According to the law (1): Translation hiccups for foreigners in court

From international marriages, political asylum to run-ins with the law, there are a myriad of legal problems that foreign nationals can get embroiled in. The Korea Herald takes a look at some of the cases involving legal disputes of foreigners in South Korea. The following is the first installment of a three-part series. -- Ed. The Act on Citizen Participation in Criminal Trials, introduced in 2008, states that anyone, regardless of nationality, has a right to receive a jury trial. It states

April 18, 2022

[Subway Stories] Thrift shops, hipsters and Chinese god of war at Dongmyo

  The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring the city’s subway stations and surrounding areas. -- Ed. 　 Dongmyo Station on Subway Lines No. 1 and 6 takes its name from a shrine for a Chinese god of war -- Guan Yu.  Most visitors, however, are indifferent to the pavilions that stand behind the shrine’s stoned wall, and do not seem to question why the Han Dynasty warrior, later deified as a god in China, is enshrined there.  Wha

April 11, 2022

YouTube’s top five Korean teachers for English-speaking viewers

Buoyed by the popularity of Korean cultural products, a Korean language learning frenzy is spreading around the world. Unlike in the past, when most Korean learners studied for practical reasons like for academic research or jobs, more people now seem to do so out of interest in the country itself. As of 2020, some 1,669 elementary, junior high and high schools in 39 countries have opened and operated Korean classes, with about 160,000 students enrolled, according to Education Ministry data. I

April 6, 2022

YouTube’s top five English teachers for Korean viewers

Long gone are the days when we had to sign up for early morning in-person English classes to learn from native speakers. YouTube, which has countless videos with a focus on English education, has emerged as the most useful tool for those who want to outgrow textbook-based language learning. Offering a wide range of subjects from scripts of US television series to video blogs of daily life in English-speaking countries, many channels target general learners who need a guide to English grammar

March 29, 2022

[Subway Stories] Daerim, a hub of Korean Chinese culture hoping to shake negative image

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring the city’s subway stations and surrounding areas. -- Ed.  An exotic scene created by the mixture of Korean and Chinese culture unfolds when walking out of Exit 12 at Daerim Station on subway lines No. 2 and 7 in southwestern Seoul. Large restaurants with colorful signs written in Chinese sell hot pot and lamb skewers, dishes that have become increasingly popular among Koreans in recent years. Small shops f

March 20, 2022

[Subway Stories] Samgakji becomes home to K-pop, K-beauty powerhouses

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories -- a newly launched Korea Herald series exploring subway stations and their surrounding areas across the city. – Ed.  Located in Yongsan in central Seoul, Samgakji Station sits one stop away from Noksapyeong Station, where people would ride past to go partying in Itaewon or head to dine out at restaurants in Gyeongnidan and Haebangchon. It is also within walking distance of Sinyongsan and Yongsan stations. Stuck between the more popular d

March 13, 2022

[Subway Stories] Seoul’s once-thriving red-light district fades into history

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a newly launched Korea Herald series exploring the subway stations and surrounding areas across the city. -- Ed.  Outside exit No. 5 of Seoul’s Cheongnyangni subway station is a giant construction site.  Dump trucks and heavy duty vehicles come and go, carrying building materials and occasionally making backup warning beeps. Pedestrians hasten their way through a walkway lined with safety fences to escape the intimidating sound

March 7, 2022

[Subway Stories] Apgujeong is making a comeback 　

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a newly launched Korea Herald series exploring the subway stations and surrounding areas across the city. – Ed.  For the past 40 years, Apgujeong, the Beverly Hills of Seoul, has seen the rise and fall of its commercial corridors that have been leading trends in high fashion, fine dining and even plastic surgery in the country. Changes in consumer behavior caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic is giving fresh impetus to the dist

March 3, 2022

[Subway Stories] Seoul Station, hub of mass transit and home of the homeless

Seoul Subway Stories is a newly launched Korea Herald series exploring the subway stations and surrounding areas across the city. The following is the first installment – Ed. Seoul Station has been a major transport hub in the country since its birth in 1900, its historical and practical significance making it a landmark of the city.  But for decades, the station authorities, the pedestrians, and the homeless have been locked in a three-way battle that was recently further smeared

Feb. 21, 2022

From study cafes to ride-sharing, Koreans seem to prefer same-sex environments. Why?

“Boys and girls shouldn’t sit together past the age of seven.” This old saying from the Confucianism-dominated Joseon era seems to hold true to an extent even in present-day Korea.  From study rooms to gosiwon, tiny housing cubicles available for rent, separating people by sex is widely accepted as a norm. Seoul’s latest move to allow taxi ride-sharing also attests to the popular guide of separating people by gender, making the service available only among same-sex

Feb. 18, 2022

What the Korean dictionary says about society

Korean men who grew up in the 1980s or 90s would likely remember the first time they were taken to the barber shop, a transformative moment of entering the realm of men instead of tagging along with their mothers to join other women at the hair salon. Hair salons are for women, and barber shops are for men. This was the mainstream view back then. But these places are no longer defined as such, and changing definitions in the Korean language reflect changes in society. The National Institute of

Feb. 12, 2022

How our ancestors asked, ‘Will you be my Valentine?’

Heart-shaped chocolate gifts, flower bouquets and cute stuffed toys are prominently displayed at brick-and-mortar retail stores and online shopping malls. Restaurants and hotels are decked out with romantic decorations, enticing couples with special promotions. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.  An apparent foreign import, the annual Feb. 14 festivity has now firmly taken root in Korea as one of the most romantic days on the calendar.   “Valentine’s

Feb. 10, 2022

‘All of Us Are Dead’ and the baffling versatility of ‘ssibal’

For Pramesti, a 23-year-old Indonesian, Korean films and TV dramas have been a useful source of learning how native Koreans speak. Then the latest Netflix hit, “All of Us Are Dead,” made her question her knowledge about some Korean curse words.  “I heard a lot of Korean swear words from the lead characters, especially ‘ssibal.’ ... Many also said the word ‘saekki,’ which I know to be an insult, but it didn’t really seem like a curse as it w

Feb. 9, 2022

Can the Korean language survive the invasion of English loanwords?

When a North Korean defector fled back to the North after jumping over the heavily fortified inter-Korean border fence in January, many headlines described the incident as a “jump defection.” Though a similar incident has occurred in the past, the use of the term became widespread in the media only this month, according to Google Trends. “Gaslighting,” loosely defined as the act of making someone question their reality by manipulating facts, also skyrocketed in usage ear

Feb. 1, 2022

How Koreans survived winter the old-fashioned way

The winters in Korea can be notoriously tough with temperatures sometimes falling to below minus 10 degrees Celsius. Seoul saw the coldest day in 35 years in January last year, with a low of minus 18.6 degrees Celsius. Some parts of the city such as Nowon-gu and Eunpyeong-gu registered lows of minus 21.7 and 22.6 degrees Celsius respectively, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Records also show that winter used to be longer on the Korean Peninsula. The average yearly temper

Jan. 8, 2022