When the temperature dropped to minus 7 degrees Celsius in mid-February, Lee Deok-ja, 74, was dragging her handcart around Deungchon-dong, western Seoul, picking up cardboard. It was about 12:30 p.m. and her handcart was empty. Lee said she had already been to the junk shop three times that day. Instead of filling up the handcart -- which appears to weigh more than 40 kilograms when empty -- the petite lady chooses to go to a junk shop several times a day and fill her cart little by little.

Social Affairs Feb. 25, 2021

The controversy over sex dolls in Korea continues, with lawmakers seeking to impose regulations while civic groups call for a ban despite the court ruling to allow importing them. The Seoul Administrative Court on Tuesday, announced a ruling in favor of a local importer that had sued a Gimpo Airport customs official over the suspension of the import customs clearance of sex dolls. During the trial, the importer said, “Although the sex doll is a masturbation device for men with a shape

Social Affairs Feb. 24, 2021

Celebrities and athletes are facing public outrage, following a string of accusations of past bullying. Following the bullying scandal that damaged the careers of four professional volleyball players this month, another volleyball player Park Sang-ha retired on Monday after admitting to allegations of school violence. Over the weekend, another allegation was raised that Hanwha Eagles baseball player Yoo Jang-hyuk assaulted and bullied a school mate during elementary school. The revelations ar

Social Affairs Feb. 23, 2021

South Korean lawmakers on Monday called for a restoration of democracy in Myanmar and raised concerns about atrocities against ethnic minorities, after the military junta took control in a coup. 　 Myanmar’s military on Feb. 1 overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A state of emergency was declared, rolling back efforts to end more than 50 years of military dictatorship and establish a democratic government through the

Politics Feb. 22, 2021

Soraepogu Fish Market located in Namdong-gu, Incheon, is a popular tourist attraction in the metropolitan area with more than 8 million visitors a year. The fish market, located about 32 kilometers from Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul, is the nearest mudflat to the capital. At the market, large and small fishing boats can be seen bringing in freshly caught seafood from off the coast of Incheon. The place is famous for shrimp, salted fish and blue crab. A 1.56 million square-meter Sorae Ecologic

Travel Feb. 20, 2021

Two court officials have recently been arrested in separate incidents this month on suspicion of attempting to rape a woman, and assaulting a karaoke owner in Seoul, police said. A drunk official in his 30s chased a woman into a restroom in a building in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where he then beat and attempted to rape the victim on Thursday, police said on Friday. The man, surnamed Kim, fled as the victim resisted and later was arrested by police. The police are investigating him on charges of at

Social Affairs Feb. 19, 2021

A South Korean lawmaker serving on the education committee said the nation needs to change the paradigm of English education by providing it at an earlier age and abolishing test-focused, cram-style education. “Preschoolers are building up a considerable level of English skills through private education. Students who first encounter English in the third grade of elementary school have a different starting line than students who learn earlier through private education.” Rep. Kim By

Social Affairs Feb. 18, 2021

In a country where news reports about animal cruelty and abandonment never stop, a group of pro bono lawyers is working to protect animals by filing suits on their behalf. Among their clients are mountain goats in danger of losing their habitat, and dogs dying in pain at meat farms. Park Joo-yeon is one of 15 lawyers engaged in animal protection activities for the civic group People for Non-Human Rights. PNR was founded in 2017 by lawyers seeking to use their collective voice to improve the l

Social Affairs Feb. 17, 2021

South Korean sports’ “medals-only” meritocracy is revealing its dark side after patterns of violent behavior were laid bare, shocking sports fans and the public. On Monday the Incheon Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, a women’s professional volleyball team, announced the indefinite suspension of twin sisters Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young over assaults they had perpetrated on classmates in middle school. It was only the latest scandal related to violence and bully

Social Affairs Feb. 15, 2021

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is firmly at the top of the recent presidential preference survey, widening the gap with two other high-profile figures, ruling Democratic Party Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a poll showed Sunday. In a survey conducted by broadcaster SBS on 1,002 people aged 18 or older nationwide for four days from Feb. 6 to 9, Gov. Lee, who belongs to the Democratic Party of Korea, ranked first with a 28.6 percent approval in potential

Politics Feb. 14, 2021

Seoul is an attractive city for expats, but administrative discrimination must be addressed, says the new chair of the foreign resident council that represents around 500,000 foreigners in Seoul, vowing to improve the quality of their life in cooperation with council members and the government. “Seoul is a globalized and inclusive city that foreigners want to live. However, there is still discrimination against foreigners in the workplace and in terms of social benefits,” said Boqi

Social Affairs Feb. 12, 2021

There is a saying that goes, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” At a glance, South Korea -- with 15 million pet owners -- is a decent place for animals. With a growing trend toward considering pets part of the family, some guardians spare no expense and shop around carefully for the best foods, toys, vets and groomers. Looking closely, however, there is a dark side. Many animals are abandoned when they are sick, old or no longer considere

Social Affairs Feb. 11, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party is speeding up the process of weakening the power of the prosecution. Now it is moving to create a new investigative agency, on the heels of the establishment of an agency to investigate corruption. On Tuesday, 14 lawmakers led by Rep. Hwang Woon-ha of the ruling party proposed a bill to create an investigative agency tentatively called the serious criminal investigation agency, which would be dedicated to investigating serious crimes -- currently the purview of the

Politics Feb. 9, 2021

Online advertising for prostitution surged in Seoul last year amid social distancing measures, with over 40,000 such instances detected by a monitoring group, the city government said Thursday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said its online citizen monitoring group detected a total of 68,711 cases of illegal and harmful information on internet sites, blogs and social media last year. Among them, advertising for illicit massages and arranged meetups for sex outside brothels marked around 42,

Social Affairs Feb. 4, 2021

Na Kyung-won, former floor leader of the conservative opposition, has vowed to improve gender equality and curb crimes against women and children if she becomes the first female mayor of Seoul. “Korea’s perception on gender has not yet reached an advanced level,” said Na in an interview with The Korea Herald. As to why sexual harassment is still rampant in the workplace, Na pointed to “a closed, vertical organizational culture as well as weak law enforcement and insti

Politics Feb. 2, 2021