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Kwon Mee-yoo

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.

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South Korea

Call grows to rescue animals on Yeonpyeong

By Kwon Mee-yoo Citizens are calling for measures to protect the animals left on Yeonpyeong Island, devastated by a North Korean artillery attack last Tuesday. A netizen posted a petition at portal Daum’s Agora to urge the government to provide measures for the remaining animals on the border island in the West Sea and some 12,000 people signed the petition as of Sunday. “Protecting the left animals is the least we can do to minimize the emotional damage of Yeonpyeong residents who will return to the island later,” the petitioner said. They asked for three major actions — identifying the kinds and number of animals remaining on the island, transferring those animals to the mainland and providing shelter and food for them. The Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), an animal activist group, has already sent some officials to rescue the animals. “We will transport the animals to Incheon,” a CARE official said. The government officials admitted that they are unable to immediately save the animals due to other more pressing needs. “We have not checked the

Nov 28, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

Marathoner from Burundi achieves Korean dream

By Kwon Mee-yoo A marathon runner who came to Korea from Burundi became a naturalized Korean Thursday, a dream come true for the refugee from the African country. Buzingo Donatien, 32, has been living in Korea for eight years now, working for an automobile part factory in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. Donatien entered Korea in 2003 to attend the summer Universiade games in Daegu when he was a junior at the University of Burundi and was granted refugee status in 2005. His home country Burundi in eastern Africa was in a state of civil war during which both of his parents were killed. He extended his visa several times and studied at Kyungnam University while working for the company. His colleagues call him Kim Chang-won, his Korean name. He found solace in running and won several domestic marathons. He has completed about 30 marathons and holds a Korean amateur record of 2 hours 18 minutes and 39 seconds, which he posted in 2007. Donatien is among one of 20 people who obtained Korean citizenship Thursday after successfully passing the general naturalization p

Nov 25, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Compensation for residents to drag on

By Kwon Mee-yoo Residents of Yeonpyeong Island who saw their homes destroyed during North Korea’s artillery attack will have to wait sometime before they get compensation. Incheon City, which governs the island, said officials were working hard to come up with measures to assist the residents, but that there were no regulations on compensation for civilians caught in military attacks. "This is the first time for North Korea to attack civilians since the Korean War in 1950 and there are no related laws on compensation," a city official said. "We plan to give them financial aid based on measures for flood damage and seek further support from the Ministry of Nation Defense." The city estimates some 2 billion won in property damage occurred on the border island as about 30 houses were destroyed in the artillery attack. The exact amount of damage is not yet known. Rep. Hwang Woo-yea of the Grand National Party said it was important for the country to have residents on Yeonpyeong Island and he would request 100 billion won to refurbish the shelters there. Other border a

Nov 25, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Twitter buzzing over Yeonpyeong

By Kwon Mee-yoo The news of North Korea’s artillery attack in South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea Tuesday spread fast through social network services such as Twitter. Kim Ju-ha, MBC anchor and renowned tweeter, conveyed the breaking news and her newsflashes were immediately retweeted among her followers. She also asked for calm reactions on the attack. “I hope my Twitter friends cope with the incident calmly. Keep your eyes on the news updates and do not hoard necessities. I will keep you posted,” Kim said. Celebrities, especially those who served in the Marine Corps, paid condolences to the fallen soldiers through Twitter. Phillip Choi, an actor who was a Marine, said, “Two Marine soldiers died in action. I pray for the repose of their souls, as they gave their lives for the country” on his Twitter account. However, some tweeters and other microblog users were criticized for their rash attitude toward the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. A netizen wrote on her Me2Day account, a Korean social network service, that it was her husband’s 33rd birthday.

Nov 24, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Civic organizations oppose KBS fee hike

By Kwon Mee-yoo Civic groups and TV viewers are opposing the proposed subscription hike of 1,000 won by KBS, calling on the broadcaster to scrap the plan and instead boost its public role. The opposition came after the KBS Board of Governors, chaired by Sohn Byung-doo, decided Friday to raise its license fee from the current 2,500 won to 3,500 won, while keeping its ratio of advertizing revenue to the total budget at the current 40 percent. All households here are required to pay 2,500 won every month as part of their electricity bills. However, the planned hike has a long way to go as a growing number of civic organizations strongly raised their arms in opposition amid surging prices of many necessary goods and services. It also has to be reviewed by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and approved by the National Assembly. The board of directors of KBS had initially submitted a plan to raise the subscription fee to 6,500 won and have all its operational expenses covered by the fee. Or increase the fee to 4,500 won and have only 20 percent of the KBS budget covere

