South Korea - The Korea Times

Gov't to launch research department to improve refugee screening

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon speaks during a National Assembly session, July 28. Joint Press CorpsBy Lee Hyo-jinThe Ministry of Justice is seeking to launch a new department dedicated to collecting and analyzing data on human rights, security and political situations in crisis-prone countries, in an effort to better ensure fairness and transparency in Korea's refugee-screening process.The ministry has recently announced plans to conduct research into overseas cases in operating Country of Origin Information (COI) agencies, based on which it will come up with detailed plans on setting up the new organization. The COI is a term referring to accurate, reliable and up-to-date information on third countries which are used by asylum and migration authorities in reaching accurate and fair decisions in asylum procedures.Once launched, the organization will look comprehensively at human rights and security issues, political situations, legal systems and cultural aspects of home countries of people seeking asylum in Korea.Although the ministry currently has officials who are in charge of col

Aug 1, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't to launch research department to improve refugee screening

Korea to attract immigrants to depopulated rural areas

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin The government plans to attract immigrants to settle in rural regions that are struggling with severe labor shortages due to a rapidly shrinking population. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Justice announced the launch of the so-called region-specific visa, which will be granted from October this year to foreign nationals seeking to live and work in rural regions designated by the government.Under the new visa category, skilled workers who meet certain criteria will be given a residency visa (F-2) under the condition that he or she is employed in industries designated by the local government. The foreign resident should live in the region for at least five years after obtaining the visa, during which they are allowed to invite their spouse and underage children to Korea. Eligible applicants for the region-specific visa must meet certain requirements including proficiency in the Korean language and possess an academic background with a bachelor's degree or higher.The ministry said it will receive applications from the municipal governments of counties a

Jul 28, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Korea to attract immigrants to depopulated rural areas

Band with unspeakable name brings families closer together

Incestual Lust performs at Phillies on June 4. / Korea Times photo by Jon DunbarBy Jon DunbarSirius Hunter Lee and his bandmates were on the bus heading to a show on June 4, when an elderly man with an ROTC hat saw their guitars and started talking to them. “He was asking us all sorts of questions,” Lee, a metalhead with long, straight, black Korean hair, who wears cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, told The Korea Times. “He started showing us photos of his daughter, son, and his wife. He showed us photos from his honeymoon and his trips to Australia and even Hawaii! Mind you his English wasn't too great so we had a hard time understanding him.”The man handed over his phone to Taylor, the female bassist, who asked, “Does he want my number or something?” Lee grabbed the phone from her and used an online map to show him the venue they were playing: the basement of Phillies, a mainstay of Haebangchon celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. “I know Phillies!” the old man exclaimed. Later, he showed up on time to see their performance, towin

Jul 26, 2022By Jon Dunbar

Band with unspeakable name brings families closer together

Crazy Multiply offers English subtitles for anti-discrimination film 'Equality Road 1110'

A scene from "Equality Road 1110" / Courtesy of the filmmakers By Jon DunbarIt's been over 15 years since an anti-discrimination law was first proposed in Korea, and the National Assembly has still been unable to pass a bill while the country's most socially marginalized communities continue to suffer.Hopes were raised that the bill would be passed after the 2017 election of liberal former President Moon Jae-in and the 2020 legislative elections which gave Moon's Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) a significant majority in the Assembly. But the bill continued to flounder. Throughout this time, activists and representatives of socially vulnerable communities continued urging the government to do its job. Meanwhile, they faced counter-protests from largely Christian groups, who claimed that the law's passage would result in “reverse discrimination,” punishing them for their views and hate speech toward sexual minorities.In 2020, the South Korean Coalition for Anti-Discri

Jul 26, 2022By Jon Dunbar

Crazy Multiply offers English subtitles for anti-discrimination film 'Equality Road 1110'

Japanese punk band embarks on cross-country Korean tour

Japanese punk band Stone Leek / Courtesy of Stone LeekBy Jon DunbarThe Korean and Japanese punk scenes are tight with each other, despite the political climate lately, so it's only natural that one of the first overseas bands to tour Korea in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic would be from the nearby island nation. Stone Leek, a skatepunk/melodic hardcore band from Kyoto, is coming to Korea this weekend for a four-day cross-country tour. It all kicks off on Thursday at the Daejeon venue Santa Claus, moving to Gwangju's Club Boojik on Friday, heading to Seoul's Club SHARP on Saturday and ending up on Sunday at Club Jijik in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Each show will feature a selection of local punk bands as well as a few from around the country, with 15 bands participating overall. It's all to celebrate the release of “All Kinds of Victim Vol. 3,” a compilation album put out by the Seoul label Victim Records. Most of the bands on the tour, including Stone Leek, are on the 24-track compilation. Yoon Ki-sun, who founded Victim in 2014 originally as a clothing bran

