The Korea Times

7 in 10 experienced physical punishment

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Seven in 10 middle and high school students here have experienced physical punishment from teachers, a survey revealed Monday. The National Youth Policy Institute (NYPI) surveyed 6,601 middle and high school students nationwide from June to July 2009 and found 69.6 percent reported receiving corporal punishment from their teachers. “My math teacher lashes a student’s palm if he or she fails to solve a problem at the blackboard, in front of other students. I personally feel this is acceptable, because he has fixed criteria on the punishment and it’s for learning,” a high school sophomore who declined to be named said. “However, some teachers clearly exceed the limits. Once, my friend was slapped for opening the textbook slower than other students.” About 28 percent of the students said they were punished once or twice a year and 22 percent received physical punishment one to two times a month. Some 7 percent were disciplined more than three times a week. More boys were physically disciplined by teachers at 75 percent, higher than the 64 p

Jul 26, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Gwanghwamun signboard ― Should it be in Korean or Chinese?

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter The restoration of Gwanghwamun, the landmark main gate to Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, is almost complete and ready for its grand opening to the public on Aug. 15, Independence Day. But it hit an unexpected snag just weeks ahead of the much-anticipated unveiling, over whether its signboard should maintain the original Chinese characters or be rewritten in Korean. The Korean Language Society (KLS) is leading a pack of “hangeul” or Korean alphabet supporters who are demanding for the signboard to be written in Korean as the restored gate is a new cultural property of the 21st century in Korea. Oh Dong-Chun of the KLS said the tablet should be written in Korean in the “hunminjeongeum” font as a tribute to King Sejong (1418-1450). Hunminjeongeum is the name of the first publication of the Korean language, hangeul, during the King Sejong era. “It’s absurd to have the signboard of Gwanghwamun in Chinese characters, right behind the statue of King Sejong, the inventor of the Korean language,” Oh said. Some citizens also pointed out th

Jul 23, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

2 men nabbed for book theft

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Two elderly men, who habitually stole books from bookstores for more than two years, were caught by the police Wednesday. The Seoul Seongdong Police Station arrested Kim, 75, and Kwon, 67, for pilfering books from large bookstores since 2008. The men travelled abroad with money reaped from reselling the stolen books. Kim has accrued a long criminal record for stealing books over the course of some 30 years. He even bought a house with the money from the sale of the stolen books. According to the police, the two were caught when they were attempting to steal Bibles and educational books by hiding them in their clothes last week. They are suspected of swiping at least 450 books, worth 6.5 million won in total. The police investigation discovered that secondhand bookshops near Cheonggye Stream texted the men lists of requested books. The two would then steal the titles and sell them to the used bookstores at half price. They stole one to three books at a time, mostly study material for middle or high school students and expensive law boo

Jul 22, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Top designer Andre Kim hospitalized

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Top Korean fashion designer Andre Kim, 75, is being hospitalized for pneumonia. According to the Korean fashion scene, Kim is in the intensive care unit of Seoul National University Hospital in central Seoul. "Kim was admitted to the hospital because of pneumonia a week ago. He is not suffering colorectal problems as reported before," an official of Andre Kim's Atelier said. “He is recovering now and will be transferred to the general ward as soon as his condition improves.” Kim is wearing a respirator, but communication with family has been allowed, he added. The 75-year-old designer is known for splendid fashion shows in Korea and abroad, featuring top stars such as Choi Ji-woo. Kim was hospitalized for the same symptoms last month and discharged from the hospital after treatment. Recently, Kim’s health has been the cause of much concern due to his old age. For instance, he directed a fashion show in Beijing, China in March, but was spotted mostly sitting and watching the show and being assisted by other people when moving aroun

Jul 22, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Silver troupe glitters on stage

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Five elderly actors and actresses on stage wearing shiny orange jackets sang and danced in line. Though some missed the beat, their faces were full of smiles of satisfaction and pride. “I am at my happiest moment when I sing and dance,” they sang in a touching harmony. This was a part of the musical “Long Long Stream,” an original piece of the Jung-gu Silver Musical Company, at Jung-gu Youth Center in central Seoul, last week. The “silver troupe” first performed the musical last November and started touring local senior centers to perform to larger numbers of audiences. They practiced two and a half hours a day for months to put the musical on stage. Kim Suk-hie, leader of the troupe, said this is the first musical theater composed of senior citizens aged from 66 to 80. "We aim to give self-confidence to ordinary people that they can do anything," she said. She added that they focused on music since it is a musical, rather than just a play. "Their singing has improved a lot. We will tour more places to spread the hope and confidence o

Jul 21, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Migrant workers decry crackdown

