South Korea has not executed a single person since 23 people were hanged on Dec. 30, 1997, earning itself global recognition as an “abolitionist in practice.” Currently, a total of 59 death row inmates are incarcerated indefinitely, waiting for an execution that will likely never come. But the nation’s law clearly recognizes the existence of the death penalty. This poses a dilemma for the government, as it may have to release a death row inmate in November. Nov. 23 will mark ex

Social Affairs April 28, 2023

Navigating the rental market in South Korea requires understanding two key terms and their concepts: "Wolse" and "jeonse." Wolse, which means monthly rent, is self-explanatory: Tenants pay a deposit and the monthly rent to live in the residence. But the deposit is usually much higher than most other countries, conventionally equal to or more than 10-months' rent. A quick scope of the Cheongpa-dong area near Seoul Station showed that a studio of 22 square-meters cost 500,

Hashtag Korea April 26, 2023

For 27-year-old Choi, the main focus in her life recently has been getting her weight down. The after-work dinners at her new job and frequent dates with her new boyfriend have resulted in her tipping the bathroom scale into the above-55-kilogram range for the first time in her life, prompting her to panic-buy a gym membership, exercise equipment and organic meal kits. “I just feel so big since I’ve put on the extra weight. I want to get my weight down to below 50 kilograms,” s

Social Affairs April 25, 2023

South Korean authorities have launched an investigation into an incident Wednesday in which two commercial flights appeared to nearly collide at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korean Air flight 1118 overran its allocated spot on the runway while landing, causing it to approach Busan Air flight 8027, which was preparing to take off from a different runway. The air traffic control immediately ordered KE1118 to halt upon seeing

Social Affairs April 21, 2023

"Boxer Kim clinging to life in coma," reads the top story of the sports page in the Nov. 16, 1982 edition of The Korea Herald. The article recounts how South Korean boxer Kim Duk-goo was barely kept alive on life support after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage during a World Boxing Association lightweight championship fight in Las Vegas. The neurosurgeon who operated on Kim was quoted as saying that his chances of survival were very slim. Three days prior, the 27-year-old faced defending

Hashtag Korea April 19, 2023

Recent data shows that about half of the Seoul Metropolitan Government employees that quit their jobs last year had worked for less than five years at their posts. And in March, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced that competition for an entry-level civil servant job was its lowest in over 30 years. The two separate studies point to one thing: Civil servant jobs, once highly coveted by young workers, are no longer dream jobs here. The job security and pension are not enough to retain

Social Affairs April 18, 2023

An introductory guide to Korea's housing would be incomplete without an explanation of the prevalence of apartment homes -- the tall, uniformly structured, multi-unit buildings that Koreans commonly refer to as “apateu." Commonly found in urban spaces, apartment complexes often consist of a set of buildings with multiple identical or similar units per floor, equipped with modern amenities such as elevators, security systems, shared gym facilities and on-site parking. There is ano

Hashtag Korea April 18, 2023

High-profile lawyer Kwon Gyeong-ae, whose repeated failures to show up to hearings led to her losing a yearslong legal battle over a teen’s death from school bullying, appears to have gone into hiding after promising financial compensation for her blunders to the bereaved family. According to lawyer Yang Seung-cheol, currently representing the bereaved family, it has not been possible to contact 58-year-old Kwon since their phone conversation on Monday. He also said that Kwon gave a writte

Social Affairs April 7, 2023

Police said Friday they have been questioning officials over Thursday's partial collapse of a bridge in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, that killed one person and heavily injured another to look into possible irregularities in the recent maintenance and safety inspections of the structure. At around 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, the pedestrian section of the bridge Jeongjagyo near Jeongja Station in Jeonga-dong, Bundang-gu, partially collapsed due to a yet unspecified cause. The accident killed a 39-

Social Affairs April 6, 2023

“Dialogue under way at riot-torn Kwangju,” reads the top headline on the front page of The Korea Herald’s May 23, 1980 edition. It says the “bloody riot that has gripped this provincial capital city” was on the verge of control, with representatives of the demonstrators beginning talks with government authorities. According to the article, authorities accepted several demands by the “rioters who have taken over the city of 800,000,” and the student leade

Hashtag Korea April 5, 2023

For over a century and a half, World Expos have provided opportunities for members of the global community to come together and showcase their greatest innovations, promoting progress and fostering international cooperation. It was at these expositions where the live TV broadcast, the telephone, mechanical computer and other paradigm-shifting inventions were first introduced to the world. Sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international event dates back to 1851 whe

Social Affairs April 3, 2023

Chun Woo-won is slated to meet with the bereaved families of those killed in the 1980 Gwangju Uprising on Friday morning, as South Koreans keenly follow the man’s self-proclaimed quest to atone for the legacy of his late grandfather, a military dictator widely blamed for the massacre. According to officials of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, the 27-year-old will hold a press conference in which he will officially apologize on behalf of his grandfather, ex-President Chun Doo-hwan, for his r

Social Affairs March 30, 2023

"R-r-r-ring! R-r-r-ring!" Picking up the phone, I was greeted by a barrage of harsh words. “Why won’t you check your f---ing messages? You that eager to die? See what happens next,” Minji, my supposed “friend,” spat before hanging up. An alarm on my phone notifies me of an invitation to a chat room, the members of which seem to be in a competition to see who could be crueler to me.   The above is content from “Cyberbullying Vaccine,” a mob

Social Affairs March 27, 2023

The Suwon District Court on Saturday denied a police request for a warrant to further detain the son of former Gyeonggi Province Gov. Nam Kyung-pil, who has been accused of methamphetamine use. The court declared there was not enough evidence to constitute a need to detain the 32-year-old Nam, who is suspected of illegally taking drugs at his apartment in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Nam was apprehended by local police after his family called police and told them he "seems to be on

Social Affairs March 26, 2023

Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, was recently seen wearing what appears to be a product of a luxury brand Christian Dior, marking a stark contrast to the living conditions of ordinary people in one of the poorest countries in the world. The girl, one of Kim’s three known children and believed to be 10 years old, appeared on a video released on March 17 by the North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, accompanying her father in observing the previous

North Korea March 23, 2023