South Korea - The Korea Times

Ratio of babies born to multicultural families hits new high in 2019

GettyimagesbankThe proportion of babies born to multicultural families out of all childbirths in South Korea reached an all-time high in 2019 due to the country's low birthrate, government data showed Thursday.The number of babies born to multicultural married couples came to 17,939 last year, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 5.9 percent of total newborns in the country, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The number decreased for seven years running last year after peaking at 22,908 in 2012. Yet, the ratio was up 0.4 percentage point from a year earlier and the largest since the agency started tracking related data in 2008.The agency said the proportion soared to a record high last year due to a plunge in total childbirths. The number of newborns in South Korea came to an all-time low of 302,700 in 2019, down 7.4 percent from the prior year.The data also showed that the number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses climbed 4 percent on-year to 24,721 in 2019.The number increased for the third consecutive year and marked the largest leve

Nov 5, 2020

Ratio of babies born to multicultural families hits new high in 2019

Korea Encounters Reacting to Vietnamese 'anti-Koreanism' in 1967

A poster of the Vietnam 1967 National Day Football Tournament / Courtesy of Nguyen Mac ThyBy Matt VanVolkenburgA few weeks ago, an online furor was created when Filipina American social media star Bella Poarch uploaded a video of herself sporting a tattoo featuring an image similar to Japan's Rising Sun flag. In response to criticism by Koreans, she apologized and promised to cover it with a new tattoo, but some netizens hurled racist comments at Filipinos in general, who responded with an online 'Cancel Korea' movement.This was not the first time such regrettable behavior had engendered a backlash against Koreans in Southeast Asia, however. In 1964 Korea began sending troops and civilian contractors to participate in the Vietnam War, but by late 1967 it became clear that some of the civilians had worn out their welcome. Reflecting a dynamic that would have been familiar to Koreans in their sometimes-fractious dealings with the U.S. military presence in Korea, the local press reacted to this development in various ways. On Dec. 5, 1967, The Korea Times reprinted a Donga Ilbo editoria

Nov 3, 2020By Jon Dunbar

[Korea Encounters] Reacting to Vietnamese 'anti-Koreanism' in 1967

Anthology explores Black experience in Asia

The cover of "Black in Asia: A Spill Stories Anthology" / courtesy of Spill Stories and designed by Ellie SuhBy Jon DunbarThe new book “Black in Asia” shares the experiences of 23 Black writers living in at least 10 countries across Asia, highlighting the complexity of Black life experiences amid prejudiced expectations through personal autobiographical short stories. “I can't speak for all of the other writers and certainly not for the publishers, but I see the book as adding to the written record of Black experiences globally and continuing the vital work of normalizing Black experiences outside of those created by stereotypes or oppression-oppressed narratives,” said Melissa Watkins, one of the six contributors writing from Korea. Melissa Watkins / Courtesy of Spill StoriesThe book's inception traces back to a writing workshop held online in March by Spill Stories, a storytelling platform for women of color around the world. Boipelo Seswane, a South African writer and teacher based in Seoul, facilitated the event. After the murder of George Floyd and the gr

Nov 3, 2020By Jon Dunbar

Anthology explores Black experience in Asia

Government urged to improve refugee screening system

GettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin The government is facing growing calls from civic activists to improve the refugee screening system to ensure fairness and transparency, as the cumulative number of asylum seekers here has passed 70,000.According to data from the Korea Immigration Service (KIS), Monday, the number of people who filed for refugee status here from 1994 to August this year was 70,254. Only 5,069 came to Korea seeking asylum from 1994 to 2012, but it began to increase rapidly in 2013 when the Refugee Act went into effect.The country had 1,574 applicants in 2013, 9,942 in 2017, 16,173 in 2018 and 15,142 in 2019. The data showed the refugee recognition rate has been declining steadily over the past few years, plunging to a record low of one percent this year. In the January-August period, only 1 percent, or 41 of 4,019 asylum seekers, were recognized as refugees.Approximately 12 percent of applicants were given approval from 1994 to 2012. The number stood at 10 percent in 2013 and 6 percent in 2014, and dropped to 1.5 percent in 2019. “The screening process in Europe or

Nov 2, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Government urged to improve refugee screening system

Number of asylum applications tops 70,000 in South Korea

Number of asylum applications tops 70,000 in South Korea

In this June 22, 2020 photo, a Yemenis asylum seeker works at a restaurant in Jeju Island. He is one of 909 Yemenis who sought asylum in South Korea from 2015 to 2019. Only 30 have been granted a refugee status as of June this year. Korea Times fileThe cumulative number of asylum applications filed in South Korea topped 70,000 for the first time, government data showed Monday.According to the data from the Korea Immigration Service, there were 70,254 asylum seekers here from 1994, when the government began to compile relevant data, to August this year.The number of asylum seekers totaled a mere 5,069 between 1994 and 2012 but began to rise sharply from 2013, when the Refugee Act was enforced. The number increased to 1,574 in 2013, 9,942 in 2017, 16,173 in 2018 and 15,452 last year.Despite the worldwide spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Seoul government has received several hundreds of asylum applications every month this year. The monthly number of applications averaged about 1,000 in the January-April period before falling to about 300 in July and August.In all, 5,896 asylum a

