Wartime sexual slavery victims file for Japanese govt. asset disclosure

Victims of Japan's wartime military sexual slavery and their bereaved families filed a legal request with the court on Friday to verify the details of assets owned by the Japanese government in South Korea, in a bid to secure compensation following their civil lawsuit victory last November. Justice for the Comfort Women, a Seoul-based civic group advocating for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, announced that the victims and their families had submitted the request unde

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Over 1 million train fare evasions since 2019: data

An annual average of 190,926 cases of fare evasions at major train services like KTX occurred here between 2019 and July of this year, data from state-run railway operators showed Friday. Over the last five years, officials caught an average of 4.12 billion won ($3 million) worth of illegal train rides a year, according to Korail data submitted to Rep. Yoon Jong-kun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The railway operator currently runs the high-speed KTX trains as well as the Sa

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

'Trust me and jump': Police catches child escaping burning factory

A police officer managed to catch an elementary school student who had to jump out of a second-floor window of a burning building, local police said Friday. According to the Pyeongtaek Police Station, a fire broke out on the third floor of a factory building in Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province at 3:58 p.m on Thursday. Police officers evacuated the area but belatedly found the young boy crying for help, stranded on the second floor of the building. Unable to enter the building already i

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

9 out of 10 Seoul five-star hotels use ‘drip pricing’ in promotion

Most of the five-star hotels in Seoul are omitting mandatory additional fees from the room charges displayed on their homepages, the Seoul city government said Friday. Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted a survey of 27 hotels rated five stars by the Tourism Promotion Act and found that only three of them show room charges complete with taxes and additional fees to customers. The rest use "drip pricing," a technique where only a part of an item is advertised and the final amount is

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Park Bo-young, Ahn Jae-hong to host Busan film fest opening ceremony

Actors Park Bo-young and Ahn Jae-hong have been announced as the hosts of the opening ceremony of the 29th Busan International Film Festival, which kicks off Oct. 2. The 29th BIFF’s opening ceremony takes place at the Busan Cinema Center BIFF Theater at 7 p.m., Oct. 2. Park, 34, made her acting debut with drama series “Secret Campus” (2006) and rose to prominence as a leading rookie in Korean cinema after hit family comedy “Scandal Makers” (2008). In 2015, her film

FilmSept. 6, 2024

Park Chan-wook-produced Netflix period flick ‘Uprising’ to be released Oct. 11

Netflix original Korean period film “Uprising” will be released Oct. 11, the global streaming platform confirmed Friday. “Uprising,” directed by Kim Sang-man (“Midnight FM”), gained attention as award-winning director Park Chan-wook’s first-ever project with Netflix. Park has participated as a co-screenwriter and producer. “I’ve been writing the screenplay (for this project) for a long time and completed it in 2019. Because it’s a perio

FilmSept. 6, 2024

Korea to certify safety of EV battery from October

The South Korean government said Friday it will certify the safety of electric vehicle batteries beginning October, four months ahead of the initial plan, as it rolled out various measures to prevent EV fires. According to the government’s EV fire safety management measures, both domestic and imported auto brands will be subject to the authorities’ EV battery certification requirement. The government will disclose the information of the battery cell manufacturer, battery type and key

MobilitySept. 6, 2024

Two Korean women arrested for stealing tourist's bag in Turkey

Two South Korean women were released after being detained by Turkish authorities for allegedly stealing a bag containing around $17,000 in cash from another tourist, according to news reports on Thursday. Turkey’s Demiroren News Agency and other media outlets reported that the two women were arrested by police on suspicion of theft and released after questioning on Aug. 28. The two women, who were traveling in the country, were accused of stealing a bag belonging to an Albanian tourist on

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Yoon approves appointment of new defense minister

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the appointment of Kim Yong-hyun, former head of the Presidential Security Service, as defense minister and presented a certificate of appointment on Friday, his office said. Kim, a retired three-star Army general and close aide to Yoon, was nominated to the post last month to replace then minister Shin Won-sik, who has since served as national security adviser. Following Yoon's election in May 2022, Kim led efforts to relocate the presidential office from C

PoliticsSept. 6, 2024

Military deploying anti-drone system to counter N. Korean drone threats

The defense ministry said Friday the military has been deploying an integrated anti-drone system in multiple locations across the country to counter threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles from North Korea. The move comes as South Korea has pushed to bolster its drone response capabilities after five North Korean drones crossed the border in December 2022, with one of them entering Seoul. The military failed to intercept any of them, raising questions over its readiness. "The anti-drone i

