Articles by Park Jun-hee
Park Jun-hee
junheee@heraldcorp.com-
Seoraksan cools below freezing as autumn takes hold
South Korea woke up to the coldest autumn morning this year so far on Thursday due to cold air moving in from the north, with some areas seeing the mercury drop below zero, the national weather agency said. The morning low in Seoul came to 10.2 degrees Celsius, down four degrees from the previous day’s 14.2 C, while the figure for Incheon, just 27 kilometers west of Seoul, plunged to 12.4 C as of Thursday at 8 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The rapid temperatur
Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2023
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Star lecturers, hagwon probed over buying Suneung questions
Some of South Korea’s biggest private education academies and star lecturers are under police investigation for allegedly purchasing state-administered college entrance exam, or Suneung, questions from teachers who participated in making them. The list of those being investigated includes the so-called big three hagwon, or private education institution firms -- Megastudy, Sidae Injae and Daesung Hagwon -- as well as Hyun Woo-jin, a star math instructor at Megastudy, according to local repo
Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2023
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[Out of the Shadows] Tell the truth: Advanced drug education needed to curb teen exposure, experts say
Drug prevention education has long been thought of as a criminal issue in South Korea, but an increase in teenage drug offenders has led to wider calls for enhanced drug education. As concerns grow over adolescents’ shallow awareness of drugs due to a lack of education, politicians on both sides of the aisle are also demanding more thorough drug abuse prevention. In November last year, Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the ruling People Power Party proposed a bill that would make drug prevention program
Social Affairs Oct. 2, 2023
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Walking can help ease depression, suicidal impulse: study
Regular walking can reduce and prevent symptoms of depression in middle-aged people, a study showed Wednesday. According to the latest edition of the Frontiers in Psychiatry, which publishes peer-reviewed research on psychiatry, a collaborative research team of Yonsei University’s College of Medicine, the Department of Psychiatry at Ajou University and Soon Chun Hyang University Bucheon Hospital found that middle-aged people who engaged in walking every week felt better emotionally and wer
Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2023
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New teachers’ manual bans recording devices in classrooms
Parents have been banned from using recording devices or other means to record lessons without the teacher’s permission, according to a new teachers’ manual distributed by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday. The move aims to prevent parents from installing sound recording apps on their child’s phone to eavesdrop on classrooms, as some parents have reportedly confronted and verbally attacked teachers in the past based on such audio recordings, according to the ministry. Unde
Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2023
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Military out to stern rise in drug use
Drug-related crimes have increased in South Korea’s military according to data that shows a consistent rise in the number of cases inside the barracks in recent years. According to a local news report on Friday, a sergeant first class in the Army was caught purchasing birth control pills containing methamphetamine in March 2019 but was handed a suspended prosecution disposition from the military prosecutor’s office. In April, six soldiers stationed in a division in Yeoncheon, Gyeongg
Defense Sept. 25, 2023
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[Hello Hangeul] The making of Korean language textbooks featuring BTS
In response to the growing international demand for learning the Korean language, the South Korean Education Ministry took a proactive step in 2021 by creating a government-managed Korean language education curriculum. Prior to the central government's involvement, the selection and distribution of language courses and textbooks were primarily handled by local Korean language education centers. This led to concerns about the lack of structured content that could cater to the diverse languag
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2023
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Ministry uncovers 1,802 Youth Protection Act violations
More than 1,800 breaches of the country’s Youth Protection Act were found during a nationwide government inspection of downtown areas to examine whether operations met requirements. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Friday it had detected 1,802 violations of the act, and that it had asked the local governments responsible to investigate 65 of those cases and issued corrective orders for the rest. The inspection was conducted from July 17 until Aug. 18 at places such as beache
Social Affairs Sept. 22, 2023
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iPad or Galaxy Tab? 7th graders take their pick for digital classroom
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Wednesday that it has distributed some 70,530 electronic devices for 7th-grade students across middle schools in Seoul to help prepare students for the AI digital textbooks that will go into use starting in 2025. The devices will also provide diverse learning resources and interactive education content for students. The Education Office will also install charging stations at each school to keep students’ devices powered up and ready for use,
Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2023
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What drove Korea's once-revered teachers to despair?
For Kim, a retired teacher in her late 60s, teaching was one of the greatest gifts of her life. Recalling students’ laughter and small parties in classrooms celebrating Teachers’ Day every year, she was a teacher who was revered and appreciated by both students and parents. However, when Kim visited a memorial altar for a Seoul elementary school teacher who took her own life on Sept. 4, she lamented at how different schools have become and how the teaching profession -- widely revere
Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2023
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Another arrest warrant sought for Actor Yoo Ah-in over alleged drug use
Prosecutors filed a request for an arrest warrant on Monday for actor Yoo Ah-in on charges of illegal drug use, four months after the court rejected the police’s request an initial warrant against him. The department investigating violent crimes under the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it has requested the court issue an arrest warrant for the 37-year-old actor. Yoo, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sick, is suspected of breaching the country’s Narcotics Control Act
Social Affairs Sept. 18, 2023
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Caffeinated drinks spark buzz on teens’ overuse
Concerns are growing over the excessive consumption of caffeine among adolescents, according to a report on Sunday, citing a teen health study. According to last year’s “Youth Health Behavior Survey” conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on some 60,000 middle and high school students in 800 schools nationwide, 22.3 percent of the respondents answered “yes” when asked if they drink high-caffeine beverages more than three times a week. Some 26 p
Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2023
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Private education fees for preschoolers, kindergarteners up 38%: study
Private education spending among households with preschoolers or kindergarteners has increased by 38 percent in the last five years, a report showed Sunday. According to a report published by Kim Hye-ja, a researcher at the Korean Educational Development Institute, on the relationship between social awareness and educational expenses, the average spending on private education for preschoolers and kindergarteners jumped from 162,000 won ($121.71) in 2018 to 224,000 won in 2022, up 38.3 percent th
Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2023
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Seoul to subway maps to get revamp for foreigners, visually impaired
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that it would update its subway map design to give riders a more comprehensive overview of the system. The city government claimed that foreigners in Korea often find the current map challenging to use and understand. The new subway map design will use a new layout that the city says will help riders understand multiple routes and transfer stations. The colors and patterns differentiating routes will also be upgraded, allowing travelers to navigat
Social Affairs Sept. 13, 2023
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Entry-level teachers’ wages below OECD average
South Korean entry-level public school teachers earn less money than their counterparts in most member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Education Ministry said Tuesday. According to the latest edition of the OECD report “Education at a Glance,” released and analyzed by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute, the average gross salary of entry-level teachers was $33,615 for elementary teachers and $33,67
Social Affairs Sept. 12, 2023
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