South Korea - The Korea Times

Nakdong River estuary touted for ecological regeneration at symposium

Officials from the Ministry of Environment check sea bass and spotted sea bass from the Nakdong River in Busan, caught after gates further downstream were opened from June to July 2021 as a second trial test of the impact on the area's ecology. Courtesy of K-waterKorea shares experiences reviving Busan's estuary regionBy Ko Dong-hwanSea bass, Japanese eels and flathead mullets flutter on the deck of a fishing boat after being caught a few kilometers upstream from the Nakdong River estuary.The catch was hauled in from the river in the southeastern part of Korea several months after all 15 gates around a river delta in the estuary blocking seawater from flowing inland were opened last February. The move came after three years of tests conducted by the Ministry of Environment to see how keeping the gates open would contribute to restoring the ecosystem around the estuary. The presence of the fish proves the measure worked.The estuary, where the country's longest river meets the sea, was marked by its ecologically ideal conditions for various water species. But the region's unique ecolog

Oct 28, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Nakdong River estuary touted for ecological regeneration at symposium

INTERVIEW 'In climate crisis, city kids need a second hometown'

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon talks about his live-and-study-countryside program for Seoul students during an interview with The Korea Times. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Office of EducationSeoul education chief wants students to go to countryside, gain global worldviewBy Ko Dong-hwanWrapping up his interview with The Korea Times on Tuesday, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon asked the reporter a favor: he wanted his story published full-page with lots of pictures showing Seoul kids enjoying their time in rural villages of Jeolla provinces with new teachers, friends and neighborhoods that are naturally well-preserved. Cho has high hopes. Having introduced a live-and-study-countryside program for elementary and middle school students in Seoul two years ago, he wants it promoted not just within the country but also outside Korea. Cho launched the program ― his brainchild ― in 2021 under a partnership with the Jeollanamdo Office of Education in South Jeolla Province. After a year, he expanded the program by signing a

Oct 21, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

[INTERVIEW] 'In climate crisis, city kids need a second hometown'

Seoul children, parents discover fun in countryside amid COVID-19

PM vows to achieve carbon neutrality

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks at a conference on carbon neutrality, Oct. 20. YonhapPrime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday that the government will "minutely adjust" energy policies to help achieve its target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050."The goal of carbon neutrality is audacious and challenging, but the implementation process that underpins it must be very reasonable and feasible," Han told a conference on carbon neutrality. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, Han said the government will "minutely adjust its energy policy direction and plans to reduce greenhouse gases." Han said the world is at a grave risk from climate change and warned that responding to climate change "is not an option but a necessity." Korea will also help emerging economies reduce greenhouse gases, Han said. The government has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 levels by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. (Yonhap)

Oct 20, 2022

Town hall meeting on new incinerator plant turns into chaos

Protesters on Tuesday filled a hall inside Nuri Dream Square in Sangam-dong, Mapo District in Seoul, Tuesday, objecting to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's plan to build a new waste incinerator plant in the district. The crowd forced the city officials to cancel a town hall meeting they had arranged to be held there. YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanSeoul Metropolitan Government's plan to host a town hall meeting with the residents of the city's western district of Mapo to explain how the district was chosen to house another waste incinerator plant at Nuri Dream Square in the Sangam-dong area came to a halt as angry residents raised their voices and protested against the city authorities for the decision. The meeting turned into a melee as upset protestors fiercely opposed the plan and prevented the city authorities from running the event. Hundreds of protesters on Tuesday raided Nuri Dream Square where the city government had planned a meeting with local residents to explain in detail how the authority came to decide to introduce another incinerator plant there. The protesters filled the hal

Oct 19, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Town hall meeting on new incinerator plant turns into chaos

All state-operated vehicles to go emission-free

Electric vehicles are being driven by public workers of Yeonggwang County Government and local university students in a South Jeolla provincial county parade during the Yeonggwang e-Mobility Expo held in the county on Oct 14. Yeonggwang Mayor Kang Jong-man is in a small black farming truck at the head of the parade. Other participating vehicles were designed by the students. Courtesy of Yeonggwang County GovernmentBy Ko Dong-hwanThe government has intensified its environmental regulation obligations, forcing public entities and public institutions to replace their entire fleets, which currently use internal combustion engines, with emission-free vehicles.The Ministry of Environment on Wednesday announced a set of regulatory measures under the country's Clean Air Conservation Act. One of the measures enforces all Cabinet ministries, municipal governments and state-run companies to equip themselves 100 percent with Class 1 Low-Emission vehicles ― which comprise electric, solar power and fuel-cell vehicles. State vehicles are either owned or leased by the government and public instituti

