Seoul wouldn’t be famous for its lively nightlife scene if getting back home after a night out were a major challenge. Recognizing the need of a public that is socially active at night, South Korea’s public transport operates at least until around midnight, although one is strongly advised to check on the last vehicle reaching the desired destination from the point of departure. Most major metropolitan areas have buses that operate well after midnight, but Seoul even has regularly di

Hashtag Korea May 23, 2023

Police on Thursday said it found some 40 opium poppy plants that seemingly have grown spontaneously at an apartment complex in Ulsan, 299 kilometers southwest of Seoul. According to Ulsan Nambu Police Station, officials received a report from a resident of an unnamed apartment complex that flower which look like the poppies are growing in the flower bed. Officers dispatched to the scene confirmed that the flowers were indeed opium poppies used to produce opium, not the common poppies which they

Social Affairs May 19, 2023

The Supreme Court has confirmed a 30-year prison term for a couple who abused and starved the woman's 2-year-old to death, upholding a lower court ruling on the case, local media reported Friday. The 22-year-old woman and her spouse, 29, were accused of neglecting the child and her 17-month-old brother from October of 2021 to March 2022, during which they did not provide sufficient nutrition to the children. The girl died in March 2022 due to severe malnutrition and brain hemorrhage. During

Social Affairs May 19, 2023

Soccer player Son Jun-ho, who has been detained by Chinese authorities on suspicion of bribery, denies the accusations against him, media here reported Friday, quoting the South Korean midfielder’s agent. Son, 31-year-old midfielder playing for Chinese Super League’s Shandong Taishan, was taken into custody by public security authorities in China’s northeast Liaoning province last Friday on suspicion of accepting bribes. The details of the charges have not been unveiled as of n

Soccer May 19, 2023

Actor Choi Eun-hee and filmmaker Shin Sang-ok gave new meaning to the word “dramatic” when they made a daring escape to the US Embassy in Vienna on March 13, 1986. The couple's story is more extraordinary than any of the films they made, blending genres of romance, spy thriller and political documentary. “Choi Eun-hee, Shin Sang-ok flee to West after 8 years of NK shackles” reads the front page of The Korea Herald in its March 19, 1986 edition, telling the story of t

Hashtag Korea May 17, 2023

A 5-year-old with acute respiratory symptoms had died on the Children's Day weekend, earlier this month, after five hospitals refused to admit him, local media reported Tuesday. According to the reports, the boy was rushed to the emergency room of a hospital in Seoul when his body temperature began to spike and he begin having breathing issues at night on May 6, Saturday. But the hospital said it was unable to admit him, citing lack of available beds. The boy was turned back by four other h

Social Affairs May 17, 2023

A US newspaper’s recent comment calling South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee a “clotheshorse” and a subsequent complaint from one of its readers has garnered attention in South Korea, where the president's wife is both praised and surrounded by controversy. In a submission to the weekly readers’ grievances at the Washington Post, one reader took issue with the newspaper describing Kim as a “noted clotheshorse” in an April 27 article. The reader claimed th

Social Affairs May 16, 2023

The sight of a bus passenger paying their fare with cash is dying out in South Korea nowadays. There are several reasons for this. Cashless payments, via Tmoney cards, credit cards or mobile payment options, are not just more convenient but safer, as the conductor can focus only on driving, which can help improve the safety of everyone on the bus. Also, cashless payments save you money -- quite a lot, in fact, if you transfer between buses and/or subways. The country’s free transfer benefi

Hashtag Korea May 16, 2023

Despite its name, World Cup Stadium (Seongsan) Station can get crowded for a number of reasons outside of just sports, such as couples going for a night out at the movies, families shopping at the supermarket, or even K-pop fans flocking to a concert. The station on Seoul Subway Line No. 6 opened in 2000 as the gateway to Seoul World Cup Stadium, which hosted the opening ceremony and games of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan. Its beginnings, however, were humble

Hashtag Korea May 14, 2023

A 21-year-old man doing his compulsory military service remains unconscious for the sixth day since his suicide attempt on Sunday, which his family claimed was triggered by bullying from his superiors in the military. The victim reportedly attempted to take his own life around 12:15 a.m. at a South Korean Air Force base located in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province, after which he was found by fellow soldiers and moved to a nearby hospital. He has been in intensive care since. The initial investigatio

Social Affairs May 12, 2023

A man suspected of breaking a woman's nose after she refused to give her phone number to his friend has been booked by the police in Seoul on Thursday. He is being questioned for assault charges. According to Gangnam Police, an unidentified suspect is accused of punching the female victim around 2:45 a.m. on Sunday in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. The attack resulted in a broken nose, requiring six weeks of medical treatment. Surveillance footage revealed by a local news outlet showed a man

Social Affairs May 12, 2023

Last month, the Labor Ministry launched an investigation into claims that a female software developer at Naver, the nation’s top internet firm, committed suicide after being bullied at work because she was a working mom. The bereaved family of the unnamed developer, who died last September, claimed that the victim was subject to discrimination since returning from maternity leave. The family requested that the ministry investigate the local tech firm for alleged violations of the Labor Sta

Social Affairs May 11, 2023

Getting around in any of South Korea's major cities is easy and convenient, thanks to the cheap and extensive public transportation system. As the first segment in a four-part series on South Korea's mass transit systems, this article will review how to transfer between buses, the subway and other forms of transportation. The transfer system allows passengers to switch between different types of public transport without paying an additional fee. To avoid paying any extra charges, one

Hashtag Korea May 9, 2023

South Korean police on Saturday arrested 10 people for suspected illegal drug use after raiding a foreigners-only club in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province. According to officials, five police stations across the provincial cities of Siheung, Osan, Hwaseong and Ansan conducted a joint crackdown of a local club located in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung, arresting two Koreans and eight Vietnamese. One of the Koreans was a man in his 40s who owns the club -- operated exclusively for Vietnamese -- while three of

Social Affairs May 7, 2023

Jeju Special Self-governing Province has mandated its female employees to work night shifts starting Monday, responding to complaints that it is unfair to have only the men work the night shift. Before, female workers at the provincial office were exempt from late night shifts -- from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next day. The women were required instead to do their shifts during holidays and weekends from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Of the province’s two cities, Jeju city has already implemented night shift

Social Affairs May 1, 2023