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Gov't to crack down on 'greenhouse dorms' for migrant farm workers

This photo taken on Jan. 30 shows the inside of a vinyl greenhouse that was being used as the accommodations for migrant workers at a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hunBy Lee Hyo-jin The government is beefing up efforts to crack down on substandard accommodation provided to migrant workers, in response to growing calls to improve their living conditions, following the death of a Cambodian worker last December. The deceased worker was found in a “sandwich” panel structure built inside a vinyl greenhouse Dec. 20, on a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. The heating system was not working in the facility on that day when a cold spell hit the region.Although the initial autopsy results showed the cause of death to be liver disease, migrant workers' rights groups have demanded that the government implement fundamental measures to ensure basic living standards in order to prevent a similar tragedy. In response, the Ministry of Justice announced Tuesday that employers and provincial governments hiring seasonal migrant workers this year will be

Feb 16, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't to crack down on 'greenhouse dorms' for migrant farm workers

Seoul to temporarily ease rules on foreign seasonal workers

Employment rules on foreign seasonal workers in South Korea have been eased to cope with the shortage of workers in agricultural and fishery sectors in the country prompted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, according to the justice ministry on Feb. 15. Korea Times fileSouth Korea will temporarily ease rules on the employment of foreign seasonal workers in the agriculture and fisheries sectors to cope with the labor shortage aggravated by the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Justice said Monday.Under the temporary deregulatory measure, foreigners who are staying here without a work visa or overstayers unable to return home due to COVID-19 will be permitted to work at local farming and fishing villages for up to 13 months, the ministry said.It said the temporary seasonal work program will be applied to about 79,000 foreigners, including those staying in South Korea with the F-1 visiting and joining family visa or the F-3 family dependents visa, and overstayers who entered here with the H-2 working visit visa or the E-9 non-professional employment visa.Accordingly, any eli

Feb 15, 2021

Seoul to temporarily ease rules on foreign seasonal workers

Foreigners with advanced degrees from Korea struggle to find jobs

Foreigners look at brochures at a job fair for foreign residents at COEX in Seoul, Sept. 18, 2019. / YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Foreigners who obtained an advanced degree in Korea are having difficulties finding work due to insufficient employment information and a lack of Korean language skills, according to the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training.The institute released a report, Sunday, on the career preferences of international graduates with a master's degree and above, and their perceptions on the domestic labor market. The study found that around 25 percent of the 8,427 foreign nationals who had completed a master's course in the country between 2016 and 2018 were currently working here, and 53 percent of the 2,647 of those who completed their doctoral degrees here between 2017 and 2019 were employed in the country. The vast majority of working foreign nationals with a master's degree were employed by private companies, while 70 percent of doctorate holders in employment were working in universities and research centers. The study also included a survey con

Feb 14, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Foreigners with advanced degrees from Korea struggle to find jobs

Better support needed for skilled foreigners in domestic job market

Myanmar community in South Korea stages protest against military coup

Members of the Myanmarese community in South Korea protest against the military coup in the Southeast Asian country, near the Embassy of Myanmar in Seoul's Yongsan District, Feb. 5. After the military seized power and occupied the country's capital Nay Pyi Taw, the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other members of the National League for Democracy were detained by troops. Courtesy of Soe Moe ThuBy Jung Da-minWhen large crowds were participating in demonstrations on the streets across Myanmar to protest the military coup there, Myanmarese communities in other countries also rose up against the military regime.Here, members of a community of Myanmarese people and local residents who support democratic values and people's rights in the Southeast Asian country organized street rallies in different regions. One such rally was held near the office of the military attache of the Embassy of Myanmar in Seoul's Yongsan District, last weekend, days after the military coup took place, Feb. 1.Soe Moe Thu, a Myanmarese pro-democracy activist who came to South Korea in 199

Feb 11, 2021

Myanmar community in South Korea stages protest against military coup

VIDEO Myanmar teen shot in head during police crackdown on protests

TENGGER comes full circle with album re-release

From left: Itta, RAAI and Marqido, the three members of ambient band TENGGER, at Studio Kyurt in Shikoku, Japan / Courtesy of TENGGERBy Jon DunbarAs the multi-national band TENGGER re-releases its 2013 album “Electric Earth Creation,” the family members behind the duo-turned-trio find their lives coming full circle in many ways, even as the pandemic threatens them with separation. The album came out at a transitive time in their lives, released only in Korea as a limited-edition CD. The two adult members told The Korea Times in an email interview from Japan that they consider the album the “0th work of TENGGER.”The band traces its roots back to an experimental arts event called Bulgasari in 2005, when itta, TENGGER's Korean singer, songwriter and Indian harmonium-player, met Marqido, the band's Japanese composer, video maker, designer, producer and synthesizer player, who was passing through Korea while on tour. At the time, he was a noise musician working mostly with a laptop and she was a psychedelic pop musician and sound artist playing synthesizers and toy

Feb 9, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Joseon Images Korea's history of language misunderstandings

