Ex-president’s grandson apparently does drugs on YouTube livestream

Grandson of the late former President Chun Doo-hwan, Chun Woo-won, who recently made headlines for publicly accusing his family of various felonies, broadcast himself taking what appeared to be drugs early Friday. The 27-year-old started streaming himself on YouTube around 5:40 a.m., Korean time, at his New York home and apologized for what he said were his family’s crimes, with a vow to donate half of his assets to society. He also showed himself donating $52,265 to UNICEF. After reiterat

March 17, 2023

New 'maid cafe' stirs up debate

A new Japanese-style "maid cafe" opened in Seoul on Wednesday, sparking controversy, with some raising concerns that the cafe's costumes and theme of female servers being dressed as anime-style "maids" could be degrading and commercializing sex. Located in Mapo-gu, the so-called "maid cafe" welcomes customers with overly accommodating waitresses dressed in ruffled miniskirts and fishnet stockings. A total of 28 workers or "maids" serve food and drinks whil

March 16, 2023

[Newsmaker] Ex-president Chun Doo-hwan's grandson slams his family

A grandson of the late former President Chun Doo-hwan alleged that his family was living on illicit funds, has committed crimes and called his grandfather a “slaughterer,” in a shocking Instagram disclosure Tuesday. Chun Woo-won, the second son of the ex-president’s son, Jae-yong, uploaded video clips and posts on his Instagram account, in which he introduced himself as such and confessed the purported wrongdoings of his family. The posts included photos of his family, the in

March 15, 2023

[Newsmaker] [What should I call you?] Will 'nim' do?

Honorific titles can be tricky in many cultures, but can be particularly baffling in South Korea -- where various factors like social status, age, work experience and even social prejudice can be factored in. This series delves into the myriad of ways people address each other in the Korean language. -- Ed. President Yoon Suk Yeol scrapped Korea’s traditional way of counting age, in which a person is considered one at birth, and grows a year older on the first day of the new year. The re

March 14, 2023

[Newsmaker] Hankook Tire halts fire-hit Daejeon plant

Hankook Tire and Technology has stopped production altogether at its Daejeon plant after a fire burned some of the factory buildings and left severe damage, the South Korean tire manufacturer said Monday. Although buildings in one of the two factory complexes were not damaged by the fire, a Hankook Tire official explained that the company is shutting down its operation for the day as part of safety measures. "We don't know when the plant will resume operation at the moment," the o

March 13, 2023

[Newsmaker] Korean parents turn to foreign schools as alternative to 'Daechi hell'

Like many parents, the ultimate goal that Cho Mi-jin, a 47-year-old mother in Seoul, has in mind is for her children to enter a prestigious university. But she does not want her children to endure the intense competition and grueling years they would have to go through in public schools and private cram schools -- locally known as hagwon -- for that one common goal: admission to top universities through a high score on the Suneung, Korea's college entrance test. Instead, she has come up with her

March 13, 2023

[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

March 12, 2023

[Newsmaker] Over half of Netflix users in Korea will drop service if account sharing is banned: survey

As global streaming service Netflix began a crackdown on account sharing in other countries, many Korean Netflix users said they would leave the service if the ban were enforced in Korea according to a survey. In February, a new plan charging additional fees for sub-accounts rolled out in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The plan, which makes users set a "primary location" to match their account activity, is expected to be introduced in more countries in the coming months, incl

March 10, 2023

[Newsmaker] BTS' Suga marks birthday with donations for Turkey, Syria

Suga of BTS donated 100 million won ($75,700) to support relief efforts in Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the major earthquakes there. Global NGO Save the Children on Thursday said Suga delivered the 100 million won fund to the organization to help the children who have been affected by the disaster. The producer-rapper of BTS turned 30 on Thursday. The organization added that Suga's donation will be used to buy blankets, mattresses, stationery and other relief supplies and deliver th

March 9, 2023

[Newsmaker] [From the Scene] From meat to companion: 200 pups freed from dog farm in Asan

ASAN, South Chungcheong Province – A serene countryside village in Asan, located in central South Chungcheong Province, was filled with hysterical barking and sometimes whining as rescuers entered a dog meat farm on Wednesday. With fear and anxiety in their eyes, the dogs on the farm -- most of whom had never experienced meaningful interactions with humans -- seemed confused. Rescuers carefully went into narrow, dirty cages and moved the dogs into mobile kennels one by one. "It's

