Approximately 4.5 percent of the youth population in Seoul have been cut off from society, a recent report by the metropolitan government said Wednesday, with many of them citing difficulties in finding jobs and personal relationships as the main culprit. The report by the Seoul Metropolitan Government surveyed 5,513 people aged between 19 and 39 living in the city, and found that 4.5 percent of them could be defined as “isolated” or “reclusive.” City officials defined &l

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2023

In the Seongnam land development scandal, which has inflicted South Korea’s main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, involvment now appears to include the media with a CEO, managing editor and senior reporters across multiple news outlets. The latest to lose their job over suspected ties to Kim Man-bae, the key suspect in the high-profile land development scandal, was a reporter at Hankook Ilbo. According to the newspaper’s announcement on Friday, the senior reporter borrowed 100 millio

Social Affairs Jan. 13, 2023

Left-leaning journalist Kim Ou-joon, who has been a magnet of controversy for his brash words, is making top earnings as a YouTuber off its super chat donation system, the platform's website showed Thursday. According to Playboard, which shows various statistics related to YouTube, Kim's newly launched channel gyeomsonisnothing logged 31.8 million won ($25,533) in earnings. It topped the daily chart every day from Monday to Thursday. On Monday, when the first video was uploaded, it gar

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2023

“History through The Korea Herald” revisits significant events and issues over the seven decades through articles, photos and editorial pieces published in the Herald and retell them from a contemporary perspective. – Ed. “Re-unification of Korea is goal, Rhee,” says the front page of The Korea Herald, then called The Korean Republic, in its founding edition on Aug. 15, 1953. To today’s Koreans, this message from the late inaugural President Syngman Rhee may

Hashtag Korea Jan. 11, 2023

"사망자가 고위 관계자의 가족이 있었다면 이렇게 조용했을까요? 아닐 거에요." 지난 12월 29일 과천시 갈현동 제2경인고속도로 갈현고가교 방음터널에서 발생한 화재로 아버지를 잃은 A(38) 씨는 사고 경위에 대해 관련 당국자들이 책임 회피만 하고 있다며 울분을 토했다. 사고로 목숨을 잃은 66세 전모씨의 유족들은 지난 4일 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 민자도로 운영사인 제2경인고속도로 주식회사로부터도, 관리감독 책임을 가진 국토교통부로부터도 조사 진행 상황에 대한 뚜렷한 설명을 듣지 못했다고 전했다. 사고가 난 지 일주일이 지났지만 이들은 오히려 "조사 방향이 어떻게 되는 것이냐?"고 기자에게 물으며 답답함을 표했다. 피해자 전씨의 둘째 딸인 A씨는 "먼저 유가족에게 사과는 해야 하는 부분인데, 조사만 한다고 하지 유가족에 대한 배려는 하나도 없다"라고 하면서 "물론 그 (정부) 사람들이 백프로 잘못한 것은 아니지만 어

한국어판 Jan. 6, 2023

On Dec. 29, the life of 66-year-old Jeon ended abruptly by a fire that broke out inside a soundproof tunnel on a highway. He was one of the five who died in the deadly flame in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, which left 41 others injured and 45 cars destroyed. In his last phone call alive, Jeon told wife it was chaos in the tunnel and that he couldn’t move the car nor open the car door. “There was an explosion in the tunnel. It’s filled with smoke and it’s all dark. &hellip

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2023

The South Korean national health insurance operator's list of heavy defaulters – those whose overdue premiums payments exceed 10 million won ($7,833) – includes self-styled “rich” rapper Dok2. He has failed to pay 16.6 million won from 2018 to 2019, it showed. The revelation came just a month after the National Tax Service made public the same rapper’s overdue balance of 320 million won in taxes. When this was disclosed, Dok2 posted promotional images of his

Culture Jan. 3, 2023

Before there was The Korea Herald, there was The Korean Republic. On Aug. 15, 1953, a four-page tabloid began publication with a mission of telling the world South Korean stories from South Koreans’ perspective. For a small, impoverished nation that was just setting out to rebuild the ruins of the war, the world was a hostile place, where superpowers -- the US and the now-defunct Soviet Union -- dominated the global agenda and the voices of smaller countries were too often muffled even w

Hashtag Korea Jan. 2, 2023

On Oct. 1, 44-year-old Cho Han-ah and her husband were enjoying the afternoon out. The unseasonably warm weather invited the couple on a walk across the 1.5-kilometer-long Wonhyo Bridge over Han River in Seoul, where they ran across a young woman about to jump into the waters below. “No!” Cho shouted, as she grabbed the woman who already had a leg up on the railing of the bridge. The woman fell over her feet and landed on the bridge floor. The woman attempting to jump was a 19-year-o

Social Affairs Dec. 31, 2022

Pele, the Brazilian soccer legend who died of cancer Wednesday at age 82, is widely regarded as one of the best players in sports history. His numerous accolades include being the only player to win three World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and being the most prolific goal-scorer in Brazil’s history by netting 77 goals, a record he shares with Neymar. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee elected Pele the Athlete of the Century, while he was also selected as FIFA Player of the Centur

Soccer Dec. 30, 2022

Breakdancing will be included in after-school classes provided by elementary and middle schools in Seoul starting next year, the city’s education authorities said Wednesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and the Korea Breaking Federation -- the administrative body of breakdancing events and competitions in South Korea -- are slated to sign an agreement on creating breakdance classes tailored to students. The KBF will organize education courses and teaching materials while fost

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2022

The New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak will be back this Saturday as an offline event for the first time since 2019. Coronavirus restrictions had forced the ceremony to be held exclusively online for the past two years. Just as Americans gather to see the ball drop at New York City's Times Square at midnight, South Koreans flock to the Jongno-gu area to see the old bronze Bosingak bell being rung 33 times, a time-honored tradition with religious roots that signifies “c

Hashtag Korea Dec. 27, 2022

St. Nick's world-famous sled, led by Rudolph, has dashed across most of the world and is currently covering the Americas on a daring 24-hour marathon to deliver gifts to children across the world. At least that's what the official NORAD Santa Tracking website, run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, says. The military agency responsible for monitor and defense of the skies above North America has continued the tradition of providing real-time tracking system for Santa Clau

Culture Dec. 25, 2022

A 20-year-old Vietnamese woman is under police investigation for allegedly abandoning her newborn child in subzero weather in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Officials at the Jeonju Deokjin Police Station said Wednesday that they are planning to file for a warrant to detain the suspect for violating the Child Welfare Act. Anyone who abandons a child under his or her protection and supervision can be punished with up to two years in prison or 3 million won ($2,349) in fines. The suspect is accused

Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2022

A man who was seen inflicting unwanted physical contact on his 7-year-old stepdaughter on a recently-aired TV show is under investigation for sexual harassment, local police said late Wednesday. According to the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency, officials have commenced the pre-arrest investigation on the person after being notified of the allegation. “Details of the case will not be revealed due to fear of secondary damage on the victim. (Officials) will summon the related individuals whe

Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2022