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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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Health

Seoul BioHub builds future for city

Seoul BioHub, opened in October 2017, is leading the country's biomedical science industry./Courtesy of Seoul BioHub By Kim Se-jeong In the 1960s and 70s, Korea's high-end science and technology industry was led by the Hongneung region of northeastern Seoul. The area housed universities ― Korea University, Kyunghee University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) ― as well as engineers and scholars, who together led innovations in the developing country.Half a century later, the area is rebranding itself as the nation's center for biomedical science. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is the force behind the movement, with a vision to make the country's capital a biomedical cluster both for the nation, and for Asia. To begin, Seoul city purchased property from the Korea Rural Economic Institute ― the institute relocated itself to Naju, South Jeolla Province, in 2015 ― and transformed it into the Seoul BioHub.Upon its official launch in October 2017

Feb 26, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul BioHub builds future for city
Health

Gov't vows all-out quarantine for Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting in Daegu, Tuesday./ Yonhap Korea reports 144 new cases, 10th death By Kim Se-jeong The government designated Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province as special management areas for infectious disease Tuesday, vowing to use all possible quarantine measures to stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading outside them.“The best way to stop the virus from spreading would be to seal off the affected areas completely, not physically but in terms of a quarantine,” said Democratic Party of Korea spokesman Hong Ik-pyo, following a meeting with the government.With the move, the government will mobilize the military and police to enforce quarantine efforts in the areas. According to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 144 additional cases were confirmed with two additional death Tuesday, bring the total number of confirmed patients to 977 and 10 dead. President Moon Jae-in visited Daegu the same day and pledged the c

Feb 25, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
  • Moon visits virus-hit Daegu
Health

Government urged to curb Shincheonji activities

A quarantine official sprays disinfectant in a Shincheonji Church facility in Seodaemun District, Seoul, Feb. 21. Korea Times photo by Ko Young-kwon By Kim Se-jeongThe number of coronavirus patients will continue to increase unless the government puts a stop to the way the Shincheonji Church does its missionary work, said an expert on the secretive religious sect at the center of the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea.Shincheonji, officially known as the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, sends its members to other Christian churches as converts in disguise to poach members from them.“This is the main strategy for their missionary work,” said Lee Duck-sure who leads a group of experts studying Christian sects in Korea and helping members who wish to leave them.“One case I heard in Daegu last week was that a church had one of its deaconesses confirmed as a virus patient. Only then, the church discovered that she was a secret Shincheon

Feb 25, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Government urged to curb Shincheonji activities
  • Crusader or self-deceiver?
Health

Shincheonji vows to collaborate with gov't on coronavirus

Quarantine authorities disinfect Sincheonji church in Daegu. / Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong A religious sect at the center of the increased spread of new coronavirus outbreak in Korea said Sunday it will sincerely collaborate with the authorities fighting to contain COVID-19 (nCoV-2019). “We've been sincerely collaborating with the government and will continue to do so, hoping that the crisis will end soon,” said spokesman Simon Kim for the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, simply called Shincheonji, during a briefing aired on YouTube. “In fact, the church members are also the victims and I want citizens to keep this in mind. We earnestly request people to stop showering us with criticism and hatred.”The statement came in response to rising public criticism of the church for failing to assist in government in efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Earlier, local news media reported the church was refusing to share information

Feb 23, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Law & Crime

Prosecutor General lashes out at Choo over proposal

Yoon Seok-youl, right, prosecutor general greets his colleagues as he arrives at the Busan High Prosecutors' Office in Busan, Thursday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongProsecutor General Yoon Seok-youl lashed out at Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's recent proposal to separate prosecutors into two groups ― one in charge of investigations and the other in charge of reviewing the investigation and delivering indictments ― behind closed doors with his colleagues, a local newspaper reported Sunday.During a meeting with fellow prosecutors from Busan's High and District Prosecutors' offices last Thursday, Yoon made the case for the prosecution's responsibility, according to the Joongang Ilbo.“An investigation is not just about putting together a report. An investigation also means indicting the accused and getting ready for trial. That's the job of prosecutors. An indictment is a part of the investigation,” Yoon was quoted as saying. “If a judge tries a case, they have to reach a verdict. The same goes for prosecutors. It's right to say that prosecutors who investigate the case have th

