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MRSHLL releases 'Alien Issa Mixtape'

By Celeste KrielKorean-American singer MRSHLL / Image by Celeste KrielKnown as “K-pop's first openly gay singer,” MRSHLL is releasing his new mixtape “Alien Issa Mixtape” today, Oct. 31, a collaborative release between Feel GHood Music and Wuzo Entertainment.The new mixtape is a shout out to all the “aliens and the misfits” and those on the margins of society, with six solid feel-good anthems with distinctly different vibes. “These are songs I've been working throughout the past year that didn't make it onto the Breathe EP released this past June, nor did it quite fit into the concept of my next album but I didn't want to throw it away either,” he told The Korea Times.Through the process of writing the new music it became more than just a “SoundCloud thing,” he added, and he decided to share it on all streaming platforms as a mixtape.“Alien Issa Mixtape” alludes to not necessarily feeling fully at home in this world, especially Korean society, the birthplace of his parents. “I kind of sometimes feel like I'

Oct 30, 2018

Joseon Images The Haunted Streets of Seoul

This hanok neighborhood in Seongbuk-gu, northeastern Seoul, holds its own ghost tale. / Image by Jon DunbarBy Robert NeffJust a little over a century ago, an American missionary described Korea as the most haunted place upon the planet. That was long time, however, and people today are no longer frightened by superstitions and ghosts. Or are they?Koreans often revere the elderly but, in some cases, they also fear and vilify them.In the early 1980s, whispered tales of “gumiho” (nine-tailed fox) disguised as an elderly woman, circulated amongst children in the southern provinces. This malevolent creature hunted children for their livers and was especially drawn to those wearing yellow or red. One woman ― who, oddly enough, lived in Gumi City - recalled that as a child she was careful never to wear yellow or red and was quite relieved when her family moved to Seoul in early 1984.That relief was short-lived. In summer 1984, whispers of an elderly woman ― a gumiho ― hunting children also began to circulate. Suspicion fell upon a fox at the small zoo in Children's Grand Park. I

Oct 30, 2018

Yemeni refugees yearn for peaceful life in Korea

The Ministry of Justice has given 339 Yemenis on Jeju renewable one-year humanitarian visas. Yonhap   Nearly two years after Esmail Alqublani escaped from a war-ravaged Yemen, his memories of plundering, bombings, kidnappings and slayings by armed rebels in the central city of Ibb are still haunting him.The 30-year-old former journalist can hardly imagine a return to the scene of the grinding conflict cited as the world's worst humanitarian crisis -- a reason why he has been desperately seeking refugee status in Korea since his arrival on the southern island of Jeju in May."Every single thing in my whole life has been asking me to leave (Yemen) to survive, because if I stay there, I will fight (the rebels), be stuck with them or they will kill me," Alqublani said during a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency on Jeju."(The rebel group) is what made me escape from my city, from my house, from my life, from everything," he added, expressing deep sadness about his separation from his mother and younger brother still in the Arab country. Alqublani was referring to

Oct 26, 2018

Yemeni refugees yearn for peaceful life in Korea

'United we stand in Seoul': Filipino artists look to the future

Theo and Marsha perform dance sport during “The Future of Filipino Artists in Korea,” hosted by Pinoy Artists in Korea at the ASEAN-Korea Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, Oct. 20. Photos courtesy of Pinoy Artists in KoreaBy Ko Dong-hwanHazel came to Korea from the Philippines on an E-6-2 arts and entertainment visa through an unofficial channel run by third-party recruiters affiliated with neither the Korean nor Philippines governments. Her first two years as an “entertainer” at a pub in a mountainous suburban region was miserable. She was abused and maltreated by her boss. Hazel eventually ran off and later was saved by one of the pub's patrons. The Korean man, a band vocalist, later became her partner and they started living happily together.Her story was one of the “successful” ones shared by Filipino artists invited to “The Future of Filipino Artists in Korea,” the latest seminar hosted by Pinoy Artists in Korea on Oct. 20. The group is a Filipino-Korean culture and arts organization formed after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte visit

Oct 25, 2018By Ko Dong-hwan

'United we stand in Seoul': Filipino artists look to the future

Servas conference shares art of hospitality

Participants of the Servas International 31st Conference and Central Assembly (SICOGA) 2018 assemble for a group photo at Imjingak during a day trip to the DMZ. / Courtesy of Servas Korea By Jon DunbarThe eight-day Servas International Conference and General Assembly (SICOGA) 2018 officially wrapped up last Saturday, although members are still in Korea for after-events. The Europe-headquartered NGO holds the event every three years to bring global citizens closer together. It has over 15,000 members in over 100 countries,Servas International (SI) President Jonny Saganger was in Gangchon, Gangwon Province, on day 2 of the four-day Servas International Peace Riding (SIPR) bike tour, when he spoke to The Korea Times by phone. “We are an organization that offers a network for individual members to make contacts around the world with people in your own country and in other countries,” he explained, “in order to meet people of different ethnic backgrounds, religious belie

