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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

Studying abroad at early age losing steam

By Kim Se-jeongThe number of grade-school students going abroad for schooling is dying down, data showed Tuesday.According to Korean Educational Statistical Services, the number of elementary, middle and high school students who went abroad on education exchanges was 10,907 last year, almost one-third of the 2006 figure of 29,511, when the trend reached its peak.The number is also down by 12 percent from the previous year’s 12,374.“This year’s figure could go even lower to below 10,000, the first time since surpassing that mark in 2002,” said an official at the Ministry of Education.The ministry official explained that the drop shows that it is no longer the case that students coming back to Korea with a foreign diploma can find better-paying jobs.Koreans are known for their educational zeal, but at the same time, distrust toward the public education system runs deep. Those who could afford to pay for overseas study sent their children abroad as early as possible, and these children often came back to find good paying jobs.“The decline is also partly bec

Nov 17, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Studying abroad at early age losing steam
South Korea

Gov't to expand financial aid to sex slavery victims

By Kim Se-jeong Financial support for 47 survivors of sex slavery committed by Japanese soldiers during World War II will be increased from next year, the government said, Monday.The plan came in response to the recent news that the Ministry of Health and Welfare was considering having municipalities cut their budgets allocated for these women because local support programs duplicated the central government’s programs. The ministry has provided allowances to the womenThe former sex slaves receive benefits in medical fees and housing. Separately from these, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which is mainly responsible for support of each victim, offers a monthly allowance.For the monthly allowance, the government plans to increase it from 1.04 million won to 1.3 million won. Medical fee support will also rise from 42.7 million won per person this year to 45.43 million won next year.The government will also spend 44.3 million won in payment for caregivers next year, up from this year’s 30 million won.The government needs approval from the National Assembly wh

Nov 16, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
People & Events

Indian teaches visitors yoga on Nami Island

Abhijit Ghosh, an Indian yogi, helps a student with posture during a yoga class at Dong Seoul College inSeongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in this 2013 photo. / Courtesy of Abhijit GhoshBy Kim Se-jeong Abhijit Ghosh, 40, a yoga instructor from India, is inviting people to Nami Island in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, this weekend where he will open yoga sessions for the general public.His special yoga sessions are part of a week-long Indian cultural festival organized by the Indian Embassy in Seoul running until Sunday. The sessions will take place on Saturday and Sunday on the island, and anyone interested is welcome. “Just come to relax,” the yogi said.The festival will feature another yoga session at Millennium Seoul Hilton on Saturday by another yoga instructor.Ghosh teaches yoga at Dong Seoul College in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. He’s been teaching there for nine years.The yogi said he is putting a lot of emphasis on raising awareness that yoga is not about physical fitness only. “Yoga is also about mentality,” he said.Ghosh has been practicing yoga

Nov 13, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Indian teaches visitors yoga on Nami Island
South Korea

Referendum on nuke plant turns invalid

By Kim Se-jeong The referendum on nuclear power plant construction in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsang Province, became invalid, as the voter turnout was 32.5 percent, less than one third of the total eligible voters required by law.According to the referendum management committee, Friday, only 11,201 out of 34,432 eligible voters cast ballots during the referendum on Wednesday and Thursday.Among those who participated in the voting, 91.7 percent voted against construction.The referendum was made as the government decided in 2012 to build the plant there starting in 2019 and finishing it by 2026 or 2027. Some residents and civic groups have opposed the plan, especially after the nuclear plant accident in Fukushima in 2011. While they held the referendum, the government has said the vote has no legal binding because the nuclear plant project is an important, state-driven affair which is not subject to referendum.Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick confirmed again on Friday that the government would not acknowledge the referendum and would go ahead with the project.

Nov 13, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Warning issued against illegal rally

By Kim Se-jeong The government issued a stern warning Friday against any illegal activities during a massive rally planned for central Seoul today.In an unusual joint statement among five ministries, the government warned it will not tolerate “illegal actions” or “violence” during the gathering.The statement comes from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.According to rally organizers, almost 100,000 people from 53 organizations are expected to take part in the gathering at Gwanghwamun Square.Prior to the rally, the respective groups will hold pre-demonstrations at various spots including Seoul Station and Seoul Plaza.They will protest various issues, including labor market reforms, the state-authored history textbooks, the falling price of rice, and youth unemployment.It may be the largest rally since the candlelit vigil protest against the U.S. beef import deal in 2008, and organizers plan to march toward Cheong Wa Dae, placing the

