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75-year-old grandmother's plea for justice

Activists uphold banners calling for justice for attempted rape victim Choi Mal-ja in this May 6, 2020 file photo. With the help of her legal team, Choi submitted documents to the Busan District Court that day, requesting the court review the 1965 ruling which denied her self-defense claim. The court dismissed it, citing a lack of fresh evidence. Courtesy of Korea Women's HotlineAttempted rape victim Choi Mal-ja claims she was wrongfully convicted six decades ago, and wants justice nowBy Kang Hyun-kyungDuring her entire life, Choi Mal-ja, 75, said there were two things she was resolute on achieving before her death: a college education and challenging the judiciary to reverse a Busan District Court ruling in 1965 which denied her self-defense claim in a rape attempt case and made her a criminal for seriously injuring a then 21-year-old man who sexually assaulted her.She claimed that she was wrongfully convicted due to the prosecution's and local court's refusal to accept the self-defense argument, saying she will never be able to rest in peace, unless she restores her innocence.Her f

Aug 16, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

75-year-old grandmother's plea for justice

Traditional Korean herbalists, a unique profession facing extinction

Ryu Hwang-rim, a traditional Korean herbalist, carefully measures and combines herbal ingredients for medicines in his shop, Hwangjungwon Traditional Korean Medicine, in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Park Ji-wonReaders who have watched Korean dramas that portray the Joseon era (1392-1910), such as “Dae Jang Geum,” may have seen scenes in which doctors practiced acupuncture and gave sick people herbal medicine.Even now, Korean people, especially those who cannot find cures for their ailments in modern Western medicine, often rely on going to traditional Korean herbal medicine shops ― known as “hanyakbang” in Korean ― to buy herbal medicines such as decoctions (boiled down concentrated extracts), powdered medicines and tablets, to restore their energy and eliminate illnesses.The Japanese colonial government attempted to eradicate the traditional Korean medicine system and introduce the Western medicine system into Korea during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945), which ended up reducing the number of experts a

Aug 12, 2021By Park Ji-won

Traditional Korean herbalists, a unique profession facing extinction

CICI to hold Culture Communication Forum

By Dong Sun-hwaA poster for the 2021 Culture Communication Forum (CCF) / Courtesy of the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI)The 2021 Culture Communication Forum (CCF) is slated to take place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, inviting cultural leaders from around the world to share their insights regarding cultural communication in the international community. “The event will also center on the themes of fairness and the COVID-19 pandemic,” the forum's organizer, the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), said Tuesday, adding that the panelists joining from abroad will speak via video call. France's Secretary of State for Digital Cedric O will give a congratulatory address on Aug. 31, and Dinesh Patnaik, the director general of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, will make closing remarks on Sept. 1. A keynote speech will be delivered by Generation Equality Forum Secretary General Delphine O, who won CICI's Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award last year for “being a bridge between Korea and the world.” On Aug. 31, cultural lead

Aug 11, 2021By Dong Sun-hwa

CICI to hold Culture Communication Forum

World Heritage Festival set to present value of Korean heritage from Aug. 13

Baekje Historic Areas in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationBy Park Ji-wonMany know of the UNESCO World Heritage List, but far fewer are aware of the value of the UNESCO-recognized sites themselves. To showcase the power of the nation's diverse cultural assets and foster awareness of the importance of preserving them, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation last year launched the World Heritage Festival, an annual event to promote UNESCO World Heritage-designated cultural and natural assets in Korea. The festival is intended to help domestic tourists and especially foreign visitors to fully enjoy the beauty of Korean culture through cultural events, such as exhibitions, performances and tourism programs at or around the sites.“The World Heritage Festival was launched last year to share the brilliant and universal value of Korea's UNESCO World Heritage Sites with people from all over the world. We have been through difficult times due to COVID-19, but it was worth trying in terms of sprea

Aug 9, 2021By Park Ji-won

World Heritage Festival set to present value of Korean heritage from Aug. 13

INTERVIEW Two drinking buddies team up to upgrade 'underrated' makgeolli

Co-founders of Hangang Brewery, Koh Sung-yong, left, and Lee Sang-woo / Courtesy of Hangang BreweryUsing locally sourced rice, Seoul-based brewery produces additive-free, homemade-style drinks By Lee Gyu-leeMakgeolli, a cloudy white rice-based beverage, is one of the country's oldest alcoholic drinks. And throughout its long history, it has undergone changes, from being traditionally homebrewed during the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom to being mass-produced in factory breweries starting in the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule of Korea. This mass-produced modern makgeolli has resulted in stereotypes today that the drink is old-fashioned, cheap, mediocre and gives the worst hangovers. Two young entrepreneurs at Hangang Brewery, Koh Sung-yong and Lee Sang-woo, are striving to challenge these notions by “rewriting the standards” and offering the real taste of makgeolli.“These are really quality drinks but were really underrated by many people, and previous commercial breweries could be somewhat to blame in terms of marketing and quality,” Koh said in an interview with Th

