The Korea Times

Remembering Homer Hulbert

Hulbert Memorial Society Chairman Kim Dong-jin, second from right, pays tribute to Homer Hulbert (1863-1949), an American missionary and educator who supported Korea's independence from Japan, during an event to commemorate the 73th anniversary of his death, Seoul, Wednesday. Hulbert first came to the Korean Peninsula in 1886 and died in 1949 in Seoul. He is buried at Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in western Seoul. From left are Association of Independence Patriot's Descendants Chairman Samuel Kim, Bishop Lee Kwang-ho of the Korean Methodist Church's Seoul chapter, Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Seoul Regional Office Director General Lee Seung-woo, Kim and Korean Language and Culture Institute Chairman Lee Dae-ro. Courtesy of Hulbert Memorial Society

Aug 31, 2022By Kim Se-jeong

Global Community

Remembering Homer Hulbert

Kim Dong-jin, left, chairman of the Hulbert Memorial Society, shows a new book full of writings by Homer Hulbert, an American educator who supported Korea's independence from Japan, during an event in Seoul, Tuesday, to commemorate the 72th anniversary of his death. Hulbert first came to the Korean Peninsula in 1886 and died in 1949 in Seoul. He was buried at Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery. The book, titled “Korea As Seen From The Saddle,” is a collection of Hulbert's essays about his 1890 trip to Pyongyang, which have been translated into Korean recently. Next to Kim are Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Seoul Regional Office Director General Lee Seong-choon, Mapo District head Yoo Dong-gyun and the Association of Independence Patriot's Descendants Chairman Kim Sam-yeol. Courtesy of Hulbert Memorial Society

Aug 31, 2021By Kim Se-jeong

Global Community

Hulbert Society discloses NY Times articles on 1905 Eulsa Treaty

By Kim Se-jeongKim Dong-jin, chairman of Hulbert Memorial SocietyOn Nov. 17, 1905, the Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty, also known as Eulsa Treaty, was made between the Japanese Empire and the Korean Empire. As is known, the treaty which enabled Japan's annexation was forced on the Korean Empire “at the point of the sword” and Emperor Gojong along with others, fought unsuccessfully to nullify it.Homer Hulbert (1863-1949), an American teacher in Korea and a close acquaintance of Gojong, resisted along with the Emperor, who had declared himself Emperor Gwangmu in 1897 with the foundation of the short-lived Korean Empire. Hulbert was on a secret mission to deliver the Emperor's letter of protest to then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who refused to meet with him.During his stay in Washington, D.C., though, Hulbert had an interview with the New York Times in which he criticized the U.S. government for turning a blind eye on the Korean Empire and appealing to the American public to shore up support for Korea.In remembrance of the treaty's 115th anniversary this year, Kim Do

Nov 16, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Hulbert Society discloses NY Times articles on 1905 Eulsa Treaty

Health

COVID-19 fears lingering

A restaurant in Seoul has anti-COVID-19 guidelines posted on its door, Sunday. / YonhapNew virus cases rebound to over 100 againBy Kim Se-jeongOn the second day of a new social distancing scheme in place, Korea's daily COVID-19 cases bounced back to over 100, rekindling fears of another wave of infections. According to Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Korea reported 143 new COVID-19 cases, Saturday, pushing up the total number of cases to 27,427. The death toll was 478. Saturday's total was a big jump from the previous day's 89, and a return to the triple-digit increases after two days with double-digit increases. Quarantine authorities voiced concerns over the fact that the 143 were reported when the number of virus tests is lower than usual ― testing centers close early during weekends.The authorities also said if the total number stays above 100 for several days, they will consider imposing the Level 1.5 social distancing scheme. Currently, the entire country, except for Cheonan and Asan in South Chungcheong Province, is under Level 1, which means businesses can

Nov 8, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Politics

Korea sees rising hatred against women

Women commemorate a woman killed by a man in a hate crime near Gangnam Station in Seoul in 2016. Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeong On Oct. 21, a young woman sent a tweet warning women they could be randomly spread with something near Gangnam Station in Seoul. “A group of men are gathering in the street behind CGV near Gangnam Station and they're spraying an unidentified substance on young women who are walking alone. Please be careful and retweet this.” The tweet was retweeted more than 1,000 times, with replies like “It's certainly tough to be a woman.”According to the police which looked into the case, the group of men were salespersons engaging in a marketing event on the street and the tweet misinterpreted the situation.Although it turned out not to be anything nefarious, the incident revealed women's constant fear of attack amid prevalent misogyny in Korean society. There are plenty of examples of hate crimes against women in Korea. One of the most remembered examples happened near Gangnam Station in 2016.On May 17, 2016, a 23-year-old woman was murdered in

