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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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Foreign Affairs

Cambodians bristle at Korean president's now-deleted post on scam rings

A now-deleted social media post by President Lee Jae Myung about Southeast Asian phishing crime rings has stirred unease among Cambodians, who saw the phrasing as unfairly characterizing the country as a hotbed of scams. In recent months, Korean authorities and the Cambodian government have cooperated to crack down on crime rings based in Cambodia involving Koreans, as part of broader efforts to combat transnational online scam operations. The controversy centers on a message Lee posted last Friday on X, formerly Twitter, in both the Korean and Khmer languages. The post shared a Korean media report suggesting that Chinese scam rings operating in Cambodia had stopped recruiting Koreans for fear of a crackdown by Korean authorities. "Do you think my warning that those who mess with Koreans will lose everything is just empty talk?" the president wrote. "When the Republic of Korea commits, it follows through to the very end." His message, however, had the unintended effect of angering Cambodians. "The visual appearance of his tweet was diplomatically clumsy, as it did not bring about an impor

Feb 3, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin and Park Ung
Cambodians bristle at Korean president's now-deleted post on scam rings
Society

Jeju drew 2.24 mil. foreign tourists in 2025, 70% from China

More than 2.24 million foreign tourists visited Jeju Island last year, with Chinese travelers making up nearly 70 percent — underscoring the island’s continued reliance on visitors from China. According to the Jeju Tourism Association on Saturday, foreign tourists accounted for 16.2 percent of the island’s total 13.86 million visitors last year. The number was up 17.7 percent from 2024 but remained more than 1.3 million below the record 3.6 million set in 2016. Chinese tourists made up the largest share at 70.2 percent, followed by visitors from Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore. Visitors from Thailand totaled 10,532, the sharpest year-on-year increase at 349.7 percent, after Jeju Air resumed regular flights on the Bangkok route last year. The number of Chinese tourists rose 14.8 percent compared to 2024, easing concerns about a potential downturn in Jeju following last year’s nationwide rollout of a temporary visa-free program for Chinese tour groups. Jeju Island has long been a popular destination for Chinese tourists under a visa-free scheme that allows

Feb 1, 2026By Park Ung
Jeju drew 2.24 mil. foreign tourists in 2025, 70% from China
Society

Prosecutors criticized for delay in Hanshin University deportation probe

Nearly two years after Hanshin University officials were accused of forcing more than 20 Uzbek students onto a bus bound for the airport, a criminal investigation into the case has stalled at the prosecutor’s office, drawing sharp rebukes from advocates and those at the center of the case over the inquiry’s protracted pace. The case has exposed gaps in how Korea protects the rights of international students, with Hanshin University students and lawyers warning that prolonged prosecutorial delays have left victims in a legal limbo. In November 2023, Hanshin University put 23 Uzbek students enrolled in its Korean language institute on a bus after telling them they were going to an immigration office to receive their residence cards. The school is a private four-year university with campuses in Osan, Gyeonggi Province and Seoul. Instead, the bus took them to Incheon International Airport, accompanied by staff from a private security firm. There, 22 of the students — except for one who was unwell — were forced to return to Uzbekistan, a move the university said was due to the studen

Jan 29, 2026By Park Ung
Prosecutors criticized for delay in Hanshin University deportation probe
Society

In Korea, 14% of people live in cognitive gray zone

When Jonathan — a Korean who asked to be identified by his English name — turned 20 years old four years ago, his parents took him to Seoul National University Hospital, where tests showed his IQ was around 70, far below the typical adult average of about 100. The diagnosis arrived less as a clinical data point than as a life-altering sentence. “I think my parents knew about my condition since elementary school but didn’t tell me until they took me to a clinic when I was 20,” Jonathan told The Korea Times. “Learning I had borderline intellectual functioning shattered me. I blamed myself, wondering if that was all I would ever amount to.” Jonathan is one of an estimated 6.95 million people in Korea believed to have borderline intellectual functioning. The figure is large because, statistically, about 13.59 percent of the population falls within the IQ range used for such assessments. The result is a gray zone of cognitive precarity — a "borderline" population estimated to comprise nearly 14 percent of the general public. These individuals exist in a policy vacuum, function

Jan 29, 2026By Park Ung
In Korea, 14% of people live in cognitive gray zone
Society

Kiosks nationwide must now meet accessibility standards

Starting Wednesday, most venues nationwide that use automated kiosks will be required to install models accessible to people with disabilities, as part of a broad expansion of accessibility rules as such systems proliferate rapidly. Under the updated standards, barrier‑free kiosks must include voice guidance, braille or raised buttons and adjustable screens or height to help users with visual or mobility impairments, while smaller businesses that qualify for exemptions may meet the mandate with alternative measures such as assistive devices or staff support. The requirement follows a 2021 amendment to Korea’s disability discrimination law that requires reasonable accessibility accommodations in kiosk design and operation, rolled out in phases to limit the burden on businesses. The mandate first took effect in 2024 for public institutions and workplaces with 100 or more full-time employees. Last year, it was extended to businesses with fewer than 100 workers, with a one-year grace period that ends this week. “In an era when kiosks are commonplace, guaranteeing access to information

Jan 28, 2026By Park Ung
Kiosks nationwide must now meet accessibility standards
Society

Lost in translation: Local dialects pose hurdle for 6 in 10 non-skilled foreign workers

