deep appreciation for art and visiting the galleries he has frequented can make the trip even more memorable. BTS leader RM has spent years building one of Korea’s most talked about relationships with the art world. His passion for art grew not from formal study but from experiences during life on tour. RM’s love of art has been quite public. He has visited museums and galleries and posted photos of his visits on social media. These posts have sparked a wave of gallery pilgrimages by fans, now known as the “Namjoon Tour” or “RM Tour,” in which ARMY members travel to the same galleries and recreate his photos. The Korea Art Market 2025 report named RM one of the 20 most influential figures in the Korean art market, describing him as a “passionate art collector and cultural influencer.” Last year, RM also announced that he will curate his first museum exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, titled “

Mar 17, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
RM’s Seoul art trail: Museum and gallery guide for ARMY visiting during BTS comeback
Society

Ex-station chief’s testimony at Itaewon disaster hearing sparks fury from bereaved families

The former Itaewon Station chief said during an investigative hearing Friday that she would still not have ordered trains to skip Itaewon Station on the night of the 2022 Halloween crowd crush, drawing fury from bereaved families who accused her of abetting the disaster that killed 159 people. On the second day of fact-finding hearings by the National Commission for the Investigation of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster in Seoul, questioning centered on Song Eun-young’s decision not to request trains skip Itaewon Station that night as well as Yongsan District Office’s failure to address illegal structures near the narrow alley where the crowd crush happened. Asked whether she would make the same choice again under identical circumstances, Song replied, “Yes, that’s right,” prompting strong reactions from families in the audience. Some yelled, “If you stay in the post, people will die again,” and “What have you done for three years?” as the hearing briefly grew chaotic. Song, who now holds a different post with Seoul Metro, defended her decision by arguing station staff had

Mar 13, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Ex-station chief’s testimony at Itaewon disaster hearing sparks fury from bereaved families
Society

Women head chefs now helm 1 in 10 Michelin-starred restaurants in Korea

Women head chefs now lead 1 in 10 Michelin-starred restaurants in Korea, marking a symbolic crack in the industry’s long-standing glass ceiling even as stark gender gaps persist worldwide. The newly released Michelin Guide Seoul and Busan 2026 lists a record 46 starred restaurants, of which five are helmed by women, or about 10.9 percent, up from three out of 40 last year. That makes 2026 the first year, based on available data, that women have crossed the 10 percent threshold among Korea’s Michelin-starred chefs. At the global level, women remain badly outnumbered: A 2022 analysis of 2,286 Michelin-starred restaurants in 16 countries found only about 6 percent were led by women, with the figure still hovering between 5 and 10 percent in 2025. Michelin’s own leadership has publicly acknowledged the imbalance. “Where are the women? Too few women are leading kitchens, despite the fact that more and more of them are working in kitchens,” international director Gwendal Poullennec said at the 2024 French edition of the ceremony, calling it “a reality we deplore.” For every woman

Mar 13, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Women head chefs now helm 1 in 10 Michelin-starred restaurants in Korea
Society

Itaewon tragedy hearing turns emotional as survivor recounts horror, police trade blame

The long-awaited public inquiry in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush opened Thursday with tearful testimony from survivors and heated exchanges between police officials accused of mishandling emergency calls on the night of the disaster. The hearing came more than three years after the 2022 tragedy, following prolonged political gridlock, disputes over accountability and repeated delays in forming an independent investigative body. The National Commission for the Investigation of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster, the special fact-finding group investigating the tragedy, began the first of two days of hearings in central Seoul. The session drew bereaved families and witnesses whose testimonies shed new light on a chain of failures preceding the crowd surge, resulting in the deaths of 159 people during Halloween celebrations. Tears filled the hall as Min Seung-ho, a survivor of the events, recounted the moments before the crowd crush in a narrow alley in Itaewon turned fatal. “From 10 to 11 p.m., there were at least three big pushes,” Min recalled. “No one was intentionally shoving, but peopl

Mar 12, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Itaewon tragedy hearing turns emotional as survivor recounts horror, police trade blame
Society

Middle East crisis prompts honeymooners, church groups to rethink trips

Koreans planning honeymoons, pilgrimages and long-awaited overseas trips are scrambling to revise their itineraries as the conflict in the Middle East shuts down key transit hubs and throws global aviation into turmoil. For many engaged Korean couples, the crisis has hit hard. Over the past few years, Dubai has transformed from a mere layover into a standalone honeymoon hot spot for Koreans, marketed as “affordable luxury” and bundled with resort destinations like the Maldives and Mauritius. Its appeal has grown with K-drama shoots, social media buzz over Dubai chocolate and visa-free entry for Korean travelers, helping push Korean arrivals up 225 percent in 2023 and another 51 percent in the first half of 2024, according to Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. That booming demand is now colliding with anxiety over war. Since the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, Iran’s retaliatory attacks have raised fears that major Middle Eastern cities could become targets, particularly after reports that United Arab Emirates air defenses intercepted missiles and drone

