South Korea - The Korea Times

'Diverse Voices' of foreign residents shared on radio

Jasmine Lee, host of the radio show “Diverse Voices,” poses in a studio at TBS eFM in Seoul, Oct. 14. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jinBy Lee Hyo-jin “Diverse Voices,” a radio show on English broadcaster TBS eFM (101.3MHz), deals with a variety of issues surrounding migrants and residents of foreign nationality in Korea. The light-hearted show, which airs every day from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., not only delivers useful information to listeners, but also uplifts their spirits through interesting interviews with guests from various backgrounds.It is hosted by Jasmine Lee, a Philippine-born naturalized Korean and former lawmaker who has worked with various civic groups active around migrant and multicultural family issues.“As the title of the program suggests, our main goal is to have more diverse voices of foreign residents on radio, including those who don't speak English very well,” Lee said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. The program kicked off in March as a weekend show, but was changed to a daily in August, reflecting the broadcaster's i

Oct 21, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

'Diverse Voices' of foreign residents shared on radio

Anxiety fuels artist's cute enamel pin creations

Jamila Benson runs a pop-up shop for Anxiety and Kimbap / Courtesy of Anxiety and Kimbap By Chantal TerblancheLate in 2018, Jamila Benson was going through a dark time in her life and her health was declining. She described experiencing tense jaw muscles, a relentless ringing in her ears and what felt like frequent mini-heart attacks. After weeks of struggling alone in silence, she sought out help. It was then she found out that she was experiencing anxiety. While thinking of random things to keep her mind occupied, she had the idea to “step out of (her) comfort zone and shake things up,” as she described it in an interview with The Korea Times. The following year, she started planning it all out, fueled by anxiety about the future and a dash of existential dread.Her calling? Enamel pins, with designs inspired by her experiences living in Korea and her pop culture nostalgia. All she needed was a name for her store to sell her creations in. At first, Benson struggled

Oct 19, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Temple Adventures The tale of love and dragon magic behind Buseok Temple's creation

Uisang-daesa and Lady Seonmyo, seen in art at Naksan Temple in Gangwon Province / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington By Dale Quarrington It's often said that the more things change, the more they stay the same; that is, except for Buseok Temple. When I first visited Buseok Temple back in the summer of 2011, the temple parking lot was just to the east of the temple grounds. So when I returned this past summer, I was in for a bit of a surprise. Recently, Buseok Temple decided to return the temple grounds to their original state by re-adding the Iljumun (One Pillar Gate) and Cheonwangmun (Heavenly Kings Gate). So instead of a simple little side-entry from the eastern parking lot, Buseok Temple's layout is now designed so that visitors have to make their way up a 500-meter-long pathway on the side of a mountain. I'm all for a good hike, but with the temperature rising to 35 degrees Celsius and with my energetic five-year-old daughter at my side, the new temple layout made for quite the adventure.Buseok Temple is located in the rather remote Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The temple w

Oct 19, 2021

[Temple Adventures] The tale of love and dragon magic behind Buseok Temple's creation

Human Rights Cities come together in Gwangju for int'l forum

Speakers online and in person at the opening ceremony of the World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF) in Gwangju, Oct. 7. / Courtesy of WHRCF Secretariat By Arlo Matisz Gwangju has once again brought cities and citizens of the world together to build a better future, despite the global pandemic, for the 11th World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF). At this annual event created by the southwestern city, national and international experts in diverse fields shared methods and perspectives for the purpose of improving human rights around the globe, ending its four-day run on Oct. 10.Hosted by Gwangju City, the U.N. Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNESCO Headquarters, the Gwangju Office of Education and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the event saw thousands of participants joining sessions online and onsite to address topics such as elderly and disabled rights, refugee protection and violence against women. Keynote speakers inclu

Oct 12, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Korea Encounters Peace Corps' 1966 arrival in Korea

Peace Corps Volunteers in Korea, published in The Korea Times Dec. 4, 1966. / Korea Times ArchiveBy Matt VanVolkenburgOn Sept. 16, 1966, the first contingent of American Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) arrived in Korea. Four days later, in “Thoughts of the Times,” John C. Stickler reflected on an encounter months earlier with a small boy who had wanted to practice his English.“One question he kept repeating was, 'Yoo biscoh?' As the 'Yoo' was accompanied by a pointing finger, I assumed that he was speaking English, but the 'biscoh' had me stumped for a while. Finally I guessed that he was referring to the Peace Corps.”He added, “Korea represents a rather special case for the volunteers coming here. No other country to which PCVs have been invited has such a huge number of Americans already in residence.”A year earlier, James Wade had published a satirical article about just this topic, describing a meeting in Seoul at which the various heads of American aid agencies responded to the PCVs coming by arguing that it was “entirely unnecessary, in v