Jul 19, 2022By Jon Dunbar

Japanese punk band embarks on cross-country Korean tour

Korea's metal bands stand with Ukraine at upcoming concert

Nikolai Protopopov, a Ukrainian resident of Korea and lead singer of metal band Dreamy Europa, marches toward the Russian Embassy in central Seoul during a protest of Russia's invasion of his home country, May 8. / Courtesy of Evgeniya KimBy Jon DunbarNikolai Protopopov, a Ukrainian permanent resident of Korea, may not be picking up weapons and fighting for the survival of his country, but that doesn't mean he's sitting quietly by while here in Seoul. “Some of my friends in Ukraine went to the army, some started to volunteer; as for myself, having lived abroad for 15 years, I felt that I am obliged to do something,” Protopopov told The Korea Times. “Collecting and sending money for the needs of the army or humanitarian aid is a good thing, but we needed also to do some action since we cannot be silent about it.”He has been co-organizing and taking part in anti-war rallies held in central Seoul's Jeong-dong near the Russian embassy, since the first weekend after Russia invaded his homeland on Feb. 24. He added that the rallies are carried out according to Korea

Jul 19, 2022By Jon Dunbar

Korea's metal bands stand with Ukraine at upcoming concert

RAS Korea RAS Korea celebrates 3rd annual essay contest

From left: U.K. Ambassador Colin Crooks, Hong Suemin, Kim Ji-myung, Kim Jiyoon and RAS President Steve Shields. / Korea Times photo by Jon DunbarBy Steven L. ShieldsThe winners of Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea's third annual high school essay contest were presented with their awards at the society's recent Founders' Day celebration on June 11. A large group of RAS Korea members and friends were on hand to greet and congratulate the students and their families. The 2022 awards were presented with assistance from U.K. Ambassador Colin Crooks, who is also RAS Korea's honorary president, and Dr. Kim Ji-myung, president of the Korea Heritage Education Institute, who sponsored the cash prizes. RAS Korea's essay contest is a follow-up to a delightful contribution in 2019 from several students at Dongducheon Foreign Language High School. The group of students there read an article about RAS Korea in the Chosun Ilbo late in 2018. They got together and decided to express their support for RAS Korea's century-long contribution to Korea through essays. Afterward, RAS Korea representatives vi

Jul 12, 2022

RAS Korea looks back on earliest filmed images of Korea

American traveler Burton Holmes, middle, records film footage in Seoul in May 1901. / Courtesy of Suk Ji-hoon By Jon DunbarNot long after the invention of moving pictures in the late 19th century, Western filmmakers began turning their lenses on other countries, recording their own impressions of foreign cultures and “othering” the people they recorded. The oldest extant video footage shot in Korea dates to May 1901, filmed by American traveler Burton Holmes. Those who are curious to see it can attend a lecture next week at Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea by Suk Ji-hoon. Suk, a Ph.D. student of Korean modern history at Yonsei University, will screen clips of film footage taken in Korea between 1901 and 1945, including one film that has not been shown publicly since 1917. Most of the footage was shot by non-Koreans. “They are both fascinating and appalling all at the same time,” Suk told The Korea Times. “I wouldn't call them 'unfair' representations per se, but th

Jul 5, 2022By Jon Dunbar

RAS Korea looks back on earliest filmed images of Korea

INTERVIEW 'Long way to go for Korean studies to fully prosper'

Baik Tae-ung, head of the Center for Korean Studies of the University of Hawaii at Manoa poses in front of the center building during an interview with The Korea Times, June 30 (local time). Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jinBy Lee Hyo-jin HONOLULU ― A global boom of Korean pop music, films and TV dramas in recent years has generated worldwide interest in Korea and its culture as a whole. And this has led to an increase in people seeking to pursue an academic career in Korean studies.However, there is still a long way to go to create a sustainable environment nurturing Koreanist scholars, said Baik Tae-ung, head of the Center for Korean Studies in the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the oldest and largest research center dedicated to Korean studies outside the country.Established in 1972, the institution serves as an educational hub with over 40 faculty members offering courses or conducting research related to Korea and organizing various academic events.The center recently co-organized the World Korea Forum on June 29 and 30 (local time), marking the 120th anniversary of the arrival o

Jul 4, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

[INTERVIEW] 'Long way to go for Korean studies to fully prosper'

Forum revisits lives of first-generation of Koreans in Hawaii

Participants of the World Korea Forum make the Shaka sign, a Hawaiian hand greeting, during the World Korea Forum held at the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in Honolulu, from June 29 to 30 (local time). The event was held to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the arrival of first-generation Korean immigrants in Hawaii. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jinScholars, experts discuss first-generation Korean immigrants to Hawaii, marking 120th anniversary of their arrival By Lee Hyo-jin HONOLULU ― It was on Jan. 13, 1903, when the first organized group of Koreans arrived on the shores of Honolulu. Numbering slightly over 100, they became the first-generation Korean immigrants in Hawaii. Over the next two-and-a-half years, nearly 7,400 Koreans immigrated to Hawaii in search of a new future, escaping famine and the turbulent political climate in their home country amid imminent Japanese colonization. But life wasn't as glorious as they had expected. They worked in sugarcane and pineapple fields from early morning to sundown, earning about 60 cents per day. Des

Jul 2, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

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