South Korea - The Korea Times

Hanyang University stakes claim as Korea’s most global campus

Hanyang University is highlighting its global reach by launching an overseas alumni network — a first among Korean universities — while also hosting the country’s largest international student body. “Globalization has long been our strongest asset — we’ve been debating our strategy since as early as 1999,” said Hanyang University President Lee Ki-jeong during a press briefing Tuesday. More than 18,000 international students are enrolled per year in degree programs, short-term courses, summer and winter schools, and exchange programs at Hanyang’s Seoul and ERICA campuses. Of those, 6,634 are degree-seeking students while 4,411 join as seasonal or visiting students, supported by a global partnership network spanning 725 institutions in 82 countries. The ERICA campus, one of Hanyang University’s two main campuses, is located in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, outside Seoul. Rather than simply boosting enrollment, the launch of the overseas alumni network is part of what Lee describes as “Globalization 3.0” — a phase in which universities move beyond recruiting internationa

Nov 25, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Hanyang University stakes claim as Korea’s most global campus

Korea prepares for severe winter fine dust with China’s cooperation

As fine dust levels are forecast to rise this winter, the government will take targeted steps — including further closures of public coal-fired power plants — and deepen coordination with China, a key contributor to Korea’s air pollution. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Tuesday presided over the Special Policy Committee on Fine Dust and finalized the implementation plan for the seventh seasonal fine dust management system, which has operated every winter since 2019 to tighten controls on air pollutant emissions from December through March. In Korea, fine dust levels typically rise in winter and spring due to westerly winds carrying pollutants from China, stagnant atmospheric conditions and reduced rainfall. According to a National Institute of Environmental Research analysis released last month, about 55 percent of Korea’s ultrafine dust was traced to China, while 29 percent came from domestic sources. The study was conducted with NASA between February and March last year. The government aims to cut ultrafine dust and its precursors by 2 percent from last year, to about 129,000 to

Nov 25, 2025By Park Ung

Korea prepares for severe winter fine dust with China’s cooperation

Miari Texas demolition begins, marking end of Seoul’s last red-light district

The demolition of Seoul’s last remaining red-light district in Hawolgok-dong, Seongbuk District, better known as “Miari Texas,” is now underway, marking the end of an area that operated for nearly seven decades. The narrow alleys of Miari Texas — still lined with faded “No minors allowed” signs — revealed a landscape frozen in time on Nov. 19. Inside old wooden buildings with worn sliding doors advertising “100,000 won ($77) cash, 120,000 won card,” partitioned rooms, cracked glass tiles and outdated floral curtains offered silent reminders of the illegal businesses that once operated there. Miari Texas emerged in the 1950s and 1960s as brothels began clustering in the area, eventually becoming one of Seoul’s most notorious red-light districts. Residents and community groups had long demanded redevelopment as deteriorating buildings, safety concerns and crime continued to plague the neighborhood. Seongbuk District designated Sinwolgok Zone 1 as a redevelopment area in 2009. The plan moved forward after the district approved a management disposition plan in 2022, follo

Nov 25, 2025By Hankookilbo

Miari Texas demolition begins, marking end of Seoul’s last red-light district

Coach denies harassment of marathon runner, says contact was to ‘support athlete’ at finish line

Kim Wan-gi, head coach of the Samcheok City Hall track and field team, has denied accusations that he made inappropriate physical contact with a female runner at the Incheon International Marathon, saying the controversy stems from “a misunderstanding caused when her solar plexus hit my arm.” Kim addressed the issue in an interview with News1 on Monday. “Marathons are very demanding. Many female athletes collapse or faint as soon as they cross the finish line,” he said. “If we do not support them right away, they can fall and get hurt.” Kim said similar situations occur frequently. “Even at the Chuncheon Marathon, one of our runners nearly fainted. I caught her, but she was so weak that she ended up with bruises on her knees,” he said. He added that the athlete involved in the latest controversy apologized afterward. “She told me, ‘I came in at full speed and my solar plexus hit your arm. It hurt so much I instinctively pushed away,’” Kim said. “She apologized, saying the moment was shown on TV. I told her she had worked hard.” Kim acknowledged that the footag

Nov 25, 2025By Hankookilbo

Coach denies harassment of marathon runner, says contact was to ‘support athlete’ at finish line

Price-gouging feud deepens at Gwangjang Market as visitor numbers fall

A recent feud within Seoul’s Gwangjang Market erupted into legal hostilities this week, as shop owners announced plans to file a multimillion-won lawsuit against street vendors following renewed allegations of overcharging foreign and domestic visitors. The allegations turn what might be seen as minor consumer complaints into a significant economic and cultural dilemma for the capital city, raising questions about whether Seoul can preserve the authenticity of its most treasured landmarks amid mass tourism and global media attention. At the center of the controversy is a viral YouTube video, uploaded earlier this month by a popular food reviewer with more than 1.5 million subscribers, which appeared to show a street vendor charging 10,000 won for a dish listed at 8,000 won. The discrepancy frustrated the creator and sparked a wave of calls for a boycott. This is not the first time overcharging allegations have surfaced at the market, where food stalls and eateries offering hearty, affordable dishes such as noodles and bindaetteok (Korean mung bean pancakes) have attracted celebrities,

