my timesThe Korea Times

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Politics

Controversy continues over public servants' speculative home purchases

The new headquarter of the Customs Valuation & Classification Institute in the administrative town of Sejong remains empty, Tuesday, as the government agency was not able to relocate to the city although it built the building. But its employees are suspected of gaining profit from purchasing houses there that were offered at a special price for civil servants. YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooMore allegations of speculative home buying by civil servants have emerged, this time in the administrative town of Sejong where dozens of ministries and affiliated organizations have been relocated. It is alleged that some employees of the Customs Valuation and Classification Institute (CVCI) purchased, and later sold, apartments there to profit from rising real estate prices even though their workplace is not in the city.This latest case of alleged property speculation by public officials follows on from multiple cases that surfaced earlier this year involving workers at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), the state-run housing developer.According to Rep. Kwon Young-se of the main opposition People

May 19, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
Controversy continues over public servants' speculative home purchases
Foreign Affairs

Importance of mental health

Danish Ambassador Einar Jensen, center, speaks during the 4th Danish-Korean Primary Healthcare and Mental Health seminar at the ambassador's residence in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul, May 10. Samsung Medical Center Neurology Professor Hong Seung-bong, left, and Danish Health Counsellor Nina Monrad Boel, right, joined the seminar to discuss the changing mental health landscape as modern lifestyles are prone to stress, and the growing elderly population which sees an increase in dementia and other age-related mental health diseases. Courtesy of the Embassy of Denmark in Korea

May 17, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
Importance of mental health
Foreign Affairs

Africa Week to be celebrated with film festival

Poster for Africa Week 2021 / Courtesy of Korea-Africa FoundationBy Kwon Mee-yooThe Korea-Africa Foundation (KAF) celebrates Africa Day with its annual Africa Week program, aiming to introduce African culture to Koreans and raise awareness about the vast continent of possibilities and opportunities. Africa Day falls on May 25, commemorating the founding of the Organization of African Unity, now known as the African Union (AU), on May 25, 1963.The Africa Week 2021 events run two weeks from May 24 to June 6. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's events will utilize online platforms to reach a greater audience. The highlight will be the Africa Film Festival. A total of 10 films, recommended by the African Group of Ambassadors in Korea, will be screened on Naver TV. "Sleeping Before Night" was suggested by the Embassy of Zambia to Korea. Directed by Deexon Nthele, the thriller reflects issues such as poverty and child abduction. "Supa Modo" is a Kenyan film about nine-year-old girl Jo, who wants to become a super hero. The film is directed by Likarion Wainaina and received a Special

May 17, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
Africa Week to be celebrated with film festival
Politics

Bill to be proposed to allow babies in National Assembly meeting rooms

Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party speaks during a plenary session of the National Assembly in this April 20 photo. Yong, who gave birth to a boy on May 8, proposed a bill to allow children under 24 months old to enter the National Assembly's meeting rooms and plenary chamber. YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooThe National Assembly's plenary chamber and meeting rooms are currently “no kids zones.” But what if a lawmaker has to take care of a newborn child while doing their job? The Assembly has again begun to discuss this issue after Rep. Yong Hye-in of the minor opposition Basic Income Party gave birth on May 8. She said that she would propose a bill to revise the National Assembly Act, so that members of the National Assembly may be allowed to bring in their infants ― under 24 months of age who need attention ― to the plenary chamber and other meeting rooms. Currently, under Article 151, no person other than National Assembly members, the prime minister and people necessary for examining bills can have access to the meeting place."Babies in the National Assembly will let mor

May 16, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
Bill to be proposed to allow babies in National Assembly meeting rooms
Foreign Affairs

Israel signs FTA with Korea, expands technological cooperation

Israeli Minister of Economy Amir Peretz, left, and Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoo Myung-hee, pose for a photo after signing a free trade agreement between the two countries at Lotte Hotel Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and EnergyBy Kwon Mee-yooIsraeli Minister of Economy Amir Peretz visited Korea to sign a free trade agreement (FTA), opening a new chapter in the bilateral economic relations between the two countries.Israel is the first Middle Eastern country to sign an FTA with Korea and Korea is the first Asian country to ink one with Israel, signaling the significance of the agreement."Israel and South Korea have a lot in common. We both have ancient history and for many years, we both fought for independence, eventually achieving at a similar time,” Peretz said during the signing ceremony at Lotte Hotel Seoul, Wednesday. “The free trade agreement will significantly lower tariffs and eliminate duties in so many areas from cars to mobile phones, plastic, chemical, machinery and many more.”The FTA exempts Israeli product

May 15, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
Israel signs FTA with Korea, expands technological cooperation
Arts & Theater

