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Tokki Soju opens restaurant in Ryse Hotel

The Tokki Soju team, top row from left: Douglas Park, Willie Dale; bottom row: Kwangseob Shim, Bran Hill, Brian Yi / Courtesy of MAHT StudiosBy Hallie BradleyEver wondered how well Korean soju pairs with Italian cuisine? Find out at the newly launched Tokki Bar located in Ryse, a trendy hotel near Hongik University in western Seoul. What started out as a onetime invitation for the first American distiller of traditional Korean liquor to participate in Ryse's Sunday Rooftop Party last October, has now become an entire bar on the fourth floor of the popular hotel. “After successfully serving some cocktails made with our products, we were asked if we would want to build something on an empty space on the fourth floor of the hotel,” explained Brian Yi, Tokki Soju's F&B director. The interior of the new Tokki Bar / Courtesy of MAHT StudiosTokki Bar will be Tokki Soju's first F&B outlet, which they see as an incredible partnership that makes sense, as Ryse is just as into design and craftsmanship as Tokki Soju is.Italian-American food will be served as an homage to Tokk

May 5, 2021

Tokki Soju opens restaurant in Ryse Hotel

Joseon Images Children of early modern Korea

A group of children pose for a picture, circa 1890-1910s. / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffThere are certain times of the year that even the most mischievous child becomes well-behaved. For many Western children, it is the weeks leading up to Christmas; for Korean children it may be the weeks leading up to Children's Day on May 5. Although Bang Jeong-hwan is credited as the creator of this holiday in the 1920s, Children's Day's origin appears to go back much earlier. In 1894, Christopher T. Gardner, a British diplomat in Seoul, wrote: “Early in May the streets [of Seoul] are full of toys for the little ones, and on the day itself the town is given up to children wearing bright new clothes and enjoying themselves. The sight in the big main street, with its throngs of happy children in their bright clothes, each child with its hands full of toys, accompanied by their fathers and grandfathers in snowy clean white raiments, showing in keen contrast with the somber grey tint of the nearest houses, and the dark-green of the fantastically shaped mountains in the distance, seems a

May 5, 2021By Robert Neff

[Joseon Images] Children of early modern Korea

Moon holds online meeting with kids for Children's Day

Migrant groups say temporary stay permits for undocumented children 'ineffective'

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin A policy introduced by the Ministry of Justice to give undocumented migrant children legal status and allow them to have temporary residency rights, may not be helpful for those in need, according to local migrants' rights groups. Currently, children without legal immigrant status are allowed to stay in the country until they finish high school, after which they face deportation.In order to protect the basic rights of these children, the ministry announced the policy, April 19, under which unregistered migrant minors can apply for temporary legal status ― a D-4 visa usually given to people studying here, or a G-1 visa that allows a one-year stay for various reasons.Eligible applicants are limited to those born and resident in Korea for more than 15 years, who graduated from elementary school before Feb. 28, 2021. The policy will be effective until February 2025, and those wishing to apply should visit an immigration office with their parents.The ministry noted that the limits on eligibility and duration of the policy were aimed at preventing it from bein

Apr 29, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Migrant groups say temporary stay permits for undocumented children 'ineffective'

Foreign Line

Adam Bohnet talk at GWU looks at Chinese migrants in KoreaA significant number of Chinese migrants settled in Korea during the 16th and 17th centuries, along with Japanese and Jurchen refugees. Adam Bohnet will give an online talk next week on his book, titled, “Turning toward Edification: Foreigners in Choson Korea,” that looks at some examples of these Chinese migrants to Choson and the treatment they received here. The talk will be held by the George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies May 5, starting at 4 a.m. KST. Visit https://calendar.gwu.edu/book-talk-series-chos%C5%8Fn-korea-beyond-civilized-and-barbarians for more information. Todd Henry talk at UW-Madison about Korea's history of intersex proceduresThe Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is hosting a talk Friday morning by Todd Henry, a modern Korean historian, about intersex-related procedures used in South Korea. In the talk, titled, “Medical Authority, Body Conformity, and Intersex Livelihood in Cold War South Korea,” he will discuss how, “The sexed and gendered dictates

Apr 28, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Cityscapes Exploring beneath Gwanghwamun's surface

A reconstruction of Baekundong Stream seen in Gwanghwamun is being prepared for removal, March 20. / Courtesy of Ron BandunBy Ron BandunA lot of people went nuts a few weeks back, when pictures distributed in the media showed an ancient stream unearthed in downtown Seoul as part of the Gwanghwamun renovation project. Its excavation was cool to me, while also a little banal, on account of how much is hidden beneath the ground we walk on. As a practicing anarchaeologist, I made several visits to Gwanghwamun to see the ruins for myself as soon as the news broke. Anarchaeology, if it isn't apparent, is the clandestine visitation of archaeological sites, a branch of urban exploration alongside draining or roof-topping. I wasn't the first to coin the term, but I put that definition to it given the need to name an interesting new hobby I was developing. Anarchaeologists don't damage or loot sites ― we just want a closer look before redevelopment destroy them. Getting around Gwanghwamun during the renovation has been complicated, due to the changes to the roads, the people including police e

