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Kim Se-jeong

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

I am covering trend, food and fashion. Previously, I covered diplomacy, city, environment and unification.

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South Korea

Sewol families in dilemma

A group of family members of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster protest in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, against a bill to investigate the sinking agreed to by the rival political parties. / YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Months after the nation’s worst ferry disaster which cost more than 300 lives ― a majority of them being students ― family members of the victims find themselves in a catch-22 situation.The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) reached a compromise Tuesday on a bill to investigate those responsible for the tragedy and how to prosecute them, with most of the demands from families of the victims being rejected.On top of this, the family members are also no longer getting the same kind of support from the general public they received in the months after the accident.The families are coming under growing pressure to drop their demands and stay away from political negotiations.They have demanded two things ― a special counsel’s probe into the incident and to have a voice in selecting a special

Oct 1, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Korea pushing to develop 'environmental markets' overseas

By Kim Se-jeong The government has teamed up with private companies that want to sell waste management technologies to Central and Eastern European countries.According to the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, a delegation consisting of Vice Minister of Environment Jeong Yeon-man, foreign ministry officials and private company officials arrived in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, Sunday.“The European Union is giving funds to its members in Central and Eastern Europe, which are trying to improve their environmental infrastructure,” Jeong said in a statement prior to his trip. “We are anticipating a torrent of environmental projects to be ordered, and I’d like the Korean companies to win a chance to sell their technologies and products.”Thirteen companies were invited to join, including POSCO E&C; Sunil Energy, which specializes in waste management; and DH-M, which specializes in building biogas plants.Poland, which is three times bigger than Korea, is seeking to generate energy from waste products instead of dumping them. POSCO

Sep 29, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

72 Indians hiding in Korea after religious conference

‘They appear to be attempting to stay illegally’By Kim Se-jeong The Korea Immigration Service (KIS) said Monday that it was looking for 72 Indian citizens who went into hiding in July after they came to Korea to participate in a conference for Christian pastors.According to the KIS Special Investigation Unit, the missing people are mostly Hindu farmers from the southern city of Chennai, and they used fraudulent documents to gain invitations to the conference in Busan in July. The International Youth Fellowship (IYF), the religious group that organized the event, sponsored the invitees for C-3 visas.C-3 visa holders can stay for up to 90 days for tourism or to undergo medical treatment, participate in religious or sporting events, or visit their families. The Indians’ C-3 visas have not yet expired.There were originally 77 Indians who vanished after being granted C-3 visas to attend the conference.“We have caught five of the 77 Indians who went into hiding,” Kim Doo-yeol, a KIS official, told The Korea Times. They were sent back to India after being

Sep 29, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
People & Events

UN official advocates world with less plastic

Anne Marie Sloth Carlsen, director of the United Nations Development Program Seoul Policy CenterBy Kim Se-jeong Anne Marie Sloth Carlsen, director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Seoul Policy Center, has a pair of brown leather shoes that are 26 years old.Carlsen, bought them in 1988 in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she is from.“They weren’t anything expensive or anything,” she says. “They’re a decent quality, and I have been repairing them until now.”She says she often mentions these shoes to illustrate how uncommon it is to re-use things nowadays.“You couldn’t repair them if they were all plastic _ you would have to throw them out,” she says, looking down at her shoes. “Nowadays, so many things are plastic.”Few would disagree that plastic is common in all kinds of products. But, despite its convenience, plastic is a major threat to the environment, and reducing the use of plastic is imperative, Carlsen says.“The United Nations Secretary General said climate change is a defining challenge of o

Sep 26, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
UN official advocates world with less plastic
South Korea

3 Nepalese athletes disappear from Asiad

By Kim Se-jeong Police are looking for three Nepalese athletes who have disappeared from the Incheon Asian Games Athletes’ Village.According to the organizing committee, one athlete who participated in the sepak takraw competition disappeared on Wednesday. Two others who competed in wushu have not been seen since Friday morning.The committee refused to identify the athletes, and expressed regret about the situation.Police suspect all might seek to become illegal migrants. Surveillance camera footage showed the two wushu athletes leaving the village at 2:08 a.m. with bags in their hands, police said. They had left their passports in their room in the village.The rest of the team returned home on Friday afternoon.The sepak takraw player left the village at 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, and did not show up when his team gathered to fly home later that day. The visas for all three will expire on Oct. 19.The police said if they show up before the expiration date, they can go home “without being punished.”Search efforts were underway in areas where there are many

Sep 26, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Documentary on Sewol tragedy stirs controversy

