South Korea - The Korea Times

Veteran actress Yoon Mi-ra criticizes younger actors for overusing cosmetic procedures: “How can you act if your muscles don’t move?”

Veteran actress Yoon Mi-ra voiced her frustration over younger actors receiving excessive cosmetic procedures, saying such practices hinder authentic acting. In a video uploaded Wednesday to the YouTube channel Soonpoong Sunwoo Yong-yeo, titled “81-year-old Sunwoo Yong-yeo lying down after making kimchi stew in a cauldron (+actress Yoon Mi-ra),” the two longtime friends took a trip to Yangpyeong, just outside of Seoul. While riding in the car driven by Sunwoo, Yoon shared candid thoughts. “It’s an era of self-promotion, so I’ll say this,” she began. “What I can proudly say is that I’ve never touched my face. Not even once for Botox. Neither this unnie (Sunwoo Yong-yeo) nor I — we live with the face we were born with.” When the production crew asked if she had ever received laser treatments, Yoon firmly replied, “Not at all.” Sunwoo added, “I don’t even know what laser treatment is.” Yoon continued, “I rarely go to dermatology clinics. Well, sometimes I do. But I tell my juniors this: it’s sad to see people ruin their beautiful faces with plastic surgery.

May 10, 2025By KTimes

Veteran actress Yoon Mi-ra criticizes younger actors for overusing cosmetic procedures: “How can you act if your muscles don’t move?”

Over 8,000 med students to be flunked, 46 expelled amid class boycott

Amid a yearlong standoff between the government and medical doctors over plans to increase medical school admission quotas, the Ministry of Education announced Friday that 8,305 students — about 43 percent of all medical students at the nation’s 40 medical schools — will receive failing grades. Another 46 students are set to be expelled for refusing to return to class in protest. This decision comes despite the government's partial retreat from its original proposal under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, scaling back the planned increase in medical school admissions to 3,058 from the original proposal of 5,058 seats as part of its broader medical reform initiative. Students who receive failing grades will be precluded from progressing to the subsequent academic year or semester. Those expelled will lose their status as medical students and will be formally dismissed from their respective institutions. According to data from 40 medical schools nationwide submitted to the education ministry, 42.6 percent of the total 19,475 enrolled students have received failing grades, and 0.2 pe

May 9, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Over 8,000 med students to be flunked, 46 expelled amid class boycott

Universities threaten to expel striking med school students

Philippine caregiver program faces uncertain future amid gov’t doubts

The future of the Philippine caregiver program in Korea, designed to supply foreign care workers to local households in response to the country’s declining birthrate, has been cast into doubt as the country's labor ministry raised financial concerns about its planned expansion just weeks before its scheduled full-scale launch. Acting Employment and Labor Minister Kim Min-seok said that expanding the caregiver program into a full-scale initiative next month appears unlikely, citing unresolved funding issues. Launched in September last year, the program began with a six-month pilot phase, jointly operated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, that brought 100 certified caregivers from the Philippines to work in households across Seoul. The Korean government had initially planned to bring in an additional 1,200 foreign workers in the first half of this year to roll out the program nationwide. Kim explained that the government launched the pilot project with the expectation that increasing the supply of caregivers would lower service costs and make

May 9, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Philippine caregiver program faces uncertain future amid gov’t doubts

Experts call for gradually raising age threshold for seniors to 70 by 2035

A group of experts on Friday proposed gradually raising to 70 from the current 65 the age threshold for senior citizens, a move aimed at focusing resources to support those who need the most in a country that has already become a "super-aged" society. The experts also advised the government to consider extending the retirement age after raising the age limit for senior citizens to 70 by 2035. "The age of 65 as the definition of a senior citizen has remained unchanged for 44 years since 1981, despite significant societal shifts," the experts said in a joint statement. "Korea is expected to face accelerating demographic challenges, including low birth rates and rapid aging," they added. "To prevent income disruption, opportunities for older adults to participate in the labor market should be expanded based on their capabilities and needs." The number of people aged 65 years or older had reached over 10.24 million, or 20 percent of the country's total population of 51.22 million, as of late 2024, making Korea a rare "super-aged" society, government data showed earlier. The steady rise in the

May 9, 2025By Yonhap

Experts call for gradually raising age threshold for seniors to 70 by 2035

Korea's religious groups congratulate Pope Leo XIV

Korea's religious circle congratulated Pope Leo XIV on Friday, following his election as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Ven. Jinwoo, the leader of the Jogye Order, the country's largest Buddhist sect, extended warm congratulations and offered his blessings in a public message, saying, "I pray that compassion and wisdom will be with you on your path of sacred duty." Referring to the pope's inaugural words, "Peace be with you all," Jinwoo expressed hope that "the spirit of peace and solidarity, seeking to be closer to those who suffer, will spread widely throughout the world." He also expressed hope that the new pontiff and the Catholic Church will bring hope and comfort in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, referring to it as "the world's last remaining Cold War divide." Na Sang-ho, president of the Won Buddhism, released a separate message of congratulation, praying for "peace and hope for all Catholics and the entire world." He noted the significance of Leo XIV's election as the first American pope, calling it "a new milestone in world religions" that reflects the

