South Korea - The Korea Times

Tunisian artist Ahmed Laroussi opens solo exhibition in Korea

Tunisian visual artist Ahmed Laroussi opened his first solo exhibition in Korea at Verger Art Gallery in western Seoul on Sept. 12. Titled "Beyond Horizons," the exhibition explores themes of imagination, technology and the infinite possibilities of the future. Laroussi, who works between Korea, Tunisia and France, began his artistic journey at a young age. "My artistic journey began at the age of 4, when my older sister and I started drawing scenes from cartoons we used to watch on television. At the age of 7, I held my first exhibition at school, organized by the school administration," he told The Korea Times. “From early on, drawing gave me a sense of uniqueness, a quiet confidence in doing something no one else around me could. Over the years, art became a safe refuge, a place I could escape to during times of pressure or emotional weight. Today, painting is my way of expressing my vision of the world and addressing issues and emotions that are often difficult to articulate in words.” He works across multiple mediums, including pencil drawing and acrylic painting, both oil and wa

Sep 16, 2025By Bereket Alemayehu

Tunisian artist Ahmed Laroussi opens solo exhibition in Korea

Geoffrey Lewis finds solace in community on album exploring 5 stages of grief

Partway through putting together his latest mini-album, American singer-songwriter Geoffrey Lewis started to see a pattern in the songs. The new songs he was creating closely mirrored the five stages of grief. Lewis had recently lost two friends, one to cancer and the other to suicide, and his grief influenced him to write the song "Back to Sender." "While reflecting on that, I noticed a unique pattern in the music," he said. "They seemed to cover the five stages of grief, and I think that's what I had been experiencing in the making of this album." The songs go through all five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, from stuttering "d-d-d-d-denial" in the opening track "Kinky D" through the acceptance of "Back to Sender." (Lewis admitted he swapped the songs representing anger and bargaining for the sake of flow.) "We're just constantly going through things and trying to deal with them, in minor ways or major ways," he told The Korea Times during an impromptu interview on the sidewalk in central Seoul's multicultural Haebangchon (HBC) neighborhood. "I think that I

Sep 15, 2025By Jon Dunbar

Geoffrey Lewis finds solace in community on album exploring 5 stages of grief

Omar and the Eastern Power proves music has no borders

Omar Benassila, a musician originally from Morocco, has always amazed me with his passion for music. Probably, many people who know him feel the same way. Since 2007, he has been an integral part of Korea’s music scene. With a career that spans continents and cultures, he has established a name for himself through his band, Omar and the Eastern Power, and his solo electronic project, Seed Le Moor. He first arrived in Korea nearly two decades ago, spending seven and a half years in Seoul before relocating to Jeju Island, where he lived for 12 years. However, he recently decided to return to the capital. “There were personal reasons, of course, but also, after COVID-19, I became more musically active. The music market really happens in the big cities, so I was always traveling back and forth. I wanted to be closer to the heart of what’s happening. Seoul is vibrant and dynamic, and I felt I needed that energy again," he told The Korea Times. “Life in Jeju was beautiful and relaxing, but maybe a little too comfortable. I needed to step out of my comfort zone and return to the concret

Sep 12, 2025By Bereket Alemayehu

Omar and the Eastern Power proves music has no borders

Gov't moves to protect foreign victims of wage theft

The government is pushing to revise the Immigration Control Act to better protect foreign workers — including those without legal status — from losing wages and severance pay in an effort to strengthen human rights protections in the country. Officials say the Ministry of Justice is drafting a bill to add foreign workers who are victims of wage theft to the list of exemptions under Article 84. The article currently requires public officials to notify immigration authorities if they encounter migrants who are living in the country illegally. As a result, such workers are reluctant to report unpaid wages or other labor violations, fearing that doing so could expose their status and lead to deportation. Ministry officials believe this has contributed to widespread underreporting of labor abuses. “The purpose of this amendment is to strengthen protections for foreign workers, including undocumented migrants, by exempting public officials from the duty to notify immigration authorities in cases where they are identified during investigations into wage theft or other violations of labor

Sep 11, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Gov't moves to protect foreign victims of wage theft

Monthlong crackdown targets wage theft and abuse of foreign workers

InterviewSwedish-Korean adoptee’s pioneering research on flawed adoptions gains belated recognition

Two decades ago, when Tobias Hubinette began publishing research papers on the dark history of Korea’s overseas adoption program, his work was dismissed as radical, even extremist. Now, the Swedish adoptee — born in Korea as Lee Sam-dol — is seeing both Seoul and Stockholm acknowledge what he has long maintained. Earlier this year, state-run commissions in both countries found widespread human rights violations in intercountry adoptions from the 1960s to 1990s, when the adoption of Korean babies to the West was at its peak. “I’m very happy about the development that is happening, both in the receiving countries and in the countries of origin,” Hubinette said in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul Monday. Adopted to Sweden in 1972 when he was just 7 months old, Hubinette became active in the Korean adoptee community in the 1990s. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Korean studies from Stockholm University and is now a senior lecturer in intercultural studies at Karlstad University. Hubinette’s early research uncovered alleged irregularities in intercountry adoption records a

Sep 11, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Swedish-Korean adoptee’s pioneering research on flawed adoptions gains belated recognition

