High school students who have a history of school violence in high school will be barred from becoming elementary school teachers, as the government takes stronger action against school bullying. According to the college entrance plans for 2026 released by the government Monday, all 10 national universities of education have disqualified high school students with a history of violence from applying. The ban is a follow-up to the comprehensive measure for eradicating school violence announced b

Social Affairs May 6, 2024

"What do you do for a living?" Lim Eun-hye came to understand the power of this one simple line after losing the title of college student. Wanting to explore her true desires before settling into a mundane work life, she dabbled in various pursuits, including freelancing, traveling and social clubs. But she now bitterly admits that she was naive and out of touch with reality. "People didn't care who I was and what kind of values I was leading my life by,” Lim, 29, sai

Hashtag Korea May 6, 2024

In the 2020 Oscar-nominated film "Minari,” the eponymous Korean herb, which one of the characters explains “thrives where there is water,” symbolizes the resilience of the movie's Korean American immigrant family. While the film may have introduced minari to a wider audience, it fell short of exploring its varied uses in Korean cuisine, known for its light herbal taste, refreshing aroma and detoxifying properties. Native to East and Southeast Asia, this plant has th

Food May 5, 2024

Rubber band therapy Amidst the ever-evolving landscape of hi-tech skin gadgets, a new trend has captured the attention of South Koreans, with a promise of swift lifting and contouring effects. All that’s required is a simple pair of rubber bands. The secret? Hang the rubber bands around your ears for about 10 minutes. This therapy has earned public endorsements from celebrities like Seo In-guk, Myung Se-bin and Kim Ha-young, with a variety of related content available on YouTube and

Hashtag Korea April 27, 2024

A second public official from Gimpo City Hall was found to have died by suicide, police said Thursday. Police received an emergency call Thursday morning from a civil servant at Gimpo City Hall in Gyeonggi Province, who was unable to reach his colleague, a man in his 40s. He said he had received a text message from his colleague the previous evening saying, “I am sorry I couldn't finish my work first before going.” Within 30 minutes of the call, police found the man dead in hi

Social Affairs April 26, 2024

Yoon Jin-hee, 37, describes herself as a bubbly and funny personality, always cracking jokes first when around friends. But at work, she seldom reveals her witty side. "At work, only bosses make jokes. I've never seen a subordinate make a joke to their boss," said Yoon, who works for a government agency. “Male superiors mostly make ‘ajae’ jokes, which are hardly ever amusing,” she said. The term, based on “ajae,” a word for middle-aged men, is r

Hashtag Korea April 22, 2024

A court ruled in favor of a pharmacy that took legal action against a former employee who opened a competing business in the same building, on the grounds that such action goes against good morals and social order. A court in Ulsan said Sunday that the plaintiff applied for an injunction to prohibit the business operations of a new pharmacy, which was opened in the same building in January by its former part-time pharmacist. The plaintiff claimed that its former employee, after working there f

Social Affairs April 21, 2024

A member of the South Korean girl group Ichillin’ was briefly rendered unconscious after being struck by a foul ball while waiting for a performance during a pro baseball game in Seoul on Tuesday. The singer soon recovered consciousness, but her performance was canceled. “Chowon is currently in good health. There were no abnormalities found during a detailed (medical) examination, and she will undergo additional tests later today,'" her agency Kmet said in a statement

K-pop April 17, 2024

During a KBO game in Daegu on Sunday between the NC Dinos and Samsung Lions, the umpires were caught on a hot mic attempting to cover up a missed call of a strike as a ball. "You clearly heard a ball. You understand, right? This is the only way out for us," one umpire was overheard saying during a live TV broadcast during a conversation discussing an objection from the NC Dinos regarding a discrepancy between the robo umpire’s judgment and the human umpire’s call. After the

Baseball April 15, 2024

Foreigners are aging alongside locals in South Korea, a country with more senior citizens than young adults. According to Statistics Korea on Friday, the senior foreign resident population is expected to constitute more than 10 percent of the overall foreign demographic in 11 years. The number of seniors, aged 65 and older, among foreign residents is projected to rise from 95,000 in 2022 to 204,000 by 2030. This figure is expected to further increase to 301,000 in 2038 and 344,000 in 2042, mor

Social Affairs April 12, 2024

Members of the center-left Democratic Party of Korea's old guard, each of them with political careers spanning several decades, made a splendid comeback in Wednesday’s general election in South Korea. The victories of Park Jie-won, Choo Mi-ae and Chung Dong-young are expected to give more strength to the opposition camp, which delivered a crushing defeat to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his conservative People Power Party. Choo, who will be returning to the National Assembly for a sixth term

Politics April 11, 2024

With exit polls predicting a bigger than expected victory for the liberal opposition Democratic Party and its allies, approaching the critical two-thirds majority, on Wednesday evening, the mood among the main two parties stood in stark contrast to each other. "With a humble heart, we will observe the people's choice until the very end," said Lee Jae-myung, the party's chief, looking unfazed by the apparent victory. Yet, a festive mood could not be hidden, as party official

Politics April 10, 2024

As South Koreans vote Wednesday to elect all 300 members of the National Assembly, there are some crucial questions and pivotal issues to keep an eye on. Here, The Korea Herald highlights three focal points before the results come in. 1. How big will the liberal presence be? The election's likely victor appears clear: the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The question is, how big will their win be? The liberal party held onto an absolute majority position in the previous parlia

Politics April 10, 2024

In elections, the big shot politicians don’t always get to clinch easy wins. In the April 10 general election, five prominent figures of South Korean party politics are vying for parliamentary seats via constituency races. The outcomes of these contests are poised to have a significant potential impact on their future paths. A defeat, in particular, could cast their political futures into doubt. How will they fare? Below is an overview of the five races. Lee Jun-seok Lee Jun-seok, who,

Politics April 9, 2024

Herald Corp. has set out to promote globalizing and spreading the value of the Korean language in partnership with the National Hangeul Museum. Herald Corp. CEO Choi Jin-young signed a business agreement with Kim Il-hwan, the director of the National Hangeul Museum, to spread the culture of the Korean language at the media firm’s headquarters in Seoul on March 28. Under the agreement, the two organizations have agreed to collaborate in nurturing cultural projects based on Hangeul. Specif

Social Affairs April 1, 2024