Ten major English-language education societies based in South Korea will hold a joint academic conference to discuss issues arising in English language teaching amid the ongoing digital transformation. The 2023 Joint International Conference on ELT in Korea will begin its three-day session on July 6 at Konkuk University in Seoul, with the theme “English Language Education in the Era of Digital Transformation: Opportunities, Connectivity and Sustainability,” the Korea Association of T

People June 26, 2023

“The taepyeongso and piri are both heroes in Korea’s traditional music ensemble. But they are tricky to play,” said Park Seong-bin, a student majoring in the Korean traditional wind instruments at Seoul National University. The taepyeongso has a funneled metal end which produces a high-pitched sound widely loved by people during the Joseon era (1392-1910) and starred in a diverse array of events from royal ceremonies to performances by peasants. The piri, on the other hand, has

weekender June 17, 2023

“Korean pop music, dramas and films are popular overseas. But there are also other ‘hip’ cultures in Korea waiting to be discovered,” Gangnyeong Talchum performer Park In-sun said. Gangnyeong Talchum is a type of Korean traditional mask play, performed around the Dano holiday, May 5 in the lunar calendar, falling on June 22 of the solar calendar this year. As its name signifies, Gangnyeong Talchum originates from Gangnyeong in Hwanghae Province, in the southwest of North

weekender June 3, 2023

A drunk driver was caught after he drove into a police station during his attempt to evade arrest. Incheon Police shared on Thursday a video showing a drunk driver in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, on March 25, saying they were investigating the driver in his 20s for breaching traffic rules and obstructing justice. The footage shows an SUV driving away from police in a business area after being ordered to stop by police investigating a report of suspected drunk driving. While police tried to block the fug

Social Affairs June 2, 2023

A rocket launch detected from North Korea early Wednesday may have failed and Seoul is analyzing the issue, the South Korean military said. According to reports the rocket disappeared from South Korean authorities' radar before reaching a point in the trajectory the North had earlier announced. Seoul's military is currently analyzing the data for all possibilities including the projectile exploding and possible debris.

North Korea May 31, 2023

North Korea fired a projectile at about 6:32 a.m., South Korea’s military said Wednesday. The projectile, which the North claims is a space launch vehicle, was launched in the southwesterly direction, setting off warnings across regions in the South, including Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol called an emergency National Security Council meeting. The North had earlier announced that a space launch vehicle carrying a military satellite will be launched between May 31 and June 11. At about 6:5

North Korea May 31, 2023

“Managing fire and time is the essence of my major,” said Choi Hyo-ryeong, who majors in metal craft at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage in Buyeo-gun, South Chungcheong Province. Choi demonstrated how she creates Korea’s traditional decorative metal works called "chilbo," an enameling technique similar to cloisonne, in which metal is coated with various powders and subjected to high temperatures of 600 degrees or above. Often worn as accessories, the

weekender May 20, 2023

  A firefighter rescued a woman as she was attempting to jump from a bridge in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. Kim Chan-soo with the Gimhae Seobu Fire Station pulled the woman to safety from Samrangjin Bridge as she was trying to jump after taking sleeping pills. Kim was driving over the bridge to go to work in another city and came across the woman sitting at the side of the bridge. She was taking pills and bleeding from her arms and legs. Kim approached the woman and found she

Social Affairs May 18, 2023

Twin brothers are under investigation, with one twin allegedly taking an employment exam for a public financial institution on behalf of the other in 2022. The Bank of Korea and Financial Supervisory Service on Wednesday reported the twin brothers to the police for cheating on their entrance exams, which took place simultaneously on Sept. 24, 2022. While the younger of the twins took the exam for the BOK, the elder twin took the exam for the FSS, which was taking place in another part of Seoul a

Social Affairs May 18, 2023

Luxury brand Gucci is facing a backlash over a loud party held late into the night after the brand's fashion show Tuesday at Seoul's Gyeongbokgung. Residents of the area near the party's venue in central Seoul claim that the party generated excessive noise and light pollution late into the night, and more than 50 complaints were filed with the police. Gucci held the party after the 2024 Cruise Collection Fashion Show at Seoul’s Joseon-era main palace, Gyeongbokgung. The afte

Social Affairs May 17, 2023

An off-duty police officer on Saturday saved a three-year-old child by performing CPR in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon Province. As he headed to work on Saturday at around 1 p.m., police officer Lee Do-Kyeong of Youngwol Police Station heard a woman crying in front of a store in Yeongwol-eup, the downtown area of Yeongwol-gun. The woman ran out of the store holding her unconscious son, and while the child's father attempted CPR, the father was trembling too much to be effective, according to news r

Social Affairs May 16, 2023

A snake was removed from an apartment complex in Mapo-gu, western Seoul on Monday, after a report from an elementary school student recognized it as a venomous species. The one-meter-long snake was spotted by a group of children, and one of them noticed that it had some features of the tiger keelback breed, based on his knowledge of reptiles, local media reports. Thanks to the child’s rapid report, the snake was caught by the emergency personnel. No injuries involving the snake were report

Social Affairs May 16, 2023

Google chose Korean and Japanese as the first service languages for its artificial intelligence-based chatbot, Bard, to expand its presence to compete with ChatGPT, which is backed by Google’s rival Microsoft. “They're incredibly dynamic and exciting regions, which are at the cutting edge of an opting technology,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Thursday, explaining the reason for launching Bard services in Korean and Japanese in advance of the 40 other most spoken langua

Social Affairs May 12, 2023

Eight people were apprehended for attempting to steal oil from a public pipeline by digging an underground tunnel, police said Tuesday. The police caught the suspects at the site of the tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province in March after being tipped off by the National Intelligence Service, Daejeon Provincial Police Agency said on Tuesday. The case was handed to the prosecution while the four suspects, including the 58-year-old leader, were detained. The suspects dug a 9-meter tunne

Social Affairs May 10, 2023

The police is investigating two men who reacted aggressively to a request to move to another place to smoke from a cafe’s terrace in Incheon. Incheon Seobu Police Station on Tuesday said that they received a report of two middle aged men pouring coffee and throwing a cup onto the sidewalk after being told by the cafe’s staff to move elsewhere on Saturday. The men are under fire after the footage of them -- initially uploaded by the owner of the cafe on a self-employed shopkeepers&rsq

Social Affairs May 9, 2023