In line with the growing fervor for Korean content, the country has also seen a rise in the number of non-native test-takers for the Korean proficiency test. Launched in 1997, the Test of Proficiency in Korean, or TOPIK, administered by the National Institute for International Education, a government body operating under the Ministry of Education, is a test that measures non-Korean nationals' ability to understand and use the Korean language. The test results are valid for two years, and is

Social Affairs June 11, 2023

Police are searching for 10 Vietnamese nationals who escaped from a police station after being arrested on gambling charges Sunday morning. Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station said Sunday that the escapees had fled the police station by diving out of a window inside the meeting room at around 6:40 a.m, some three hours after they were detained. According to police, the window is 20 centimeters wide and can be tilted inward by 15 degrees. The 10 escapees were among 23 Vietnamese nationals arrested on

Social Affairs June 11, 2023

While being a police officer has long been considered a job for life in South Korea, an increasing number of officers are leaving the force, citing fatigue from work and difficulties in dealing with the community, data showed Sunday. According to data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to Rep. Chung Woo-taik of the ruling People Power Party, 3,543 police officers quit their jobs last year, a 46.3 percent increase from 2,421 in 2018. In 2019, the police force saw 2,305 officers resign

Social Affairs June 11, 2023

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho is attempting to change the course of South Korea’s education system by adopting artificial intelligence technology in all public school classrooms, which the minister claims will transform the nation’s hypercompetitive education culture and make it the first country in the world to adopt such measures at scale. Calling it a “paradigm shift,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday that the new plan of replacing paper-based te

Social Affairs June 8, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta on Friday and agreed to upgrade the bilateral ties between the two nations in the fields of development, labor, education and forestry. Yoon was quoted by his office as saying that he had explained the Korea International Cooperation Agency’s projects in the health, medical and educational field and environmental projects in East Timor. The presidential office added that Yoon has also sought aid and support from the Eas

Politics June 2, 2023

A police officer was arrested and charged with nonconsensual video recording during sex of partners he had met through a dating app. The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said Friday that it had indicted the officer at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police for breaching the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and for tampering with evidence. The police officer, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of filming 26 women without consent during sex using his

Social Affairs June 2, 2023

South Korea’s anti-corruption watchdog said Thursday that it has launched a full-scale probe into allegations that high-ranking officials at the National Election Commission used their power and position to secure employment for their own children within the state agency. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said it would probe incumbent and retired officials and those previously acquitted from the election watchdog to look into employment practices. The commission said it has r

Social Affairs June 1, 2023

A government agency that oversees policy coordination on Wednesday recommended that the Ministry of Education lower the standard for foreigners’ educational qualifications to teach online classes at hagwons -- or private academies -- to match those of domestic instructors. The Regulatory Tribunal of the Office for Government Policy Coordination recommended that the Education Ministry revise its current standard for foreign instructors teaching online lectures at hagwons to match that for K

Social Affairs May 31, 2023

Confusion, frustration and fear were what Lee Hyun-jung felt early Wednesday morning after she received a mobile emergency alert and heard sirens outside calling for Seoulites to evacuate following the news that North Korea had attempted to launch a space satellite. The sirens started at 6:32 a.m, with the city issuing a “Presidential Alert” to all Seoul residents to prepare for a potential evacuation. However, 20 minutes later the Interior Ministry sent a correction. “Notice t

Social Affairs May 31, 2023

The Seoul Metropolitan Police’s anti-corruption unit raided Korean broadcaster MBC on Tuesday as part of a probe into the alleged leaking of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon’s personal information involving one of its journalists. The police said the raid of the MBC headquarters in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, was reportedly to search through the reporter’s department to seize evidence. They also raided the home of the MBC reporter in the morning and confiscated the phone and car of t

Politics May 30, 2023

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday that it would monitor drug-related offenses more closely by installing and renewing old surveillance cameras across the city. The city government will add 2,096 surveillance cameras and restore 1,531 old security cameras in 25 districts. Currently, there are 87,884 surveillance cameras in Seoul as of December 2022, where related personnel is working in real-time to detect drug crimes. With the upgrade, the metropolitan government said the security c

Social Affairs May 30, 2023

An appeals court on Monday upheld an eight-year prison term for a smuggler who attempted to bring chocolate-covered methamphetamine pills into South Korea. The Gwangju High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the smuggler, a Thai national whose identity has been withheld, convicting for breaching the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The gender of the convicted was not known. The customs office at Incheon International Airport discovered the 10,123 pills of yaba -- a mix of me

Social Affairs May 29, 2023

As South Korea’s fertility rates are waning, the number of women giving birth in their 40s has starkly increased over the last decade, data showed Monday. According to data received by Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the total number of birth cases declined from 424,717 in 2013 to 244,580 in 2022, down 180,137 births in 10 years. In the same period, however, the country saw a rise in the number of women giving birth in their 40

Social Affairs May 29, 2023

Amid the ongoing debate whether South Korea should implement a system to introduce domestic workers of foreign nationality, Rep. Cho Jung-hun of the minor opposition party, Transition Korea, on Thursday repeated his idea that care providers from overseas should be paid below Korea‘s statutory minimum wage. During a radio interview with MBC on Thursday, Cho, the sole elected lawmaker of the party, said paying low wages would reduce families‘ financial burden and claimed it would help

Politics May 25, 2023

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it would inject 280 billion won ($212 million) to create new outdoor gardens in the capital city to reduce fine dust levels, lower average daily temperatures and increase citizens' access to nature. Unveiling "Garden City Seoul," Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the city’s new initiative would pave the way for Seoulites to live a greener and healthier life, pointing out that nearly 60 percent of people in the capital reside in apartment

Social Affairs May 24, 2023