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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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Society

Marine Corps slammed over service member's death

Marines salute toward a military helicopter carrying the body of a fallen member at a stadium in the town of Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday, after he was found dead in the Naeseong Stream the previous day. YonhapPublic criticism arises as deceased Marine deployed without safety gearBy Lee Hae-rinThe Marine Corps is taking flak for deploying its soldiers to search and rescue operations for victims of the recent heavy rain and flooding in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, without proper safety equipment. The Marine lance corporal, who was swept away by a torrent on Wednesday morning, was found dead 14 hours later. “Life vests were not given to members who were in the operation near a stream,” Lt. Col. Choi Yong-sun, a Marine Corps spokesperson, said during a press briefing at the defense ministry in Seoul, adding that the military branch is conducting a probe into decisions made at the time and plans to supplement related rules and guidelines. In response to the floods and landslides caused by recent torrential rains, the defense ministry deployed 12,000 sol

Jul 20, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Marine Corps slammed over service member's death
Travel & Food

From traditional to trendy, guided tour of Busan's diverse culinary scene

A merchant sells seafood at Jagalchi Market in Busan's Jung District in this file photo taken on March 31. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Visit Busan Pass offers shortcut to local delicacies, tourist attractions for foreign independent travelersBy Lee Hae-rinBUSAN ― Home to maritime delicacies and a rising star in specialty coffee, the southeastern coastal city of Busan is one of the country's five tourism hubs designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and promoted by the Korea Tourism Organization for 2020 to 2025.Three hours from Seoul by KTX bullet train, the city has many charms to entice foreign travelers and their taste buds, according to Lee Do-yeon, a Busan-based travel guide with 10 years of experience. “Busan is the best city to understand the quintessence of Korean sentiment … Why we Koreans are so quick-tempered, saying 'ppali-ppali' all the time and why we eat what we eat and love it so much ― you can understand that by understandin

Jul 20, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
From traditional to trendy, guided tour of Busan's diverse culinary scene
Society

Seoul City seeks ways to introduce foreign nannies

Children go to a spring picnic the day before Children's Day at Seoul Children's Grand Park, May 4. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seogBy Lee Hae-rinThe Seoul Metropolitan Government held a debate with policy experts, Wednesday, to discuss the possible introduction of foreign nannies at sub-minimum wage pay rates to tackle the city's record-low birth rate and examine overseas cases to map out localization of the policy.Bringing foreign nannies to the capital is one of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's main policy plans, which could come into effect at a trial level as early as later this year. The capital marked the lowest fertility rate among all cities at 0.59 children per woman last year.Professor Kim Hyun-cheol of the Economics Department and Division of Public Policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology shared the situation and research from Hong Kong.Kim cited Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department saying since the policy was introduced there in 1990, the number of foreign nannies jumped by 4.6 times from 1990s 70,335 to 338,189 last year. Their top nationalities are t

Jul 19, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Seoul City seeks ways to introduce foreign nannies
Society

Women-only pink parking spaces turn into family-friendly spots

Women's priority parking spaces at a building in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Lee Hae-rin Women-only pink parking spaces in Seoul disappeared, Monday, 14 years after they were first introduced to assist and protect women, replaced by family-friendly spots the following day. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the revised ordinance on allocation and management of parking spaces is enforced starting Tuesday. With the revision, women's priority parking spaces, marked with pink paint with a stick figure wearing a skirt, will be changed to family parking zones, marked with orange paint with three different stick figures: a person holding a cane; a person holding a baby; and a pregnant woman. The figures reflect the expansion of the group of people who can benefit from the parking space regardless of their gender and age, while still addressing the needs of parents with young kids and pregnant women drivers.The pink parking policy was introduced in Seoul in 2009 as a protective measure amid a series of violent crimes committed against women ― especially in basement parking space

Jul 17, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Women-only pink parking spaces turn into family-friendly spots
Society

More women over 60 are engaged in economic activities

GettyimagesbankBy Lee Hae-rinGrowing employment among women and increased economic activity among seniors are transforming societal norms in Korea as more women in their 60s are now participating in the workforce rather than staying at home to handle domestic duties such as caring for grandchildren, recent government statistics showed.According to Statistics Korea, the number of salaried women in their 60s stood at 1.91 million last month, which is up 8.2 percent from a year ago.The figure is notably higher than the combined total of women in their 60s who are full-time homemakers or are caring for their grandchildren, which stands at 1.71 million.While the number of women in their 60s caring for grandchildren rose by 3,000 from the previous year to 33,000, the number of them who are full-time housewives fell by 17,000 to 1.67 million. These changes reflect a trend toward increased economic activity among elderly women.The labor force participation rate among people aged over 60 marked a record-high 48.2 percent last month. Statistics Korea's latest survey on the economically active

