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Cityscapes Finding clarity on top of The Korea Times

A rooftopper admires the night view from a rooftop in downtown Seoul in this October 2016 photo. / Courtesy of Ron BandunBy Ron BandunI stopped by The Korea Times office recently to visit my editor. In the elevator, I found two foreign guys carrying big bags obviously holding camera gear. On the way down we made small talk about rooftopping in Seoul. They were obviously there for the roof. On another visit later the same week, I ran into another pair boarding the elevator as I got off downstairs. I stayed a moment to confirm that, yes, they went to the top floor. More rooftoppers. It left me curious how they found it, and if they were in communication with the others. I considered going up to talk to them, but decided my presence could alarm them or ruin their fun. So I stayed downstairs while they had their vertical adventure. The roof itself is easily accessible, with no explicit rules against it. It has benches, ashtrays and a small park. The lobby has workers, but they are more for hospitality than security and have no monitors to watch surveillance camera feeds. The Korea Times

Jan 29, 2019By Jon Dunbar

[Cityscapes] Finding clarity on top of The Korea Times

Asian tourists love to go to Myeongdong; Westerners royal palaces in Seoul

Foreign tourists have varying tastes when it comes to sightseeing spots in Seoul, depending on their nationality, a research paper showed Friday.Visitors from Asia prefer Myeongdong, one of the capital's main shopping districts, while European and American tourists are most impressed by royal palaces, according to the paper jointly published by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Kyunghee University.Chinese and Americans gave high marks to Seoul's security, while Japanese and Europeans said they are satisfied with food and shopping, respectively, it noted.The research paper was based on an analysis of a Korea Tourism Organization survey of 9,942 foreigners who visited Seoul in 2017. They were selected out of 13,841 foreign tourists sampled by the organization after visiting South Korea that year.The study said that 30.9 percent of Chinese visitors to Seoul named Myeongdong as the most satisfactory place, trailed by Dongdaemun Market (9.7 percent) and N Seoul Tower on Mount Nam (8.8 percent).Among Japanese tourists, Myeongdong topped the list with 33 percent, compared with the area

Jan 25, 2019

Asian tourists love to go to Myeongdong; Westerners royal palaces in Seoul

Foreign Line

Brewpub hosts clothing swapWinK Kitchen & Taphouse hosts its January clothing swap, book exchange, brunch and bottomless mimosas this Sunday in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. Participants are invited to bring “gently used” clothes they don't need anymore and “swap 'til your heart's content.” Leftover clothes will be donated to a charitable cause. “No shoes, no underwear, and no accessories please. Clothing only,” organizers posted online. “Please do not sell any items taken from a swap at a later date. Don't abuse generosity!”The event runs from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit fb.com/winkkitchenandtaphouse for more information or call 02-6053-3429 to make reservations. Embassy celebrates Australia Day, tennis Grand Slam Celebrate Australia Day this Friday with Australian Ambassador to Korea James Choi at the Seoul Grand Hyatt. As the event will be happening near the end of the 2019 Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, the organizers said in a release that “This event offers guests the chance to revel in the excitement of the

Jan 22, 2019By Jon Dunbar

TNKR hosts fundraiser for S. Korean abducted to North 50 years ago

Teach North Korean Refugees (TNKR) holds an event last Dec. 16 to mark the 49th anniversary of Hwang Won's abduction to North Korea. / Courtesy of Bring My Father Home CampaignBy Jon DunbarHalf a century ago, on Dec. 11, 1969, Hwang Won, 32, a program director at MBC, boarded Korean Air flight YS-11 at Gangneung Airbase in Gangwon Province, bound for Seoul's Gimpo Airport. But the flight never landed in Seoul. A North Korean agent aboard hijacked the plane to North Korea, and its four crew members and 46 passengers became captives of the North. Sixty-six days later, 39 passengers were returned to South Korea, but Hwang was not among them. North Korea kept the plane, its crew and passengers.Hwang In-cheol was only 26 months old when his father vanished behind the DMZ. All he has to remember his father is a single black-and-white photograph. His mother used to tell him his father was away on business in the U.S., rather than reveal the uncomfortable truth. He only found out the truth at age 9 from his uncle.He founded the Korean Air Flight YS-11 Families Committee in 2008 seeking to lo

Jan 22, 2019By Jon Dunbar

Forced haircuts in 1960 opened rift in Korea-U.S. alliance

The Korea Times ran an article about an incident in which U.S. military personnel shaved the heads of women caught in base after midnight, on Jan. 7, 1960. / Korea Times archive By Matt VanVolkenburg The 1960s began in Korea with an explosion of anger against the U.S. On Jan. 2, 1960, two Korean women found after midnight in the billet of a tank battalion in Dongducheon had their heads shaved by two American sergeants, Ora Curnutte and Harry Saunders, who were following the orders of company commander Capt. John W. McEnery. According to the U.S., the victims admitted they were licensed prostitutes who had entered the Army camp illegally. As The Korea Times put it, “Captain McEnery had promised three-day passes to his men who apprehended any prostitute or thieves in the unit area” due to “a high venereal disease rate in his unit.”The Associated Press quoted one of the women, who was the mother of a mixed-race child, as saying, "We cried and begged... but they kept on

