South Korea - The Korea Times

Korea to look into working environment for foreign crewmen

GettyimagesbankSouth Korea said Sunday it will launch a special probe into the working environment for foreign crewmen working on local fishing boats to root out possible human rights violations by their employers.The country plans to look deeper into the working conditions of foreign workers on local fishing boats sized 20 tons and above during the four-week period that will run through Nov. 20, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries."Foreign workers are crucial for the country's fishery industry, and there should be no blind spots for them," the ministry said in a statement. The country has been making efforts to improve the working conditions for foreign crews, amid rising criticism that some of them were not being paid minimum wage, while being physically abused by their employers.Critics also say South Korea has been lacking measures to protect foreign fishermen from hazardous work conditions, although they accounted for more than 17 percent of the total workers in the segment as of 2018.The ratio is expected to grow further down the road as more South Koreans seek le

Oct 25, 2020

Korea to look into working environment for foreign crewmen

Local college refuses refund for 52 Uzbek students denied visas

Seogang Occupational Training College / Screenshot from the Seogang Occupational Training College website By Lee Hyo-jin “I still can't believe that $7,880, which is my parent's salary for two years has vanished into thin air,” said Dinurbek Jumaniyozov, a 19-year-old student living in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. In addition to the financial loss, his hopes of studying in Korea to become an IT developer have been dashed.Jumaniyozov is one of the 52 Uzbek students who over the last few months have been demanding full refunds from Korean universities for the money they spent on visa applications and tuition fees. It all began in November 2019, when Seogang Occupational Training College, a vocational school based in Seoul, gave a presentation promoting the school at a language center in Tashkent. Dozens of students wanting to study in Korea attended the session, according to its manager.The college invited them to enroll in its educational courses offering the

Oct 23, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Local college refuses refund for 52 Uzbek students denied visas

Mother talks about reunion with her lost daughter

Lee Eung-sun cries during a video chat session in Seoul, Oct. 15, with her long-lost daughter, who went missing 44 years ago at Namdaemun Market in Seoul and was later adopted by an American couple. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong In June 1976, Lee Eung-sun's three-year-old daughter went missing in a crowded market in Seoul. Last week, the mother, now 78, was reunited through a video chat with her long-lost daughter, now 47 and residing in the U.S., after she was adopted by an American couple. The happy, yet tearful reunion session, which was organized by the National Police Agency (NPA), received extensive media coverage by local media outlets in Korea. The lost daughter's two siblings were also present. “I can't describe how happy I am. I feel like dancing all the time. Sleepless nights thick with grief are gone now. I am so happy and can't wait to see her in person,” Lee told The Korea Times after the first video reunion. The daughter, Yoon Sang-ae, went missing at Namdaemun Market in Seoul in 1976 while she was out with her grandmother ― Yoon was renamed Denise McCarty after he

Oct 22, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Mother talks about reunion with her lost daughter

Tearful reunion after 44 years

Friends of Korea Memories of serving as last Peace Corps Korea director

Peace Corps volunteers and others hold a walk-a-thon to raise funds for heart surgery in 1981. / Courtesy of Nancy Kelly By James MayerNo one likes to be last. But I had that distinction as the Peace Corps Korea country director, and I am forever grateful that it happened. In early 1981, Peace Corps Headquarters made the difficult decision that the Peace Corps program in Korea had to be closed due to projected budget reductions to its worldwide programs.When the Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) were told that their service in Korea would be cut short, I truly didn't know what to expect. I told them there were two basic choices: they could choose to get angry or go out with heads held high. Frankly, I wouldn't have blamed them for choosing either option. Nonetheless, I was truly delighted by their response. Some PCVs chose to continue their service in other countries where Peace Corps had programs. Others immediately set about organizing a traveling Public Health Fair a

Oct 20, 2020By Jon Dunbar

[Friends of Korea] Memories of serving as last Peace Corps Korea director

'Free Comic Book Day' comes to Korea

Some of the "Free Comic Book Day" titles available at Dice Latte in northwestern Seoul / Courtesy of Kyung Lee By Kyung LeeAfter two postponements and a canceled Comic-Con in August, community gaming space and comic book shop The Dice Latte in northeastern Seoul will host Korea's first Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) event on Halloween Day weekend.The international event, which was first held in 2002 and founded by retailer Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in California, promotes comic books from various publishers with hot-off-the-press issues. The FCBD Selection Committee selects some comic books as Gold Sponsor titles each year.And while DC Comics and Marvel Comics will no doubt present as leading comic book ambassadors in FCBD, Joey Croner, owner of The Dice Latte, told The Korea Times the event stack includes 30 different titles for all ages and subject matters including Halloween.“I wanted to show that there's a community of comic book enthusiasts and collectors i

