South Korea - The Korea Times

Transgender surgery should not be criteria for legal sex status change: watchdog

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea/ Korea Times fileGranting a change of legal gender solely based on whether the petitioner had sex reassignment surgery constitutes a grave human rights violation, the state human rights watchdog said Thursday. The National Human Rights Commission issued the opinion on a petition lodged by Rainbow Action Against Sexual-Minority Discrimination of Korea, a civic advocacy group for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, in 2021.The current court guidelines on registering a change of legal gender allow courts to investigate whether the applicant acquired the external genital organs or other physical qualities of the desired sex through sex reassignment surgery and whether he or she lost fertility as a result of the operation.Rainbow Action accused some courts of using the guidelines as the criteria for granting a legal sex change, forcing transgender people to undergo unwanted surgery to have their legal gender status changed. The group claimed the court practice infringes upon transgender people's rights to self-determination. The

May 25, 2023

Transgender surgery should not be criteria for legal sex status change: watchdog

DJ Fingaz set for show at Lit Lounge

DJ Fingaz / Courtesy of DJ FingazBy Jon DunbarThe globally renowned DJ Fingaz is coming to Seoul this Saturday, bringing his open-format mix seamlessly blending everything from hip-hop and dirty trap beats to reggae and classic rock, to Lit Lounge in Itaewon. Born and raised in Detroit and San Diego, DJ Fingaz has been a full-time DJ and music producer for over 25 years. He recalls scratching records on turntables in his room back around 1992, when a guy he knew said “Go fingers, go fingers!” “So I said to myself, 'Hey that sounds like a dope DJ name',” he told The Korea Times. “But I wanted to make it cooler and so I spelled it Fingaz.”Since then, he's shared stages with industry giants such as Xzibit, Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Black Eyed Peas, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Common, Will Smith, Wu-Tang Clan, The Roots and KRS-1.His reputation precedes him as a DJ committed to “Good Music, No Gimmicks.”“A gimmick would be my boobs out, or some type of animal mask or a space suit or clown outfit when I'm DJing. Have you seen my promo ph

May 23, 2023By Jon Dunbar

US interdisciplinary artist Gregory de la Haba's Seoul exhibition opens portals

Hahn Dae-soo with Gregory de la Haba in his studio in front of his piece “Rothko's Metaverse” / Courtesy of Hahn Dae-sooBy Matt VanVolkenburgA few weeks ago, the legendary Korean folk-rocker Hahn Dae-soo began posting a series of videos on YouTube about his love for New York City, starting with a visit to the studio and home of artist Gregory de la Haba, whose first exhibition in Seoul, at the Hangaram Art Museum, opens on May 27.It was at McSorley's Old Ale House, a New York East Village landmark operated by de la Haba with his wife, Teresa, that he first met Hahn. As de la Haba put it in an interview with The Korea Times, “I've seen Hahn Dae-soo in McSorley's many times over the years. His laughter is infectious. But I never knew who he was until we finally met formally over one year ago. We've become great friends since then and I enjoy his positive attitude on all things important: family, music and art.”As to how the YouTube videos came about, one evening Hahn visited the bar with documentarian Young Cheong, who teaches filmmaking at Brooklyn College. &ld

May 23, 2023By Jon Dunbar

US interdisciplinary artist Gregory de la Haba's Seoul exhibition opens portals

TEMPLE ADVENTURES Buddha's Birthday during Japanese occupation era

Lotus lantern parade, published in The Korea Times May 21, 2007. / Korea Times ArchiveBy Dale Quarrington At the end of the?1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, and with the growing influence of Japan and Japanese Buddhism on the Korean Peninsula, Korean Buddhism faced the double threat of the continuation of centuries of persecution and marginalization by their own government and having their own traditions hijacked and supplanted by foreign traditions. Korean Buddhists were faced with the choice of either modernizing or simply being replaced. It was this dynamic that helped modernize Korean Buddhism. As such, the reimagining of Buddha's Birthday, similar to the modernization of Christmas in the West, was a highly complex negotiation among Korean Buddhists about what their traditions meant, while also plying their way through the political turmoil that faced both the final days of the Joseon court and the interference and influence that both Japan and Japanese Buddhism hoped to have over the Korean Peninsula. The 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea was a tumultuous time of competing ideologie

May 23, 2023

[TEMPLE ADVENTURES] Buddha's Birthday during Japanese occupation era

US diplomatic community in Yongsan celebrates Fleischfest

People gather for the 43rd Fleischfest on the U.S. diplomatic housing compound in central Seoul's Yongsan, April 29. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar By Jon DunbarThe U.S. Embassy housing compound, usually a calm, peaceful place in the corner of U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, was overrun by a bunch of “jabronis” one Saturday afternoon last month. On April 29, about 600 people of all ages gathered at white tents set up on a lawn, where heaps of smoked meats were being served for the 43rd biannual Fleischfest, a feast of smoked meats prepared by dozens of volunteer Fleischmeisters. The band Jabroni and Friends played two sets of classic rock during the afternoon, the first time any of the participants could remember the event featuring live music. “Fleischfest is a group effort,” said Sean Lindstone, a Foreign Service officer who has been involved in the Fleischfest off and on since the autumn of 2012. “We share responsibilities among 30 to 40 volunteers throughout the we

