The white peaks of Mount Hallasan on Jeju Island has gained notable popularity this winter, promoting hikers to pay extra cash to get access to the snowy landscape. Dozens of postings seeking to sell, buy or exchange QR tickets to Hallasan National Park have been posted at secondhand online stores. Offered by the national park, tickets are available online for free on a first come first serve basis. One post uploaded on Joonggonara, the country‘s largest online used goods marketplace, sh

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2022

Everyone talks about the March 9 presidential election. But the local elections to be held in June are the big day Park Hye-min, 29, has been counting down the days to. Park is the executive director of Newways, a nonprofit organization that she founded about a year ago with a friend she met at a book club. The organization’s goal is to discover rookie politicians who speak the same language they do, and foster them as city or provincial councilors who represent young people’s inte

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2022

Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin on Friday continued to express his discontent over Instagram’s removal of his post expressing his hostility toward communism. Chung criticized Instagram for its engagement in political activities by deliberately taking down posts that don’t match the preference of the platform, according to a story by local media outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, which cited an anonymous close acquaintance of Chung. “The value of free expression

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday pledged to establish “workcation” centers in rural areas of the country to allow people working remotely to stay and help struggling local economies. Under the COVID-19 pandemic, over 9 in 10 of the country’s biggest firms have adopted a telework system, according to Lee. “I will support a balanced life between work and rest in line with the changes in the new era and in the

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2022

Lee Kyung-ran, who has been working as a therapist for the past 15 years, has ditched face-to-face consultations thanks to a growing demand for phone and virtual sessions after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since late 2019, she has been offering therapy sessions through Naver eXpert, a service launched by the country’s largest portal Naver. Naver eXpert provides a wide range of one-on-one online consultations and classes from experts including lawyers, accountants and asset con

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

An online post purportedly written by a street cleaner saying he is “100 percent satisfied” with his salary and working conditions has gone viral Sunday.  The writer of the job review, posted on online community bobaedream.co.kr., introduces himself as a 42-year-old sanitation worker who started work on Jan. 1 last year. “I’m 100 percent satisfied with my job largely due to the salary I receive,” he wrote, adding that his annual wages easily exceed 50 million

Social Affairs Jan. 2, 2022

Women working at the Seoul Metropolitan Government earn about 11 percent less than their male colleagues, data showed Wednesday, marking a smaller gap than the average figure registered by members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The data found that the gender wage gap, referring to the rate of men’s average pay to that of women, reached 11.28 percent last year, lower than 12.8 percent, the latest average of member nations of the OECD. Female civil servants f

Social Affairs Dec. 29, 2021

On Sunday, gazaahome.com launched with a list of a few hundreds of restaurants in the country that do not “discriminate against” unvaccinated people. As of Tuesday afternoon, the digital map showing the location of the businesses garnered some 70,000 views, with entry suggestions flowing in from users, according to its developer Goda. “It seems that our society is going through a somewhat chaotic period due to the recently strengthened vaccination pass policy. I have deve

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2021

An association of civic groups in South Korea stepped up actions in their campaign to raise awareness for the mobility rights of the disabled, staging simultaneous rallies at subway stations during the morning rush hour. From around 7 a.m. Monday, scores of activists and disabled persons affiliated with the Solidarity against Disability Discrimination showed up at four stations -- Gwanghwamun, Wangsimni, Yeouido and Haengdang -- all on Line No. 5. Some people in wheelchairs deliberately put

Social Affairs Dec. 20, 2021

We may be heading into the darkest winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Myeong-dong wants us to keep our spirits bright. The once-bustling shopping mecca of Seoul is not busy as it used to be pre-pandemic, but it is twinkling, sparkling and shining brighter than ever before with extravagant Christmas light displays.  Millions of LED lights adorn the exterior of departments stores and other buildings in the district, creating a spectacle at night.  Street trees decked out with Christ

Travel Dec. 18, 2021

From school pickup and dropoff and supervised homework time to Hula-Hoop practice for gym class, taekwondo academies are playing an expanded role in South Korea. On top of martial arts lessons, the centers -- a sure-fire find near practically any elementary school in South Korea -- provide much-needed help to two-paycheck couples struggling to juggle work and child-rearing responsibilities. Five-year-old Kwon Ye-rin’s after-kindergarten routine hinges on a taekwondo academy, although

Social Affairs Dec. 17, 2021

In the past 20 years, the number of marriages in Seoul has decreased by 43 percent and the number of births by 64 percent, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday. Marriage registrations in the capital city hit a 20-year low of 44,746 in 2020, down 43.2 percent from 78,745 tallied in 2000. From a year ago, the 2020 figure also represented a drop of 7.3 percent. The average age of first marriages last year was 33.61 for men and 31.6 for women, up 3.96 years and 4.35 years

Social Affairs Dec. 16, 2021

In Seoul’s affluent neighborhood of Hannam-dong, where top celebrities and corporate big shots live, a bleak and desolate 28,197-square-meter plot of land lies barren and untouched. Fenced off with barbed wires, the land -- the size of four soccer fields -- has been off limits to residents for decades. Records dating back to the 1940s show authorities reserved the land for a public park. In reality, the dusty plot stands as a legacy of the turbulent times Korea has been through, with

Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2021

The loss of routines in lives of South Korean people caused by COVID-19 appeared to have affected their physical states, including growing muffin top. More than half of South Koreans in their 30s and 40s were found to be obese last year, according to data compiled by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The prevalence of obesity was 48 percent for men in 2020, a sharp increase compared to 41.8 percent a year earlier, the data released Monday showed. The rate among women rose 2.7

Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2021

With daily COVID-19 caseload hitting new records, some 8,000 coffee chain shops and restaurants here are playing in-store audio announcements from one of the top public health officials recommending indoor masking. “Hello. This is the Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Gang-lip. Please remind yourself to wear a mask before and after eating or drinking and while talking,” the voice announcement rang out, interspersed every 30 minutes between Christmas jazz licks played at a Star

Social Affairs Dec. 13, 2021