March 8, 2023

[Newsmaker] Women make up just 24% of workforce at major companies

Only 1 out of 4 employees working at major Korean companies were women, with their average yearly income some 30 percent less than that of the men at the companies, according to a report from market tracker Korea CXO Institute. Korea CXO Institute analyzed the 15 South Korean companies with the highest sales across 10 different sectors, in a bid to gain insight into the gender ratio in the Korean workspace and the wage gap between Korean male and female employees. According to the results, the n

March 7, 2023

[Newsmaker] Crime victims, socially stigmatized open up on YouTube

Ondoni Ssem was previously just another popular fitness instructor on YouTube. But her online identity changed overnight when she uploaded a video late last month. In the video, she revealed herself to be the sole survivor of an infamous familicide that happened in Seoul’s satellite city of Yongin in 2017, in which her stepbrother killed her father, stepmother and younger brother. With her confession, the YouTuber with over 200,000 subscribers joined a growing group of individuals who are

March 6, 2023

[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

March 5, 2023

[Newsmaker] Delivery riders help nab hit-and-run driver

Delivery riders helped police catch a drunk driver who fled after hitting a parked truck, officials said Friday. The Changwon Seobu Police Station said the 40-year-old male driver was suspected of crashing into a truck while changing lanes near the city’s northeastern district of Uichang-gu at 11:28 p.m. on Wednesday. The driver had been on the run in his vehicle after some officers began chasing him upon receiving a report of suspected drunk driving. Following the hit-and-run, instead of

March 3, 2023

[Newsmaker] Rescuers comb wreckage of Greece’s deadliest train crash

TEMPE, Greece -- Rescuers searched late into the night Wednesday for survivors amid the mangled, burned-out wrecks of two trains that collided in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country’s deadliest rail crash. The impact just before midnight Tuesday threw some passengers into ceilings and out the windows. “My head hit the roof of the carriage with the jolt,” Stefanos Gogakos, who was in a rear car, told state b

March 2, 2023

[Newsmaker] Korea logged lowest gender ratio at birth last year

The sex ratio at birth for South Korea in 2022 was 104.7 boys to every 100 girls, Statistics Korea data showed Wednesday, the closest Korea has ever been to gender parity among newborns since the government started keeping tally in 1990. The gender ratio for the year marked a new low since 104.9 in 2020, according to the state-run organization. The figure rebounded slightly to 105.1 in 2021 before dropping by 0.4. There have always been more baby boys than girls born worldwide: According to the

March 1, 2023

[Newsmaker] Colonial-era place of torture now monument to sacrifice

Tiny was hardly even the word for it. The solitary confinement inside the buildings of Seodaemun Jail was barely wide enough for an average-sized man to enter, and would have been just long enough for one to lie down. On one side of the windowless cell was a small hole, which turned out to be possibly among the most depraved versions of a toilet. Built in 1908 near the end of the Joseon era, this notorious jail was a place where many Korean independence fighters were locked up, tortured and exec

Feb. 28, 2023

[Newsmaker] Ju-ae not confirmed as Kim’s successor: minister

The South Korean unification minister on Monday said it is too early to conclude that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, has been appointed as the country’s next leader. But Unification Minister Kwon Young-se braced for the possibility of North Korea pursuing to position Kim Ju-ae as Kim Jong-un’s heir apparent in an interview with South Korean radio broadcaster CBS. Kwon answered that she is in a “gray zone” when asked whether he classifies her

Feb. 27, 2023

[Newsmaker] How will ChatGPT affect English learning in Korea?

San Francisco-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT may not be having quite the impact in South Korea as it is the English-speaking world so far, but it certainly has a demographic here pondering its ramifications -- English teachers, learners and others in the English education business. YouTube is teeming with videos on how ChatGPT can write emails, correct sentences, figure out the different nuances of words, use idioms and explain grammar – all of which can help people improve their English wit

Feb. 24, 2023

[Newsmaker] Handwritten English translation of Feb. 8 Declaration of Independence found after 104 years

A handwritten English version of the Feb. 8 Declaration of Independence, which triggered subsequent independence movements in Korea and abroad, has been discovered after 104 years, the Independence Hall of Korea said Thursday. The handwritten copy was found during an analysis of research materials which were borrowed from the Korean National Association Memorial Foundation in Los Angeles in 2019, the state run institution said. The Feb. 8 Independence Declaration was issued by some 600 Korean

Feb. 23, 2023