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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

Identification mandatory for teens to buy cigarettes

By Kwon Mee-yoo The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MGEF) announced a new juvenile policy Monday to more actively restrict teenage drinking and smoking. From the end of next year teenagers will have to present their identification cards to prove they are over the age of 19 if they want to buy alcohol and cigarettes. Venders will face a “three-strike” provision and will lose their licenses if they are caught selling liquor or tobacco to minors three times. Currently the Youth Protection Act bans the sale of liquor and cigarette to minors, but teenagers did not have to prove they were over 19 when buying those items. The new plan was devised by nine ministries including the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Amendments will be voted on later this month and will go into effect in 2011 and 2012. The Korean Association of Smoking and Health said they welcome the new regulations to prohibit teenage smoking though they took a long time to ratify. “There should be more regulations banning young smokers. For instanc

Nov 8, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Should Gwanghwamun nameboard be remade?

By Kwon Mee-yoo Shin Eung-soo, the master carpenter who contributed to the restoration of Gwanghwamun, said he would like to make a new nameboard to replace the current one on the landmark gate at his own expense. The restoration of Gwanghwamun, the main gate to Gyeongbok Palace, was completed on August 15, but last week cracks in the board were found, raising allegations of shoddy reconstruction. There are several cracks on the pine name-board, the largest one visible on the left side of the character for “gwang.” “Whatever the cause of the cracks is, whoever to blame for the damage is, I feel deeply responsible as head carpenter for the cracked condition of the name-board,” Shin was quoted by Yonhap News as saying. He said if the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), which supervised the restoration, agrees, he wants to make a new board at his own expense. “I provided the Korean pine for the name-board and it was my fault to ignore that such cracking could take place,” the master carpenter said. However, the CHA has not accepted Shin’s offer, concluding that the cr

Nov 8, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Reckless driver apologizes after online posting

By Kwon Mee-yoo A YouTube video clip of a reckless driver on the Olympic Expressway is causing a stir among Internet users here. The three-minute clip, shot and uploaded by an affected driver, has been spreading like wildfire through online community sites frequently visited by drivers. In the video clip, a blue Kia Forte Koup changed lanes recklessly to cut in front of other cars on the urban highway on the southern side of the Han River in the middle of the night. The vehicle behind it protested its reckless driving by honking its horn. Then, the Koup stopped suddenly only several meters in front of the vehicle This wild driving was all recorded by the black box of another car following from behind and the driver spread it on the Internet. Netizens criticized the reckless driver. “It was ridiculous. It seemed like he was intending to cause traffic accidents,” a person using “Hayannunmul” as an ID said. Another netizen “Uro” said such reckless driving is an out-of-bounds behavior. Others sought legal punishment as the driver threatened other people’s lives. As

Nov 7, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Airport security elevated to highest level

By Kwon Mee-yoo With only three days remaining until the G20 Seoul Summit, security alert at all of the country’s airports will be raised to the highest level today, as part of efforts to prevent people with ties to terrorist groups from entering Korea, as well as to better detect potential bombs and other dangerous materials. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Sunday that the security level at Korea’s 14 airports will be raised to “serious,” or “red,” for the first time in the country’s history. The airport threat advisory scale runs from low (green), guarded (blue), warning (yellow), alert (orange) to serious (red). The serious level comes into effect when the authorities are positive about attempted terrorist attacks against flights or airport facilities or possible threats against state guests or VIPs from overseas. With the upgrade, half of all passengers have body searches and half of all hand-carried luggage will be opened for checks. Normally, 10 percent of people and baggage go through such searches. Thirty percent of cargo loaded on

Nov 7, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
Travel & Food

Get a taste of Korea at Eunma Shopping

The following is the second 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. — ED. By Kwon Mee-yoo Generally, the northern part of Seoul is introduced as more traditional with old palaces and museums, while the southern part is more tech-savvy and filled with latest fad. Gangnam, the district south of the Han River, is more known for the Coex and the World Trade Center in Seoul with their large underground shopping mall; and Cheongdam-dong lined with luxurious shops. However, there is an old-fashioned shopping center full of local foodstuff in the heart of the area, allowing tourists to glimpse what Korean homemakers cook for daily dining. The Eunma Shopping Center is located right in front of exit No. 3 of Daechi Station on subway line No. 3. It is a facility for the Eunma Apartment Complex, but people from all over Seoul and even from other regions flock to the center. The Gangnam City Tour Bus also makes a stop at the mall

Nov 4, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Ban on food waste disposal irks residents

