South Korea - The Korea Times

Police urged to offer better interpretation services for foreigners

By Lee Hyo-jinThe national human rights agency has urged the law enforcement authorities to provide better interpretation services for non-Koreans during legal procedures even if they can speak some Korean, after a case in which a Moroccan man went through a police investigation here without an interpreter.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) made the recommendation on Monday to the National Police Agency to ensure that foreign nationals, who are unfamiliar with the country's criminal proceedings, do not suffer any discrimination or disadvantages.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) building. / Korea Times file“Police should make sure they meet the basic needs of foreign nationals during their investigation, such as by providing interpretation services or allowing a legal guardian to accompany them, even if the person in question does speak Korean,” the commission said in a press release. “Police stations must be equipped with translated versions of necessary information on criminal procedures such as the Miranda warning. The recomm

Nov 23, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Police urged to offer better interpretation services for foreigners

SIWA moves annual bazaar online

A donation ceremony between SIWA and KUMFA at Cafe Pagus in Seoul. From left to right, SIWA member Eunice Go, SIWA President Veronica Koon, KUMFA President Megy Kim and SIWA committee welfare chair Han Sung-hwa. / Courtesy of SIWABy Kyung LeeTo reconnect with its members and communities in response to canceled in-person charities and fundraising events ― including its annual Charity Gala ― the Seoul International Women's Association (SIWA) has launched its 58th annual Diplomatic Community Bazaar on Nov. 8, running to Nov. 30.A strictly virtual bazaar, that is.Supported by an e-commerce platform, the bazaar features “premium” items from clothing, beauty care, to packaged foods, allowing visitors to shop by category or embassy.Though only 15 embassies have participated in direct donations and selling merchandise in the online bazaar, a significant reduction from last year's 43, SIWA members told The Korea Times they have been adapting to COVID-19 to keep their traditions and outreach efforts going.Seoul International Womens' Association hold a bazaar in 1983. / Korea Times

Nov 21, 2020By Jon Dunbar

Alcohol traditions to be destroyed for new parking lot

Joongang Nuruk Factory in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province sits abandoned since 2011. / Courtesy of Jecheon Traditional Liquor Research CenterBy Julia MellorThis month, one of Korea's oldest factories for producing nuruk ― the fermentation starter required to make traditional Korean alcoholic beverages such as makgeolli ― will be destroyed to make way for a small parking lot. The Joong-ang Nuruk Factory located in Jecheon City, North Chungcheong Province, was built in 1962 and had been cultivating and producing nuruk up until 2011. In decades gone by, Korea had thousands of these kinds of factories both large and small, but in recent years that number has dwindled to only a handful. When it comes to rice alcohol fermentation like makgeolli, nuruk is what sets “sool” (or Korean alcohol) apart from other regional rice alcohols. As a wild fermentation starter, nuruk contains various strains of yeast, enzymes and bacteria native to the environment in which it is made, and as such can be considered a living cultural asset. It is an art unto itself. Nuruk has had a complica

Nov 21, 2020By Jon Dunbar

Thai resident's farming business brings diverse flavors to Korea

An Yu-jeong, who hails from Thailand, poses with Thai pepper plants at the Sawadi Farm in Taean, South Chungcheong Province. / Courtesy of An Yu-jeongBy Yi Whan-wooThe life of Thai resident An Yu-jeong shows how one woman's craving for food from back home can lead to a business venture that creates awareness in Korea of a diverse range of Thai vegetables.An from Thailand, 52, whose Thai name is Wattirek Niyomporn, married a Korean man and moved to Taean, South Chungcheong Province, in 2000. With no nearby markets selling Southeast Asian vegetables, after nine years in Taean, she got seeds from a Thai neighbor and began to grow the vegetables on her own.“It did not work out well in the beginning,” An told The Korea Times on the phone recently, adding she had no farming experience at all when she lived in Thailand's central province of Saraburi.“I was too naive to think weather during summer season in Korea would be similar to that of Thailand and that the vegetables would grow just fine.”After some trial and error, she was able to harvest the vegetables. The am

Nov 18, 2020By Yi Whan-woo

Thai resident's farming business brings diverse flavors to Korea

Pandemic punks play loud in Mullae-dong

Polluter's first show at GBN Live House in Mullae-dong, Aug. 15. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar By Jon DunbarGBN Live House is hoping to continue its live schedule with a hardcore punk show this weekend, featuring a couple of interesting new names. This will be the third show for Polluter, a hardcore band made up of several veterans of Korea's punk scene, with the addition of “A” on drums, a Canadian who arrived here earlier this year after living and playing in Beijing.It'll also be the debut of ADxHD, a duo reuniting A with a former bandmate from his days in China. A and Oliver met at a Halloween show in Beijing in 2015. After that, they formed the hardcore/powerviolence band Struggle Session. “Struggle Session, we both agree, is one of the bands that has defined who we are as people, who we are as musicians, and has really helped us to shape our visions of how we want to move forward in music and personally,” the two said in a co-written statement to The Korea

