The crisis in Myanmar has continued for over two months since the military coup on Feb. 1. Civilians have carried out mass protests to restore freedom and democracy. The armed forces have responded with brutal crackdowns across the country, leading to hundreds of dead victims including young children. “I want the world to know what is going on in Myanmar is not a war,” said Shwe Moe, a Burma-born writer residing in South Korea. “A war is two sides with weapons. It is just ter

Social Affairs April 9, 2021

In the South Korean military, there is a saying among soldiers: “Our enemy is not North Korea, but the officers.” This has become somewhat of a running joke among the troops -- most of them in their early 20s serving their mandatory duty required by law -- because the officers are usually the ones who discipline young soldiers or give them extra work. That was what photographer Rami Hyun, who has taken pictures of more than 1,400 Korean War veterans across the world, used to thin

People March 27, 2021

Politicians and Burmese residents in Korea raised their voices together, pressing for the revival of democracy in Myanmar and an end to military control in the Southeast Asian nation. A group of lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and local representatives of Myanmar-related organizations held a press conference in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday. “It has been over 40 years, but Myanmar is going through the same pain that Gwangju citizens experienced in

Social Affairs March 10, 2021

  진행자: 간형우, Brolley Genster 1. Harvard professor urged to offer apology for 'comfort women' claims 요약: 논란 일으킨 하버드대 램지어 교수의 “위안부는 매춘부” 논문에 대한 철회를 요구하는 학계 [1] A controversy surrounding a Harvard professor who wrote a journal article depicting victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery as voluntary prostitutes continues to escalate, with scholars, politicians and students demanding apologies and a retraction. *prostitute: 매춘부 *escalate: 확대(증가/악화)되다 *retraction: 철회, 취소

Podcast Feb. 24, 2021

The Seoul 50 Plus Foundation has launched a project to provide new job opportunities for people aged between 40 and 67. Under the title “50+ Dog Care Specialists Matching Support”, the project is designed to discover a new business model where middle-aged people can make use of their experience raising a pet. The Seoul 50 Plus Foundation said Tuesday that the project will be carried out in cooperation with local pet service company Pet People, which operates a platform called Pet

Social Affairs Feb. 16, 2021

A team of researchers led by professor Kim Hyun-bum from Incheon National University have developed a human emotion detection system using fifth-generation networks and artificial intelligence. Researchers claim the virtual emotion detection system called 5G-I-VEmoSYS can recognize at least five kinds of emotion -- joy, pleasure, a neutral state, sadness and anger -- through body movements and other signals. “Emotions are a critical characteristic of human beings and separate humans fr

Technology Feb. 16, 2021

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders. According to the National Health Insurance Service, some 640,000 people visited hospitals due to insomnia in 2019. The number of such visits has steadily increased over the past five years. There might be hope. A recent study has found that electroacupuncture can help people suffering from insomnia. Used often in Korean traditional medicine, electroacupuncture involves administering small electric currents using thin needles inserted into

Technology Feb. 11, 2021

About 15 percent of vehicle passengers do not wear seat belts, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority said Wednesday. Despite amendments to the Road Traffic Act in September 2018, mandating that all occupants of a vehicle wear seat belts, the country’s seat belt use rate recorded just 84.8 percent last year, a slight decrease from the previous year, according to the 2020 Traffic Culture Index. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority said 86.1 percent of passengers in the front seat

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2021

The police will crack down on traffic violations during the Lunar New Year holiday – when the country’s traffic volume usually surges as people visit their hometowns for family gatherings. The National Police Agency (NPA) said Tuesday that the most frequent violations of traffic laws on highways during the Lunar New Year holiday over the past three years were driving on shoulders, the paved space on the side of the road for emergency use. It took up 41.8 percent of all reports, fol

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2021

The Ministry of Justice said Thursday that seven foreigners had been deported from South Korea for breaking the country’s quarantine rules since November. Fourteen others were fined. One of the deportees was an Indonesian sailor who arrived at Incheon Airport on Dec. 17 and was instructed to enter a government-designated quarantine facility. But the man went into an airport restroom to change clothes and escaped in a taxi, the ministry said. The police arrested him a week later. A tota

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2021

The chief of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee has apologized for making derogatory comments about women, but refuses to resign amid the ongoing controversy. “The Education Ministry has been very insistent about choosing female directors,” former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Wednesday during a Japanese Olympic Committee board of directors meeting. “But a board meeting with plenty of women will make it drag on.” Describing women as having a “strong sen

Olympic Games Feb. 5, 2021

The government will put efforts into improving the basic living infrastructure for foreigners and North Korean defectors, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Wednesday.  The ministry plans to provide a total of 2 billion won ($1.8 million) for the project.  Local governments across the country can apply for the financial support with their individual plans to help foreigners and North Korean defectors in each region.  If selected, each applicant can receive up to 200

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2021

South Korea has topped the global list of the 60 most innovative countries, the Bloomberg Innovation Index, released Wednesday. Since the annual index was first published in 2013, Korea has made it to the top seven times. The Bloomberg Innovation Index analyzes a number of criteria with seven equally weighted categories, including research and development spending, manufacturing capabilities and the concentrated presence of companies with advanced technology. Korea scored 90.49 points on a

World News Feb. 3, 2021

The Korea Forest Service will set up a three-dimensional prediction system in a bid to minimize damages from forest fires this year, after a devastating year that has ravaged forests nationwide. The new 3D forest fire spread forecast program, which recreates the shape of the mountains in digital form, utilizes advanced information and communication technology, the KFS said Monday. More precise extinguishing missions will be possible when the new 3D program replaces its two-dimensional predece

Social Affairs Feb. 2, 2021

The outfits that the members of BTS wore in the music video for their chart-topping single “Dynamite” sold for $162,500 at a charity auction in Beverly Hills, California, on Sunday. The septet’s pastel colored ensembles were purchased by Japanese art collector Yusaku Maezawa and YouTuber Hikakin. The outfits included the colorful T-shirts, hats, shirts, pants, shorts and sneakers that BTS wear during the beginning of the music video and the dance sequence at the end. The

K-pop Feb. 2, 2021