DefenseSept. 6, 2024

Japanese PM Kishida due in S. Korea for last summit with Yoon

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to visit South Korea on Friday for talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol as Kishida is preparing to leave office with a legacy of improving long-frayed relations with Seoul. Yoon and Kishida are scheduled to hold summit talks later Friday, their 12th summit in just about two years. It will also be their last summit as Kishida has given up on reelection as prime minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after three years on the job. Durin

Foreign AffairsSept. 6, 2024

[김대균의 영어산책] 최신 한국 일본 토익 기출 단어 정리 (1)

토익 단어를 모아 나가는 과정을 계속하고 있다. 한국과 일본은 토익 응시 회수가 다르다. 24년 기준 최근 8월 25토익이 일본은 362회차인데 한국은 523회차이다. 토익을 처음 만드는데 일본이 미국 ETS에 투자하여 시작했지만 응시 횟수는 한국이 많다. 이 중에 500회를 보고 있는 필자 응시 기록이 정기 토익 시험 세계 최다 응시 기록이다. 한 회에 새로 보이는 단어가 5~10개인데 일본 도쿄대 대학원에 다니는 한국인 학생 Jax[영어이름]님과 필자의 일본 친구들의 도움으로 단어를 더 모을 수 있었다. 그것을 정리하여 제공한다. promptly - (ad.) 신속하게, 즉시 (Without delay; at once) ★★★★ (ex) She promptly replied to the email, resolving the issue quickly. (그녀는 이메일에 신속하게 답변하여 문제를 빠르게 해결했다.) transferable - (a.) 양도할 수 있는,

English EyeSept. 6, 2024

Seoul shares open lower ahead of US jobs data

South Korean shares opened slightly lower Friday ahead of the US jobs report that may serve as another indicator of a possibly looming recession. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 7.63 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,567.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index has been on a steady decline since Tuesday, when the United States reported a worse-than-expected manufacturing purchasing managers index. The US is set to release its latest jobs data Friday. In Seoul, large caps

MarketSept. 6, 2024

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 3rd month in July

South Korea racked up a current account surplus for the third consecutive month in July, driven by robust exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $9.13 billion in July, marking a surplus for the third consecutive month, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The July surplus was smaller than the previous month's $12.56 billion, the largest since September 2017. The country's goods account racked up an $8.49 billion surplus in July followi

EconomySept. 6, 2024

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

DoubleTree by Hilton Seoul Pangyo offers Teenieping-themed package DoubleTree by Hilton Seoul Pangyo, located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is collaborating with hit animation “Catch! Teenieping.” The “Teenieping Adventure” package offers a one-night stay with breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Demeter, for three guests, an animation character-themed suitcase with a name tag, tickets to the nearby “Catch! Teenieping” theme park and access to the hotel swimmi

TravelSept. 6, 2024

[Well-curated] Create custom cases, attend an art salon and play 'the floor is lava'

Customize smartphone cases at Casetify Buying new accessories for and decorating your smartphone might be some of the easiest ways to refresh your look nowadays. Though there are many unmanned stores and pop-up shops featuring smartphone-themed merchandise, pay a visit to Casetify to customize your phone covers with the inspiration-filled designs. Located at the second basement floor of The Hyundai Seoul -- the biggest department store in Yeongdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, Casetify displays a wide

CultureSept. 6, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Lim Young Woong: Im Hero the Stadium” (South Korea) Opened Aug. 28 Documentary Directed by Jung Hyun-cheol, Jo Woo-young South Korean hit trot singer Lim Young-woong's two concerts in May that attracted a combined 100,000 people at Seoul World Cup Stadium come to the big screen. “Alien: Romulus” (US) Opened Aug. 14 Horror/Sci-fi Directed by Fede Alvarez Set in 2142, a group of young space colonizers go on an adventure and land in a derelict space station, only t

FilmSept. 6, 2024

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Design & Art at DDP Through Sept. 8, artists will adorn Dongdaemun Design Plaza with their works, lighting up the Seoul landmark during the annual DDP Design & Art festival. Artists whose works will be on display include Kim Whan-ki, a pioneer of abstract art in Korea, and Felice Varini, a Paris-based Swiss visual artist who paints in urban spaces. The UK-based art and design collective Studio Vertigo will exhibit a giant heart-shaped installation made with more than 11,000 mirrored

TravelSept. 6, 2024

[Robert Fouser] Learning Korean and Chinese characters

Learning Korean continues to grow in popularity around the world, but the speed of growth may be slowing as the popularity of K-pop has plateaued. Universities in many countries have seen a decline in second language learning as part of a broader shift away from the humanities. Over time, this could result in a weakening of important institutional support for Korean classes. According to the “2023 Duolingo Language Report,” an annual report produced by the popular language learning p

ViewpointsSept. 6, 2024