May 19, 2023By Jon Dunbar

US diplomatic community in Yongsan celebrates Fleischfest

Korea to provide $210 mil. in low-interest loan for El Salvador road project

Dozens of empty oxygen cylinders lay across a dirt road, as people wait for a shop to open in order to refill their tanks in the Villa El Salvador neighborhood, as the lack of medical oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients continues in Lima, Peru, in this April 6, 2021 file photo. AP-YonhapKorea's finance ministry said Wednesday it plans to provide a low-interest loan to support El Salvador's road construction project under ties with a Central American development bank.Under the plan, Korea will provide $210 million to the project via the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration also offering $200 million.The project centers on expanding a route connecting the capital city of San Salvador and the western part of the country.Korea's Dongbu won the contract to build the road in March, with Dohwa Engineering being tapped as the consultant on the day, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.Korea launched the EDCF program in 1987 with the purpose of supporting economic and social infrastructure projects in developing countr

May 17, 2023

Korea to provide $210 mil. in low-interest loan for El Salvador road project

Amnesty Int'l categorizes Korea as death penalty 'abolitionist in practice'

This Dec. 17, 2021 file photo is provided by Amnesty International Korea. Korea Times fileAmnesty International, a non-governmental organization focused on human rights, categorized Korea as a death penalty abolitionist in practice in its annual report released Tuesday and urged the country to completely do away with capital punishment.Since its last execution on Dec. 30, 1997, Korea has not carried out any death penalties, although handing out the capital punishment is still permissible under the law. Sixty people were serving time in prison at the end of 2020 after getting the death penalty. In the report, "Death sentences and executions 2022," Amnesty International categorized Korea among abolitionist countries in practice "in that they have not executed anyone during the last 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions."The report, however, pointed out that a death sentence was imposed in Korea in 2022, while none were recorded in 2021, referring to the capital punishment given in June to Kwon Jae-chan, 54, charged wit

May 16, 2023

Amnesty Int'l categorizes Korea as death penalty 'abolitionist in practice'

TEMPLE ADVENTURES Stone lions at Hwaeom Temple

The four-lion three-story stone pagoda at Hwaeom Temple / Courtesy of Dale QuarringtonBy Dale QuarringtonIt's not every day that you're in awe of a building or even a stone structure, but it's not every day that you visit Hwaeom Temple. From the Iljumun at the entrance to the three-story stone pagoda up the hillside, and all of the Treasures and National Treasures in between, there is something to amaze the senses at every turn. Hwaeom is home to an impressive four of the latter and seven of the former.The temple is located in scenic Gurye, South Jeolla Province, in the southwestern section of Jirisan National Park. Hwaeom means “Flower Garland” in English, and the name of the temple is in reference to the Flower Garland Sutra, known as the “Hwaeom-gyeong” in Korean. The temple was first founded in 544 A.D. by the monk Yeongi-josa, who's believed to have come from India. The temple was later expanded in 643 A.D. by the famed monk Jajang-yulsa (590-648). Most of the temple's renowned stone artifacts date back to this time period and up to the ninth century. Thr

May 16, 2023By Jon Dunbar

[TEMPLE ADVENTURES] Stone lions at Hwaeom Temple

Living Room in HBC presents 8 artists, 5 DJs

Casey Tosh poses with two of his paintings. / Courtesy of Il Padrino RecordsBy Jon DunbarEight visual artists and five DJs from around the world are about to bodyslam their way into Living Room, a basement bar in central Seoul's Haebangchon neighborhood, for a new art exhibition starting this Saturday and running until June 24.Titled “Swanton Bomb” after a maneuver by pro wrestler Jeff Hardy, the exhibition was organized starting from thoughts about growing up in the 1990s.But event curator Casey Tosh, a pure modern painter and neo-expressionist from Australia, points out that “Bomb” also conjures up the Korean word for spring. “The loose theme is a spring explosion of color and creative clashing together into a transformative experience like the caterpillar evolving into a vibrant butterfly,” he told The Korea Times. A poster for the "Swanton Bomb" art exhibition, which holds its opening party this Saturday with five DJs / Courtesy of Casey ToshIt must have been quite a wild creative process that took him from pro wrestling to butterflies, but thi

May 15, 2023By Jon Dunbar

Living Room in HBC presents 8 artists, 5 DJs

Yongsan-based foreign artists celebrate 'Joyous Itaewon'

Artists and invited guests pose for a group shot at the Yongsan Spring International Art held at Yongsan Art Hall from May 8 to 12. / Courtesy of Bereket AlemayehuBy Bereket AlemayehuThe Yongsan Spring International Art Exhibition invited 77 visual artists, including 32 foreign residents of Korea, to display their works for “Joyous Itaewon 2023,” which officially opened for public viewing on May 8 until May 12 at Yongsan Art Hall. The exhibition features artworks from a diverse group of international artists, who are finally able to exhibit in person after years of online-only spaces due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Twice a year the Yongsan Fine Arts Association invites foreign artists, in the spirit of solidarity and co-existence “to arrange a place of sharing where one can experience culture and art from many different countries. This year, organizers decided that in light of the tragic event that has held a dark cloud over Itaewon the last six months, they would make the theme “Joyous Itaewon.” For over six years, the Yongsan Fine Arts Association has bee

May 12, 2023By Jon Dunbar

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