Feb 16, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Society

Removing protest tents

Jongno district officials and contract workers remove protest tents and other facilities set up by labor unions and other groups near Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Thursday. The district office decided to take action in response to noise complaints from local residents. Yonhap

Feb 13, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Society

Pastor-turned activist fights for environment

By Kim Se-jeong Choi Byoung-sungChoi Byoung-sung, 58, is a pastor but is better known for his two-decade long environmental activism.What made him famous was his fight against cement companies in 2006.“I found cement companies in Korea imported all kinds of waste from Japan and mixed them with limestone to make cement, which can be very toxic to human health. I argued that's why so many children had atopic problems and brand-new apartment buildings could be so bad for people's health,” Choi said in a telephone interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.The activist sneaked into ports in Samcheok and Donghae on the east coast to film waste from Japan being unloaded from vessels. He also sneaked into a local cement factory to verify the imported waste being processed and getting mixed with limestone, the main ingredient for cement. Limestone is mixed with metallic oxides and sometimes clay to create cement used to make concrete. “Instead of clay, iron ore and tin, the companies were putting imported waste into the mix. If cement is made with recommended substances, it wo

Feb 13, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Pastor-turned activist fights for environment
Society

Seoul to promote 4 'Parasite' shooting locations as tour attractions

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is promoting Doaejissal Supermarket located in Mapo District where the award-winning film “Parasite” was shot as a tour attraction./ Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan CityBy Kim Se-jeongThe Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it will actively promote four locations where scenes from director Bong Joon-ho's film “Parasite” were shot as tourism attractions.“Parasite” won four Oscars at the 92nd Academy Awards that were held Feb. 9.The four sites include Doaejissal corner store in Mapo District, where the first scene of the film was shot; the stairs near the store where Kim Ki-jeong buys peaches and carries them to the Park's house; Jahamun Tunnel stairs in Jongno District which the Kim family used to return home from the Park's house in the pouring rain; and Sky Pizza in Dongjak District which donated a stack of pizza boxes for the shooting.The city said the first project will be a guided tour of the four sites for movie fans sometime this month or early March, adding that it is also working to add signs and pho

Feb 13, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
  • 'Parasite' gets post-Oscar boost
  • Is Korea overreacting to 'Parasite' success?
Society

Seoul Zoo to move Orangutan to Malaysia for treatment

Orangutan Baekseoggi is fed milk by zoo keeper Jung Hyo-ju at Seoul Zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday./ Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Se-jeongBaekseoggi, a 10-year-old male orangutan living in Seoul Zoo with paralyzed legs and a developmental disorder, will soon leave Korea for good for treatment in Malaysia.Born in 2009, the endangered species received an unprecedented operation in 2011 where three zoo veterinarians and three urologists moved one of his misplaced testicles back to where it should be ― the fact that the urologists took part in the operation made him into news headlines.The zoo vets also found other permanent issues ― his two hind legs were paralyzed and he had a developmental disorder. “We've been taking care of Baekseoggi until now but this is a zoo and we can't give him dedicated care,” Yang Woo-jung, the head of the zoo's public relations team, said Monday as to what the zoo had in mind about the disabled orangutan.“When we heard about the place dedicated for orangutans like Baekseoggi, we were interested,” Yang said.He i

Feb 12, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul Zoo to move Orangutan to Malaysia for treatment
Health

Third batch of Wuhan evacuees arrive in Korea

Buses carrying evacuees from Wuhan, China, arrive at the Korea Defense Language Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. /YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongThe third batch of evacuees from Wuhan in China, numbering 147, arrived in Korea, Wednesday, and all, but seven, were moved to the Korea Defense Language Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province for a two-week-long quarantine.The government has now evacuated 848 people from Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, while around 90 Koreans remain there with no plan to leave according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The seven who showed symptoms of coronavirus infection at the airport were sent to the National Medical Center for more tests and will join the others if the results are negative. As of Wednesday, there have been confirmed 28 cases of coronavirus infection here with 992 people awaiting the test results. Three more confirmed patients have also recovered and were allowed home, bringing the total of those who have recovered to seven.Among the 147, 66 people were Chinese nationals, while one was from Hong Kong and

Feb 12, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Third batch of Wuhan evacuees arrive in Korea
  • At least 500 Wuhan medical staff infected with coronavirus
  • Complaint about quarantine food quality raises eyebrows
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