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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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Society

Seoul City to unveil new tourism video featuring BTS

Seoul Metropolitan Government promotes the city's tourism with BTS. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government By Kim Se-jeong The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to roll out a new tourism promotional video Friday, featuring BTS, the K-pop group that made history recently by landing at No.1 on Billboard's main singles chart.The video will be available on visitseoul.net, the city's official tourism website, as well as its other social medial channels at 5 p.m. on Friday. Titled “See You in Seoul,” the 112-second video will have each of the seven BTS members introducing seven attractions of the city which include cosmetic shops, inner-city walking tours, activities on the Han River, street food, nightlife, royal palaces and Dongdaemun Design Plaza. “I hope the video will make those who want to travel feel a bit better while travel is restricted due to COVID-19. The city also hopes that when people start to travel again, their first destination will be Seoul,” said

Sep 10, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul City to unveil new tourism video featuring BTS
Politics

Justice minister's scandals anger young Koreans

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae attends a session at the National Assembly, Tuesday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongYoung people in Korea are growing increasingly angry over a number of scandals involving the son of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and the scions of other powerful figures, leading many to raise questions about the fairness in society heralded by President Moon Jae-in.“I feel sorry for myself as Choo Mi-ae isn't my mom and Cho Kuk isn't my dad,” one anonymous user posted on Naver. “What if I don't return to the military on time after a vacation? I will probably find myself in a military prison. But, it was totally ok for Choo's son to extend his vacation over the phone. Insane!” another wrote on the web portal. “I would say this to fellow men on active duty: please go ahead and call your unit for a vacation extension and tell them you are doing it because it was ok for Choo's son to do so,” a local newspaper quoted a young citizen as saying. While serving his military duty at the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) in 2017, Seo, Ch

Sep 9, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Justice minister's scandals anger young Koreans
  • Justice minister asked defense ministry to do favor for her son in military, document shows
Society

Waste disposal crisis looming large in Seoul metropolitan area

Trucks are waiting to dump waste on Sudokwon Landfill Site in Incheon in this undated photo. / Courtesy of Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corp.By Kim Se-jeong A waste disposal crisis is looming large in the Seoul metropolitan area for 2025 as Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province struggle to find alternative landfill sites that can replace the current one, according to environmental engineering experts.In 2015, Seoul and Incheon cities, Gyeonggi Province and the Ministry of Environment set out to find a site to replace the current Sudokwon Landfill Site (SLS) which many claim is the world's largest.Opened in 1992, it receives an average of 12,000 tons of garbage daily, mostly home- and construction-related waste from Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province where half the country's population lives. Years of meetings have been fruitless and a look into these reveals the complexity of waste management issues in Korea and conflicts of interest.A map of Sudokwon Landfill SiteThe SLS covers 14.83 square kilometers of land in Incheon near the west coast. Of that, 8.9 square kilometers ― the

Sep 8, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Waste disposal crisis looming large in Seoul metropolitan area
Politics

New justice could take Supreme Court further to left

By Kim Se-jeong Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-kuA former appeals court judge in Busan, Lee Heung-ku, joined Korea's Supreme Court Tuesday as a justice, indicating that the top court could be tilted further toward the left.Justice Lee replaced the conservative Justice Kwon Soon-il who retired on the same day. Studying law at Seoul National University, Lee joined the anti-government movement during the Chun Doo-hwan administration in 1985 and was sentenced to prison for on charges of threatening national security. Retired Justice Kwon was one of the presiding judges hearing his case. In 1987, he went back to school after being freed and passed the bar exam in 1990. The legal community in Korea considers his appointment, in the face of his anti-government activity and conviction, unprecedented. Lee was also an active member of a law study group among judges known for its liberal views. By appointing Lee, President Moon Jae-in has appointed 11 of those in the 14-justice court in three years. Among the 11, six have a record of engagement in liberal groups, such as Lawyers for a Democrat

Sep 8, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
New justice could take Supreme Court further to left
Politics

Justice minister further cornered over son's military service

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae leaves the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. /YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae found herself in deeper trouble Monday, as an additional allegation regarding her son's military service surfaced over the weekend.According to the main opposition People Power Party, a reserve colonel confided to a conservative party lawmaker that when he was in charge of a unit involving Choo's son in 2017, he received numerous requests from the National Assembly and Ministry of National Defense to assign him, identified by his surname Seo, to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games as an interpreter, claiming the powerful politician used her influence to have her son assigned a relatively easy task. Choo was the leader of the ruling Minjoo Party at the time.Seo served his military duty at the Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army (KATUSA) between 2016 and 2018 and the Olympics were held in early 2018. Military service is mandatory for Korean men and has long involved corruption as people with power attempt to have their sons either exempted from