The Busan Metropolitan Government, the main sponsor of the Busan International Film Festival, is seeking to block the screening of a controversial documentary on the Sewol ferry disaster during the festival.The 85-minute documentary, “The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol,” depicts rescuers working with a “diving bell” during the search for victims of the accident. The film is about the poor response to the tragedy by the Coast Guard and the government.The screening of the film is scheduled for Oct. 6 and 10 during the festival, which will run from Oct. 2 to 11.However, Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo recently told a local daily that the city government will block the screening in consideration of the political controversy surrounding the film.Kim Jung-yun, the festival’s public relations manager, said the screening will go ahead as scheduled.“It’s only a week away. And, all the seats are booked,” Kim told The Korea Times.“If there’s anything to be discussed, the chairman has to communicate to us directly. So far, we have not heard

Sep 25, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

UNHCR thanks Korean captain for rescuing 387

Cho Myeong-seonCaptain of PegasusThe head of the United Nations refugee agency’s Seoul office has expressed gratitude to the captain of a Korean ship for rescuing 387 asylum seekers from a wrecked boat in the Mediterranean earlier this month.According to the Korea Shipowners’ Association, the AMS Pegasus, a freighter operated by Korea Line Corp., rescued 387 people from a wrecked wooden boat on Sept. 11 in waters near Italy’s southern island of Sicily.Many were believed to be from Egypt, Syria, Somalia, Palestine and Sudan, and they had been drifting without food and water for 15 days, according to the association.The Korean office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said its head, Dirk Hebecker, had called Captain Cho Myeong-seon, Monday, and praised him for “a courageous act."“Often commercial ships turn a blind eye to these boats in need of help and do not extend their help. Every time we have a case like yours, we really welcome it,” Hebecker said.In response, Cho said he was “grateful for the opportunity to save

Sep 23, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
UNHCR thanks Korean captain for rescuing 387
South Korea

Typhoon Fung Wong to arrive in Korea Tuesday

 By Kim Se-jeong Rain and wind are expected in the southern parts of the peninsula Tuesday as Typhoon Fung Wong is moving northward from Taiwan, according to the weather agency Sunday.As of Sunday morning, the typhoon was over waters off Taiwan and was moving northeast toward the Korean Peninsula at 10 kilometers per hour, with a maximum wind speed of 24 meters per second.The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) is forecasting that by the time the typhoon reaches the waters off Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, it will lose most of its strength.However, rainfall will begin to fall on the coast of the province on Tuesday afternoon, expanding to Seoul and Gyeonggi Province by the evening. Precipitation is expected to be between 30 and 100 millimeters per hour. “As the typhoon approaches the country, waves near Jeju Island are expected to reach up to four meters,” said a KMA official.It said campers and hikers on Jeju and Mt. Jiri should stay on alert, as a potential landslides or flooding could occur due to the rainfall.

Sep 21, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Number of multiracial students on rapid rise

By Kim Se-jeong The number of elementary, middle and high school students from multiracial families soared to a record high of 67,806 as of April, the Ministry of Education said Sunday.That accounted for 1.07 percent of the 6.33 million total and is the first time the group has surpassed the 1 percent mark, according to the ministry.It was also a sharp increase from last year’s 55,780 ― the total is projected to reach 100,000 in three years.Most of the children had Korean fathers and foreign born mothers and the majority of the latter came from China followed by Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Mongolia. In the case of Vietnam, the number of children almost doubled last year’s total of 6,310.The nation’s multiracial student population has shown steady growth since the first survey by the education ministry was conducted in 2006. The number totaled 9,389 then, and has increased by 6,000 to 8,000 annually.The majority of the students are in elementary schools ― 48,297 ― while middle schools have 12,525 and high schools, 6,984, the mini

Sep 21, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Gwangju citizens want ex-mayor to bear responsibility for fraud

Failed culture project costs $10.5 million in taxpayers’ moneyBy Kim Se-jeongKang Un-taeCitizens in Gwangju are up in arms over the city government’s recent decision to drop a lawsuit against a U.S.-based company. The firm used taxpayers’ money to finance a culture project which ultimately ended in failure, costing 11 billion won ($10.5 million).Because the project was launched and carried out under former Mayor Kang Un-tae, citizens want him and city officials to be held responsible.In a statement, Wednesday, the Gwangju Citizens Coalition for Economic Justice said, “We call on the city government to seize assets of the former mayor and others involved in the fraudulent project to cover the loss. Also these officials deserve punishment for wasting taxpayers’ money.”The coalition also criticized incumbent Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun for attempting to cover up the failure, which it said is “intolerable.”The angry reaction came one day after the city government said it would drop a lawsuit filed in 2012 against K2AM, the U.S. firm that conducted

Sep 18, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
Gwangju citizens want ex-mayor to bear responsibility for fraud
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