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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

Donhwamun Theater serves as lifeline for traditional musicians under pandemic

Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater                                                                           By Kim Se-jeong The COVID-19 pandemic has hit musicians particularly hard ― they have lost opportunities to perform and many have been forced to take temporary jobs to support themselves.While the central government is providing some financial assistance, the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater, a facility dedicated to the promotion of traditional Korean music run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is looking to provide performance opportunities for the artists.In April, the theater launched LINK, a concert series, to give local traditional music groups and singers a chance to perform. The performances are streamed live on sdtt.or.kr as well as YouTube and Naver TV. LINK's next session will feature traditional singer Lee Bong-geun, Wednesday, while Friday's session features the Baramgot

Jun 16, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Donhwamun Theater serves as lifeline for traditional musicians under pandemic
Health

Adoptee's 'rocky' journey to find birth family

Kara Bos at the KoRoot, a guesthouse for visiting adoptees in Seoul, Wednesday                                          Korea Times photo by Kim Se-jeongBy Kim Se-jeong For, Kara Bos, 38, a Korean adoptee who's been searching for her birthmother since 2016, Friday was a very special day. The Seoul Family Court concluded that a man, Bos believed could be her father, was indeed her biological father. Bos, who traveled from her home in the Netherlands just to be in the courtroom in southern Seoul, quietly wept after the verdict was read out.She is expecting another emotional experience next week as she and her father are supposed to meet in person to talk, for first time in her life.“I want to hear his voice and his story. That's what this journey for the search was about ― getting him to talk to me,” Bos told The Korea Times Wednesday at the KoRoot, a guesthouse for visiting adoptees in Seoul. “And I want to ask him who my mother is.”A picture of Kara Bos tak

Jun 12, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Adoptee's 'rocky' journey to find birth family
Health

QR code scanning becomes mandatory at bars, karaokes

A local government official makes sure a QR code scanner works in a singing room located in Gwangju, Tuesday, one day before it became mandatory for admission. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongMandatory QR code scanning went into effect Wednesday for bars, room salons and singing rooms across Korea, one of many measures taken by the health authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19. Also, indoor sporting facilities and indoor theaters must scan visitors.The government introduced the mandatory scanning as infections linked to entertainment outlets have continued after an outbreak linked to bars in early May.For churches and cram schools which have also seen a massive number of people gather, however, the government is only recommending QR code scanning so far.The scanning is expected to further assist the government's efforts to trace the whereabouts and contacts of people who have tested positive for COVID-19. Until now, the government mainly used credit card transaction records and phone signals, but this drew criticism for infringing on privacy. It is unclear if QR code scanning will let th

Jun 10, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
QR code scanning becomes mandatory at bars, karaokes
Society

Attractions near Seoul's three historic mountains

Gilsang Temple is a Buddhist temple built in 1995 near Mount Bugak. It was donated from a wealthy Korean woman to a monk. The book recounts the love story behind her donation. Courtesy of Seoul Historiography InstituteBy Kim Se-jeongStarting from Mount Dobong and Surak in the north, Seoul has many mountains. Mount Gwanak and Cheonggye are part of the city's southern border and the city stretches all the way to Mount Ilja and Gaewha in the east and west, respectively.However, when Seoul (then known as Hanseong) became the Joseon Kingdom's capital in 1394, the city was much smaller and delineated by four important mountains: Mount Bugak to the north, Mount Nam to the South, Nak to the east and Mount Inwang to the west. People in the Joseon Kingdom believed the mountains protected the royal family and the city from outside invaders and diseases.The Seoul Historiography Institute recently published a book explaining historic destinations on and near three of the four mountains (excluding Mount Nam). The book was written by a group of enthusiasts who explored all the destinations on foot.

Jun 10, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Attractions near Seoul's three historic mountains
Law & Crime

Samsung heir's fate hinges on external committee

Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, gets into a car after leaving a detention center in Euiwang, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, after the Seoul Central District Court rejected an arrest warrant for him. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong After the court dismissed the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, eyes are now on an external committee which is set to discuss the validity of Lee's indictment.The 15-person panel is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the case. The planned meeting will only cover whether or not they will take the case for review, and if they agree to take it, another round of meetings will be scheduled.While many local outlets said the review will be influenced by the court decision, Prof. Han Sang-hee who teaches law at Konkuk University said the result could be affected by the panel not taking up the case.“When you read the court's statement, it indicates Lee should be tried. Given that, I think there are possibilities that the panel supports the prosecution by dropping the case,” H