Apr 27, 2021

Jeju Afrobeat band Omar and the Eastern Power transcends boundaries

The four members of Omar and the Eastern Power / Courtesy of Eastern Standard Sounds, Abi RaymakerBy Jon DunbarOmar Benassila doesn't care much for boundaries, either in music or nations. If he did, he might not have left his home country of Morocco and settled in Korea, where he started Omar and the Eastern Power. It's an ever-evolving African-Korean four-piece band most simply described as Afrobeat, with influences from dub, funk, folk and sufi music among others. It's an accumulation of the life experiences of Omar, drummer Zaky Wael from Egypt, and Korean members, Tehiun on bass, and Oh Jin-woo playing guitar. “We believe music is one,” Omar told The Korea Times. “And genres and styles are a little bit like borders to countries. So we try to go beyond them.”The band has just released the digital single “Sunshine,” a happy-sounding, groovy song with a bit of funk that “holds an electric-psychedelic memory to it,” plus a music video. It sounds like it could have come from any other part of the world but Korea, but Omar stresses that &

Apr 27, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Foreign population in Korea falls below 2 million for 1st time in over 5 years

gettyimagesbankThe foreign population in South Korea has fallen below the 2 million mark for the first time in over five years amid the new coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday. As of March, the total number of foreign residents here stood at around 1.99 million, down 9.2 percent from a year ago when the corresponding figure was slightly over 2.2 million, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Justice.This marks the first time the foreign population has sunk below 2 million since December 2015, when the number was around 1.89 million.It is also the 16th consecutive month the foreign population here has declined since peaking at over 2.52 million in December 2019.The downturn is attributable to decreases in the number of foreigners both on short- and long-term stays in South Korea, which fell by 10.5 percent and 8.9 percent in March from a year earlier, respectively.Of the long-term foreign residents, the number of those who hold government-issued alien registration cards also fell by 12.5 percent to around 1.1 million over the same period, marking the lowest fi

Apr 27, 2021

Foreign population in Korea falls below 2 million for 1st time in over 5 years

Korea Encounters Frank Schofield, 'a most dangerous man' and an 'eternal Korean'

Prime Minister Chung Il-kwon places a wreath at a memorial for Dr. Frank W. Schofield, published in The Korea Times April 14, 1970. / Korea Times ArchiveBy Matt VanVolkenburgOn March 1, 1919, 33 Korean patriots signed the Korean Declaration of Independence and set in motion the March First ("Samil") Independence Movement. Today, they are buried in the National Cemetery, where they are joined by a "34th patriot:" Frank Schofield, a Canadian who was then serving in Korea as a medical missionary.Schofield was born in England and emigrated to Toronto, Canada, at age 17 in 1907. He enrolled in the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) and, though stricken with polio, which left him with a paralyzed arm and leg, he graduated in 1910. Within a few years, he married, became a lecturer at OVC, and was then invited to teach at Severance Union Medical College in Seoul.After his arrival in 1916, Schofield began learning Korean and within two years, was able to carry out his lectures in the language. These lectures sometimes digressed into other topics, including his belief that "no nation in the worl

Apr 20, 2021

[Korea Encounters] Frank Schofield, 'a most dangerous man' and an 'eternal Korean'

Foreigner-owned businesses facing shutdown due to visa rule change

The immigration office in downtown Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Jon DunbarMany foreign business owners are facing an abrupt end to their entrepreneurial careers, as sudden changes in how immigration offices are handling the F-2-7 visa are causing chaos. Foreign business owners have been getting turned away at immigration offices when going in to renew their F-2-7 visas. Some have reported being told that they never should have been allowed to register their businesses in the first place, and have even been threatened retroactively with fines for activities that are supposedly now illegal.However, there was no announcement of any such changes, nor has there been any grace period to allow long-term foreign residents the time to find alternative solutions to save their businesses, according to Jang Man-ik, a licensed immigration specialist who runs the visa consulting agency, Visa in Korea.“It is harsh to retroactively eliminate benefits for foreigners who already have F-2-7 visas,” he told The Korea Times. “There is no information about the changes. Even though visa pol

Apr 20, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Foreigner-owned businesses facing shutdown due to visa rule change

Justice ministry grants temporary stay permits for undocumented migrant children

Korea Times fileIllegal migrant children who are born and have lived in South Korea for more than 15 years will be given temporary stay permits, the Ministry of Justice said Monday, as part of efforts to recognize their fundamental and equal rights and inherent dignity.The policy, which runs until February 2025, is limited to children who graduated from elementary school before Feb. 28, 2021. Middle or high school kids will be granted the D-4 visa, and those who already graduated from high school will get the one-year G-1 visa.Those who benefit from the policy should dutifully attend school and comply with the local laws, or the permits could be revoked, the ministry.The limits on the scope and duration of the policy are meant to prevent the policy from being abused as a way of illegal immigration, the ministry said. For the sake of the children, their parents will also be given temporary stay permits. When the children become adults, they and their parents should leave the country voluntarily.According to the ministry, an estimated 100-500 children will be subject to the policy, whi

Apr 19, 2021

Justice ministry grants temporary stay permits for undocumented migrant children

Korea needs better support for multiracial children in rural areas

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