South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approach toward energy production is raising hopes for the end of coal and nuclear power plants in the country.The liberal leader -- an advocate of nuclear-zero Korea -- and his administration have unveiled a roadmap to reduce reliance on nuclear and coal energy, citing public concerns over air pollution and nuclear safety.At present, 25 reactors are in service and the Moon administration aims to begin by shutting down aged facilities and eventually phasing o

Social Affairs June 11, 2017

In pitch-black darkness before dawn, a group of foreigners walk up the stone steps of Daewoongjeon, the main hall of Geumsunsa Buddhist temple. (Photographed by Park Hyun-koo)With shoes left at the door, they kneel on pillows and clasp hands. At the sound of a gong, they bow their foreheads to the floor, stand upright and then bow again. Only the crickets outside provide a dawn soundtrack. With that, another day at a Korean temple stay has begun. (Photographed by Park Hyun-koo)Here at Geumsunsa,

Culture June 9, 2017

South Korea will close down its oldest nuclear reactor in mid-June, after four decades of operations. The state-run Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved the permanent shutdown of Kori No. 1, the first nuclear reactor set up in the country in 1977. Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan (Yonhap)Kori No. 1, located in the southern port city of Busan, will cease operations at midnight on June 18. Officials will then relocate spent nuclear fuel stored inside the rector to a liquid sodium-coole

Social Affairs June 9, 2017

Seoul City plans to double the number of guards and revamp other safety measures on its recently opened elevated park, after a man jumped to his death last week, the mayor said Thursday. “We are currently pushing to hire more guards and revamp facilities to protect citizens’ safety. We will allow no more unfortunate accidents,” Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said via radio.  (Yonhap)On May 30, a 32-year-old man from Kazakhstan jumped from the 17-meter high Seoullo 7017 in an apparent suicide, crossin

Social Affairs June 8, 2017

Despite rain over many parts of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, it was not enough to quench the ongoing drought, the weather agency said. From Tuesday afternoon, around 10 to 60 millimeters of rain poured down across the nation. Wednesday brought about 5 to 30 mm of rain in central regions like Gyeonggi Province. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said that at least 70-100 mm of rain is needed to bring an end to the drought in Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong ad South Jeolla provi

Social Affairs June 7, 2017

The South Korean government should rethink its current approach to radioactive waste treatment technologies before attempting to go nuclear free, a renowned American nuclear expert said. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Frank von Hippel, a professor at Princeton University, warned that the state-run Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute is working on technologies that have failed in all other advanced industrial countries.With liberal President Moon Jae-in -- an advocate of nuclear-zero K

Social Affairs June 7, 2017

South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun will leave for Japan this week to discuss pending issues and strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, his office said Tuesday. During a three-day visit from Wednesday, he will meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and parliament leaders. South Korea`s National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun makes a phone call at his office in Seoul on June 5, 2017. (Yonhap)Chung is expected to explain the Moon Jae-in administration's policy

Politics June 6, 2017

Popular South Korean singer and actor T.O.P of boy band BIGBANG has been hospitalized for an apparent drug overdose, his Seoul-based agency said Tuesday. YG Entertainment said the 29-year-old rapper, whose real name is Choi Seung-hyun, is currently receiving treatment at an intensive care unit of a Seoul hospital. The agency first reported that Choi was found unconscious, but police later denied that he was in critical condition.South Korea's singer and actor T.O.P of boy band Big Bang (Yonhap)"

Performance June 6, 2017

현직 큐레이터, 예술계 종사자들이 말하는 공공미술시민 참여형 프로그램, 공론화 통해 공공미술 발전시킬 수 있어　전세계으로 주목하고 있는 공공미술은 대중 속으로 파고든다는 개념에서 시민과의 소통을 중시한다.우리 나라 예술계에도 동일한 움직임이 감지되는 가운데 지난 4월 서울시는 10명의 현직 큐레이터들과 100여명의 서울시민을 대상으로 서울시 공공미술 시민 발굴단을 선발, 공공미술의 가장 큰 주체이자 향유자인 시민들의 참여를 유도하는 2달간의 프로젝트를 시작했다.이 프로젝트에 전문 큐레이터로 참가하게 된 임나래 (34)씨는 업계에서 쌓은 약 10년 간의 경험을 통해 공공미술은 “소수가 즐기는 어려운 것이 아니라 더 많은 이들이 저마다의 취향, 필요, 상황에 따라 즐길 수 있는 것”이라고 말했다.“이번 활동을 통해 저희 조원들과 내가 사는 지역사회와 도시에 공공미술이 어떤 긍정적/부정적 변화를 가져왔는지, 또는 어떤 변화를 가져왔으면 좋을지를 이야기하고 있습니다. 무심코 지나쳤던 작품들

한국어판 June 6, 2017

Yim Na-re, a 34-year-old freelance curator, is one of the supervisors for Seoul City’s program to help residents unearth art on the city’s streets.Under the project called “Art on Seoul’s Streets Found by Citizens,” some 100 participants discover and promote lesser-known public art and landmarks in groups of 10, joined by field experts and art connoisseurs.After a 10-year career as a curator and art critic, Seoul-based Yim said many Koreans are still “shy” to open up and discuss about what they

Social Affairs June 5, 2017

Nearly 10,000 South Koreans have suffered or are suffering from diseases related to environmental factors -- many of them lung-related diseases -- in the past decade, government data released by a civic group showed Sunday. According to the Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health, in one fourth of the 9,853 reported cases, victims died. Of the total, 2,467 were recognized by the Environment Ministry to have asbestos-related diseases. About 40 percent or 1,006 of the victims have died m

Social Affairs June 4, 2017

From July, Seoul will provide free public transportation on days with high fine dust concentrations in order to discourage commuters from driving and help curb air pollution. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that it would introduce fare exemptions for bus and subway users during commuting hours -- from the first train or bus to 9 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- on days when the daily average concentration of ultra fine dust is above 50 micrograms per cubic meter. The same will a

Social Affairs June 1, 2017

President Moon Jae-in’s move to reverse the effects of a controversial damming and dredging project has run into an unexpected snag: South Korea may be entering one of the most severe droughts in decades. From Thursday, the government will release water from six of the 16 dammed pools on four major rivers, the first step after Moon’s order earlier this month to review from scratch the previous Lee Myung-bak administration’s 22 trillion won ($19.5 billion) project.The water levels of the dammed p

Social Affairs May 30, 2017

On May 28, 2016, a 19-year-old repairman was crushed to death by an incoming subway train while working on a malfunctioning safety door at Seoul’s Guui Station. Safety guidelines that repair crew should work in pairs and train operation should be halted while they are on tracks were ignored to minimize the convenience of passengers. The victim, surnamed Kim, was all by himself on the tracks, and the train’s conductor was not informed of the ongoing maintenance work. One year later, nine official

Social Affairs May 29, 2017