Oct 19, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

All state-operated vehicles to go emission-free

Seoul records 1st ice of season

This photo shows frosted leaves in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 19. NewsisSeoul witnessed the first ice of the season Wednesday morning, with the morning low dipping to 4.4 C, the state weather agency said.The temperature was 5.8 degrees below average, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. Seoul on average witnesses its first ice around 15 days later.Ice or frost can be formed even when the air temperature is a few degrees above freezing, as the temperature is usually measured at the height of some 1 meter above ground surface.Pedestrians in jackets walk outdoors in central Seoul, Oct. 18. YonhapOther parts of the country also experienced the coldest morning of the fall season so far, with temperatures dropping below freezing in some areas in Gangwon Province, the KMA said.The lowest daily temperatures fell to around 5 C in most of the country, while residents in some inland mountain areas experienced a morning low of below zero, the KMA said.The morning low dipped to minus 4.3 C in Cheorwon in Gangwon Province and minus 3.2 C in the adjacent city of Yeoncheon, the KM

Oct 19, 2022

Dogs hunt for dead boars to control African Swine Fever contagion

Two of nine dogs trained to find dead wild boars to prevent the possible spread of African Swine Fever approach a carcass during training in May 2022. Courtesy of National Institute for Wild Animal Disease ControlBy Ko Dong-hwanTo prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) ― a highly-contagious, animal-to-animal virus ― Korea's central disease control agency dedicated to handling wild animals has launched a new canine unit to locate wild boars potentially infected with the deadly disease.Nine dogs specially trained to find wild boar carcasses in the wild commenced their official duty on Monday, according to the National Institute for Wild Animal Disease Control (NIWAD). They will roam around the jurisdictions of Chungju and Goesan in North Chungcheong Province and Mungyeong in North Gyeongsang Province. The authority selected the three regions out of 23 cities and counties in the country with the highest ASF risks based on records of the past cases of the disease as well as their geographical traits of being mountainous that likely increase the risks of the disease spreading.The

Oct 17, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Dogs hunt for dead boars to control African Swine Fever contagion

Burning waste shouldn't be only solution: Mapo District head

Mapo District Head Park Kang-soo (wearing white protective gear) and officials from the district office rummage through samples of daily household trash collected locally to address problem of recyclable items that wind up as trash for incineration in front of the district office, Oct. 11. Courtesy of the Mapo District OfficeBy Ko Dong-hwanThe head of Seoul's Mapo District ― where the Seoul Metropolitan Government wants to erect a new household waste incineration plant despite local residents' fierce objections ― has proposed an alternative to treat the city's brimming waste problem. It was a last-ditch effort by the district head to avoid building the facility in Mapo, where there is already another trash-burning plant.Mapo District Head Park Kang-soo said Tuesday that instead of building what's widely known as a “socially unwanted facility,” a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant could be introduced to effectively reduce the mounting volume of trash. He also proposed that by introducing a MBT plant to other districts in Seoul as well, the city's total daily trash

Oct 12, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Burning waste shouldn't be only solution: Mapo District head

Most schools near Korean nuclear plants lack protective gear: lawmaker

Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Reactor No.1 in Gyeongju / YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanMost kindergartens and schools close to nuclear power plants in Korea are either not equipped with a sufficient number of protective suits or lack such gear altogether, a lawmaker said. Rep. Kim Young-ho of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Monday that over 388,000 students in 1,112 kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools in the country are located inside Urgent Protective Action Planning Zones (UPZ) ― within 20 to 30 kilometers of a nuclear power plant, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Busan has 692 such educational facilities, while Ulsan has 239, Gangwon Province 10, North Jeolla Province 54, South Jeolla Province 45, North Gyeongsang Province 47 and South Gyeongsang Province 25, according to the lawmaker.He said that out of these schools, only 36 with 6,744 students were equipped with protective suits, which is just 1.7 percent of the total number of students within UPZs.The situation was worse in schools located in the immediate vicinity of

Oct 12, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Most schools near Korean nuclear plants lack protective gear: lawmaker

Coldest day of the season occurs nationwide

People wearing early winter clothes walk in central Seoul as the morning low fell sharply, Oct. 10. YonhapKorea witnessed the coldest day of the season on Tuesday with the morning low falling to 7.4 C in Seoul, the state weather agency said.According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), early winter weather occurred across the country under the influence of high pressure and influx of cold air from the northwest.The lowest daily temperature in Seoul will further drop to 7 C on Wednesday, about 3 C lower than the 30-year average for mid-October, the KMA said, noting some inland regions will witness a morning low of 5 C.Despite cold morning weather, the daily highs will rise to the 30-year average of 20 C to 22 C in Seoul and other parts of the country on Wednesday, it added.The morning lows will also climb by 3 C to 5 C nationwide on Thursday, the KMA said. (Yonhap)

Oct 11, 2022

Environment & Animals

Environment & Animals

Nakdong River estuary touted for ecological regeneration at symposium

INTERVIEW 'In climate crisis, city kids need a second hometown'

PM vows to achieve carbon neutrality

Town hall meeting on new incinerator plant turns into chaos

All state-operated vehicles to go emission-free

Seoul records 1st ice of season

Dogs hunt for dead boars to control African Swine Fever contagion

Burning waste shouldn't be only solution: Mapo District head

Most schools near Korean nuclear plants lack protective gear: lawmaker

Coldest day of the season occurs nationwide

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