The hiring process entails resume screening, a written test and an interview. Once selected, the interpreters work as freelancers, conducting consecutive interpreting during refugee interviews when there is a request. The pay is 50,000 won ($38.55) per hour. The ministry’s current pool of interpreters consists mainly of college students, office workers and married immigrants. Some 40 percent of ...

The Philippines, with its large expatriate Korean communities attracting those seeking to hide from the Korean law, is among the several countries that Korean police have committed extra resources to enhance such cross-border cooperation. Since 2010, the national police agency operates “Korean desk” in the country, as well as Vietnam, China, Thailand and Cambodia. “Police officers dispatched th...

His theory perhaps explains the tragic Daegu subway disaster of 2003. A 56-year-old mentally ill man surnamed Kim ignited a gasoline-filled container inside a subway train at Jungangno Station in Daegu to kill himself. He escaped the scene and survived. But 192 innocent people died due to his act, and 151 were injured. He was sentenced to life in prison in August of the same year. Thrilled by f...

Soldiers comb ground for bullet shells Soldiers in the country’s armed forces are also subject to strict firearm control measures. All soldiers are required to collect their empty cartridges after each rifle drill. One spent shell means a soldier has fired a shot. The practice of keeping track of every shot fired is aimed at “reducing risks of accidents caused by concealment of live ammunition...

In fact, drug-related crimes are no longer an issue in some Western countries. According to data from the Supreme Prosecutors Office released on May 8, a total of 16,153 Koreans were arrested for drug use throughout last year. About 30 percent, or 5,077, of them were in their 20s. The number of offenders in their 20s was up by almost 60 percent from the previous year. “Drug offenders are gradual...

One of the most overused K-drama cliches is a superrich man falling in love with a beautiful girl from a poor family. Twenty-six year-old Koh, who is a member of a matchmaking program run by Duo, says it’s just the way it is. “Men’s wealth and women’s looks. I think it’s a reasonable trade-off,” Koh said. “Women wanting someone better than themselves is just as natural as people wanting more mo...

“Omakase” is a traditional Japanese dining style where guests leave their menu choices up to a chef. Literally meaning “I will leave it to you” in Japanese, omakase in Korea usually refers to a high-end dining experience at a Japanese restaurant’s sushi counter. The chef prepares one piece of fish at a time and introduces its name and origin. Recently, non-sushi items, from tempura, coffee and p...

A craving for sweet foods and hunger for exploring new flavors are diversifying Seoul’s dessert cafe scene. From British Cornish pasties to Turkey’s traditional milk cream “kaymak,” here are three dessert cafes that reporters of The Korea Herald visited to help you expand your taste palate. Meet Turkish version of clotted cream Victoria Bakery, situated in a small alley cornering Seochon Villa...

Lee Ru-bin, a 31-year-old Korean woman who lives with her Lithuanian boyfriend, Paulius, in Germany, can attest to the vast difference in perceptions. “I think couples should live together before getting married to understand each other more. Whether your partner has a sense of hygiene or unique lifestyle is something that you can’t see while going for dates outside. This is the case not only in...

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring the city’s subway stations and surrounding areas. -- Ed. On a subway map of Seoul, some stations have names that end in the same Korean letter, romanized as “reung,” or “neung.” Signifying the burial mounds of kings and queens, the stations are where the royal mausoleums from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) lie, a rem...

Linnea from Sweden who has been seeing a Korean guy was surprised that many Korean couples keep communicating even when they’re busy with their work or hanging out with other friends. “In my country, when couples are apart, they don’t constantly call or text. But many Korean couples seem to want to know about the whereabouts of their loved ones in near real time,” she said. On this, Sarah from ...

Perilla leaves are often clumped together because of their thin layers, making it hard for even the most dexterous chopstick user to take just one leaf at a time. Friendship with a member of the opposite gender, however, isn’t a controversial matter in Germany, like it is in Korea, said Lara, a German who is dating a Korean man. “It’s not easy to find Germans being jealous of their lover’s oppo...

The home balcony of Instagram user @mosdch is a playground for kids, equipped with slides, a swing and a toy kitchen. By Choi Jae-hee ( cjh@heraldcorp.com )

Crazy for love milestones On KakaoTalk, the almost-ubiquitous messaging app for Koreans, it is not difficult to find users who display the number of days they have been together with someone on their personal profile page. Other than updating their relationship status to friends and acquaintances, the calendar icon serves a very practical purpose -- counting the days for important milestones in...

Among a variety of couple items in Korea, the “couple ring” -- not to be confused with the wedding ring -- came as a surprise to some foreigners. Aybuke, a 27-year-old Turkish graduate student from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, said, “Couples sometimes match their clothes in my country, but Korean couple stuff is on another level. I don’t prefer to wear a ring unless I’m married.” She has been...