Nov 8, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Law & Crime

Census questions raise eyebrows over privacy

A census interviewer asks questions in this file photo from 2010. Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongPeople are raising concerns over questions in the ongoing 2020 Korea census, which many see as a violation of their privacy, as the government tries to gather as much personal information as possible. The census is conducted every five years and about 20 percent of the population is randomly selected for face-to-face interviews ― this year allows an online survey because of COVID-19 ― on their finances, employment and other topics.“I expected to be asked about basic things, but the questions ranged from my academic background to wealth and my social activities, which can possibly reveal my political views,” one person wrote in a mothers' group on Naver.Speaking with a local newspaper, a 29-year-old woman in Seoul said she had also been put off by the types of questions asked. “The interviewer asked if I am planning to get pregnant, if I own my own home, how many rooms I have in m

Nov 5, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Census questions raise eyebrows over privacy

Health

Police investigate after infant found dead in Seoul

Police are looking for the mother of an infant found dead Tuesday near a 'baby box' in Gwanak District, Seoul. /Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeongPolice in Seoul said Wednesday that they were looking for the mother of an infant who was found dead Tuesday morning near a “baby box” facility in Gwanak District where people leave unwanted babies.The baby box is run by a Christian pastor and his family. According to police, the infant was found around 5:30 a.m. on a steel drum across from the baby box. The baby was wrapped in a pink towel, with its umbilical cord and placenta still attached. A nearby surveillance camera caught the woman arriving at the site at 10:10 p.m. Monday and leaving the infant on the steel drum. The police said they are currently operating under the assumption the woman is the mother. Officers believe the infant was alive initially but froze to death during the night.“She may not have left the baby in the cold intentionally. It might have been a mistake. But still we need to find the woman, who could be the mother, captured in the CCTV footage and qu

Nov 4, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Police investigate after infant found dead in Seoul

Companies

Suspended airmail service amid pandemic draws consumer complaints

Korea Post staff sort out airmail packages at a local post office in Seoul in this 2007 photo. Korea Times photoBy Kim Se-jeongKorea Post's suspension of its standard airmail services due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been drawing complaints from an increasing number of consumers who have to pay more to send mails or parcels abroad.In April, Brother Anthony, the president of Royal Asiatic Society Korea, had to pay 33,000 won to send a small book to a friend in England. Before the coronavirus outbreak, it cost him only about 6,000 won. The only explanation he had heard from the post office he use was: “Because no planes are leaving Korea because of the virus.” Six months afterwards, the situation hasn't changed much. “For London, there are three direct flights leaving every day. But the clerk still repeats, 'because no planes were leaving Korea because of the virus,” he told The Korea Times. In March when countries closed their borders to prevent the spread of the virus, Korea Post halted standard airmail services without any explanation; but its expensive EMS d

Nov 3, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Suspended airmail service amid pandemic draws consumer complaints

Politics

More elderly patients suffering abuse amid COVID-19 pandemic

GettyimagebankBy Kim Se-jeong A private elderly care center in South Gyeongsang Province became the subject of an investigation after keeping one patient tied to a bed for days.According to the Kyoungnam Elderly Protection Agency which conducted the investigation, the man in his 70s spent most of his time restrained by his wrists and attached to the bed. Despite guidelines that ban confinement for more than two hours at a time, he was only untied for meals and had a diaper on at all times. The troubled care center claimed the measures were needed to keep the patient, who had a skin disease, from rubbing his skin but the protection agency concluded the man was the victim of physical abuse.The same institute is also accused of taking COVID-19 relief funds from its patients without their consent. “For example, 400,000 won was taken and spent on buying 30 enemas. I don't see how one patient can need 30 enemas,” an official from the protection agency said. In addition, the police found the center transferred 18 million won from one patient's savings account to one employee. It

Nov 2, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

More elderly patients suffering abuse amid COVID-19 pandemic

Government to focus on reducing COVID-19 mortality rates

Global Community

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Korea urged to adopt open immigration policy

Experts call for accepting more immigrants to address population declineBy Kim Se-jeong For decades, Korea was a country that sent its people abroad, creating a Korean diaspora of nearly 7 million scattered across the globe. But the nation began accepting immigrants in the 1980s in line with its economic progress.In 2020, they're often seen in restaurants and shops serving at tables or washing dishes. Near university campuses, convenience store counters are staffed by international students. In Daerim-dong, southwestern Seoul, where people seeking daily manual work gather in the early morning, ethnic Koreans from China and young Southeast Asian men have replaced local Koreans. At farms, they are hired to pick muskmelon, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, garlic and onions. They're also the main workforce for small factories in the countryside. In rural villages, it's common to see young wives from Vietnam and Laos taking care of their children and helping their Korean husbands around the farm. As of Dec. 31, 2019, the number of migrants staying in Korea for more than three months was a

Nov 1, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

[ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL] Korea urged to adopt open immigration policy

INTERVIEW 'Korea's population outlook makes immigration talk inevitable'

Kim Se-jeong

Read more

Remembering Homer Hulbert

Remembering Homer Hulbert

Hulbert Society discloses NY Times articles on 1905 Eulsa Treaty

COVID-19 fears lingering

Korea sees rising hatred against women

Census questions raise eyebrows over privacy

Police investigate after infant found dead in Seoul

Suspended airmail service amid pandemic draws consumer complaints

More elderly patients suffering abuse amid COVID-19 pandemic

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Korea urged to adopt open immigration policy

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