Block Party to take over HBC for 4th year

Central Seoul’s multicultural Haebangchon (HBC) and Gyeongnidan neighborhoods are turning into festival grounds again for this year’s Block Party, a music and arts festival unfolding simultaneously at multiple locations. Last year, Jamie Finn, the main organizer of Block Party, told The Korea Times he wouldn’t do another festival this year. But time has proven him a liar, and the event, which also doubles as a stealth birthday party for Finn, is back Sept. 20 and 21, offering over 100 live performances at more than 10 venues. "I just can’t stop," Finn admitted to The Korea Times. "I love doing this, and the love that people have for the event means that I can’t stay away. We’ve also got a new team that brought refreshed energy to it. I’m actually really glad that we’ve done it this year. It’s been easier than usual to plan, and I really think we’re finding our rhythm as organizers." This year’s lineup includes many familiar names that have participated in previous festivals, as well as a few unique new additions. This includes singer-songwriter Jang Pill-soon, as we

Sep 10, 2025By Jon Dunbar

Block Party to take over HBC for 4th year

Adoptee calls for dialogue and dignity at National Assembly

Adoptee human rights advocate Simone Eun Mi stood before lawmakers on Sept. 2 with a question that has haunted thousands of Koreans sent abroad as children: “Where is my home? When will I have the right to be in Korea?” It was the fifth time she had been invited to speak at the Assembly. Her remarks were part of the “Korean Diaspora: Memories Across the Sea, National Responsibility Beyond Borders” forum, which brought together policymakers, scholars and diaspora representatives. More than 250,000 Korean children were adopted overseas in the decades following the 1950-53 Korean War, most of whom were not true orphans but children born to single mothers who lacked state support. For many, returning to Korea as adults has brought new difficulties: visa insecurity, lack of housing and no guaranteed access to adoption records. “These are not isolated tragedies,” Simone told the audience. “They are the outcome of policies that treated children as numbers to be exported, not citizens to be protected.” She recounted painful stories of adoptees who died alone in Korea, unable to a

Sep 8, 2025By Alice Hong

Adoptee calls for dialogue and dignity at National Assembly

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Freshness is key at Be Kind Banh Mi

Banh mi literally translates to bread, and at Be Kind Banh Mi, the bread is aptly the star — crisp but light and airy baguettes made fresh daily. The decision to bake bread from scratch was made after realizing that buying baguettes in Korea was too expensive, said Be Kind co-owner Jung Hae-jun, who had spent six years in Melbourne’s dining scene before returning home and opening the sandwich bar together with two friends. Tucked along a narrow street between Chungmuro and Euljiro 3-ga stations, Be Kind offers street-side dining with tables and stools beneath a red and white striped awning, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of the street food culture I witnessed during a backpacking trip to Vietnam some 10 years ago. I went with a Vietnamese friend on my first visit to Be Kind. While I’ve eaten bánh mì several times, there's no better critic than someone from Vietnam, the country where the dish originated. We initially ordered the crispy pork bánh mì and lemongrass chicken bánh mì, a personal favorite, but sadly it is no longer on the menu. Each sandwich consisted of the bag

Sep 7, 2025By Ana Roa

[RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK] Freshness is key at Be Kind Banh Mi

LAUGHING THROUGH HISTORY 19 'He Tried to Get a Bow but Got Humiliated Instead'

Korean humor has a long tradition of mocking the foolishness and incompetence of the aristocratic class. Today's joke is a clever spin on this tradition. During the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty, etiquette demanded that when a commoner saw a member of the aristocratic class, or yangban, they were required to bow. The yangban in this joke is introduced as someone who “enjoys being bowed to”; in other words, someone who enjoys lording his social superiority over others. The punchline revolves around the fact that the aristocrat is wearing a type of hat made of dog leather. Dog meat has historically been consumed in Korea, but in 2024 the National Assembly passed a law banning the production and sale of dog meat, to take effect in three years. It should be no surprise that along with dog meat, dog leather also existed as a material, used for both clothing and items like traditional musical instruments. Korean culture has traditionally had a negative image of dogs; although views have changed, Korean words which include the syllable “gae” (dog) often have a negative meaning. The punchli

Sep 7, 2025By G.S. Hand

[LAUGHING THROUGH HISTORY 19] 'He Tried to Get a Bow but Got Humiliated Instead'

Dongducheon activists mark 1 year defending former STD center from demolition

DONGDUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province — At the foot of Mount Soyo, a two-story concrete building, once a sexually transmitted disease (STD) management center, has been left to crumble since its abandonment in 1996. Today, it stands fenced-off, half-hidden behind barbed wire and overgrown brush. Its paint is peeling, sections of the ceiling have collapsed, and graffiti scars its walls. To most visitors unaware of its history, the site looks like an eyesore and a safety hazard that should have been torn down long ago. But there are those who stand in the way of its demolition. Outside the fence, blocking access for demolition equipment, stands a small encampment of tents maintained by a coalition of activists from women’s organizations, labor unions, and peace and unification groups. After a year of being exposed to the elements, the tents show signs of wear, their colors faded. Yet they still signal hope that this place, which still evokes painful memories for survivors, can be transformed into a space for healing and remembrance. On Aug. 26, the eve of the encampment’s first anniversary,

Sep 6, 2025By Jack Greenberg

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