The Korea Times

A trip to Korea's newest city

Earlier this summer, I took a short out-of-town trip to Gwangju, only to discover that a week before I arrived, the city had been disbanded and was no more! Officially launched on July 1st this year, Korea’s newest city is one of its largest by land area: South Jeolla Province and Gwangju Metropolitan City have merged to form Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City. The city government of Gwangju was disbanded, but the existing districts are maintained in the new governmental structure. Smaller cities in the former province, as well as counties, will keep their original designations. The new special city has five districts, five cities and 17 counties. Yeosu, Mokpo, Suncheon, Gwangyang and Naju will continue to be designated as cities. Administrative divisions could be adjusted as the merger settles into place and as population shifts. I think the English language version of the city name is still a work in progress. I’ve seen a couple of other renditions, such as “Gwangju Special City” (which might provoke the ire of the rest of the region) and the literal translation of the

Aug 24, 2026By Steven L. Shields

Lord of the Stones

On a restful Monday afternoon in mid-June, I was preparing for a trip to the U.S. to visit family. My grandson came to Seoul for a visit starting in early June. We’d traipsed around the country for several days and spent a week in Japan visiting Mount Fuji (a lifelong dream for my anime-fan teenager). He spent the afternoon organizing his return luggage, then took a nap. I finished some chores. With no forewarning, I suddenly felt discomfort immediately followed by the most exquisite pain I’ve ever experienced. As the minutes ticked away, the pain got worse. I could hardly move. Nausea set in. Lying on the bed didn’t bring relief. I was curled up, twisted in the throes of agony. On a scale of one to 10, kidney stone pain can be right at the top, coming in at nine or 10 in severity. Medically, though, kidney stone treatment is around four to six, depending on the procedure needed. Kidney stones are so much “fun.” Many of my friends and acquaintances have had experiences with these precious “gems.” My first battle was about 20 years ago in the U.S., when a simple lab test s

Jul 27, 2026By Steven L. Shields

Korea’s destination bakeries

In the 21st century, Korea has a robust baking industry, with bread commonplace in most homes across the country. In fact, some large corporate brands have set up franchises globally. But there are a few time-honored baking companies that are still independent and family-operated. Each has become a famous and must-visit destination for domestic tourists and foreigners alike. Growing up in the western United States in a semi-rural town, every evening meal for my family included a loaf of bread and a tub of butter. My father, who had grown up on a farm, insisted that it wasn’t a proper meal without bread and butter. Here in Korea, the story of family meals is a bit different. Instead of wheat-based food, rice, of course, is the historical norm, as well as millet and barley. Wheat is a relative newcomer to the Korean diet. Baking is one of the world’s oldest professions. Since at least 12,000 years ago, evidence of baking has been discovered by archeologists in various parts of the world. In Egypt, almost 5,000 years ago, baking became a legally recognized occupation. Wheat was introdu

Jun 28, 2026By Steven L. Shields

Suwon’s hidden gems

Not far from the western exit of Suwon Station, where the land has been farmed from time immemorial, sits a humble traditional hanok house and the nearby remnants of one of Korea’s early industrial developments. The house in Pyeong-dong, Suwon, now more than 100 years old, has been beautifully rebuilt using many of the original materials. Inside the house, some of the family’s original furnishings are on display in the very rooms where they were originally used. The typical “L” shaped configuration includes two main rooms, a wood-floored room called a "maru," a kitchen and a side room for storage and food preparation. Also on the property were an outbuilding for storage and additional living space, and a 1950s western-style two-story house built for the growing family. The western-style house has since been razed and the outbuilding has been converted into a museum, which displays family heirlooms and photos. This was the home of Choi Hak-bae, patriarch of the family that controls the SK conglomerate. Built in 1921, the house was the birthplace of the first two chairmen of Sun

May 24, 2026By Steven L. Shields

Forget not the abducted

Tucked near the southern bank of the Imjin River is one of Korea’s lesser-known memorials, but one that holds significant importance for the families of those remembered and the nation at large. The National Memorial for Abductees during the Korean War is a heart-wrenching reminder of the depravity of war. Nearly 100,000 ordinary Korean citizens were taken captive by the government directive of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Most were abducted during the 1950-53 war, but a significant number were taken in the succeeding decades. This memorial hall is situated in the park at Imjingak in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province, and is about as close as ordinary citizens can get to the Demilitarized Zone without special permits or guided groups. The Gyeongui train line from Seoul and several bus routes connect the park with the larger capital metropolitan area. Conceived and built in 1972 as a symbol of hoped-for unification, the park hosts many memorials to various military units that defended the nation during the war. The park was once merely a somber host to the Peace Bell

