The Korea Times

DPK locks horns with prosecution over leader's interrogation

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung reclines in his tent in front of the National Assembly, Sunday, marking the 11th day of his indefinite hunger strike against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the prosecution traded barbs, Saturday, as questioning over DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung's alleged involvement in an illegal money transfer to North Korea, ended inconclusively after eight hours. The politician has been summoned again for additional questioning this week.The prosecution claimed that the politician was uncooperative throughout the questioning and gave unrelated answers to the questions asked, while Lee and the opposition party said the investigators failed to present incriminating evidence. The two sides also clashed over the prosecution's request for Lee to be questioned again on Tuesday, as the opposition party criticized the prosecution's move as a way to further humiliate its leader. Saturday's interrogation marked Lee's fifth appearance before the prosecution, as he has

Sep 10, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

DPK locks horns with prosecution over leader's interrogation

Travel & Food

Japan remains popular holiday destination for Koreans despite wastewater release

Travelers line up at check-in counters of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport, June 20. NewsisBy Lee Hae-rinJapan continues to rank among the top holiday destination for Koreans despite Tokyo's release of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, an issue that has raised anti-Japanese sentiment here.A Seoul-based office worker surnamed Park said she will also visit Japan in a few weeks, although she is hesitant to eat local seafood for safety reasons. As a consumer, the wastewater issue seems “less of a political but more of a safety issue” for her, unlike the once-fervent “boycott Japan” campaign in Korea in 2019, she added.Seoul resident surnamed Kim also chose Japan as her holiday destination.She will depart for Japan in two weeks to explore Japanese cuisine and culture. As someone who has avoided buying Japanese products since 2019, she feels “slightly guilty” about choosing to travel to Japan amid the ongoing controversy. “However, the country still has much to offer in terms of cultural exchange and does not d

Sep 7, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Japan remains popular holiday destination for Koreans despite wastewater release

Travel & Food

Incheon airport honored again for customer experience management

Lee Hag-jae, the president of Incheon International Airport Corp., delivers an opening speech during the fifth edition of the Airport Council International (ACI) Customer Experience Global Summit in Incheon, Wednesday. Courtesy of Incheon International Airport Corp.By Lee Hae-rinIncheon International Airport earned the Airports Council International's (ACI) highest level of customer experience accreditation for the second year in a row, its operator announced, Wednesday. Launched in 2019, the ACI's customer experience accreditation program is the industry's first and only customer experience certificate that assesses customer experience management and service innovations of the world's airports, aiming to improve overall airport experience. The announcement was made during the fifth ACI Customer Experience Global Summit in Incheon. Last year, the airport became the first in the world to acquire level 5 in the five-tier system for its customer service and systematic operations handling increased demand for air travel. “We are very pleased that we have partners like Incheon airp

Sep 6, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Incheon airport honored again for customer experience management

Travel & Food

Korea's 'ambitious' plan to attract Chinese tourists unlikely to live up to expectations

The symbol for the Chinese yuan is seen at a currency exchange counter in Seoul's Myeong-dong shopping area, Aug. 18. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukMeasures fail to reflect changing trends: experts By Lee Hae-rinKorea's “ambitious” package measures to attract 2 million Chinese tourists by year-end are not likely to work out as intended as they are pressed for time in achieving the goal and fall short of reflecting current trends, according to the tourism industry and experts. In addition, it also remains to be seen if air routes between the two countries will increase due to declining local demand for flights to China. On Monday, the government announced a set of inter-ministerial measures to attract an additional 1.5 million inbound travelers from China by the end of this year, with a goal of reaching 2 million for all of 2023 and an annual GDP growth of 0.16 percentage points. The measures were unveiled weeks ahead of China's largest holiday season of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. Last month, the Chinese government lifted its ban

Sep 6, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Korea's 'ambitious' plan to attract Chinese tourists unlikely to live up to expectations

Travel & Food

Visa fee waiver unveiled to attract Chinese tourists

Chinese tourists arrive at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 24. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) held a welcoming ceremony for them in celebration of the 31st anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukGov't introduces comprehensive package to attract 2 million Chinese by year-endBy Lee Hae-rinThe government announced, Monday, a set of measures to attract Chinese tourists to Korea, including an electronic visa fee waiver and duty free shopping tax refund for group travelers from China. In addition, it will make efforts toward improving quality of travel by developing high-value tourism products at reasonable prices and preventing overcharging and high-pressure sales within the industry.These inter-ministerial measures come as the government aims to attract a total of 2 million inbound travelers from China and attain an annual GDP growth of 0.16 percentage points by the year-end, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. China has been a key market for Korea's inbound tourism as it took a lion's share in foreign visitors t

Sep 4, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Visa fee waiver unveiled to attract Chinese tourists

Society

Noryangjin's seafood merchants struggle amid Fukushima wastewater concerns

A vendor at Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in Seoul's Dongjak District stands in front of her store, Friday. The market has seen a sharp decline in visitors due to the public's reluctance to consume seafood after Japan started releasing treated wastewater from a damaged nuclear power plant into the ocean in late August. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk70% of Koreans fear radioactive contamination in seafood: survey By Lee Hae-rinSeoul's Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market usually bustles with customers this time of year, purchasing seafood for the upcoming Chuseok holiday.But the popular market was unusually quiet on a recent Friday.“This is the worst I've ever seen,” a vendor who has worked there for over 20 years told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.Amid a growing reluctance to consume seafood triggered by Japan's discharge of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant starting Aug. 24, hard-hit local merchants are struggling to dispel fears and win back customers.“There are so few people coming here it's ridiculo