Nov 17, 2020By Jon Dunbar

Migrants criticize human rights agency's decision on disaster relief funds

Migrants and local activists protest in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, urging local governments to provide disaster relief funds to foreign residents, April 26. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinThe national human rights agency's recent decision not to recognize the exclusion of foreigners from the state disaster relief fund plan as discrimination has drawn a backlash from migrants' rights groups, Tuesday. A coalition of such groups from across the country issued a statement expressing deep disappointment in the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) for its dismissal of a petition filed in May, demanding the central government to provide equal financial support to foreign residents. “The commission's decision runs counter to its previous recommendations to municipal governments advising them to include all foreign residents in their relief fund plans. We do not understand why it has given different responses depending on the government bodies,” read the statement. The commission had advised the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Gyeonggi Provincial Government in May to subsidiz

Nov 17, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Migrants criticize human rights agency's decision on disaster relief funds

RAS Korea Visit to Korea's early printing treasures

Pages from Jikji / Taken from PDF file By Steven L. ShieldsOne of Korea's lesser-known, but incredible cultural treasures is a small printed book. The book is ordinary in size and appearance ― about 24 cm by 17 cm, about the size of a modern-day paperbound book found in bookstores. The book is about 3 cm thick and contains about 40 leaves. The paper is lightweight, printed on one side, folded in the middle and bound with thread on the right-hand edge. Most books from the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom looked about the same. The book contained an anthology of Buddhist teachings and was an essential introduction for students of Buddhism in the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom. Originally in two volumes, the book had been printed at least twice in the space of five or six years. The earlier printings are lost to history, as is the first volume of the treasured tome. The book is called “Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol.” In modern days, scholars refer to it as “Jikji.”

Nov 17, 2020By Jon Dunbar

Hulbert Society discloses NY Times articles on 1905 Eulsa Treaty

By Kim Se-jeongKim Dong-jin, chairman of Hulbert Memorial SocietyOn Nov. 17, 1905, the Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty, also known as Eulsa Treaty, was made between the Japanese Empire and the Korean Empire. As is known, the treaty which enabled Japan's annexation was forced on the Korean Empire “at the point of the sword” and Emperor Gojong along with others, fought unsuccessfully to nullify it.Homer Hulbert (1863-1949), an American teacher in Korea and a close acquaintance of Gojong, resisted along with the Emperor, who had declared himself Emperor Gwangmu in 1897 with the foundation of the short-lived Korean Empire. Hulbert was on a secret mission to deliver the Emperor's letter of protest to then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who refused to meet with him.During his stay in Washington, D.C., though, Hulbert had an interview with the New York Times in which he criticized the U.S. government for turning a blind eye on the Korean Empire and appealing to the American public to shore up support for Korea.In remembrance of the treaty's 115th anniversary this year, Kim Do

Nov 16, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Hulbert Society discloses NY Times articles on 1905 Eulsa Treaty

Joseon Images The forgotten buried in foreign land

Scattered across the Korean Peninsula are a handful of foreign cemeteries. One of the oldest is at Jemulpo (now Incheon) and, although it has been moved several times, it still provides an interesting but fleeting peek into the past.

Nov 10, 2020By Robert Neff

[Joseon Images] The forgotten buried in foreign land

'KBeauty Cares For You' campaign encourages cosmetic brand inclusivity

The Kbeauty Cares For You campaign brings together a group of diverse models. / Courtesy of Iggy Choi By Hallie BradleyIndustries around the world were watching the discussions on inclusivity and diversity in the U.S. this year and when internet users worldwide started calling for more of their favorite brands and companies to be more aware, two women in Korea decided to step in with encouragement and action. Fama Ndiaye, owner of KWorld Media, and Mona Lisa Hanson, owner of East Meets West, are the two foreign entrepreneurs in Korea who have created the campaign Kbeauty Cares For You.“The Korean beauty industry has reached great lengths in the sense that it has grabbed the recognition and appreciation from so many people outside of Korea,” Ndiaye told The Korea Times. “However despite this great success there is still a lack of representation in the industry that foreign consumers like Mona and I and countless others can relate to.”The impact of including more peop

Nov 10, 2020By Jon Dunbar

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