Nov 25, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Price-gouging feud deepens at Gwangjang Market as visitor numbers fall

3 dead, 10 injured after van rams into sign post on island off Jeju

JEJU — A van driven by a 62-year-old struck pedestrians and rammed into a sign post on an island off the southern resort island of Jeju on Monday, leaving three people dead and 10 others injured, officials said. The accident happened shortly after the vehicle disembarked from a ferry on Udo Island and suddenly traveled at a high speed for about 150 meters before ramming into the sign post near a ferry waiting room, according to the Jeju Dongbu Police Station and the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters. A 60-something woman inside the car and two pedestrians — a man in his 70s and another man in his 60s — were rushed to a hospital via helicopters due to serious injuries but were later ruled dead. The driver and nine other people were also sent to the hospital for minor and serious injuries. Officials said the victims were all Korean tourists and that there were six people on board the vehicle. According to a witness, the vehicle came to a stop after hitting pedestrians and ramming into the post. Police have determined the driver, also a tourist, was not under the influence. Police are invest

Nov 24, 2025By Yonhap

3 dead, 10 injured after van rams into sign post on island off Jeju

High school in Seoul receives hoax bomb threat

A high school in Seoul received an apparent fake bomb threat Monday that prompted a police search and school-wide evacuation drills, officials said. Police officers were dispatched to the school in Seoul's northeastern ward of Nowon after receiving a report early in the morning of a social media post threatening to blow up the school at 2 p.m. Police did not find any explosives after conducting a search before school hours. The school held evacuation drills out of concerns such threats could reoccur.

Nov 24, 2025By Yonhap

High school in Seoul receives hoax bomb threat

Foreign labor cannot halt Korea’s demographic slide: study

Korea is increasingly relying on foreign workers to counter its shrinking population, a problem especially acute in rural areas, but a new study warns that the approach has its limits as the domestic population continues to decline. A recent report from the National Assembly Budget Office found that foreign residents now account for a rising share of Korea’s population and are spreading well beyond the greater Seoul area. But experts, including Lee Sang-lim, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, are quick to warn that this demographic stopgap provides no fundamental solution, arguing that the limited economic input and tax contributions of temporary workers restrict real local growth. “Foreign residents in regional areas may slow the pace of population decline, but they are far from a fundamental solution,” Lee said. The number of foreign residents climbed to 2.58 million last year, pushing up their share of the population from 3.4 percent in 2015 to 5 percent in 2024. Over the same period, the resident registration population — which excludes non-Kor

Nov 24, 2025By Park Ung

Foreign labor cannot halt Korea’s demographic slide: study

Gov't enlists religious leaders in new bid to combat Korea's suicide crisis

Seeking to address Korea’s persistently high suicide rate, the government and several major religious organizations on Monday signed an agreement regarding respect for life and suicide prevention, vowing to coordinate efforts to provide hope, compassion and support for people in despair. The agreement came as Prime Minister Kim Min-seok convened the first government–religious community roundtable at his residence in Seoul, bringing together representatives from various faith groups, including the United Christian Churches of Korea, the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Central Headquarters of Won-Buddhism, and the Jogye Order. Kim underscored the significance of the event as a first step toward establishing a regular, sustainable framework for cooperation between the government and religious leaders on major social issues. The initiative begins with suicide prevention as the first item on the group's shared agenda. Korea’s long-running public health crisis worsened last year. According to Statistics Korea’s 2024 report on causes of death, 14,872 people died by suicide in

Nov 24, 2025By Anna J. Park

Gov't enlists religious leaders in new bid to combat Korea's suicide crisis

EXPLAINER New regulation aims to clarify ambiguity in ‘yellow envelope law’

Ahead of the implementation of the “yellow envelope law” on March 10, 2026, the government on Monday announced a regulatory overhaul that will reshape how labor unions representing subcontracted employees can negotiate with parent companies, as officials move to resolve ambiguities about who counts as an employer and how bargaining will proceed. Starting Tuesday, the Ministry of Employment and Labor will begin collecting public opinion on amendments to the enforcement ordinances of the labor law. The revision breaks new ground by extending the definition of “employer” to include not only direct contract holders, but also entities with “substantive and specific control” over the working conditions of subcontracted workers. This means parent companies can be pressed to negotiate with labor unions representing workers employed by their subcontractors ― a significant change that will have an especially strong effect on major companies that operate through widespread use of subcontracted labor and layered supply chains, common in the shipbuilding and construction industries. Un

Nov 24, 2025By Jung Min-ho

[EXPLAINER] New regulation aims to clarify ambiguity in ‘yellow envelope law’

Gov’t plans mock councils to ease rollout of ‘yellow envelope law’

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