By Kwon Mee-yoo “The world is watching. Please refrain from putting out food garbage during the G20 summit in November,” a poster in Seodaemun District read. Seodaemun-gu, located in the northwestern part of Seoul, is asking its residents not to throw out food garbage from Nov. 11 to 12, as they will stop operating the food waste treatment system during the summit period in order to not “give a bad impression” to the visiting heads of the G20 countries. According to the ward office, they will suspend running food waste disposal facilities at the Nanji Sewage Treatment Center, located in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Since the sewage treatment center is on the road to the capital from Incheon International Airport and the unpleasant odor of food waste might give an unfavorable impression to the leaders while in Korea, the district office said. “We will continue to collect food garbage during the period, but we want to minimize the amount with cooperation from residents,” a district official said. However, ward residents are up in arms. “I have no idea how food waste

Nov 4, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Was Gwanghwamun restored properly?

By Kwon Mee-yoo The signboard of the restored Gwanghwamun is visibly marred with cracks only about three months after the restored gate was reopened to the public in August. The cracks raise the question as to whether the restoration of the landmark gate was done properly. Rep. Choi Moon-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party took photos of the cracked signboard of Gwanghwamun, Wednesday. There are three cracks on the signboard — the biggest one is vertical in front of the rightmost letter “gwang.” Two finer crevices are located below the letter “hwa” and upper left side of “mun.” The lawmaker said this is evidence of the shoddy reconstruction of Gwanghwamun, which aimed to regain the original splendor of 145 years ago. The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said it is natural for this to happen to the wood used for the sign. “The Korean land pine used for the signboard contracts in dry autumn weather and causes minor cracks. It is a common phenomenon,” a CHA official said. “We knew this characteristic of Korean pine in advance, but we thought it woul

Nov 4, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Indirect flight ticket buyer wins suit against airline

By Kwon Mee-yoo A district court ruled Tuesday that a consumer can file a compensation suit against an airline company even if the ticket was not purchased directly from the carrier but through a tour agency. The customer who had bought an airline ticket through a tour agency and paid the charges for ticket cancellation won a suit against the airline which was ordered to compensate the customer directly. This is the first court decision enabling a consumer to file a lawsuit against a company even though they did not directly have a contract with the corporate entity. Analysts said the ruling is significant as it will increase customers’ rights, allowing “indirect buyers” to file suits against companies selling products through a myriad of channels. The Seoul Central District Court ruled Wednesday in favor of Kang Seong-deok, 55, who filed a damage suit against Cathay Pacific Airways, ordering the airline to pay 5.6 million won to Kang. The court said though Kang bought the ticket through a travel agency and is an indirect purchaser, he can still demand compensation

Nov 3, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

1,500 applied to date Paraguayan World Cup diva

By Kwon Mee-yoo Larissa Riquelme, 25, a Paraguayan model who earned fame as the World Cup Diva this summer, was excited to see more than 1,500 men standing in line to date her. Matchmaking firm Sunoo said a total of 1,592 men ― 1,236 Korean and 356 from overseas ― applied for the chance to date with the model from Paraguay as of last month. The age varied from 18-year-old to 44-year-old and foreigners from Spanish-speaking countries such as Mexico, Peru and Venezuela also applied for the event. From teachers, police officers to public servants, more than 1,000 Korean men wanted to date the charming model from the South American country. Sunoo will screen 100 of them based on criteria such as Spanish-speaking ability and Riquelme will choose the three lucky ones in person. She plans to visit Korea at the end of November. She introduced herself as "a down-to-earth and simple woman who prefers spending time with her family and her pet dog" at Sunoo's global website Couple.net. Riquelme also said she likes men who are well mannered and wear nicely scented cologne.

Nov 2, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

For migrant children, getting fair education is still elusive

By Kwon Mee-yoo The government has promised that migrant children, whether registered or not, will be offered equal opportunities in education. Most of them, however, are still being discriminated against systematically — they have difficulty getting admitted to and registered at schools leading many of them to quit for various reasons. The Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea (JCMK) conducted research on the condition of migrant children’s education at the request of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). It surveyed 168 migrant children, 96 of their parents, 67 teachers who have taught them and other educational government officials. Currently, there are some 50,000 multicultural children under 18 living in Korea. “About 35 percent of these children were being raised at home before receiving public education, which widens the gap between Korean children who go to preschools and private institutes before starting elementary school,” a JCMK official said. The most difficult thing for them was the Korean language and it was a barrier for entering elementa

Nov 2, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
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