Oct 23, 2018By Jon Dunbar

Servas conference shares art of hospitality

Celebrating Halloween with family in Korea

Halloween characters from Everland mingle with citizens in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, in this September 2018 file photo. / Korea Times file By Hallie BradleyCelebrating Halloween in Korea is bound to be a bit different as most people would expect. But there are a few events and spots to check out if finding Halloweeny vibes similar to back home is the goal. Some years ago, expat and multicultural families started meeting up in parks around Seoul in order to give their kids the opportunity to trick-or-treat in a fashion as similar to their home countries as possible. In a country where walking up and knocking on doors and saying “boo” isn't the norm, these events are definitely the next best option. If you are in a parents' group on social media, maybe they have plans for one. First Garden Happy Halloween Festival: First Garden is a great spot to take the kids out in Paju if you just want to enjoy the autumn ambiance with a hint of Halloween and fun for the kids. On

Oct 23, 2018By Jon Dunbar

Celebrating Halloween with family in Korea

Yongsan Legacy 1970s black market mania and the 'yobo menace'

The cover of Martin Limon's latest book, "The Line," released this weekBy Martin LimonDuring the 1970s, GIs used to call America “The Land of the Big PX.” So when we naive young soldiers arrived in “The Land of the Morning Calm” it was disorienting to be suddenly told that instead of being constantly exhorted to buy, buy, buy, we were now being told that we couldn't exercise our God-given right to purchase anything and everything we could afford _ or not afford.We ran into the 8th United States Army's policy of Ration Control.In the PX and the Commissary a single GI was allowed to spend only $90 per month (somewhere between $600 and $330 in today's money). Certain items, like Folger's Coffee Crystals, Tang and soluble creamer were restricted by the number of ounces you could buy. More upscale items like stereo sets, televisions, cameras and wristwatches were restricted to purchasing only one per tour. And your company commander would check before you left to make sure you still had them!Why this totalitarian obsession with GI consumerism? The official reason w

Oct 23, 2018

[Yongsan Legacy] 1970s black market mania and the 'yobo menace'

Foreign Line

Still Alive in HongdaeThe best Halloween-themed punk show in Korea happens 10 p.m. this Saturday at DGBD near Hongik University in western Seoul. Entry is only 5,000 won for people with costumes. A costume contest has prizes from small businesses including Newsboy Burger Pub, Moderment Clothing and SHARP Ink. When co-promoter Jeff Moses first came to Hongdae for Halloween in 2008, he was disappointed by the lack of celebration. “All the clubs had Halloween-themed flyers, but when I got to the shows, they were just normal shows. Nothing to do with Halloween at all,” he said. “People in Korea didn't care about Halloween, so I said we needed to change that.”Bands include …Whatever That Means, Drinking Boys and Girls Choir, 57, A'Z Bus, Rudy Guns and Andersen. Visit fb.com/wdikorea for more information.Korea's extreme metal lectureU.S. expats Ian Henderson and Michael O'Dwyer spent a couple years making “K-Pop Killers,” a feature-length documentary film on Korea's metal scene. Henderson will discuss the “quixotic quest of these musical mis

Oct 23, 2018By Jon Dunbar

Twisted F-6: cross-border nuptials' blind spot

Twenty-two cross-border couples walk down the aisle in a joint wedding ceremony hosted by Rotary International at Heritz Wedding Convention Tower in southern Seoul, Oct. 4, 2010. The Korean grooms married brides from Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and China. Korea TimesThis is the second of a two-part series about migrant women in Korea who struggle with risks of deportation, physical threats and psychological hazards in much of their daily lives. ― ED.Cases of jeopardized marriage migrants in Korea mirror the country's failing systems across welfare, international marriage brokerage and multicultural lawsBy Ko Dong-hwanA Cambodian woman moved to Korea in 2007 for marriage and a new life, but her Korean husband and mother-in-law did not allow her to learn Korean or hold a bank account. They told her they had paid for her labor on their vineyard, ending her dream of becoming a proud immigrant mother. Her husband, ignoring her hope of obtaining Korean citizenship, filed for divorce in 2013. Her mother-in-law then kicked her out of their home.The Vietnamese wife of a Korean fisherma

Oct 18, 2018By Ko Dong-hwan

Twisted F-6: cross-border nuptials' blind spot

The curse of E-6-2

Eligible foreign voters surpass 100,000, but few cast ballots

By Park Si-soo The number of eligible foreign voters has surpassed 100,000. Foreigners can cast ballots in local elections three years after winning permanent residency status -- although not in parliamentary and presidential elections.According to data revealed by Rep. So Byeong-hoon of the ruling Democratic Party, the number of eligible foreign voters has rocketed since the revision of the election law in 2005 to grant qualified foreigners voting rights. In 2006 when foreigners were allowed to vote in local elections for the first time, only 6,726 foreigners qualified. The figure jumped to 12,878 in 2010 and 48,428 in 2014. This year, the number reached 106,049, the lawmaker said, citing data from the National Election Commission. This trend reflects an increasing number of foreigners are settling in South Korea as their second home, opening a new chapter in their lives. But the disappointing news is that few people use their right to vote.The 2010 elections had a 35.2 percent turnout of foreign voters -- lower than the nationwide turnout of 54.5 percent. This tumbled to 35.2 perce

Oct 17, 2018

Global Community

Global Community

MRSHLL releases 'Alien Issa Mixtape'

Joseon Images The Haunted Streets of Seoul

Yemeni refugees yearn for peaceful life in Korea

'United we stand in Seoul': Filipino artists look to the future

Servas conference shares art of hospitality

Celebrating Halloween with family in Korea

Yongsan Legacy 1970s black market mania and the 'yobo menace'

Foreign Line

Twisted F-6: cross-border nuptials' blind spot

Eligible foreign voters surpass 100,000, but few cast ballots

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