South Korea - The Korea Times

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

Forum revisits lives of first-generation of Koreans in Hawaii

Dogma pop-up preaches hot dog gospel

Dogma Hot Dogs / Courtesy of Dogma Hot DogsBy Jon DunbarOne of the latest brands to be making waves in Seoul's restaurant scene is Dogma Hot Dogs, a pop-up that's set to have its second official event this Sunday at The Workshop in Seoul's Haebangchon neighborhood.Although the name sounds a little pious for a sausage in a bun, it's actually meant as a combination of “hot dog” and “ak-ma” (devil). “A friend came up with the name pretty quickly,” Jake Hanus, founder of Dogma, told The Korea Times. “I like the juxtaposition of the theological term being intertwined with the devil.”Hanus debuted Dogma to the world on June 21, at an event in Groove Coffee Roasters in northeastern Seoul. The menu offered three hot dogs: the chili dog, kimchi dog and spicy slaw dog, but Hanus also sprung an unannounced kraut dog on customers as a secret menu item. The event was a big success, with all hot dogs selling out by the end. “Every dog was loved by different people for different reasons,” Hanus told The Korea Times. “Also, I get some

Jun 28, 2022By Jon Dunbar

South African singer-songwriter in a busy 'Transition'

Lizz Kalo on the set of the music video for her song "Transition" / Courtesy of Marco vom BovertBy Daniel J. SpringerWhen Lizz Kalo says she's busy, she means it.The South African artist's star has shone even brighter under the stress of both her studies and the pandemic. As well as continuing her music career and taking her performance and arts market platform Creative Social nationwide, she's also enrolled in an accelerated MBA program. April saw the release of “Transition,” her first studio single since dropping “Y.O.U.” in November 2020. The single itself is an R&B gem dripping with emotion and sensuality, with the beat produced by South African beatmaker Phreaky and the mixing and mastering done by Andrew Vlasblom of Kindle Records in Gwangju. In the lyrics, Kalo's voice poignantly discusses the alienation, isolation and utter frustration of this pandemic era that has touched us all, most notably young people coming into their prime. For a twist, she also spits a few bars of hip-hop lyrics to complete the circle.Last Friday, Kalo and her crew of colla

Jun 28, 2022

South African singer-songwriter in a busy 'Transition'

Children from multicultural backgrounds losing interest in foreign parents' native languages

Students from multicultural backgrounds attend a foreign language and culture class at an elementary school in Seoul, in this 2012 file photo. Korea Times fileBy Lee Hyo-jin Bilingualism is widely considered a strength of children from multicultural backgrounds, but children from these families living in Korea are becoming less enthusiastic about learning their foreign parent's mother tongue, according to government data, Monday.The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family shared the results of a 2021 survey of over 15,000 multicultural households across the country. The triennial survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with multinational married couples and their children aged between nine and 24 on their economic activities, family life, childcare situation and education.Only 27.3 percent of the children responded that they are willing to become fluent in the mother language of their non-Korean parent, a sharp decline from 42.4 percent in 2018. The survey also found that only 19 percent of the children were being encouraged to speak in the language of their immigrant par

Jun 27, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Children from multicultural backgrounds losing interest in foreign parents' native languages

Seoul foreign residents' activity broken down by race, ethnicity

In this photo from 2019, jobseekers visit a job fair for foreign residents at COEX in Seoul's Gangnam District. Yonhap Big data shows Sinchon, Hongdae rising as daytime hotspots for foreign nationals By Ko Dong-hwanForeign residents from Chinese-speaking countries live and spend most of their time in southwestern Seoul, whereas foreign residents from Western countries tend to flock to the capital's Gangnam District, according to big data analysis of foreign nationals who have stayed in Seoul for 90s days or longer. Daerim-dong and Guro-dong, in Seoul's southwestern districts of Yeongdeungpo and Guro, respectively, have been the home of a rising number of foreign residents in Seoul, particularly Chinese speakers, even before the pandemic began in early 2020. Together with Geumcheon District, situated south of the two districts, the three adjoining districts had the highest registered numbers of foreign nationals staying in the city long-term, according to the data re

Jun 27, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Seoul foreign residents' activity broken down by race, ethnicity

INTERVIEW Scholar-activist immerses herself in dire working conditions facing Cambodian farmworkers

Woo Choon-hee, migrant rights scholar and activist, poses during an interview with The Korea Times at the newspaper's office in Seoul, June 20. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulPh.D. student Woo Choon-hee brings migrant workers' long working hours, inhumane living conditions to light in her recent bookBy Lee Hyo-jin A day in the life of a female Cambodian migrant worker on a perilla leaf farm in Gyeongsang Province begins at 6:30 a.m. She squats and picks the leaves, ties 10 of them into a bundle and then tosses it into a box. The process is repeated until 5:30 p.m. To meet the daily target of harvesting 15,000 leaves, equivalent to 15 cartons, she often skips bathroom breaks or even lunch breaks. If she misses the daily harvest target, her employer may threaten to cut her monthly salary, which is barely set at Korea's minimum wage.At the end of each day, the freshly-picked perilla leaves are sent to a cold storage warehouse and then to local grocery stores across the country, to be eventually served on Koreans' dinner tables. In her recent book titled, “Struggles with Perill

Jun 23, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

[INTERVIEW] Scholar-activist immerses herself in dire working conditions facing Cambodian farmworkers

Korea Encounters 'Naked in the streets!' - Korea Times reports on streaking fad of 1974

"Streakers" editorial cartoon, published in The Korea Times March 12, 1974. / Korea Times ArchiveBy Matt VanVolkenburgIn the spring of 1974, news articles began to appear in the U.S. media about the latest craze to hit American campuses: running about in public while nude, or “streaking.” As Time magazine put it on March 18, “With astonishing swiftness, streaking… has burgeoned into an unabashed, pandemic American fad.”The craze was taken up by both men and women, and in many cases this “spring madness” was looked at with amusement by many campus authorities, though not all; one student in Tennessee was sentenced to five weekends in a city jail.Time interviewed psychologists who opined in turn that the behavior was “fundamentally a ploy to get attention,” “an attack on dominant social values" or "a form of escapism that… let[s] off steam." A coed at the University of Tennessee agreed with the latter interpretation, saying that “the pressures of spring finals" played a role, and that “Once you're in the sw

Jun 21, 2022

[Korea Encounters] 'Naked in the streets!' - Korea Times reports on streaking fad of 1974

Filipino students in Korea discuss service, community

A group photo of the Pinoy Iskolars sa Korea (PIKO) General Assembly held at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul's Itaewon June 19. Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Maria Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega is in the front row eighth from right, and PIKOBy Jon DunbarThere are over 62,000 Filipinos living in Korea, as of 2020 government data. Of those, only less than 1 percent are students enrolled in Korea's universities. An organization of Filipinos studying in Korea came together last Sunday to discuss how best to serve the local Filipino community, their nation and their families.Pinoy Iskolars sa Korea (PIKO) held its general assembly on Sunday at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood, the scholastic organization's first such gathering since before the pandemic started. Twenty-six members came from across the country to attend in person, while two joined an online broadcast of the event, showing the desire of the community to meet once again. PIKO President Joseph Vermont Bandoy, a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, g

Jun 21, 2022By Jon Dunbar

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