Articles by Kan Hyeong-woo
Kan Hyeong-woo
hwkan@heraldcorp.com-
Chungcheong picks up pace in bid to host 2027 World University Games
Korea’s four local governments in the central region -- Daejeon, Sejong, North and South Chungcheong provinces -- are picking up the pace in their bid to host the 2027 FISU World University Games. When the bid process was opened for the 2027 and 2029 University Games on Sept. 1, the local government’s joint organization named Chungcheong Megacity Bid Committee (CMBC) submitted a letter of intention to host the 2027 Games to the International University Sports Federation. The CMBC
More Sports Sept. 29, 2021
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Seoul third-best city in world to be a student: report
Seoul is the third-best city in the world to be a university student, according to a recent report from UK-based education consultant Studee. Studee on Tuesday released the Student Cities Index for 2021, indicating the best 100 cities for university students across the globe. “Seoul has the greatest number of high-ranking universities anywhere in the study,” the report said. “The city also offers reasonably cheap rent and above-average levels of free speech.” Studee a
Social Affairs Sept. 29, 2021
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Virus tally records new daily high after Chuseok holiday
Chuseok outbreak worries became a reality as the number of newly-confirmed COVID-19 cases reached a record high of 2,434 Thursday after millions were on the move during the three-day holiday earlier in the week. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country on Friday reported 2,416 local infections and 18 imported cases from the previous day. By region, Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon had 1,747 cases or 72.3 percent of the total. The new high number of daily i
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2021
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Tighter regulations on digital sex crime take effect
Police will be able to conduct undercover investigations in digital sex crime cases, and online grooming of minors will be punishable by law from Friday, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Thursday. Online grooming, which was difficult to punish due to a lack of legal grounds, will now face a fine of up to 30 million won ($25,400) or three years in jail, according to the revised Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses. Before the revision, only the act of
Social Affairs Sept. 23, 2021
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Fresh talks start for more Pfizer shots
President Moon Jae-in continued his vaccine diplomacy in New York, launching a fresh round of talks on securing more COVID shots from Pfizer and a new $52.5 million investment plan unveiled by US bioprocess vendor Cytiva to boost Korea’s vaccine production. Moon on Tuesday met with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to discuss multilateral ways on how Korea and the US vaccine producer can work together for vaccine cooperation, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon talked about securing additional vac
Foreign Affairs Sept. 22, 2021
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From vaccination reminders to relief aid info: Virtual assistant helps over 12m residents
Over 12 million residents have subscribed to the Korean government’s virtual assistant service for the public, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Thursday. The virtual assistant service named “GoodPy” provides various information on vaccine appointments, traffic fines, as well as reminders for driving license renewal and regular medical checkups. GoodPy sends notifications to its subscribers via popular mobile applications Naver, KakaoTalk and Toss. Last month, th
Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2021
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Spring flowers bloom earlier, ice freezes later than before: report
Spring flowers in Korea are blooming earlier while ice is forming increasingly later in the last three decades, a recent report from the Korea Meteorological Administration showed. The KMA on Tuesday released the latest climatological averages from 1991 to 2020, comparing the data with the previous figures recorded from 1981 to 2010. Used for analyzing changes in the ecosystem over a long period of time, seasonal observation is a study of animals, plants and weather phenomena at the same spot e
Technology Sept. 19, 2021
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Seoul education office pulls back on school rebuilding project
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has decided to roll back on its school rebuilding project for nine schools in the capital, after it came under mounting pressure from parents who said it put their children’s safety and education at risk. The Seoul education office said Wednesday that it has excluded the nine schools, which had officially requested a withdrawal, from the list of 93 schools that were selected for the Green Smart Future School project. The plan involves rebuilding
Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2021
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[Us and Them] ‘We are here,’ say LGBT Koreans -- but so is the hate
From the most mundane of activities to larger goals such as being widely accepted by society, the lives of sexual minorities in South Korea are fraught with difficulties. “I don’t go to a hospital unless it is known as being queer-friendly. Usually I just don’t go to hospitals,” said Jung-hyun, who is currently transitioning to male. Jung-hyun, a pseudonym, says the mismatch between his male appearance and female gender on official documents leads to strange looks and qu
Social Affairs Sept. 13, 2021
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Adjusted distancing rules do not mean loosening efforts: PM
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Friday made it clear that the government is not shifting gears toward letting guard down against the coronavirus. Kim cautioned against adjustments in guidelines around fully vaccinated people as being interpreted as a change in strategy of learning to live with the coronavirus in circulation at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. "The fourth wave is currently ongoing as we saw the number of newly confirmed cases stayin
Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2021
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Funeral wreaths and ‘green terrorism,’ an unsual controversy at Seoul schools
The clash over Seoul education authorities’ Green Smart Future School project is growing, with some opponents accusing the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education of “green terrorism” and putting children at risk, expressing their opposition by sending condolence wreaths or ribbons to the school. The form of sending condolence messages has been widely adopted as a form of protest in recent months, particularly during the pandemic where holding rallies are more strictly prohibi
Social Affairs Sept. 8, 2021
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Nearly 2 million Korean adults illiterate: survey
About 2 million adults in South Korea are illiterate, the Ministry of Education said Tuesday. According to the National Institute for Lifelong Education’s survey on adult literacy, 4.5 percent of the country’s 44 million adults, or about 1.987 million people, do not have the basic reading, writing and math skills that are necessary for daily life. They were categorized as Level 1 in the survey, meaning they need elementary school education at the first or second grade level. The
Social Affairs Sept. 7, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Over 90% of public says climate crisis should be major presidential election issue: survey
More than 90 percent of South Koreans think the climate crisis should be a prominent issue in the upcoming presidential election, a survey showed Sunday. According to the Gallup Korea poll, conducted at the request of environmental group Green Korea and involving 1,500 people nationwide, 91.1 percent of the respondents said Korea’s climate crisis response should be a major topic ahead of the March 9 election. Where most public opinion polls target people over 19, Green Korea said, the m
Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2021
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Distancing rules extended, but eased for fully vaccinated people
Fully vaccinated people will be allowed to have larger private gatherings starting Monday as Korea inches toward herd immunity. The government on Friday announced its decision to extend the current social distancing rules -- Level 4 in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon and Level 3 for the rest of the country -- for four weeks until Oct. 3. But health authorities made a few adjustments to the guidelines in consideration of the prolonged distancing restrictions and the increasing number of
Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2021
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Groups call for reusable takeout containers
A civic group and labor union on Thursday called on food delivery platforms to allow users to choose reusable containers when they order takeout. “Food deliveries have soared in the past year and eight months, but there are no countermeasures against delivery waste,” Green Korea and Riders Union said during a press conference held in front of Baedal Minjok headquarters in Seoul. “Currently, the only way consumers can save disposable waste is by not receiving disposable spoon
Social Affairs Sept. 2, 2021
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