Apr 19, 2026By Steven L. Shields

Renewal

Spring marks the renewal of nature. Long-dormant fields begin to relax from the stiff, hard freeze of winter. Flowers sprout and bloom. Trees begin to sprout leaves. Insects emerge. Hibernating mammals awaken. Humans, too, have “hibernated” over the cold and dark winter months. Cultures and societies from time immemorial have celebrated this rebirth in a multitude of ways. Many of the world's religious and spiritual traditions have some form of seasonal rites that mark the changing world around them. Those familiar with the Hebrew prophets will be aware of Ezekiel's writings. He lived around 600 B.C. in the waning years of the Kingdom of Judah. He wrote about this renewal and rebirth in a poignant, albeit somewhat macabre, metaphorical way. He likened the world around him and the people among whom he lived to long-dead, dry bones that filled a valley. When I was a young child, I learned a “ditty” in primary school to teach us about the human skeleton. The song had a catchy tune. We learned “toe bone connected to the foot bone, foot bone connected to the ankle bone, ankle bone

Mar 23, 2026By Steven Shields

Not the 'word' of God

I remember my grandmother always referring to the Bible as the “good book.” The construct traces back to the Puritan preaching that prevailed in early U.S. history. During the era of American continental expansion in the 19th century, the reference became normative. Of course, “good” has several possible layers of meaning, but primarily it meant a book worth reading, a book that had some moral authority. This was especially true in a time when literacy was low and books were scarce. In those days, a family might own only one book, and it was almost certainly the Bible. But in modern times, I have scarcely ever heard the phrase. Most commonly, especially from the conservative Protestant point of view, we hear the Bible referred to as the “word of God.” By this, I think they mean an inerrant text that conveys all that God needs humans to know to gain salvation. They interpret the New Testament comment, “all scripture is God-breathed,” as almost a sacrosanct process of literal dictation. This conservative view, technically, is not verbatim, as the Greek word in some Englis

Feb 22, 2026By Steven L. Shields

I love 'hanja'

Hanja (Chinese characters) confronted me in a real way when I first came to Korea 50 years ago. I knew about them and had seen depictions of those curious scratchings in my years of studying world history in high school and college. But in Korea, they became quite real to me, since even into the mid-1970s, hanja was in common daily use. We often saw signage on shops, menus (which often listed prices in Chinese numerals rather than Arabic numerals) and mixed-script in daily newspapers. Business cards included the individual’s name in hanja, along with their company's name, the person’s position and the address. Even the notations for introducing phone numbers were in hanja. Much like Latin in the West, Chinese characters dominated both the writing systems and the vocabulary of East Asia. Indeed, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and even Thai, to name a few, have large helpings of words derived from Chinese. And in not just a few cases, the pronunciations of words do not vary widely, despite the existence of tones in some of the spoken languages. In Korea, the only writing system in use

Jan 25, 2026By Steven L. Shields

A little bridge

A few years ago, I joined a small group in Seoul that wanted to make a difference in our community. The network was small at first, but it grew to include hundreds of people in Seoul and beyond. The name of the network and its purpose are quite simple — “Footbridge: People walking together across boundaries.” At our gatherings in Seoul, one will find people from all walks of life, from various cultural and language backgrounds and from various faith communities. At a group meeting not long ago, I was seated at a small table having a simple pre-meeting meal of a gimbap roll and a small cup of instant coffee. As others needed a place to sit, I invited some to join me at the table, including a younger woman, an older woman and a young man of other-Asian origin. We enjoyed small talk as we ate and got to know each other. We soon discovered that this Protestant pastor was sharing with a Catholic sister from an order that typically did not wear the habit, a Presbyterian woman and a young Muslim man from Indonesia. And so it went, around the room of a hundred people. The meeting was ho

Dec 29, 2025By Steven L. Shields

Christmas memories

Growing up in America, Christmas was always a much-anticipated time of year. I am sure the same is true for many people from other countries as well. As a child, the holiday was more about pretty decorations, Christmas trees, Santa Claus and presents. Sure, churches had their Christmas celebrations that were ostensibly focused on the birth of Jesus, but most also had Christmas trees and parties with Santa Claus. Consumerism has kidnapped the holiday, turning it into a universal shopping frenzy. Black Friday sales are much more important than thinking about a humble manger in a forlorn village, thousands of kilometers away. I grew up in the United States in the 1960s. One of my earliest memories must be from the time I was 4 or 5 years old. We were at my maternal grandmother’s house. It was a small bungalow, but the living room was large enough for a gathering of relatives. Family gatherings were always important in my formative years. I remember an old “aunt” who forced me to drink non-alcoholic eggnog. For millions of people, eggnog is a quintessential Christmas tradition. None

Nov 24, 2025By Steven L. Shields@koreatimes.co.kr

Steven L. Shields