Mar 11, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Middle East crisis prompts honeymooners, church groups to rethink trips
Environment & Animals

Calls grow to stop zoos from letting visitors touch animals in defiance of ban

Calls are growing to end direct contact animal experiences at zoos across Korea, as new findings show many facilities continue to defy a legal ban on riding, touching and feeding animals more than two years after it took effect. Animal welfare advocates and lawmakers said the gap between the law and practice is exposing animals to chronic stress and sending the wrong message to children about wildlife. At a National Assembly forum Monday, Animal Welfare Research Institute AWARE and the Animal Welfare Parliamentary Forum presented findings from an eight-month survey of 21 registered or licensed zoos and nine unlicensed facilities across the country. The study reviewed compliance with the revised Act on the Management of Zoos and Aquariums, which since late 2023 has prohibited zoos from allowing visitors to climb on, touch or feed animals for entertainment purposes. Despite the legal shift, 20 out of 21 surveyed zoos were still selling feed for animal encounters, and 15 imposed no limits on purchase frequency or feeding volume. In 18 facilities, visitors could touch animals at any time wi

Mar 11, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Calls grow to stop zoos from letting visitors touch animals in defiance of ban
Travel & Food

4 easy mountain trails accessible by subway in Seoul

Minutes after stepping off the subway, visitors in Seoul can find themselves climbing toward mountain vistas high above the capital. In few other capitals can hikers leave a downtown train and begin an ascent almost immediately — a convenience officials say has helped turn “K-hiking” into a travel essential alongside Korean food and K-pop. The Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) has spotlighted four trails on Mount Bukhan, Mount Gwanak, Mount Nam and Mount Acha as must-visit routes this spring, citing their easy access, gear rentals and scenery that layers granite peaks with skyscrapers, royal palaces and the Han River. At the city-run Seoul Hiking Tourism Center sites near Mount Bukhan, Mount Bugak and Mount Gwanak, visitors can rent boots, clothing and trekking poles for a small fee, get trail information in four languages and store their belongings in lockers before setting out. Mount Bukhan, home to the popular Baegundae Peak course, remains the centerpiece, offering a steep but manageable two-hour climb that rewards even novice hikers with sweeping views of northern Seoul, ringe

Mar 10, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
4 easy mountain trails accessible by subway in Seoul
Society

Mount Gwanak becomes Seoul's new viral spring hiking spot

Mount Gwanak, a granite peak that forms the southern ridgeline of Seoul, has quietly watched over the city for centuries. This spring, it is transforming into something else entirely: a viral “energy hotspot” where hikers line up for over an hour at the summit marker, hoping to soak up good fortune along with the skyline views. On recent weekends, the narrow path to Yeonjudae, the clifftop hermitage near the 632-meter summit, has turned into a human queue that can stretch more than 100 meters. Many in their 20s and 30s say they are not just there for the workout. Posing for “proof shots,” visitors post captions that read like whispered prayers: “Let this year go well,” “Please let me get a job,” “Let me come back here with good news.” Among them are Lee and Park, Seoul residents who climbed Mount Gwanak with their friends recently. “In the past I would have gone to a fortune teller, but now I’d rather hike, clear my head and ask the mountain for help,” said Lee, a 31-year-old job seeker who wrote her employment wish in the caption of a summit selfie she posted o

Mar 9, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Mount Gwanak becomes Seoul's new viral spring hiking spot
Society

Korea marks Int’l Women’s Day with gender equality rally

Korea marked this year’s International Women’s Day with rallies, awards and renewed political pledges over the weekend, underscoring both the gains women have made and the persistent gender gaps in the country. Korean Women’s Association United hosted the 41st Korean Women’s Rally in central Seoul on Saturday, turning the Gwanghwamun area into a purple-hued sea of celebration and protest ahead of International Women's Day on Sunday. This year’s Women’s Movement of the Year award symbolically went to all women who advocated for gender-equal democracy during the rallies calling for the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, with organizers rolling out a red carpet for participants to pose with bouquets and mock trophies. Women of all ages attended in the event’s dress code of purple, long been used globally as a suffragette color symbolizing justice and dignity. It also became the trademark hue of Korea’s feminist movement in recent years, from annual women’s marches to #MeToo protests. Participants chanted, “Complete the revolution of light!” and “Gender eq

Mar 8, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Korea marks Int’l Women’s Day with gender equality rally
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