Nov 13, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Warning issued against illegal rally
South Korea

KAIST students' credit card information stolen

By Kim Se-jeong More than a dozen students and faculty at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science Technology (KAIST) have had their credit card information stolen by a hacker who attempted to make payments in Japan, according to the school, Thursday.The school said that the number of victims was about 20, but the number is likely to rise as the news spreads. The amount was not much, either 1 or 2 yen.As students reported text messages about small charges made oversease on Wednesday evening, credit card companies went ahead to block transactions recorded from the troubled credit card reader. The companies suspect the information had been stolen from card readers at a store near the school campus in Daejeon, where the hacker may have been running tests.Most of the victims are students, but some professors were also included, according to KAIST. It asked students to report additional cases to the school authorities and police.

Nov 12, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Caregivers treated poorly

By Kim Se-jeong Caregivers who look after sick people at their homes are treated badly both financially and emotionally, often facing human rights abuses, according to a survey released Wednesday.The Korean Women’s Development Institute and the Korean Domestic Workers’ Association conducted a survey of 156 caregivers and announced the results at a seminar organized by the National Human Rights Commission.Caregivers are hired to take care of the elderly and sick. Their responsibilities range from helping them dress to changing diapers and assisting them with showers.More than 56 percent of the respondents said they had been humiliated at work by their clients and clients’ families who treated them “like they were slaves.”The survey revealed that 30.8 percent of the caregivers had been sexually harassed, while 34 percent answered that they were constantly monitored through surveillance cameras installed at the clients’ homes. Most of them did not know before starting work that there were cameras monitoring them, while only seven said that their

Nov 11, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Fire in Daewoo shipyard kills one, injures seven

By Kim Se-jeong A fire at a shipbuilding yard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, killed one worker and injured seven others, Tuesday.According to officials at Geoje Police Station, the blaze began around 10:40 a.m. at a dockyard owned by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.The fire broke out in an 85,000-ton LPG tanker where engineers were doing welding work. Almost 130 engineers were inside the tanker at the time of the incident.Police said they are investigating the cause of the fire, but suspected a welding flame might have been the cause. They said the tank had flammable materials nearby.Fourteen fire trucks arrived at the scene to extinguish the blaze within about one hour.While most workers escaped immediately after the fire started, one engineer in his 50s died from inhaling toxic gases. Seven others also inhaled the gases and were transferred to hospital, with one remaining in critical condition, according to police.Another fire hit the same dock only three months earlier. On Aug. 24, two were killed and seven were wounded in the fire in another LGP tan

Nov 10, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Fire in Daewoo shipyard kills one, injures seven
South Korea

Concrete maker accused of releasing hazardous waste water into Han River

By Kim Se-jeong Seongdong District Office in Seoul said Tuesday that a ready-mixed concrete manufacturer has been leaking polluted water containing cement into the Han River and its tributaries.The office said it is investigating to find out how long Sampyo Industries, which makes construction materials, has been dumping polluted water from its factory into the streams.Test results by a city-run environmental institute showed that the discharged water contained calcium, silica, alumina and iron, key ingredients for cement. Cement is highly alkaline and is detrimental to the health of living organismsThe test also found the polluted water contained more suspended solids than permitted by regulations. While the amount of suspended solids permitted in waste water is 120 milligrams per liter, a water sample taken downstream from the plant was found to contain up to 506 milligrams.A sample from Jungnang Stream nearby, where the water is discharged from the plant, had 96 milligrams per liter, which was within the permissible level, but it was still higher than the average.“The a

Nov 10, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Mayor sues ex-lawmaker for defamation over son

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soonEx-lawmaker Kang Yong-seokBy Kim Se-jeong Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has filed a defamation lawsuit against former lawmaker Kang Yong-seok, saying that Kang’s accusation of his son dodging compulsory military service defamed him and his family, according to a court official, Sunday.Park and Kang have been at odds over the issue involving Park Ju-sin since 2011, with the then lawmaker continuously raising allegations. But this is the first time for the mayor to take a legal action against Kang, who is now practicing law.According to the official at the Seoul Central District Court, the mayor filed the suit Friday, demanding 100 million won in compensation.“I have decided to act because Kang continues to spread the rumor that my son attempted to dodge military duty,” Park wrote in the complaint. “My son was cleared after investigations by state-run institutions including the prosecution and a court. This baseless claim has defamed me and my family and infringed on our personal rights.”Since June, Kang, who used to call himself

Nov 8, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Mayor sues ex-lawmaker for defamation over son
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