Jul 17, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
More women over 60 are engaged in economic activities
Environment & Animals

Heavy monsoon rains leave at least 37 dead, 9 missing

Rescue workers attempt to enter a bus that became submerged in a flooded tunnel, Sunday, in Osong, North Chungcheong Province. Emergency services personnel work to drain the tunnel behind the bus. YonhapFloods, landslides force over 8,000 to be evacuated from homesBy Lee Hae-rinHeavy monsoon rains left at least 37 people dead and nine missing in Korea, safety authorities said, Sunday. The downpours, which started Thursday, left a trail of destruction across the country causing floods and landslides that forced over 8,000 people to evacuate.The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said as of 6 p.m., Sunday, nine of the 37 confirmed deaths occurred in a flooded underpass in the Osong area of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The 430-meter-long underpass was flooded on Saturday when a nearby river overflowed after an embankment collapsed due to heavy rain.The death toll from the Osong flood is expected to rise further as the rescue operation is still underway for 15 vehicles and many are believed to be trapped inside the underpass. The exact number of victims has

Jul 16, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Heavy monsoon rains leave at least 37 dead, 9 missing
  • PHOTOS Torrential rain damage
Travel & Food

VisitKorea site rebuilt into integrated travel platform

House of Awon in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, renowned for a shooting location of BTS' “2019 BTS Summer Package in Korea” / Courtesy of Korea Tourism OrganizationBy Lee Hae-rinThe Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has upgraded its foreign language website, VisitKorea.or.kr, to an integrated marketing platform in order to boost competitiveness and bring more foreign tourists to the country while helping the local travel industry expand. Launched in 2008, the online platform available in eight languages has attracted an annual average of over 15 million visitors. The eight are English, Japanese, traditional and simplified Chinese, Spanish, German, French and Russian.According to the KTO, the renewed site will reflect the changed tourism trends after the COVID-19 pandemic, deliver interesting new content for visitors to Korea and introduce various services by applying new IT technology and promoting products and services in the tourism industry. Taking a closer look, the renewed platform is divided into three main sections: “Plan your trip,” “Where to go&

Jul 13, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
VisitKorea site rebuilt into integrated travel platform
Foreign Affairs

Gov't says IAEA report will not affect Korea's Fukushima seafood import ban

Park Ku-yeon, left, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks during a daily briefing on Japan's plan to discharge the wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant at the Government Complex in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinAssociating Korea's import ban on Fukushima seafood with Japan's wastewater discharge plan is based on an inaccurate premise, the government said, Tuesday. The statement reaffirms the government's stance that the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report, which confirmed Japan's plan to release radioactive liquid into the Pacific Ocean is consistent with international safety standards, has nothing to do with Korea's import ban on Fukushima seafood.It also shows that the country plans to maintain the ban until its safety is scientifically proven and the people accept the results.“The IAEA report is not about the sea around Fukushima, but it's about a safety review of the Tokyo Electric Power Company's plan to discharge wastewater into the ocean,” Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the

Jul 11, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Gov't says IAEA report will not affect Korea's Fukushima seafood import ban
Environment & Animals

Calls intensify for legislative ban on dog meat trade

From left, Reps. Han Jeong-ae, Nam In-soon, Ko Min-jung and Seo Young-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea, Seoul City Councilor Kim Ji-hyang and HSI Korea Executive Director Chae Jung-ah hold a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday, calling for a legislative ban on the consumption of dog meat. NewsisBy Lee Hae-rinLawmakers and animal rights advocates joined forces, Monday, to urge the National Assembly to introduce a legislative bill that will permanently end the consumption of dog meat and eliminate the cruel industry. The group of four lawmakers, all of whom are from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, one Seoul City councilor and an animal rights advocate delivered their message in a press conference at the Assembly in Seoul, one day ahead of this year's “chobok,” which marks the beginning of the hottest part of summer.Traditionally, Koreans consumed dog meat on the day to replenish their strength against the hot weather, but this practice has been on a sharp decline, and more people opt for samgyetang, a soup containing chicken and gi

Jul 10, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Calls intensify for legislative ban on dog meat trade
Society

Korea University donation ceremony

Koo Ja-yeol, left, chairman of the LS Group board of directors, poses with Korea University President Kim Dong-one during a donation ceremony at the university's Hankook Ilbo Hall in Seoul, Friday. Koo, also chairman of the school's development committee made the donation to the university in celebration of its 120th anniversary. Courtesy of Korea University

Jul 7, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Korea University donation ceremony
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