Nov 2, 2020

Number of asylum applications tops 70,000 in South Korea

Government urged to improve refugee screening system

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Korea urged to adopt open immigration policy

Experts call for accepting more immigrants to address population declineBy Kim Se-jeong For decades, Korea was a country that sent its people abroad, creating a Korean diaspora of nearly 7 million scattered across the globe. But the nation began accepting immigrants in the 1980s in line with its economic progress.In 2020, they're often seen in restaurants and shops serving at tables or washing dishes. Near university campuses, convenience store counters are staffed by international students. In Daerim-dong, southwestern Seoul, where people seeking daily manual work gather in the early morning, ethnic Koreans from China and young Southeast Asian men have replaced local Koreans. At farms, they are hired to pick muskmelon, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, garlic and onions. They're also the main workforce for small factories in the countryside. In rural villages, it's common to see young wives from Vietnam and Laos taking care of their children and helping their Korean husbands around the farm. As of Dec. 31, 2019, the number of migrants staying in Korea for more than three months was a

Nov 1, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

[ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL] Korea urged to adopt open immigration policy

INTERVIEW 'Korea's population outlook makes immigration talk inevitable'

'Vlog ads of int'l marriage brokers violate human rights of foreign women'

Videos in the form of vlogs uploaded by local matchmakers to promote their businesses can be found by searching 'international marriage vlog' in Korean. /Screen capture from YouTube By Lee Hyo-jin A video posted on YouTube titled “Meeting my oppa for the first time” with more than 600,000 views features a Korean man arriving at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City being welcomed by a young Vietnamese woman. “Oppa” means older brother in Korean and is a popular term of affection that women use for older men.After reviewing documents for the arranged marriage, the man is introduced to the woman's parents, and they spend some time together. The five-minute clip ends with the caption 'This couple plans to hold a wedding in three months, before which the bride will strive to learn Korean.' Similar videos with titles such as “Blind date with hot Filipina” and “20-year-old Vietnamese woman meets 47-year-old Korean man” can be seen by searching for 'international marriage vlog'

Oct 30, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

'Vlog ads of int'l marriage brokers violate human rights of foreign women'

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Source of insight into Korea for more than 2 decades: Canadian envoy

Canadian Ambassador to Korea Michael DanagherBy Kim Se-jeongMichael Danagher, the Canadian ambassador to Korea, has been reading The Korea Times since 1993 when he first served in Korea. This is his third assignment in Korea, following 1993-97 and 2009-13. He has served in Africa, Asia and Europe and his recent responsibilities back in Ottawa focused on commercial relations with Asia, regional trade operations and intergovernmental relations. He was appointed as ambassador to Korea in 2018.“The Korea Times is always a great source of insight into what's happening in the country. I think it is as focused on the English-speaking Korean audience as it is on international readers, so the reports in the paper show a sophisticated level of knowledge and analysis on events here,” Danagher said in an email interview. “I particularly enjoy the op-ed page, which I have to say is something I read very carefully every day ― even if I don't always agree with everything.” One of his favorite stories was filed in 2009 on the Canada Ball Hockey Korea, in which he also partici

Oct 28, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

[ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL] Source of insight into Korea for more than 2 decades: Canadian envoy

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Calling for in-depth exploration of ideas

Cityscapes Trespassing on Korea Times history

The old Korea Times building seen during demolition on Sept. 2, 2007, with Gyeongbok Palace in the background. / Courtesy of Ron BandunBy Ron BandunIt's appropriate that I now have a column with The Korea Times, because I've had opportunities to explore a number of former and current buildings associated with this newspaper. Way back in summer 2007, when I was still a fairly inexperienced urban explorer, I stood across the street as the former Hankook Ilbo building next to Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul was disassembled before my eyes. This building, a concrete behemoth located at the site of today's Twin Tree Towers, housed the Hankook Ilbo and The Korea Times offices for decades prior to my arrival. Thanks to fellow columnist Steven L. Shields, I know the newspaper was printed on site, rather than having PDFs or whatever transferred to an off-site print factory as we do nowadays. He also spoke of the “volcano room,” where linotype machines used hot metal (usually lead) for typesetting. Also as vice president of Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea, he's told me the building

Oct 27, 2020

[Cityscapes] Trespassing on Korea Times history

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Archive invites readers to dive deep in The Korea Times history

A paperboy hurries past The Korea Times building early in the morning, seen in The Korea Times 25th anniversary issue on Nov. 1, 1975. / Korea Times ArchiveBy Jon DunbarIn a walk-in closet at The Korea Times office, large bound tomes containing archives of The Korea Times' past published newspapers are preserved. I am pretty sure I am one of the few people who look in them, but every time I do, I find something highly entertaining, relevant or just plain trippy worth sharing. So I decided to add The Korea Times Archive to our newspaper's social media channels in time for the paper's 70th anniversary. The idea is to share visual elements, including photographs, editorial cartoons, illustrations and ads of the past 70 years of the newspaper's history. It mostly excludes written text beyond captions and whatever else makes it into the scans, because those would provide less-than-instant gratification. Besides, anyone wanting to read long-form history can turn to columnists Matt VanVolkenburg and Robert Neff, who continue to test the bottomless demand for historical content (it was actua

Oct 27, 2020By Jon Dunbar

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