A caricature of William George Aston, a British diplomat in Japan, studying Korean in 1882 / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffLearning a foreign language can be daunting ― even with the dictionaries and translation programs that are easily accessible on our smartphones and computers. Speaking is especially difficult and requires a great deal of effort and humility as there will undoubtedly be many mistakes made. It was especially difficult in the 19th century when Westerners first appeared in Korea and there were no language books except a few basic dictionaries. There are many amusing anecdotes found in the correspondences and publications by these early Western visitors involving their miscommunications between themselves and their Korean hosts.Horace N. Allen, the American minister to Korea in the late 1890s through 1905, was fond of one tale that he attributed to his predecessor ― possibly Augustine Heard. According to Allen, his predecessor was entertaining a couple of guests and sent a handwritten missive to his Chinese servant to bring him three cocktails. “The [serva

Feb 9, 2021

[Joseon Images] Korea's history of language misunderstandings

INTERVIEW 'Korea needs to put immigration policies into action'

Steve Hamilton, chief of mission to International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Korea, speaks with The Korea Times at his office in central Seoul, Jan. 26. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Hyo-jinKorea's willingness to embrace open immigration policies is reflected in its laws, but now it is time to put that spirit into action, says Steve Hamilton, chief of mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Korea. “Having come from outside, Korea is currently enjoying global prominence especially with its culture. Many people from various countries want to come here,” Hamilton said during an interview with The Korea Times in the IOM Seoul office in Jung District, Jan. 26Now is the perfect time to look at migrant policies and review various ways on how to attract people to stay, work, and live here, he said. Hamilton, who joined the IOM in 1999, was appointed as the head of the Seoul office in December last year. Before his move to Korea, the immigration expert with two decades of experience in the field had been dispatched to seven countries i

Feb 4, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

[INTERVIEW] 'Korea needs to put immigration policies into action'

RAS Korea Romanizing Korean in many different ways

This chart shows the differences between romanization systems by the French, the German Eckardt, James Scarth Gale and McCune-Reischauer. / Courtesy of RAS KoreaBy Steven L. ShieldsThe McCune-Reischauer (MR) romanization system for the Korean language debuted in 1939. The launch of the MR system marked a significant turning point in Korea-related studies' proliferation. The Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea is proud to have been the organization that sponsored and promoted George M. McCune and Edwin O. Reischauer's work. The two scholars drafted a detailed document with charts of vowels and consonants and other explanations and descriptions. Although they completed their efforts in 1937, the documentation finally appeared in print in RAS Korea's annual journal, “Transactions,” vol. 29 (1939). Although the Republic of Korea government issued their new romanization system about 20 years ago, known as Revised Romanization (RR), the MR system remains the generally adopted system in academia worldwide.When Drs. McCune (University of California) and Reischauer (Harvard Universi

Feb 2, 2021

Hues adds color to Korea's sustainable fashion scene

Scrunchies and other products made from upcycled traditional fabrics / Courtesy of HuesBy Emma Juno SparkesThe online store Hues, one of the latest additions to the sustainable fashion scene in Korea, is giving new life to old items, selling a combination of vintage clothing and fashion accessories created using upcycled fabrics. As Erin Hughes, the creator behind the store, described it in an email interview with The Korea Times, she aims to deliver items that are “colorful, joyful and unique.”Offering select vintage clothing items such as an angora wool cardigan with embroidered strawberries and retro graphic print culottes, the items that set Hues apart from other vintage outlets are the upcycled accessories created by Hughes herself, such as her selection of colorful silk scrunchies made from upcycled hanbok (traditional Korean clothes) and other fashion garments. Her latest handbags made using vintage Japanese kimono fabric have already sold out.The motivation to pursue both avenues stems from a desire to minimize fabric waste. Explaining her process, Hughes said, &l

Feb 2, 2021

Hues adds color to Korea's sustainable fashion scene

Undocumented foreigners to get free vaccines

Jeong Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, gives a briefing on the nation's comprehensive plan to vaccinate the whole population, at the agency's office in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe government plans to vaccinate undocumented foreigners against COVID-19 free of charge, if necessary, according to the health authorities. The number of foreign nationals staying illegally in Korea is estimated to have risen to about 400,000 due to the pandemic-imposed travel restrictions.“Foreign nationals will get shots for COVID-19 in the same order as Koreans. As for undocumented migrants, we plan to inoculate them if it is deemed necessary after reviewing their influence on public health and high-risk patients, as well as the spread of the virus,” Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said, Thursday.She also said that the order in which foreign residents will be administered the vaccine will be decided based on the same standards applied to Korean citizens.“I

Jan 29, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Global Community

Global Community

Gov't to crack down on 'greenhouse dorms' for migrant farm workers

Seoul to temporarily ease rules on foreign seasonal workers

Foreigners with advanced degrees from Korea struggle to find jobs

Myanmar community in South Korea stages protest against military coup

TENGGER comes full circle with album re-release

Joseon Images Korea's history of language misunderstandings

INTERVIEW 'Korea needs to put immigration policies into action'

RAS Korea Romanizing Korean in many different ways

Hues adds color to Korea's sustainable fashion scene

Undocumented foreigners to get free vaccines

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