May 9, 2025By Yonhap

Korea's religious groups congratulate Pope Leo XIV

Trapped in limbo: American father's 6-year struggle to find son in Korea

U.S. national Jay Sung hasn’t seen or heard from his son Bryan in the nearly six years since his ex-wife, a Korean national, disappeared with the child in 2019. Sung, an orthodontist based in Washington, was born in Korea and raised in Ohio. Both he and his son are American citizens. He and his former spouse, surnamed Cho, divorced in 2019 after nine years of marriage. In June that year, when Bryan was just 3 years old, she took him to Korea for a three-week vacation during the divorce proceedings. Two weeks later, Cho informed Sung of her intention to stay in Korea with Bryan and cut off contact. A U.S. court subsequently ordered the child's immediate return and granted full temporary custody to Sung. Since then, Sung, now 44, has been entangled in a protracted legal battle under the Hague Abduction Convention, an international treaty to prevent the wrongful removal or retention of children across borders by one parent. Korea ratified the treaty in 2012. "There is no word that can describe the pain of losing your child. Neither Bryan or I can get his lost childhood back," Sung said. "W

May 9, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Trapped in limbo: American father's 6-year struggle to find son in Korea

Korean summer treat bingsu reaches W150,000 at Seoul's luxury hotels

What can a tourist do with 150,000 won ($107) during Korea’s sweltering summer? That amount could get you the cheapest ticket to BLACKPINK’s concert this July, with just enough left over for Korean fried chicken to fuel up before the show. Or it might cover a round-trip flight to Jeju Island for a seaside escape from Seoul’s heat. Or, for those craving something more indulgent, it could buy just one bowl of bingsu — a Korean shaved-ice dessert topped with fruit and red beans. While the price of bingsu varies greatly, with the cheapest options available for around 2,000 won, one of the priciest bingsu offerings in Seoul this year can be found at luxury hotels for approximately 150,000 won. Four Seasons Hotel Seoul is offering a version made with two Jeju-grown apple mangoes for 149,000 won through Sept. 30 — up 18.3 percent from last year. “One of the main reasons for the price hike is the rising cost of Jeju-grown apple mangoes,” Claire Yoo, a marketing manager at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, told The Korea Times. She explained that Jeju apple mangoes are prized for their superi

May 8, 2025By Park Ung

Korean summer treat bingsu reaches W150,000 at Seoul's luxury hotels

City bus unions threaten nationwide strike on May 28

Unionized intracity bus workers in Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province and 18 other regions nationwide on Thursday threatened to go on a simultaneous general strike late this month, if their wage negotiations with management break down. The bus workers, all affiliated with the Korean Automobile & Transport Workers' Federation, announced the plan to walk out collectively on May 28 after their representatives met at the federation headquarters Thursday morning. "Intracity bus unions in the 22 regions agreed to simultaneously apply for labor dispute mediation next Monday and do their best to negotiation during the 15-day mediation period," Seo Jong-soo, chairman of the federation, said. "If no agreement is reached, a nationwide strike will begin on May 28." In Seoul, the intracity bus union and management have held rounds of negotiation over a wage hike but failed to reach an agreement. The union then conducted a work-to-rule protest on April 30 and resumed it Wednesday.

May 8, 2025By Yonhap

City bus unions threaten nationwide strike on May 28

Seoul launches interpretation support for multicultural students in school violence cases

An interpretation support service to assist students from multicultural backgrounds involved in school violence cases will launch this month in eastern Seoul. The Seoul Dongbu District Office of Education announced Thursday that the program will offer interpretation in 18 languages to ensure fair and effective communication during investigations and disciplinary procedures, addressing language barriers that may hinder students’ ability to fully exercise their rights. As of 2024, students from racially or linguistically diverse backgrounds made up 7.93 percent of the total student population in Dongdaemun and Jungnang — districts overseen by the Seoul Dongbu District Office of Education. While the overall student population in these areas is declining, the proportion of multicultural students continues to rise. In response, the education office is formalizing and expanding its interpretation support system to better protect the rights of such multicultural students involved in school violence cases, ensuring they can fully exercise their right to make statements and defend themselves

May 8, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Seoul launches interpretation support for multicultural students in school violence cases

InterviewDaegu moves forward with AI textbooks, responds to growing cultural diversity in classrooms

Korea’s education system is undergoing a significant transformation with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the rising number of students from multicultural backgrounds. Amid these shifts, the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education is accelerating the rollout of AI-based digital textbooks (AIDT) to offer personalized learning tailored to individual students' levels. "Customized education that reflects each student’s learning pace and needs is the ideal, and AI technology marks a critical turning point in achieving that goal," said Kang Eun-hee, superintendent of the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education, in an interview with The Korea Times. "While AI digital textbooks still require further development, they hold the potential to greatly enhance public education and ease the burden of excessive reliance on private tutoring." Daegu has recorded the highest adoption rate of these textbooks in the country, reaching 98 percent — significantly higher than the national average of 32.3 percent. Kang attributed this achievement to the region’s early investment