'Dansaekhwa' artist Ha Chong-hyun holds exhibition in New York

By Kwon Mee-yooHa Chong-hyun / Courtesy of Tina Kim Gallery“Dansaekhwa” artist Ha Chong-hyun, 86, is exhibiting his latest works showcasing his “relationship with color” at Tina Kim Gallery in New York through June 30.Ha is one of the leading members of the “Dansaekhwa” or monochrome painting movement in Korea, which began in the 1970s.Born in 1935, Ha studied painting at Hongik University, graduating in 1959. Later, he served as the dean of the Fine Arts College at his alma mater from 1990 to 1994. From 2001 to 2006, Ha was the director of the Seoul Museum of Art.Ha is best known for his "Conjunction" series established in the 1970s, which changed the definition of painting. He uses a painting method called "baeapbeop," a unique way of pushing oil paint from the back of the hemp canvas through the coarse weave, instead of painting on the canvas.Ha's works are well-received internationally and this is his third show at the New York-based gallery.This exhibit showcases Ha's polychromatic works from the last decade when the artist took a step away fr

May 12, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
'Dansaekhwa' artist Ha Chong-hyun holds exhibition in New York
North Korea

COVID-19 vaccine likely to arrive in North Korea in second half of this year

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, speaks to Jo Yong-won, left, secretary for organizational affairs of the central committee of the Workers' Party, during a performance by the art groups of servicemen's families from the Korean People's Army at the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang, Wednesday. All spectators, excluding Kim, his wife Ri Sol-ju and a handful of high ranking officials, wore face mask while watching the performance. YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooNorth Korea is expected to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the second half of the year through international vaccine organizations, to help it deal with the ongoing pandemic. According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Edwin Salvador, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Pyongyang, said the organization will cooperate with the North to comply with the technical requirements to obtain the vaccines.The Global Vaccine Alliance, or Gavi, gave confirmation of this to the RFA, adding that delivery would be dependent on the supply situation worldwide. It also mentioned North Korea's lack of "technical preparedness" as reasons for any

May 7, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
COVID-19 vaccine likely to arrive in North Korea in second half of this year
Foreign Affairs

Real, mythical animals of ASEAN introduced to Korea

Installation view of “ASEAN Animals: Depiction of Animals in ASEAN Arts & Cultures” exhibition at the ASEAN Culture House in Busan, highlighting how animals are portrayed in the Southeast Asian region / Courtesy of ASEAN Culture House By Kwon Mee-yoo"ASEAN Animals: Depictions of Animals in ASEAN Arts & Cultures," a special exhibit at the ASEAN Culture House in Busan, sheds light on how animals are portrayed and associated with values in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.ASEAN people have maintained close relationships with animals such as chickens, water buffaloes, and elephants for a long time and these animals appear in their art and culture.“Stories about personified, deified, and imaginary or mythical animals are found throughout the many legends and folk tales of traditional ASEAN cultures,” an official of the ASEAN Culture House said. The exhibit features some 100 traditional and contemporary artworks and audiovisual materials depi

May 7, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
Real, mythical animals of ASEAN introduced to Korea
Foreign Affairs

Bridging Africa and Korea

Lyeo Woon-ki, president of the Korea-Africa Foundation, aims to establish a network of people throughout Africa to collect and share information of the continent faster. Courtesy of Korea-Africa FoundationKorea-Africa Foundation president vows to establish information networkBy Kwon Mee-yooAfrica is known as a continent of opportunities with solid economic growth backed by its young population and abundant natural resources. Korea is seeking to strengthen relations with Africa through the Korea-Africa Foundation (KAF), which is a platform for exchanges and better understanding."Korea's diplomacy is centered too much on the four super powers ― the United States, Japan, China and Russia ― and inter-Korean relations. We need to diversify our diplomacy to play more roles in the international community," said Lyeo Woon-ki, president of the KAF, during an interview with The Korea Times, April 15. "The African continent is often called the blue ocean, the young continent or the future growth engine of the world. Korea recognizes the significance of Africa in many words, but few are put into

May 7, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
Bridging Africa and Korea
Foreign Affairs

India offers Buddha statue to Yangsan's Tongdo Temple as gift

A Buddha statue, provided to the Tongdo Temple by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, is seen during a handing-over ceremony at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre of the Embassy of India in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of the Indian Embassy to KoreaBy Kwon Mee-yooThe Indian Council for Cultural Relations has provided a bronze Buddha statue to the Tongdo Temple in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, as a gift to strengthen cultural ties between India and Korea. A handing-over ceremony of the statue was held at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre at the Embassy of India in Seoul, Friday. The ceremony kicked off with rituals and a chanting ceremony for the statue by monks from the Tongdo Temple, followed by a Kathak dance performance by Avijeet Chakravarty and Oh Suk-hee, paying tribute to the Buddha.In her congratulatory remarks, Ambassador of India to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan first expressed gratitude to the venerable monks who traveled all the way from Yangsan to Seoul to take part in the sacred ceremony. "I look forward to doing a great deal with the Tongdosa Temple authori

May 3, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
India offers Buddha statue to Yangsan's Tongdo Temple as gift
previous page
8283848586
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.