It turns out that for foreign workers here, mastering the Korean language is only half the battle — the other half is figuring out if you’re supposed to treat your boss like a deity or a drinking buddy. A new study reveals that 60 percent of foreign workers in Korea are marooned by the local lingo, challenged by regional linguistic nuances. According to a report released last week by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, based on a survey of 1,067 E-9 visa holders last year, regional dialects and honorific speech emerged as the main communication barriers, cited by 63.9 percent and 60.4 percent, respectively. Korea’s linguistic map is carved by its geography, with mountain ranges long isolating five primary regional dialects: the Gyeonggi (standard Seoul), Gangwon, Chungcheong, Gyeongsang and Jeolla groups. The dialect of Jeju Island is so distinct that some linguists consider it a language in its own right. This regional variety is further layered by a rigid system of honorifics — a grammatical hierarchy of respect that dictates verb endings and vocabulary based on a

Jan 27, 2026By Park Ung
Lost in translation: Local dialects pose hurdle for 6 in 10 non-skilled foreign workers
Society

As foreign visitors, residents surge, police form units to overcome language barriers

As Korea cements its status as a premier global destination, the police are overhauling frontline operations to preserve the country’s reputation for safety. On Sunday, officials announced the nationwide deployment of specialized “foreign affairs” units within mobile patrol units (MPU), a move aimed at navigating the linguistic and cultural challenges posed by a surging population of international residents and tourists. The Korean National Police Agency said it will roll out 23 foreign affairs teams at 15 of the country’s 28 MPUs in the first half of this year. In Seoul, seven teams will be formed, including three assigned to central districts including Jongno, Yongsan and Jung, areas most frequented by foreigners. Outside the capital, eight teams will be deployed in southern Gyeonggi Province, three on Jeju Island, two in Busan and one each in Incheon, South Chungcheong Province and South Gyeongsang Province. MPUs were established in 2024 in response to public safety concerns triggered by a series of stabbing incidents in 2023. Operating in teams of seven to eight officers, the

Jan 26, 2026By Park Ung
As foreign visitors, residents surge, police form units to overcome language barriers
Society

Korea turns to viral cookies, K-pop photo cards to address chronic blood shortage

Choi Sang-hun, a 21-year-old office worker who regularly donates blood, had never tried a Dubai chewy cookie known as “dujjonku,” even as it surges in popularity to become one of the hardest treats to find in Korea. He finally got a taste at the Gwanghwamun Blood Donation Center in Jongno District, central Seoul, where the cookies were handed out to the first 100 people to donate blood that day. “I don’t know yet whether it tastes good because I haven’t tried it, but it feels great to get one,” Choi told The Korea Times. His story points to a broader effort by the Korean Red Cross, which oversees the nation’s blood supply, and has turned to a growing list of incentives — from viral cookies to K-pop — as it struggles to ease a chronic blood shortage. The Korean Red Cross has not met this year's benchmark for adequate daily blood supplies of at least five days’ worth, meaning it remains at the “alert monitoring” stage. The strain of an inadequate supply follows a recent slide in reserves: Blood supplies met the adequate level for 242 days in 2023 and 304 days in 2024

Jan 24, 2026By Park Ung
Korea turns to viral cookies, K-pop photo cards to address chronic blood shortage
Society

Seoul Botanic Park named national hub for rare, endemic plant conservation

Seoul Botanic Park on Friday held a plaque ceremony marking its designation as a national conservation institution for rare and endemic plants, joining a small group of facilities tasked with safeguarding Korea’s plant genetic resources. Designated by the Korea National Arboretum, “national rare and endemic plants conservation organization” status is granted to arboretums that manage at least 30 rare or endemic plant species and employ at least two professional curators to support plant genetic resource conservation and research. Nationwide, 31 institutions hold the designation, with Seoul Botanic Park becoming the second in the capital after Pureun Arboretum. Located in the southwestern Gangseo District, Seoul Botanic Park opened in 2019 and has built ex situ, or off-site, conservation capacity by conducting ongoing research on native plants. The park currently maintains around 6,600 plant genetic resources, including rare and endemic species designated by the Korea Forest Service. Building on that role, it plans to strengthen management and research for long-term preservation, exp

Jan 23, 2026By Park Ung
Seoul Botanic Park named national hub for rare, endemic plant conservation
Sports

Korea recruits first foreign coach to revive struggling men's nat'l basketball team

The appointment of Nikolajs Mazurs as the first foreign head coach of Korea men’s national basketball team has drawn attention to whether he can revive an organization long considered an Asian powerhouse but one that has struggled in recent years. Last month, the Korea Basketball Association (KBA) appointed the Latvian coach, saying the move was aimed at boosting international competitiveness and building a more systematic national team program ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The 45-year-old has around two decades of coaching experience, including work with Latvia’s youth national teams from the under-16 to under-20 levels and professional clubs in Russia and Lithuania. Korea is the first country he has coached outside Eastern Europe. With the KBA setting goals of Asian Games gold and Olympic qualification, Mazurs said the chance to compete on the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup and Olympic stages was the primary reason he accepted the role. “Every coach dreams of being part of the Olympic Games,” Mazurs sa

Jan 22, 2026By Park Ung
Korea recruits first foreign coach to revive struggling men's nat'l basketball team
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