Some 100 meters of walkway by the famous stone wall surrounding Deoksugung in Seoul will be opened to the public next August. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said earlier this week that it has begun work on the section of the walkway that is currently on the property of the British Embassy, following an agreement between Seoul City and the embassy last year.A 170-meter section of the 1.1-kilometer wall is currently off limits to pedestrians, as it is part of the British Embassy compound. After

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2016

A new Seoul City Tour Bus debuted this week with a single deck and half open top. This adds to the existing three types of sightseeing buses operated for tours of the capital city: a fully open top double-decker bus, a normal single-decker bus and a trolley bus.Seoul City Tour BusHalf of the back portion of the new vehicle is equipped with windows that can be removed and a foldable top, so that it can flexibly respond to weather conditions, explained the city tour bus operator Honeymoon Travel.

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2016

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has been awarded the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development for his efforts to develop Seoul as a “Sharing City.” Park, who worked as a civil rights lawyer and activist before becoming mayor, is recognized for having integrated social issues into “sharing economy” projects, as well as raising public awareness and supporting initiatives in the sharing of information and assets, the award organizer said in a statement. Park is the first Korean, and the second in Asi

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2016

A Seoul court ruled Tuesday that a local manufacturer of humidifier disinfectants should compensate victims who died of lung disease allegedly due to toxic substances in its products.This marks the first time that a local court has recognized damage in the “killer disinfectant” debacle, four years after the authorities pinpointed chemicals used in disinfectants as the likely reason behind what was then perceived as a mysterious lung disease mostly affecting pregnant women. So far, 189 deaths --

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2016

The number of people in South Korea with multicultural backgrounds has more than tripled in the past decade to reach 1.71 million as of November 2015, latest government data showed Tuesday. This marks 3.4 percent of the county’s total population of 51 million. The multicultural population has risen steadily, moving from 540,000 in 2006, to 1.57 million in 2014 and 1.71 million last year. The tally includes foreign nationals, naturalized Koreans as well as their children. Fifty-seven municipaliti

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2016

Saturday’s peaceful candlelight vigil calling for President Park Geun-hye to step down over the scandal involving her close friend Choi Soon-sil garnered attention and made headlines within and beyond the nation. Despite the embattled president’s second apology last week, calls have continued to grow for Park to take responsibility for the state crisis. Some 1.1 million angry citizens took to the street Saturday. News agency Reuters reported that Gwanghwamun Square was flooded with citizens of a

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2016

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the central Seoul on Saturday to attend the latest massive rally to demand President Park Geun-hye's resignation over the growing scandal involving her close confidante.Police expected about abour 220,000 people joined the candlelight rally at the public square near Seoul City Hall, while organizers forecast up to 1 million people turned out. It is expected to be the largest rally to be held in South Korea this century to date.The police deployed some 25,0

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2016

Posco chairman Kwon Oh-joon (Yonhap)The chief of South Korea's top steelmaker Posco was grilled overnight by prosecutors until Saturday morning over an allegation that the sale of its former unit was related to an influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's close friend, prosecutors said.Kwon Oh-joon, 66, returned home at about 7:10 a.m. after about 12 hours of intensive questioning at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, they said.He is the first head of a major So

Industry Nov. 12, 2016

A group of students from Harvard University in Massachusetts called on President Park Geun-hye to resign, denouncing Park over the scandal involving her close confidante. “The Park administration has utterly lost the people’s trust in its moral legitimacy and competence to govern. … we demand that President Park immediately step away from state affairs,” a total of 193 Korean Students and Scholars of Harvard University said in a statement released Saturday. “Having completely failed the trust of

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2016

A plastic surgery clinic in Seoul's Gangnam district has become embroiled in the political scandal plaguing President Park Geun-hye. The clinic that Choi Soon-sil, Park’s confidante accused of meddling in state affairs, and her daughter Chung Yoo-ra are said to have frequented for skin care treatments is accused of receiving favors from Cheong Wa Dae. After suspicions surfaced, the plastic surgery clinic, which also runs a skin care clinic and cosmetics business, had closed down and was unavaila

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2016

One in 6 South Korean teenagers eat fast food more than three times a week, data showed Monday. According to a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 16.7 percent of students aged 13-18 regularly consume fast food such as hamburgers, pizzas and chicken, up 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier. The figure was also 4.5 percentage points higher than 2009, when the annual survey began to be conducted. The report also showed that slightly more male students (17.9 percent) opted

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2016