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

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