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Black balloons bearing messages against the G20 summit scheduled in November were popped in protest by migrant workers, street vendors and homeless people, showing their objection to the government’s recent clampdown before the big international event. Civic groups against the government’s oppression of human rights of social minorities held a press conference Tuesday in front of Myeongdong Cathedral. The government said it would clamp down on unregistered foreigners until August as part of its efforts to boost security ahead of the G20 summit. However, migrant workers organizations refuted the idea as it condemned all unregistered international residents as possible terrorists. Michel from the Philippines, the chief of the Migrants’ Trade Union, said the government should protect minorities such as migrant workers, street vendors and the homeless. “The Korean government is using the G20 summit as an excuse to attack minorities,” he said. “We want the government to end their oppression. Stop the crackdown!” Lee Young, executiv

Jul 20, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Housework still wives job in double income families

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Jeong Eun-young, a working woman in her early 30s, said her spouse shares the housework and it is natural in her house. “We divided the household chores — I do the cooking and the laundry, while my husband cleans the house and takes out the garbage. We wash the dishes together after meals. Sometimes, whoever comes home first washes any leftover dishes,” she said. “Most of my friends work together and share household chores.” However, she admitted that in older generations, men are still reluctant to do housework. “As more couples are joint bread-winners, I think both men and women should do housekeeping together as they both work outside,” Jeong said. However, in reality, housekeeping is still the wife’s job in most cases. A civic group, the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family (SFWF) said women of two-income couples work four hours and 47 minutes a day at the workplace on average, about an hour less than the five hours and 53 minutes of men, but female’s overall labor hours are longer when time spent on housekeeping is included.

Jul 19, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

MBA essay consulting costs up to W10 million

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter A number of Korean applicants for overseas universities' Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses are reportedly paying as much as 10 million won ($8,300) in “essay consultation fees.” An employee at a securities company, identified as Kim, 32, was recently admitted to one of the top 10 MBA schools in the United States, only after he had his was essay looked at by a professional essay consultant, Yonhap News reported. He was introduced to the consultant by another MBA student and he paid some 6 million won for correction services and reviews of applications to five schools. "First, I was asked to write down my experience and the consultant selected which school would like which episode," Kim said. The essay is first written in Korean and the applicant has it translated by professionals, which costs a significant additional cost. It takes two to three months to finish the essay as the applicant and consultant have to exchange information. The head of an institute in Gangnam, southern Seoul, was quoted as saying that “corre

Jul 18, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Police clamp down on marriage brokers

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Tragic death of Vietnamese woman prompts gov’t to act belatedly The tragic death of the Vietnamese woman who was murdered by her mentally-ill husband eight days after arriving in Korea has the government belatedly scrambling to strengthen regulations on transnational marriage agencies. The National Police Agency announced Sunday it will launch a month-long crackdown on illegal practices at such matchmaking companies, beginning today. The campaign will target unlicensed operations and the provision of false information on a partner's personal profile. The move comes after Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc, 20, was killed on July 7 by her 47-year-old husband _ a man with a history of psychiatric illness. She did not know that her husband had been treated 57 times his condition since 2005. Police are investigating why the matchmaking agency that brokered their meeting did not provide Thac with this information. Punishment wanted The victim's father, Thach Sang, wants his son-in-law to be punished according to Korean law. The family visited

Jul 18, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

Travel & Food

Foreign guidebooks put focus on Seoul

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter More tour guidebooks are turning their eyes to Seoul, giving tourists more resources to enjoy the city once they have chosen Seoul as their travel destination. Previously, there were only three guidebooks specializing in the city of Seoul ― the famous "Lonely Planet Seoul" and "Wallpaper City Guide Seoul" and 'Seoul' by Robert Kohler. In May, Canadian guidebook "Book of Everything" released its Seoul edition. The series, famous for covering 14 Canadian tourist attractions, chose Seoul as the first international destination. The "Seoul Book of Everything" introduces Seoul's main tourist sites including old palaces, hanok (traditional Korean houses), night markets, Seoul N Tower and much more. It also lists the five "must do" things in Korea, such as the foods to eat, the phrases to know and the television dramas to watch. In China, a travel book about Seoul titled "Traveling Seoul with Hallyu (Korean Wave) Dramas" was published in February. As the title indicates, the book gives a tour of Seoul by highlighting the filming spots of the Kor

Jul 15, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

7 in 10 experienced physical punishment

Gwanghwamun signboard ― Should it be in Korean or Chinese?

2 men nabbed for book theft

Top designer Andre Kim hospitalized

Silver troupe glitters on stage

Migrant workers decry crackdown

Housework still wives job in double income families

MBA essay consulting costs up to W10 million

Police clamp down on marriage brokers

Foreign guidebooks put focus on Seoul

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