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Park Ung

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

I cover a wide range of stories about Korean society — one of the most dynamic places in the world. To me, journalism means being on the ground, uncovering untold stories and amplifying marginalized voices, especially in an era when AI is reshaping the media landscape. That’s why I’m always here to listen. Tips and stories are welcome — feel free to reach out via email. Before becoming a journalist, I traveled through 24 countries over 702 days, served two years as a military police officer in the Republic of Korea Air Force and later studied filmmaking at the Korea National University of Arts.

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Society

Seoul steps up school support for immigrant youth

Seoul will strengthen educational and emotional support for immigrant youth with a range of expanded programs to facilitate their integration into school life. Immigrant youth are those who enter Korea between ages 9 and 24 after being born and raised abroad, including children of multicultural families, overseas Koreans and those born abroad to North Korean defectors who married foreign nationals. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday the expanded programs are available at the Seoul Global Youth Education Center in Yeongdeungpo District, where key programs include Korean language classes on weekday afternoons and weekends. To accommodate students' schedules, the center has expanded its class hours to run weekdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For immigrant youth newly enrolled in university and struggling with academic language and peer relationships, the center offers tailored mentoring and multilingual peer counseling led by fellow immigrant youth who majored in psychology. To further expand its reach, the center signed agreements in February with

May 4, 2026By Park Ung
Seoul steps up school support for immigrant youth
Sports

N. Korean women's football club to play tournament in South May 20

A North Korean women’s football club will travel to South Korea for an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) league match with a South Korean team later this month, according to the Korea Football Association (KFA), Monday. The KFA said that the confederation notified it last week of the North Korean club's participation in the semifinals of the AFC Women's Champions League (AWCL) Final 2026 to be held in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, May 20. The delegation will consist of 39 people, including 27 players of the club, Naegohyang Women's FC, and 12 support staff. It will be the first time in eight years that North Korean athletes will participate in a sports event taking place in the South. The most recent such event was a table tennis world tour held in Incheon in December 2018 when five players took part in a unified team with South Korea. Their visit is drawing attention because it is taking place after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined the two Koreas as “two hostile countries in a state of war” in late 2023, meaning the North is sending its athletes to an enemy country at war. It

May 4, 2026By Park Ung
N. Korean women's football club to play tournament in South May 20
Society

Busan draws over 1 mil. foreign tourists in Q1 at record pace

Busan welcomed more than 1.02 million foreign tourists in the first quarter of this year, surpassing the 1 million mark faster than ever, as the southern port city emerges as a fast-rising tourist destination in Asia. Busan Metropolitan City said Friday that the speed with which the number of international visitors exceeded 1 million was the fastest since the city began tracking foreign tourist arrivals in 2014, surpassing last April's record by a month. By nationality, Taiwan led with 208,984 visitors, accounting for about 20 percent of the total, followed by China with 197,958, Japan with 130,217, the United States with 81,437 and Vietnam with 44,352. Visitors from the Philippines, Hong Kong and Indonesia rounded out the top eight, a spread the city said reflects growing market diversification, putting it on track for its goal of drawing 5 million foreign visitors by 2028. Foreign tourist spending in the first quarter also rose to 235.5 billion won ($159.4 million), up 26.4 percent from the same period last year. The city credited the growth to expanded maritime tourism through cruise

May 3, 2026By Park Ung
Busan draws over 1 mil. foreign tourists in Q1 at record pace
Society

Busan partners with Agoda to attract foreign remote workers with workcation benefits

Busan is teaming up with online travel platform Agoda to promote the southeastern port city as a "workcation" destination for foreign visitors, offering remote workers streamlined booking and accommodation discounts. Starting May 6, Busan will launch the program on Agoda's platform, with an initial focus on key inbound markets including Japan, China and Taiwan. A dedicated Busan workcation page and social media marketing campaigns will go live to highlight details about workcation opportunities in the city to users worldwide. The city also plans to streamline its workcation enrollment process for foreign participants, simplifying verification to lower entry barriers and make the program more accessible to international users. International remote workers and digital nomads can participate by completing verification on busaness.com, using a passport and proof of employment, after which they receive a dedicated Agoda promo code for discounts. The Agoda deal is the latest step in Busan's bid to become a global workcation hub. In 2023, the city opened a 708 square-meter workcation center on

Apr 29, 2026By Park Ung
Busan partners with Agoda to attract foreign remote workers with workcation benefits
Society

As Korea cracks down on English kindergartens, Seoul districts open their own for free

Last week, Byun Jae-i, a 5-year-old at Donghwa Kindergarten in southern Seoul's Seocho District, learned that kangaroos come from Australia and pandas from China. The twist is she learned it all in English, a language she is still picking up. “I had learned English at a private institute before, so learning it here became easier,” she told The Korea Times. “Last time at kindergarten, I did an art activity where I made a tiny palm-sized bed and that was the most fun.” The weekly classes, funded by Seocho District, are part of a broader push by some Seoul districts to give young children a friendlier first brush with English, amid a government crackdown on so-called "English kindergartens." In Korea, English kindergartens refer to private academies that teach children mostly in English from around age 3 until they begin elementary school. Monthly tuition at English kindergartens averaged 1.54 million won ($1,042) in 2024 — roughly 3.5 times the average monthly private education spending of 435,000 won per 5-year-old — according to the Ministry of Education. Criticized for fueli

