On early Sept. 1, 1983, a Soviet interceptor shot down Korean Air Flight 007 en route from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage. All 269 passengers on board were killed as the aircraft crashed into the sea near an island west of Sakhalin, Russia. The Soviets had mistaken the Boeing 747 airliner for a US spy plane as it drifted off course and flew through prohibited Soviet air space. It was one of the deadliest events of the late Cold War. The Soviet Union initially issued a short statement say

Hashtag Korea July 6, 2023

Of the 1,737 batches of kimchi imports from China to South Korea made last month, 88 percent, or 1,525, contained aspartame, a common artificial sweetener that is likely to be declared by the World Health Organization as a possible carcinogen. The declaration would put aspartame on the third-highest of the WHO's four categories for cancer causes, behind carcinogenic and probably carcinogenic and means there is limited evidence it causes cancer. Aloe vera, mobile phones and carpentry are also in

Social Affairs July 5, 2023

Like a lot of things, the controversy over increasing the admissions quota of medical colleges in South Korea, unchanged for 18 years at 3,058 students per year, sounds like an argument over whether the country should lean more toward Europe or more toward America. The solution to such problems for a country is usually to go its own way by learning from others’ mistakes. According to statistics of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the number of practicing physician

Social Affairs July 4, 2023

ULSAN -- Marwa Sadiqi, a fifth grader at Seoboo Elementary School in the southeastern port city of Ulsan, came to South Korea from Afghanistan nearly two years ago, and now she speaks better Korean than her parents. But her Korean still needs improvement to follow along in subjects like science, so she learns the language in a separate class for non-native speakers four hours a week during school hours. “Speaking is okay, but writing is hard, especially spelling Korean,” said Marwa

Hashtag Korea July 2, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s use of the expression “anti-state forces” in an apparent jab at the former Moon Jae-in administration sparked backlash from the liberal opposition and civic groups on Thursday. The presidential office later the same day attempted to quell controversy, claiming the leader's "anti-state" reference was not directed at the previous administration. Yoon made the remarks during a congratulatory speech at a ceremony to mark the founding anniver

Politics June 29, 2023

권재일 한글학회 이사장은 “줄임말이나 신조어를 사용하는 것이 또래 집단 내에서는 문제가 되지 않지만, 또래 집단 밖에서 사용될 경우 세대 간 소통을 저해하기 때문에 공공기관이나 교육기관 및 미디어는 사용을 자제해야 한다”고 말했다. 그는 최근 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 “언어를 구성하는 요소인 발음(음운), 단어(어휘), 문법 중 외래 요소를 받아들이기 제일 어려운 부분이 문법인데, 지난 몇 년 동안 문법마저 파괴되고 있다”며 그 예로 최근 방송 등에서 “일잘러,” “결심러” 등 특정 행동을 잘하는 사람을 “프로 OO러”라고 일컫는 현상을 들었다. 그는 “처음엔 소집단에서 시작해서 확대된 것인데, 이러다가 ‘OO인’ 대신 ‘OO러’로 고정될 수도 있다고 생각하면 끔찍하다”며 이는 발음을 잘못하거나 단어를 잘못

한국어판 June 26, 2023

A final decision has been reached to permanently close the 82-year-old Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital, hospital officials announced Wednesday. Located near Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul’s Jung-gu district, the general hospital -- which had opened as the nation’s first surgical hospital in 1941 -- has been suffering from mounting losses. While the exact closure date is yet to be decided, Seoul Paik will “now proceed with necessary preparations in the following weeks, such a

Social Affairs June 21, 2023

Rev. Lee Dong-hwan, who was suspended from duties for two years by the Korean Methodist Church for blessing gay people at a queer festival, is facing trial again for “sympathizing with homosexuality.” Lee had been barred from preaching sermons, giving blessings and holding prayers on behalf of the Korean Methodist Church for sprinkling flower petals on LGBTQ Christians and others attending a queer festival in Incheon in August 2019. The KMC is affiliated with the US-based United Meth

Social Affairs June 20, 2023

South Korea is finally letting go of an age counting method that no other country in the world uses. Under the traditional East Asian way of reckoning age, a person is considered 1 year old at birth, counting the time spent in the mother’s womb as the first year of life, and grows a year older at the turn of the calendar year, regardless of the actual date of birth. Japan dropped the method from its legal system in 1950, and China hasn’t used it since the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolutio

Social Affairs June 12, 2023

  Lee Dong-kwan, special adviser to President Yoon Suk Yeol for external relations, whom Yoon is reportedly considering as the next head of the Korea Communications Commission, has raised controversy as allegations over his son having bullied a fellow high school student in 2011 have reemerged. Lee said some of the allegations made by the media and members of the main opposition party were “distorted and exaggerated” as he went over details of his son's school violence case in a

Politics June 9, 2023

The Justice Ministry said Thursday foreign nationals involved in even minor drug offenses will be subject to deportation and a permanent entry ban, in addition to criminal punishment. The warning came as the government readies for a nationwide crackdown on illegal aliens for 50 days from June 12 through July 31. The ministries of justice; employment and labor; land, infrastructure and transport; the National Police Agency; and the Korea Coast Guard will take part in the joint inspection. “

Social Affairs June 8, 2023

On Nov. 29, 1987, Korean Air Flight 858, en route from Baghdad to Seoul, exploded mid-air as a bomb planted by two North Korean agents inside an overhead storage bin detonated. All of the 115 people on board, including 104 passengers and 11 crew members, were killed. One hundred and thirteen of them were South Koreans, many of whom were construction workers returning home after years of working in the Middle East. The two other passengers were from India and Lebanon. The explosion took place ab

Hashtag Korea June 7, 2023

The government is developing a system to monitor how busy subway stations are in the Greater Seoul area on a real-time basis, as part of efforts to avoid accidents due to overcrowding. Development of the data analysis model will be completed by August, the Integrated Data Analysis Center under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Sunday. Starting with Seoul subway stations in September, the congestion levels at each station will be shown on the Seoul Metro app. Ridership inside subway ca

Social Affairs June 5, 2023

Foreign residents of Seoul were startled and confused as they woke up to emergency sirens and an alert sent out by the city government early Wednesday morning, just after North Korea launched what it says was a space satellite. At 6:41 a.m., the Seoul city government sent phone alerts and sounded sirens, warning people to prepare for evacuation without saying why -- or where they should evacuate to. Many foreign residents did not immediately know what the alert and the blaring sirens were about,

Social Affairs May 31, 2023

Over half of foreign subscribers claiming unemployment benefits last year were ethnic Koreans with Chinese nationality, data released by a lawmaker showed, despite them accounting for only a third of those paying in to the system. Foreign subscribers of all nationalities were less likely than Koreans to claim, and the disproportionate number of ethnic Korean claimants indicates visa status is one hurdle to accessing benefits. Some 12,107 foreign subscribers received unemployment benefits from th

Social Affairs May 30, 2023