Jun 9, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Samsung heir's fate hinges on external committee
  • After avoiding arrest, Samsung heir likely to boost investment into new biz
Politics

Head of shelter for ex-sex slaves found dead

The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan releases a statement about the death of the shelter director outside its headquarters in Seoul, Sunday. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong The head of a shelter for South Korean victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery was found dead in her home in an apparent suicide, according to the police Sunday.According to the police, her body was found in her apartment in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, at 10:35 a.m., Saturday. The police didn't find any traces of intruders and ruled out the possibility of homicide. The shelter, run by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council), has been the center of controversy since May, when sex slavery survivor Lee Yong-soo came forward publicly to criticize the Korean Council and the organization's former director Yoon Mee-hyang for misusing funds. Yoon left the post in April after winning a National Assembly seat in a proportional representation vote. “The late director struggled to accept what was happe

Jun 7, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Head of shelter for ex-sex slaves found dead
Society

Pedersen adds public-private partnership experience to GGGI

Susanne Pedersen Courtesy of GGGI By Kim Se-jeongWhen Susanne Pedersen joined the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) one year ago, she brought with her experience in facilitating public-private partnerships in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As assistant direct-general at the GGGI, Pedersen is currently supervising the investment and policy solution division providing technical support in green investment, policy and technical services. Until May 2019, she was with the Climate-Knowledge Innovation Community (Climate-KIC), Europe's largest public-private partnership on climate innovation, leading the Nordic regional office. Of the many projects she took part in, she remembers the Zero Emission Construction Site project the most.“In cities, it's estimated that 6-10 percent of the carbon emissions came from those construction sites. What we did was to work with Nordic capital cities on innovative procurement initiatives as well as an early engagement with the indu

Jun 7, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Pedersen adds public-private partnership experience to GGGI
Society

Seoul mayor praises residents' response to COVID-19

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, left, and anthropologist Jared Diamond participate in the Cities Against COVID-19 2020 summit, Thursday/ Screen Capture from YouTubeBy Kim Se-jeongSeoul Mayor Park Won-soon praised residents of the capital Thursday for sacrificing their civil liberties for safety and respecting government advisories during the COVID-19 pandemic.At the Cities Against COVID-19 2020 summit, Park said, “The victory is attributed to residents who voluntarily followed sanitation guidelines and kept social distancing.” His comments came during an online talk with Jared Diamond, an anthropologist and the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Guns, Germs and Steel” (1997). Koreans predominantly kept social distancing and wore masks.The CAC2020 summit was organized by the city government with the aim to share cities' responses to COVID-19 and Thursday's talk with Diamond was one of the summit's 11 sessions discussing the pandemic and civilization.Diamond said he hoped the world would learn to stop competition and work together to solve global problems. &l

Jun 4, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul mayor praises residents' response to COVID-19
Politics

Donors want their money back from sex slavery NGO

Rally participants demand justice for former victims of sex slavery under the Japanese military in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday. Twenty-three donors filed a suit against the House of Sharing, an NGO purporting to support victims of sex slavery, Thursday, demanding their money back. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongA group of donors filed a civil suit against the House of Sharing, a non-government organization purportedly taking care of former sex slavery victims and working to bring justice for them, Thursday, demanding the return of their money. Twenty-three donors joined the legal action seeking the return of 48.21 million won. “We deeply deplore the fact that people in the organization were busy pocketing the money that we donated,” they said in the suit filed with the Seoul Central District Court. “We hope this won't happen again.” The group said it is preparing for another suit against the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council), another advocacy group marred by recent allegati

Jun 4, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Donors want their money back from sex slavery NGO
Society

Seoul City to implement 'Green New Deal' to mitigate pandemic fallout

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon speaks during a session on climate and environment at the Cities Against COVID-19 2020 summit, Wednesday. Screen capture from YouTubeBy Kim Se-jeongMayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon said Wednesday the city will implement its own “Green New Deal” in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period to create jobs and to reduce the city's carbon emissions.The comment came during a talk on climate and environment as part of the Cities Against COVID-19 2020 summit. His mention of the new environmental policy echoed a statement by President Moon Jae-in who a few days earlier vowed to invest resources in industries that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the aftermath of the pandemic.“Seoul promises to make a big investment in the transition of ecology and civilization that will transform the green crisis into a green opportunity,” Park said during the session. The city government is expected to disclose details of the policy later this month. Some experts explained theories that suggest the main cause of the COVID-19 pandemic is climate change that h

Jun 3, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul City to implement 'Green New Deal' to mitigate pandemic fallout
  • Seoul mayor proposes 'Cities Alliance Against Pandemic'
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