Articles by Choi Jae-hee
Choi Jae-hee
cjh@heraldcorp.com-
Black Hawk Village, an American town in the middle of Seoul
On a recent Tuesday morning, a sense of calm pervaded Black Hawk Village, a remnant of the Yongsan Garrison, the old headquarters of the US Forces Korea. Once home to American soldiers and their families, the village of 18 buildings is a relic from a time when the foreign military had its headquarters right in the heart of Seoul. For Hwang, a bride-to-be in her 20s, however, it is the perfect backdrop for her pre-wedding photo shoot. “The hues of the brownish-red buildings, green lawns and
Travel April 11, 2023
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[Hello Hangeul] A case study: The Solomon Islands project 10 years ago
Javin Rukia, a 49-year-old English teacher at a middle school in the Solomon Islands, used to teach Hangeul, the writing system for the Korean language, about a decade ago. It was when two provinces in the island country -- Guadalcanal and Malaita -- chose Hangeul as their official alphabet for transcribing their indigenous languages which had been passed down orally but did not have a writing system. The southwestern Pacific archipelago, made up of 992 islands, is one of the most linguistically
Hello Hangeul April 9, 2023
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[Weekender] Instant photos make comeback
In Seoul’s Yeonnam-dong, a trendy neighborhood for young hipsters, a particular trend has taken over an entire street: instant self-photo studios popping up almost next to each other. “Nine new self-photo studios have opened within just a few months in this area,” shared a person surnamed Hong who runs another such studio near Hongik University Station. It was a Tuesday afternoon and the freestanding photo studios inside stores like “Life Four Cuts” or “Haru F
Hashtag Korea April 8, 2023
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Why school bullying hits a raw nerve
In South Korea today, school bullies are public enemy No. 1. On TV screens nationwide, viewers are enthralled by the meticulously plotted revenge of a high school bullying victim. In real-life politics, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s initial pick for the head of the National Office of Investigation, former senior prosecutor Chung Sun-sin, has been under scrutiny for weeks following revelations his son verbally abused a classmate years ago. It has been some time already since the TV and sports i
Social Affairs April 4, 2023
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Treasure's Yoon Jae-hyuk sustains minor burns during Bangkok concert
Yoon Jae-hyuk, a member of the K-pop boy band Treasure, suffered burns to his hand while performing on stage in Bangkok, according to local news reports on Monday. The incident occurred during the act’s concert, held on April 2 at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in the Thai capital city, with over 10,000 fans in attendance. According to footage and pictures circulating on YouTube and social media, in the middle of the band’s performance, stage equipment near Yoon suddenly
Social Affairs April 3, 2023
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Colder winter produced stomach-churning cherry tomatoes
Following an increasing number of reports of vomiting and stomach pain after consuming cherry tomatoes, local health and agriculture authorities on Thursday pointed to a substance in tomatoes called ‘tomatine’ as the main cause of the gastric distress. Naturally produced as the tomato plants grow, tomatine normally decomposes when tomatoes begin to ripen. The substance is a chemical that allows the plants to resist negative changes in the environment, such as attacks by insects or
Social Affairs March 31, 2023
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Extended detention of foreign nationals subject to deportation is unconstitutional: top court
Keeping foreign nationals subject to deportation in detention centers for long periods of time is incompatible with the Constitution, South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled Thursday. The clauses of the current Immigration Control Law that allow the authorities to prolong physical custody of foreign nationals slated for deportation until their departure must be amended to eliminate their unconstitutional elements, the court said in a 6-to-3 majority decision. "The statutes that impos
Social Affairs March 24, 2023
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[Korean History] When Koreans lost a first lady
"History through The Korea Herald” revisits significant events and issues over seven decades through articles, photos and editorial pieces published in the Herald and retell them from a contemporary perspective. – Ed. Aug. 15 is a national holiday marking Korea’s liberation from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule in 1945. But the historic day for South Koreans turned into a nightmare 48 years ago in 1974, when then-first lady Yuk Young-soo was killed by a bullet meant fo
Hashtag Korea March 22, 2023
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Nabbed slingshot vandal ‘was just curious’ how far it could shoot
A suspected slingshot vandal behind the smashed windows of three homes in a high-rise apartment complex in Incheon’s Songdo district has been apprehended. The suspect, a 60-something-old man living in the same apartment complex, said he “just wanted to see” how far his slingshots could shoot. According to the Incheon Yeonsu Police Station on Sunday, multiple slingshots and iron balls, all with a radius of 8 millimeters, were found at the suspect’s home where he appears to
Social Affairs March 19, 2023
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Korea's luxury fever nurtures label-loving kids
In Netflix's hit drama “The Glory,” the mother-in-law of the main villain, Yeon-jin who led the bullying against protagonist Dong-eun in high school, dressed her newborn granddaughter in a red Gucci onesie. Even though the baby would grow out of the clothes in a matter of weeks, she swaddled her grandkid with luxury clothes, saying, “You need to stand at a different starting line to get ahead of others.” While not to the extreme of the fictional character, the same b
Hashtag Korea March 19, 2023
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[Subway Stories] Take subway to Eden, pockets of nature in Seoul
Seoul, Korea’s bustling capital full of gridlocked streets and mile-high concrete buildings, is in fact the perfect city to bask in nature without having to travel very far. Covered with 6,685 hectares of forests, the heart of Korea boasts various urban parks surrounded by forests with sprawling trees and colorful flowers, most of which can be reached by subway. The following are some of the forest parks popular among Seoulites who crave a detox from the city. Seoul Forest A five-minute wa
Hashtag Korea March 13, 2023
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[Newsmaker] [Hello Hangeul] Korean adoptees discover lost identities through language
The following series is part of The Korea Herald’s “Hello Hangeul” project, which consists of interviews, in-depth analyses, videos and various other forms of content that shed light on the stories of people who are learning the Korean language, as well as the correlation between Korea’s soft power and the rise of its language within the league of world languages. -- Ed. When John Tae-shik Ha, a Korean adoptee to Sweden, first learned his Korean name some three decades ag
Hello Hangeul March 12, 2023
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Pig farm owner arrested for disposing of Thai worker's dead body
A pig farm owner in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, has been arrested on the suspicion of disposing of the dead body of a Thai farm worker earlier this month, according to local police Wednesday. According to the Pocheon Police Station, the farm owner is alleged to have buried the body of the 60-something Thai man on a nearby hill on March 2 at around 8:00 a.m. The deceased had lived and worked at the farm for nearly a decade and a post-mortem autopsy suggests he likely died of underlying health pro
Social Affairs March 8, 2023
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[Newsmaker] [My Hangeul Story] Sujan Shakya’s journey from Korean beginner to TV personality, author
Sujan Shakya is most likely the first and only Nepalese national who has authored a Korean-language bestseller in Korea. Born and raised in Nepal, he arrived in Seoul for his first study abroad experience in 2010, with very little knowledge of the local language. He was studying Korean as a beginner at Dankook University that year. Twelve years later, in 2022, his book, “Utmost and Personal Nepal,” about his native country, co-authored with Hong Sung-kwang, landed among the top 20 be
Hello Hangeul March 5, 2023
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Neighbor suspected of killing mother and daughter with 'doraji' tea
A woman accused of killing a mother and daughter living next door in Busan last year had allegedly poisoned the neighbor’s 15-year-old son before the murder, according to the boy’s testimony at court. During the first hearing of the double murder case held at Busan District Court on Monday, the sole survivor of the family took the witness stand to recount the Sept. 12 visit by the neighbor, who brought with her a bottle of light purple liquid which she said was a tea made with balloo
Social Affairs March 2, 2023
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