Apr 28, 2026By Park Ung
As Korea cracks down on English kindergartens, Seoul districts open their own for free
Environment & Animals

Daejeon's beloved white lion cub dies at 7 months from rare skeletal disorder

Bomunyi, a 7-month-old white lion cub at Daejeon Aquarium, died earlier this month from a rare congenital skeletal disorder, according to the Daejeon Metropolitan City on Friday. The cub, a female born in August last year to white lions Leo and Remi, was introduced to the public in November and quickly drew widespread affection from visitors. In recent weeks, however, speculation circulated on social media that she had gone missing or died. “As she grew and gained weight, her joints, weakened by the rare disease, could no longer keep up, and her condition gradually worsened," said an official at Daejeon Aquarium, a freshwater aquarium with small indoor animal facilities. “We held out hope that she could overcome the disease as a wild animal and tried many things, but her condition deteriorated sharply last month and she ultimately did not survive.” White lions are a genetic rarity originating from the Timbavati region of South Africa. After her mother, Remi, failed to care for her after birth, Bomunyi was taken care of by zookeepers. Established in 2015, the Daejeon Aquarium has fa

Apr 24, 2026By Park Ung
Daejeon's beloved white lion cub dies at 7 months from rare skeletal disorder
Health

Korea brings e-cigarettes under tobacco law, banning online sales

A revision to the Tobacco Business Act took effect Friday extending the legal definition of tobacco from traditional leaf-based products to cover natural and synthetic nicotine, bringing liquid e-cigarettes under government oversight for the first time. The law is expected to more than double the price of both locally manufactured and imported products, which will be subject to consumption taxes and other levies. There will, however, be a 50 percent tax reduction for the next two years to limit market shock. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the combined taxes and levies on these products is set at 1,823 won ($1.23) per milliliter, meaning a standard 30-milliliter bottle would carry around 27,000 won in tax at the reduced rate, nearly double the typical retail price of 15,000 to 20,000 won. Under the revised law, use of e-cigarettes is banned in facilities such as schools, hospitals and government offices, as well as in designated outdoor no-smoking zones. Online sales of e-cigarettes are banned, and health warnings including nicotine content and ingredient disclosures m

Apr 24, 2026By Park Ung
Korea brings e-cigarettes under tobacco law, banning online sales
Society

Seoul International Garden Show returns with largest edition

The Seoul International Garden Show is back this year at its largest scale yet, transforming a continuous 10-kilometer stretch from Seongdong District into Gwangjin District into a single garden corridor from May 1 to Oct. 27, expanding participation beyond the capital for the first time through a partnership with South Chungcheong Province. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that the show will be held in and around Seoul Forest in Seongdong District, covering 90,000 square meters across 167 gardens — 7.5 times the size of the 2024 venue at Ttukseom Hangang Park and 4.5 times that of last year's Boramae Park site. Expanding the garden show with works from outside the capital, the city partnered with South Chungcheong Province, tying the event with the Taean International Horticulture and Healing Expo, which opens Saturday. Seoul will set aside a dedicated zone for the province within Seoul Forest to showcase gardens by companies participating in the Taean expo. The show also features works by international artists from Italy, India, China and France, alongside contributi

Apr 22, 2026By Park Ung
Seoul International Garden Show returns with largest edition
Environment & Animals

How Seoul turned its biggest garbage dump into beloved park

On a sunny afternoon last week, Park Ju-young, 28, brought her lunch up to Haneul Park in Mapo District, one of Seoul's most beloved green spaces, unaware she was sitting atop a mountain of buried garbage. “Both my home and office are nearby, so I come here often for a run after work,” Park told The Korea Times. “But I had no idea this place used to be a landfill.” Oh, a 90-year-old daily visitor who moved to the neighborhood four years ago, remembers the site differently. Before it became Haneul Park, it was Nanjido, Seoul's main landfill. "Back then, everyone knew it as a dirty, smelly garbage dump," she said. The park is now one of the city's most dramatic environmental turnarounds — and a fitting symbol for Earth Day, which falls on Wednesday. Starting in 1978, Nanjido served as Seoul's landfill for 15 years, absorbing more than 92 million tons of waste, enough to form two garbage mountains rising 98 meters high. The area was thick with foul odors and dust, while methane gas and leachate from decomposing waste triggered serious environmental damage. The Seoul Metropolitan Go

Apr 22, 2026By Park Ung
How Seoul turned its biggest garbage dump into beloved park
Society

Seoul targets illegal foreign delivery riders as numbers quadruple over 2 years

With an increasing number of foreign nationals illegally working in delivery, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will launch a dedicated counseling and reporting channel in an effort to curb traffic safety risks and protect the livelihoods of domestic riders. Delivery work is permitted for foreign nationals only under select visa categories, including long-term residency (F-2), permanent residency (F-5) and marriage immigration (F-6). However, a growing number of foreign riders are illegally taking delivery jobs, the city said, raising concerns over income losses for domestic workers and traffic safety risks. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of foreign nationals caught illegally working in delivery and courier services more than quadrupled from 117 in 2023 to 486 in 2025. Following industry consultations, the city unveiled plans for a prevention and support-based approach, looking to strengthen counseling and guidance alongside enforcement. Under the initiative, Seoul will operate dedicated counseling and reporting channels through the Seoul Labor Center, where full-time l

Apr 21, 2026By Park Ung
Seoul targets illegal foreign delivery riders as numbers quadruple over 2 years
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