Oct 12, 2021By Jon Dunbar

[Korea Encounters] Peace Corps' 1966 arrival in Korea

Volunteers help foreign nationals settle in Seoul

Suk-ja Lee-Fischer, third from right, poses with other officials during the opening ceremony at the Korea Center for Immigration's building at Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Aug. 27. Courtesy of KCIBy Hwang Dong-heeThe past several weeks have been the busiest period of her life since the launch of a support group for foreign nationals in Seoul, Suk-ja Lee-Fischer, founder and CEO of the Korea Center for Immigration (KCI), said.With staff from 26 countries, and more expected to join, the center is offering various services to those who are trying to settle in the city, including assisting with visa extensions, signing housing contracts or opening bank accounts.“It's really difficult to settle in a country when you are not familiar with the language or the culture. Foreigners ask for help because they have no idea how to get a place through Zigbang, (a popular app for finding flats among Koreans) because they are not familiar with Korea's rental system,” she told The Korea Times.“Sadly, there are some cases where they had to pay extra commission or got tricked into paying

Oct 6, 2021

Volunteers help foreign nationals settle in Seoul

Kamen Ross throws everything at piano keys

Kamen Ross / Courtesy of Kamen RossBy Daniel J. SpringerYou'll often hear music enthusiasts and even artists themselves complain of a general lack of depth in modern commercial music. Whether or not that is an actual thing is always up for ever-evolving debate.However, for those out there that enjoy a rich and layered audio experience while listening to a classically trained musician of utter virtuosity doing their thing, “I Dreamt We Fell in Love” by Kamen Ross is an excellent playlist add.It's a strictly solo instrumental album featuring the versatile artist working a piano like few can. The sharper ears out there may also notice certain moments on this album that stand out far less like a sore thumb and more like the crack of a bat on a home run ball. Is it possible for just 10 fingers to create such fiery moments of defiant, almost violent, passion?In a word, no. For Ross, both the move to Korea and the almost immediate onset of the pandemic after arrival created a need to go further and involve literally everything physically available to get the sound right. Explain

Oct 5, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Linda Lindas offer living-room performance for Pentaport

The Linda Lindas perform at The Smell in Los Angeles last month. / Courtesy of Albert Licano By Jon DunbarWhen Pentaport Rock Festival started in 2006, three of the four members of one of its most-anticipated bands for this year weren't even born yet. The Linda Lindas won't be coming to Korea for this year's Pentaport, which is being held with a mix of live, in-person events and online streaming. The four-member punk band, whose members range in age from 11 to 17, taped a live performance in someone's living room for broadcast this Sunday. “Hopefully we'll play there in person one day!” bassist-vocalist Eloise Wong, 13, told The Korea Times. The Linda Lindas pose with their face masks off. / Courtesy of Albert Licano Despite pandemic restrictions, the all-girl band became an international sensation this year, especially after a video went viral of

Oct 5, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Young politician of Korean heritage earns seat in German parliament

Newly elected Bundestag member Rhie Ye-one / Screenshot from Rhie's InstagramBy Nam Hyun-wooRhie Ye-one, a German politician from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has become the first German federal parliament member of Korean heritage.According to German media reports, Rhie, 34, will join the parliament, the Bundestag, succeeding Ulla Schmidt, the former Federal Minister of Health. Rhie ran in the federal election on Sept. 26 as a candidate for the first constituency of Aachen, Nordhein-Westfalen state, and came in third, following rivals from the Greens and the ruling Christian Democratic Union. She won the Bundestag seat, however, as Germany uses the mixed-member proportional representation system. In Germany's system, half of the 598 nominal members of the Bundestag are elected directly from Germany's 299 constituencies, while the other half obtain their seats through party lists based on the parties' percentages in the nationwide election. Voters in federal elections have two votes: one for a candidate to be the district's representative, and a second vote for a party. Rhie's

Sep 29, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo

Young politician of Korean heritage earns seat in German parliament

Assimilation programs begin for Afghan evacuees in Korea

Afghan evacuees participate in an outdoor activity at the National Human Resources Development Institute in the central county of Jincheon, Korea, in this Sept. 13 file photo. YonhapThe government on Wednesday started assimilation programs for Afghan evacuees who settled in South Korea in August upon fleeing their country after it was taken over by the Taliban.Various programs, offered by relevant ministries, are aimed at helping them learn the language, get familiar with the culture and more easily assimilate into Korean society.The Ministry of Justice runs the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP) with a goal to teach them Korean culture and language, along with sports sessions for children, such as football and taekwondo. The ministry's programs cover a variety of subjects ranging from crime prevention to the understanding of Korean law and financial system.The Ministry of Education focuses on long-term language and counseling programs, both online and offline, especially for kids, and provides the parents with essential information about the Korean education system. "T

Sep 29, 2021

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