Nov 21, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

More babies waiting to be adopted

By Kwon Mee-yoo As rules for adoption become more stringent, more children are left waiting to be adopted. A growing number of babies born by unwed mothers are up for adoption, but the number of people who want to take the children is falling, creating a widening gap. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Central Adoption Resources, the number of applicants who applied to adopt children was roughly 1,760 last year, down from 2,652 in 2007. The number of children adopted overseas fell to 1,125 in 2009 from 1,250 in 2008, while domestic adoption edged up to 1,314 in 2009 from 1,306 in 2008. Hong Mi-kyung of Holt Children’s Services said the growth in domestic adoption is nearly immaterial compared to the increase of the waiting babies¬ . “More children in orphanage facilities or foster families are waiting to be adopted. Some of them spend three to four years in a foster home,” Hong said. The adoption agency said there are fewer families who can afford to raise another child due to extreme inflation and difficult economic conditions. “In

Nov 21, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Surging number of rats invading homes in Seoul

By Kwon Mee-yoo A growing number of rats are appearing in residential areas of Seoul with the seasonally-unusual cold weather forcing the rodents to find food inside human-occupied facilities. CESCO, a vermin extermination company, said more rodents are invading indoors looking for food, asking citizens to take precautions against possible health hazards as a result of the infestation. “The rats are rife in residential areas this month because of an early cold spell,” a CESCO official said. In Seoul, several rat sightings inside houses or buildings were reported this month. A 32-year-old office worker living in a detached house in Seongbuk District found rats in his warehouse. “I caught them immediately, but it gives me the creeps that I lived with them for a while in my house,” he said. The rats are not only an urban problem in Korea. According to the United States Fire Administration, there are some 50,000 to 60,000 fires of unknown causes yearly and a quarter of them are expected to be caused by rodents such as rats. Rodents gnawed through the electric wirin

Nov 21, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
Travel & Food

Smarter way to navigate Garosu-gil

By Kwon Mee-yoo For a more enjoyable stroll through Garosu-gil, be “smart” and download the “itPlace Seoul” application on your smartphone from Apple’s App Store or Android Market. itPlace Seoul is a location-based social network service application, aiming to create "urbantaining" experience or having fun in downtown areas. It gives information on places in categories such as eating, playing and drinking. "itPlace Seoul is a mobile application for trendy urban people," Seo Sue-min, planner of SK Marketing and Company, developer of the application, said. In Seoul, six zones ㅡ Garsu-gil, Apgujeong/Cheongdam, Gangnam Station, Itaewon, Hongik University and City Hall ㅡ are the first designated at the time of the application's launch. Garosu-gil was selected as the first place to promote the application. "Garosu-gil is obviously one of the trendiest places in Seoul and we want to attract people who come to the area," she said. On the streets of Garosu-gil, stores, restaurants and cafes participating in the event have set up blue signs with a QR code. Until the end o

Nov 18, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
Travel & Food

Garosu-gil: a street full of charms

The following is the third in a series of articles featuring tourist sites in Gangnam, southern Seoul, where both domestic and foreign tourists can experience an alluring blend of modern and traditional attractions. ㅡ ED. By Kwon Mee-yoo Garosu-gil literally means tree-lined street and there are hundreds of them in Korea. However, there is one such-named avenue that has become a proper noun in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam District. Garosu-gil is located near exit No. 8 of Sinsa Station on subway line 3 down to Sinsa Middle School. Along the two-lane street are ginkgo trees, trendy shops, art galleries, cozy cafes and eateries ranging from Italian to Japanese. Artists and young designers started to gather in the street in the late 1990s and in mid 2000s, young people who returned from studying overseas pioneered the current trend of Garosu-gil, full of cafes offering brunch and vintage shops. The 700-meter street is now full of trendsetters sitting on terraces of coffee shops and tourists with guidebooks in hand. Han Joo-hee, a 26-year-old office worker, said Garosu-gil ha

Nov 18, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

HS Seoul mayor promotes green vehicles

By Kwon Mee-yoo Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has pledged to turn the capital into a model for electric cars by adding 120,000 such vehicles to its roads by 2020. In a “Green Car Smart Seoul Declaration” at a press conference, in L.A, Tuesday, he said, “Half of the public transportation and official vehicles, 10 percent of passenger cars and 1 percent of cargo trucks and large vehicles will be replaced with electric cars by 2020.” Seoul plans to install 110,000 more electric charging facilities throughout the capital to provide more convenience to electric car drivers. The city is promoting electric vehicles, but they have not yet gained popularity due to the lack of charging facilities and other infrastructure. Oh, who is currently touring U.S. cities, also announced Seoul’s environment-friendly policies, on top of the expanded use of electric cars, at the third Congress of the United Cities and Local Governments in Mexico City Wednesday. The four-day congress invited more than 3,000 delegates from 115 countries, representing major cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Geneva, M

Nov 18, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
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