Sep 7, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Justice minister further cornered over son's military service
Society

'History of Hangeul should be rewritten'

Kim Dong-jin, chairman of the Hulbert Memorial Society, poses with a book including the original copy of the influential educator's 1889 New-York Tribune article on the Korean alphabet, next to Hulbert's tomb in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Hulbert Memorial SocietyBy Kim Se-jeongHulbert's article in the New-York Tribune in 1889Kim Dong-jin, chairman of the Hulbert Memorial Society, a non-profit organization commemorating Homer Hulbert (1867-1949), disclosed  the original copy of a 1889 New-York Tribune article written by the influential educator about Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, on Monday. Born in the U.S., Hulbert first came to Korea as a teacher at the Royal College in 1886. He stayed in Korea until 1907 when he was expelled for criticizing Japan's increasing control over the country, and was invited back in 1949 shortly before his death. He is best remembered as an educator and for his support of Korea's independence movement. In 1950, the Korean government awarded him the Order of the Taegeuk posthumously. “Hulbert did many things to promote Hangeul during his stay. Th

Sep 3, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
'History of Hangeul should be rewritten'
Society

Where does Seoul's drinking water come from?

Ttukdo Arisu Water Purification Center in Seoul / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government6 treatment plants process 3.17 million tons of water every dayBy Kim Se-jeong A recent tap water crisis in Incheon has attracted public attention about the quality of drinking water in cities across the country. Larvae were found in tap water across Incheon, Busan and parts of Gyeonggi Province, raising questions among the public about where their water comes from and how it is processed.In Seoul with nearly 10 million residents, tap water comes from the Han River. The Seoul Metropolitan Government runs six water treatment plants in and near the city which together process 3.17 million tons of water every day and also takes care of the network of pipes that deliver the water. Water is collected from eight spots upstream where quality is best. Arriving at a treatment plant, chemicals are added to the water to neutralize the dirt and other contaminants. The chemical reaction results in the formation of aggregate called floc. The next phase of treatment is sedimentation where the heavier floc set

Sep 2, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Health

How COVID-19 pandemic affects foreign residents in Korea

GettyimagebankBy Kim Se-jeong The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can be felt especially hard by foreign residents in Korea ― many don't speak the language and are considered outsiders here. They have little support around them and visiting their families in their home countries is almost impossible due to travel bans and lockdowns around the world.The Korea Times contacted several foreign residents from English-speaking countries who are living, or based, in Seoul and asked them to describe their situations. All, but one, declined to disclose their full names.An American, who wants to be identified as only David, has probably suffered the most. A resident of Seoul for 35 years, he teaches tourism at a major university in Seoul but has been stuck in the Philippines ever since. He flew to the Philippines in January to stay with his wife and son there for a winter break, but couldn't get back. “President Duterte has imposed one of the world's strictest lockdown policies. I can't leave except by special arrangements that are too expensive. I have a flight booked on AirAsia, but it

Sep 2, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
How COVID-19 pandemic affects foreign residents in Korea
  • Will COVID-19 change Chuseok customs?
Health

Another legal battle set to haunt Samsung heir

Lee Jae-yongLee Jae-yong charged with fraud in mergerBy Kim Se-jeong Prosecutors indicted Samsung Group Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong without physical detention, Tuesday, on multiple charges related to a controversial merger of the group's units and alleged accounting fraud. Lee was indicted on counts of stock manipulation, violation of laws governing the capital market and external audits, and breach of trust during the merger between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, as well as accounting fraud at another group affiliate, Samsung Biologics. The prosecution also indicted 10 former senior executives of Samsung on similar charges for allegedly assisting Lee in the fraudulent activities surrounding the merger. “It is a case that can have grave consequences. Also, we have clear-cut evidence against them and the case is of interest to the public. With this backdrop, we conclude the case needs a judicial review,” said prosecutor Lee Bok-hyun, head of the investigation team, Tuesday. In response, Samsung criticized the prosecution, saying it was politically charged and had th

Sep 1, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Another legal battle set to haunt Samsung heir
Society

Remembering Homer Hulbert

Kim Dong-jin, right, chairman of the Hulbert Memorial Society, holds a flower during an event held in Seoul, Monday, to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the death of Homer Hulbert (1863-1949), an American educator who helped Korea's independence movement. He was also an advocate for the Korean language and died in Korea in 1949. Next to Kim are Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Seoul regional office head Lee Seong-choon, center, and Nam Jong-woon from Mapo-gu Office. / Courtesy of Hulbert Memorial Society

Aug 31, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Remembering Homer Hulbert
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