Oct 20, 2020By Jon Dunbar

Tearful reunion after 44 years

Yoon Sang-ae, on the screen, talks to her biological family during an online reunion, Friday, in Seoul, 44 years after she was adopted by an American family, Friday. Korea Times Photo by Choi Da-won Mom, adopted daughter reunited through video chatBy Kim Se-jeong A 78-year-old woman was reunited with her 47-year-old daughter who went missing 44 years ago in Seoul, in an emotional video meeting on Friday that connected Korea and the U.S.The daughter, Yoon Sang-ae, was adopted out to a family in the U.S. where she currently resides. Her English name is Denise McCarty. The video reunion was organized by the Korean National Police Agency (NPA). The reunion was possible thanks to a new government service, starting January this year, which took Yoon's DNA sample from the U.S. and sent it to the NPA for a match. The National Forensic Service (NFS) confirmed their biological relation. The mother's DNA sample was collected in 2017.“My darling daughter! I hope to meet you (fa

Oct 18, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Mother talks about reunion with her lost daughter

Justice ministry hit for racist content in int'l marriage guidance program

This section from a guidebook used in the international marriage guidance program of the Ministry of Justice states that Vietnamese people 'do not easily admit to their wrongdoings and tend to make excuses for their mistakes rather than apologizing.' / Courtesy of Rep. Kim Jin aeBy Lee Hyo-jinThe Ministry of Justice is facing criticism for racist content included in the educational materials for its international marriage guidance program, according to a lawmaker and foreign residents, Wednesday.Published in 2019, the guidebook titled “Understanding the social customs and marriage culture of foreign countries” purports to explain particular characteristics of people of nationalities that commonly come to Korea through and for marriage to Korean nationals.The material is used in a mandatory four-hour educational course provided by the Immigration Office for Korean nationals who are planning to marry people from a designated list of countries. The guidebook, which aims to provide a "balanced" perspective on the spouse's culture for the success of the marriage, was foun

Oct 14, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Yongsan Legacy Working for Stars and Stripes in 1969

Martin Limon, pictured in spring 1975, works on The Communicator, the newspaper of the 1st Signal Brigade, at Yongsan Garrison. / Courtesy of Martin LimonBy Martin LimonLet's not over-glamorize the Stars and Stripes.Recent news reports that it might be curtailed have characterized the Department of Defense-sponsored publication as being produced and written by the average American soldier, for the average American soldier. In other words, an independent GI-run newspaper.I wish this were true.Back in 1969, as a young enlisted soldier, I reported for the Korea News Bureau of the Pacific edition of the Stars and Stripes, traveling around the country and earning my share of by-lines. By-lines, by the way, which always included your rank to show that you were one of the troops. The entire editorial staff of the Stripes, however, was composed of civilians hired by the Department of Defense, both at the local bureaus and at the Stripes headquarters in Tokyo. Overseeing everything, of course, was a full colonel, responsible to the brass above him.As such, every story and every sentence and e

Oct 13, 2020

AR startup Corico aims to enhance daily life

Corico experiments with augmented reality (AR) in enhancing food presentation virtually to help people eat diet food. / Courtesy of Corico By Williams Kyeiwilliams@sportforlio.comAs users flock to experience augmented reality (AR) technology through their smartphones, the majority of, if not all, the functions of AR remain underutilized. Marisa Steans, co-founder of Seoul-based tech startup Corico, has been researching virtual environments and exploring the interaction between users and virtual characters.“AR could be integrated in small ways into daily life,” she told The Korea Times. “AR glasses are expensive for the ordinary consumer as compared to a hobbyist. Hence, we've been focusing on solving that by making it affordable for daily life use.”Steans, an American, was working as a software engineer at a Fortune 500 company in California, when she applied and got accepted into the incubation program at Seoul Global Center, now named Seoul Invest Center, in 2018.

Oct 13, 2020By Jon Dunbar

RAS Korea Visiting temples across Korea

A recent photo of Beopju Temple's Maitreya, with the five-story wood pagoda, Palsangjeon, on the right / Courtesy of Steven L. ShieldsBy Steven L. ShieldsNestled deep in a narrow canyon on the eastern boundary of North Chungcheong Province, Beopju Temple is one of Korea's oldest and most venerated Buddhist temples. The temple, founded in 553 CE, became one of the largest in all Korea during the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, hosting some 3,000 monks and scores of buildings. In the modern era, the temple is smaller with about 30 buildings and fewer monks. Its current buildings have been rebuilt many times. The Japanese burned the entire complex to the ground during the 1592-98 Imjin War.Since my first visit in the mid-1970s, I have returned time and again over the succeeding decades. The scenic beauty of the surrounding Songnisan National Park, with high mountain peaks as a backdrop, Beopju Temple is a place of spiritual peace. The temple is second only to Gyeongju on my priority visit list. No matter the season, Beopju Temple is a rewarding visit for both believers and explorers. For many

Oct 6, 2020

Global Community