Jan 22, 2019By Jon Dunbar

Forced haircuts in 1960 opened rift in Korea-U.S. alliance

Documentary shows Korean indie rock's uphill battle

Wasted Johnnys play in the rain at Washington Square Park at a 2014 concert in support of North Korean refugees, as seen in the 2017 documentary film "Life Is a Dream We'll Wake Up & Scream." / Courtesy of Joe Je-hwanBy Jon DunbarWhen Korean blues-rock band Wasted Johnnys toured the U.S. in 2013, documentary film director Joe Je-hwan followed them everywhere they went, but so did the rain.“Sadly every time they performed outdoors in the U.S., it rained,” Joe told The Korea Times. “The rain made the sound terrible, so they felt really sad because they thought they couldn't show their good sound. But anyway U.S. audiences still enjoyed them a lot.”Joe was filming his Korean indie rock documentary, titled in English “Life Is a Dream We'll Wake Up & Scream,” named after a mini-album from Seoul indie band Rock 'N' Roll Radio. The Korean title translates to English simply as “Under the Light.”Rock 'N' Roll Radio play their first headlining concert in Veloso. / Courtesy of Joe Je-hwanWasted Johnnys and Rock 'N' Roll Radio will appear b

Jan 22, 2019By Jon Dunbar

Foreign students get taste of traditional life in promo campaign

Foreign students are living in Jeonju's Hanok Village for a month as part of a goodwill campaign. Korea Times file.By Dong Sun-hwaNine foreign students at Chonbuk National University will enjoy a month's stay at Hanok Village in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, where traditional Korean-style houses are preserved, as part of a promotional campaign. The first two ― from Kyrgyzstan and Palestine ― began their stay Tuesday, according to Jeonju city. They are set to leave on Feb. 14, when other students will replace them. During their stay, the students will experience the traditional culture of Jeonju, a city that is famous for its historic features, and visit major tourist attractions. They will recount their experiences on social media using English and their mother tongues to let foreigners know of the city's charm. “I came to Jeonju as I have been interested in Korea and fond of Korean culture,” the Kyrgyzstan student said. “I applied to this program to let many people learn about Jeonju's beauty.”

Jan 17, 2019By Dong Sun-hwa

Foreign students get taste of traditional life in promo campaign

Facebook shuts down 'OinK - Only in Korea' group

A screencapture shows that Facebook is reviewing the second OinK group, created last week after the closure of the main group. The original group has disappeared without a trace or possibility of review. Courtesy of Travis HullBy Jon DunbarOne of the largest Korea-based online communities disappeared from the internet around 1 p.m. last Wednesday. According to its founder Travis Hull and moderators, Facebook deleted the 28,000-member group “OinK ― Only in Korea” without warning or explanation. “Absolutely no word from the folks at Facebook so far,” Hull told The Korea Times. “We have petitioned Facebook to review their decision via a link they provide in their help section, but so far we have received no comment from the company and I'm not holding my breath that we will.”Blame started flying immediately after the group disappeared, with nobody fully sure what caused the sudden removal. Speculation ranged from too many posts flagged for racism or “anti-racist” moderators limiting free speech, to a discussion about an actual crime, in wh

Jan 15, 2019By Jon Dunbar

Facebook shuts down 'OinK - Only in Korea' group

Edgy Memes Only in Korea

Reading Korean literature in the era of the Korean novelist

The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch reading club meet to discuss literature at a cafe near Changdeok Palace in downtown Seoul. / Courtesy of Steven ShieldsBy Steven L. ShieldsForty years ago, during my first sojourn in Korea, I read Kim Eun-kook's now well-known novels. “The Martyred,” his first, was written in English, and later translated into several languages. He was one of the first Korea-born writers of note and helped introduce modern fiction by and about Korean topics to the world. Kim was the first Asian writer to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Published in 1964, “The Martyred” was on the New York Times Bestseller list for 20 weeks. Kim's works are set during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation, 1950-53 Korean War and Park Chung-hee's 1961 coup. He taught for decades in universities in the United States. Korea has a rich and fast-growing library of modern literature. The list of writers of novels, short stories, and other works is long. Korean writers have taken a significant place in world literature. Their translators are also making

Jan 15, 2019By Jon Dunbar

Foreign wage earners required to file tax returns: gov't

A visitor to "2018 Job Fair for International Student," hosted by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, checks a booklet in October 2018. News1South Korea's tax agency said Tuesday that all foreign wage earners must file their year-end 2018 tax settlement by the end of next month, regardless of their nationality or length of stay.The National Tax Service said some income deduction or tax credit items are not applicable to foreigners and recommended that they take advantage of special taxation schemes, such as income tax reduction and exemption.The NTS said a foreign employee can choose to apply for a 19-percent flat tax rate for wage and salary income, including non-taxable income, received from the first date of providing service in South Korea to the taxable period, which ends within five years of that date.In the case of foreign engineers who have signed a technology introduction contract, or engineers who work as researchers in a foreign-invested company, a 50 percent reduction of income tax is applied to wage and salary income for two years.Fo

Jan 15, 2019

Global Community

Global Community

Cityscapes Finding clarity on top of The Korea Times

Asian tourists love to go to Myeongdong; Westerners royal palaces in Seoul

Foreign Line

TNKR hosts fundraiser for S. Korean abducted to North 50 years ago

Forced haircuts in 1960 opened rift in Korea-U.S. alliance

Documentary shows Korean indie rock's uphill battle

Foreign students get taste of traditional life in promo campaign

Facebook shuts down 'OinK - Only in Korea' group

Reading Korean literature in the era of the Korean novelist

Foreign wage earners required to file tax returns: gov't

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