Articles by Park Jun-hee
Park Jun-hee
junheee@heraldcorp.com-
[Weekender] Tale of Daechi moms: Women who go all in for kids’ college dreams
After over two decades of climbing the corporate ladder, Park, a 48-year-old who wished to be identified by her surname, resigned from an executive role two years ago to be a stay-at-home mom. The reason was simple: to micromanage her then-middle school and 10th-grade daughters through Daechi-dong’s cutthroat educational landscape. “It’s where ‘Sky Castle’ takes place. Moms give up time and money to send kids to prominent universities starting from elementary school
weekender Jan. 28, 2023
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Unification Ministry seeks to disclose more N. Korean information to public
The Ministry of Unification aims to disclose more information on North Korea to the general public in 2023, it said Friday during a New Year’s policy briefing to President Yoon Suk Yeol. The ministry said it would focus on improving accessibility and convenience by releasing more North Korean newspapers and broadcasts to the public. It added that it would operate a pilot program by publishing information from Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party and the regime’s
North Korea Jan. 27, 2023
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No mask mandate at schools, airports -- but still on buses, trains
Face masks or coverings will no longer be required indoors in Korea starting Monday, except in high-risk places such as hospitals and on public transportation like buses and trains. Places that will be mask-free include schools, kindergartens, child care centers and department stores. Also on the mask-free list are outdoor and indoor spaces at subway and train stations and airports. The requirement to wear face masks at virus-prone facilities such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, pharm
Social Affairs Jan. 24, 2023
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Sejong University clinches 7th among Korean peers in US News rankings
Sejong University ranked 397th in the annual listing of the world’s best global universities in 2023, the ranking released by the US News showed Thursday. It is also the seventh-best global university in South Korea and the 79th-best global university in Asia now. The university's world ranking climbed up sharply from No. 506 last year. Its ranking among domestic peers went up by two notches. The US News provides an assortment of universities in the world by region or country and subj
Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2023
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S. Korea to decide on lifting indoor masking Friday
South Korean health authorities will decide on Friday whether to lift the indoor mask mandate as early as the end of this month. On Tuesday, health experts on the government advisory committee for COVID-19 held a video conference to discuss ending indoor mask requirements. As they agreed to phase out the indoor mask requirement, some experts also reportedly suggested lifting the mandate as early as Jan. 30, the first Monday after the Lunar New Year holiday. “The latest winter resurgence of
Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2023
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Worker stabs colleague over China insults
A Chinese national was sentenced to prison for 4 1/2 years for the attempted murder of a coworker who demeaned his native country, according to legal professionals and local reports Wednesday. The 60-year-old was indicted on charges of attempting to murder a 50-something coworker with a knife in a parking lot in Ulsan in June. It was reported that the attack happened after a dispute with the Korean worker broke out during a staff dinner in which the assailant claimed that the coworker had insult
Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2023
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Fugitive tycoon denies links to Lee
Kim Seong-tae, the fugitive former chairman of underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group, arrived in South Korea on Tuesday morning after he was arrested in Bangkok last week, roughly eight months after fleeing abroad. Kim is facing multiple charges, including a charge involving main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's leader Lee Jae-myung. Immediately after his arrival, Kim was taken to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office in Gyeonggi Province. Kim denied a link with the main opposition le
Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2023
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Immigration officer warned for 'forcing' Chinese national to apologize
The National Human Rights Commission said Monday it asked the chief of the Daejeon Immigration Office to take precautions against an official at an investigation department for "forcing" a Chinese national to submit a statement apologizing for driving under the influence. According to the NHRC, a Chinese national with an F-5 visa or a permanent residency visa was told to write a statement when the person visited the immigration office to get the registration card reissued in November 2
Social Affairs Jan. 16, 2023
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Ministry to disclose information of convicts who remove electronic anklets
Personal information of convicts will be disclosed to the public regardless of the crime if their whereabouts are unknown after removing their GPS-equipped electronic monitoring anklets. On Thursday, the Ministry of Justice began implementing the rules for revealing information if criminal offenders’ locations are unknown, in a bid to prevent offenders from committing secondary offenses. Previously, only the personal information of felons who had committed serious crimes like murder, sexua
Social Affairs Jan. 16, 2023
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Lawmaker’s son blasted for Chun Doo-hwan reference in rap
Rapper No:el, or Chang Yong-joon, whose father is Rep. Chang Je-won of the ruling People Power Party, has come under fire for mentioning the late former President Chun Doo-hwan -- a military dictator responsible for killing civilians in the 1980s -- in his new track released Friday. In the song titled “Gang Gang Gang?” the rapper sings, “If it were Chun Doo-hwan’s era, you’d end up in the basement if you mess with me.” Chun is one of the most controversial fig
Social Affairs Jan. 16, 2023
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Itaewon police probe ends, holding 23 officials responsible
A special police investigation into the deadly Itaewon crowd crush in October concluded Friday, with 23 officials referred to the prosecution, but with the Seoul mayor, safety minister and national police chief not among them. Investigators referred officials, including the Mayor of Yongsan-gu Park Hee-Yeong, and the then-chief of the Yongsan Police Station, Lee Im-jae, to the prosecution on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. Four other officials from the Yongsan Ward and the
Social Affairs Jan. 13, 2023
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VIXX’s Ravi booked for draft dodging with local broker
Ravi of boy band VIXX was booked by the joint investigation team of the prosecution and the Military Manpower Administration on charges of illegally evading military service through the use of a broker, media outlets reported Thursday. The joint investigation team suspects that the rapper had contacted a military broker to help him show false symptoms of epilepsy during a military examination. During the reexamination, he was deemed unfit to serve as a soldier in the army, which allowed him to s
Social Affairs Jan. 13, 2023
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Man gets 22 years in prison for attempting to murder noisy neighbors
A Incheon man will serve 22 years in prison for the attempted murder of three members of a neighboring family over noise complaints, after he dropped his appeal, according to legal professionals and news reports Thursday. The Incheon District Court ordered the man to serve 22 years in prison and to wear a GPS-equipped electronic monitoring anklet for 10 years in the first trial in May. The ruling was confirmed as he withdrew the appeal he filed with the Supreme Court earlier this year. Only iden
Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2023
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Hair curler bullying scene in ‘The Glory’ stirs memories of similar case from 2006
The school bullying scenes depicted in Netflix’s blood-soaking revenge drama “The Glory” have fanned memories of a horrific case of school violence that happened 17 years ago. The no-holds-barred depictions of abuse in the drama reminded many viewers of the incident dubbed “hair curler bullying” that took place at a girls’ middle school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in May 2006. In the drama, Park Yeon-jin, the main bully in her senior year of high
Social Affairs Jan. 11, 2023
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China suspends issuing short-term visas for Koreans
China said Tuesday that it would stop issuing short-term visas for Koreans, including those traveling to the country for business purposes and tourism, in retaliation against the Korean government’s tightened COVID-19 restrictions against passengers from the neighboring country. The Chinese Embassy in Seoul said it was suspending the issuance of short-term visas to China for Korean nationals starting Tuesday under instruction from Beijing, via its official WeChat account. The embassy added
Foreign Affairs Jan. 10, 2023
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