Gridlock is expected to persist in South Korea's legislature, as the rival parties remain locked in a cycle of the ruling party filibustering opposition-led bills, with the president then vetoing them, with no efforts to find bipartisan consensus. The latest in this ongoing political tug-of-war centers on a series of broadcasting bills to curb government influence over public broadcasters. On Sunday, the opposition-led National Assembly passed the second of four such bills, overriding a fil

Politics July 28, 2024

A ruling party lawmaker on Wednesday addressed the need for legislation to crack down on defamatory YouTube content, citing recent controversy over the blackmail of a popular mukbang star. During a confirmation hearing for Lee Jin-sook, nominee for Korea Communications Commission chair, Rep. Shin Sung-bum pressed for her views on the issue, noting it has inflicted immense harm on the victims. The discussion was prompted by a recent incident involving Tzuyang, a renowned mukbang content creator w

Social Affairs July 24, 2024

Over half of outpatients in South Korea spent under five minutes with their doctor during medical appointments last year, a study showed Wednesday. The study, commissioned by the Health Ministry and conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, gathered responses from 14,910 individuals between July 24 and Sept. 22 last year. Its findings show that 55 percent of respondents reported spending less than five minutes with their doctor, with 17.6 percent saying consultations lasted

Social Affairs July 24, 2024

South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Tuesday elected Rep. Ihn Yohan, Korea’s first American Korean lawmaker, to its five-member Supreme Council, the party's highest decision-making body led by newly elected Chair Han Dong-hoon. Ihn, whose English name is John Linton, served as chair of the party's innovation committee last year. Elected to parliament this year through proportional representation, the dual US-Korean national was running mate to chair candidate Won Hee-r

Politics July 23, 2024

The South Korean Education Ministry announced Tuesday a comprehensive crackdown on advanced learning programs across the country’s private academies, particularly those offering high-school level curricula to young children. The initiative, running from July 3 to Aug. 30, aims to clamp down on "pre-curriculum learning" in these tutoring institutions known locally as hagwons. Many hagwons offer intensive college-prep courses for elementary students, exposing them to advanced sub

Social Affairs July 23, 2024

South Korea entered its second day of renewed loudspeaker broadcasts along its border with North Korea on Monday, a retaliatory response to Pyongyang's recent barrage of trash-laden balloons sent southward. Hours after North Korea floated hundreds of balloons toward the South, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that "full-scale" broadcasting began Sunday afternoon and would continue on Monday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. As of 8 a.m., Monday, the South Korean military iden

Politics July 22, 2024

Naver's webcomic platform Webtoon, boasting 170 million active users each month, has transformed the comics industry for the mobile era. Following its much-anticipated Nasdaq debut on June 27, attention has turned to the economic realities facing its vast pool of creators. The company's recent US Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted ahead of its initial public offering confirms substantial incomes for top performers, but also reveals a deep divide within the creator ecos

Culture July 7, 2024

Vintage cafe in timeworn Haebangchon Perched on the steep slopes of Seoul's Namsan, Haebangchon is a neighborhood where the past seems to exist alongside the present. Narrow uphill roads wind through a cluttered landscape where pedestrians and buses jostle for space, beneath the canopy of tangled power lines and weathered buildings. Tucked away in maze-like alleyways lies Tajagi, a cafe that embodies the neighborhood’s vintage charm. Its name, meaning "typewriter" in Korean,

Culture July 5, 2024

The Korea Tourism Organization will officially appoint K-pop girl group NewJeans as honorary tourism ambassadors for 2024 in a ceremony next week, a KTO official confirmed Thursday. The announcement follows earlier local media reports that the five-member group had been chosen by the state tourism body to promote South Korean culture and attractions around the world. NewJeans joins a cadre of previous high-profile ambassadors, including Premier League soccer star Son Heung-min and K-pop groups E

People July 4, 2024

The University of Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies hosted its first annual Korean Literature Night on Friday, featuring Cha In-pyo, an accomplished actor and novelist, as a special guest. Held at the Ioannou Centre for Classical & Byzantine Studies, the event opened with Cha presenting his 2009 novel "Once We Look at the Same Star," which addresses the issue of sex slavery in the Japanese military during World War II. Korean linguistics professor Jieun Kiae

Books July 1, 2024

The Ministry of Culture is launching its 11th annual Talk Talk Korea contest, inviting creators worldwide to share their unique vision of Korean culture. Running from June 28 to Aug. 31, this year's competition offers prizes ranging from cutting-edge tech gadgets to an immersive Korean adventure. Under the theme "Experience the essence of Korea," participants can showcase their creativity across five categories: promo videos, arts and crafts, motion graphics, photobooks, and the f

Culture June 28, 2024

The National Academy of Arts, South Korea's premier artists society affiliated with the Culture Ministry, announced Thursday its annual roster of honorees, celebrating both venerated masters and emerging talents across the arts spectrum. The Academy's prestigious annual award, instituted in 1955 to honor lifelong artistic contributions, recognized four individuals who have left indelible marks on Korea’s cultural landscape. Each recipient receives a grant of 50 million won ($38,0

People June 28, 2024

Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935) that challenges long-held assumptions about early Korean burial practices. The Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced Wednesday that two newly excavated tombs in the Jjoksaem district of Gyeongju represent a previously unknown burial type for the era. Gyeongju is known for its numerous ancient royal tombs and exquisite artifacts. Jjoksaem, where Silla’

Culture June 26, 2024

In May 1982, Ven. Jikwan, then 50 years old, knelt in prayer at Gyeongguksa, a Buddhist temple nestled in the foothills of Seoul's Bukhan Mountain. The monk, dean of Buddhist studies at Korea’s largest Buddhist university and highly respected for his scholarly demeanor, had a grand ambition: make Buddhism’s extensive history accessible to ordinary people, in plain Korean. "After all these years, I begin to write an encyclopedia," he prayed. "May the eight guardian

Culture June 26, 2024

The Korean Film Council is accepting applications, starting July 1, for a support initiative to connect indie filmmakers with distributors, the state-run agency said Monday. Now in its fourth year, the First Link program aims to bridge the gap between artistic creation and commercial release in the country's vibrant independent cinema scene. While Korean arthouse cinema has garnered international acclaim, with works like "Breathless" (2008) and "House of Hummingbird" (20

Film June 24, 2024