Sep 2, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Noryangjin's seafood merchants struggle amid Fukushima wastewater concerns

Korea's import ban on Fukushima seafood faces hurdles

Travel & Food

Banksy's famed artwork debuts in Korea with new name

Visitors and reporters take pictures of British street artist Banksy's “Girl without Balloon,” formerly known as “Love is in the Bin,” during a preview at Paradise City, an integrated resort complex in Incheon, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinINCHEON ― Making its Korean debut with a fresh identity, Banksy's iconic yet ever-transforming artwork has been unveiled as "Girl without Balloon" at Incheon's Paradise City resort. The artwork, initially called "Girl with Balloon," became a worldwide sensation in 2018 when Banksy shredded it right after it fetched $1.4 million at a Sotheby's auction. It was subsequently renamed "Love is in the Bin" and resold for a whopping $25.4 million in 2021, a nearly 18-fold jump from the previous price from 2018.Incheon's integrated resort is hosting the exhibition “Love in Paradise: Banksy and Keith Haring" with the support of international auction house Sotheby's, in celebration of the upcoming Frieze Seoul, including displaying the famed yet contentious artwork in Korea for the first time. “We are extremely excited to

Aug 31, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Banksy's famed artwork debuts in Korea with new name

Travel & Food

Culinary tale of tonkatsu as iconic dish of Mount Nam

Korean-styled tonkatsu served with white rice, cabbage salad, cream soup, kimchi and peppers are served at a tonkatsu restaurant in Mount Nam, Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rinWestern dish introduced from Japan takes root as commoner's food in Mount NamBy Lee Hae-rinTucked away in the bustling heart of Seoul, against the scenic backdrop of Mount Nam, is Sopa-ro ― a hillside drive lined with an array of restaurants, all offering the same menu featuring giant-sized Korean tonkatsu.Tonkatsu is a portmanteau of “ton,” meaning pork, and “katsu,” a simplified Japanese pronunciation of cutlet. The tonkatsu served in these eateries in Namsan, a Korean name for Mount Nam, is the same the classic version found in other snack stands across Korea. The pork is flattened until it spans the width of the plate, then breaded and deep-fried to a golden crisp and served with sweet brown sauce. A bowl of plain cream soup, white rice, cabbage salad and kimchi are served with each tonkatsu.These restaurants all label themselves as Tonkatsu restaurants on their signbo

Aug 31, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Culinary tale of tonkatsu as iconic dish of Mount Nam

Society

High costs discourage young Koreans from getting married

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hae-rinKim Myung-jin, 31, an office worker who has set a date to get married next year, got a rude shock on more than one occasion upon learning how expensive wedding-related services are in Korea as she began preparing for the big day.“The scale of costs came to me as surprisingly high. Costs of services start from some millions and can go up to tens of millions won and that's just how it seems to go here (in the wedding market),” Kim told The Korea Times, adding that such a large sum of money doesn't even feel real yet and that she understands other couples' choice to either simplify their plans or altogether give up on having a wedding due to economic reasons.Jeon Sang-a, another 31-year-old office worker who settled in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, after getting married last September, echoed Kim's view on the economic burden of marriage. She and her husband did everything within their capacity to raise wedding money, using up years-long savings, getting help from parents, running a joint bank account for wedding expenses and buying household goods i

Aug 29, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

High costs discourage young Koreans from getting married

Politics

Calls grow for steps to limit number of political banners

Banners installed by political parties hang near a crosswalk in Seoul's Mapo district, June 21. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yunBy Lee Hae-rinAmid a surge in complaints by the public as well as safety concerns over political banners mounted outdoors, calls are growing here to put a legislative restriction back in place to regulate political parties from putting them up.According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, Monday, the number of civil complaints concerning political banners went down by 12 percent from April to 3,680 in May. The decrease is believed to be the result of the ministry's new regulatory guidelines on installing political banners, issued in May. But the figure still remains much higher than last year's 2,000 ― before the amendment to the Outdoor Advertisements Act took effect in December 2022 ― which gave political parties the freedom to install banners without local government permission.Previously in Korea, banners could be installed outdoors without local government permission only if they involved school or religious events, safety and traffic instructions o

Aug 28, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Lee Hae-rin

Read more

DPK locks horns with prosecution over leader's interrogation

Japan remains popular holiday destination for Koreans despite wastewater release

Incheon airport honored again for customer experience management

Korea's 'ambitious' plan to attract Chinese tourists unlikely to live up to expectations

Visa fee waiver unveiled to attract Chinese tourists

Noryangjin's seafood merchants struggle amid Fukushima wastewater concerns

Banksy's famed artwork debuts in Korea with new name

Culinary tale of tonkatsu as iconic dish of Mount Nam

High costs discourage young Koreans from getting married

Calls grow for steps to limit number of political banners

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