Jul 29, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee

[INTERVIEW] Two drinking buddies team up to upgrade 'underrated' makgeolli

Korea's childbirths at fresh low in May

gettyimagesbankThe number of babies born in South Korea dropped to a new record low in May, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign that underscores the country's gloomy demographic situation.A total of 22,052 babies were born in May, down 3.5 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.It marked the lowest for any May since 1981, when the statistics agency began compiling related data.South Korea is struggling with a sustained fall in childbirths as many young people give up on getting married or having babies amid a prolonged economic slowdown.The country's total fertility rate ― the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime ― hit a new record low of 0.84 last year. It marked the third straight year that the rate was below 1 percent.In the first quarter this year, the total fertility rate stood at 0.88, the lowest level since 2009, when the agency started compiling related data.Adding woes to the demographic situation, the number of deaths in May rose for the third straight month amid rapid aging.The number of deaths came to 2

Jul 28, 2021

How to save energy while using air conditioning

gettyimagesbankBy Yoon Ja-youngAs air conditioners are being left on for most of the day due to the current heat wave, there comes the perennial concern over electricity bills. Some people are using their own tactics, such as turning off the air conditioner when it reaches the temperature they want, or using the “dehumidifier mode” to reduce power consumption, but not all of them are helpful.According to the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, experts at air conditioner manufacturers say it isn't always good to turn the air conditioner off when it gets cool enough, and this is especially the case with the latest models. Most of the air conditioners released on the market these days come with an inverter, which enables the machine to work at full force in the beginning to cool down a hot room, but then to automatically switch to minimal operation once the desired temperature is reached. Non-inverter air conditioners, meanwhile, continue operating on full power, fully stopping when they reach the desired temperature and then resuming full-power operation as s

Jul 27, 2021By Yoon Ja-young

How to save energy while using air conditioning

Hangeul handbook 'Hunminjeongeum' to be sold as limited edition NFT

A page of the 15th century manuscript “Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon,” a handbook of the Korean writing system, Hangeul / Courtesy of CHABy Park Han-solCopies of a priceless manuscript detailing the origins and workings of the Korean writing system, “Hangeul” will be sold as limited edition NFTs (non-fungible tokens), making this the first National Treasure of Korea to be put up for sale as a digital token. But the sale could stir up controversy over whether or not it should be allowed.The Kansong Art Museum in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, which stores the “Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon,” an illustrated handbook of the Korean writing system, stated Wednesday that it “plans to mint the 15th century manuscript as an NFT with serial numbers and sell it to a limited number of 100 buyers.” Each will be sold for 100 million won ($87,000).NFTs are one-of-a-kind tokens that can represent any unique digital asset from artworks to, in this case, a national treasure that can be bought and sold virtually. It proves that only the buyer possesses the ori

Jul 23, 2021By Park Han-sol

Hangeul handbook 'Hunminjeongeum' to be sold as limited edition NFT

Jogye Order apologizes for drinking monks violating distancing rules

Seen is a photo showing a group of monks having a drinking party in an accommodation facility owned by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest Buddhist sect, on July 19. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonThe Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest Buddhist sect here, has apologized for its monks violating social distancing rules by holding a “drinking party,” pledging to take action in response to the misdeed.“We apologize to the people and the members of our sect for the inappropriate incident while COVID-19 is spreading throughout the nation and threatening people's lives,” the sect said in a press release Wednesday. “The Jogye Order has been following the authorities' guidelines faithfully since the outbreak of the coronavirus, and has made great efforts to protect the lives and safety of the people. However, some monks' misdeeds greatly damaged the dedication and efforts of most temples and monks.”The sect added it will take steps based on its internal rules and order the temples to take pre-emptive measures to prevent similar incidents from happ

Jul 22, 2021By Park Ji-won

Jogye Order apologizes for drinking monks violating distancing rules

Cancer survivor testifies to organic diet, remote lifestyle that saved her life

Park So-hee smiles on a bench under a wooden sign for her guesthouse, Gombaeryeong End House, located in Gangwon Province's namesake scenic mountain pass on July 13. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulPark So-hee says 17 years' of living self-sufficiently in an old-growth forest in the middle of nowhere helped her recover from colorectal cancerBy Kang Hyun-kyungINJE COUNTY, Gangwon Province ― The ride in Park So-hee's pickup truck on the 2.2-kilometer off-road trail in Mount Jeombong, stretching from the Seolphi Village parking lot to Park's bed and breakfast, located in Gangwon Province's scenic Gombaeryeong pass, was quite an adventure. The narrow one-way trail in the old-growth forest is bumpy and wild with plenty of natural obstacles. Park, 58, is a tough driver. She didn't slow down even when her truck, inside which three people, including this reporter, were seated, approached a sharp bend to the right in the road.The 10 minutes of off-road driving was nerve-racking. Driving deep into the lush forest ―home to some 856 native species ― was a thrilling experience. But, for first-

Jul 21, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

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