Day 3 Finally rain. It starts as a light drizzle and, as my friend has recommended, I head to the Seogwipo Forest of Healing. She has assured me that the thick tree canopy would protect me from light rain. And she is right. I take a course that leads me through thick forest with mossy rocks. I hear the raindrops but I stay surprisingly dry. However, the walk gets a little scary as I am the only...

Seeking authenticity Noting that directors today tend to rely on the image of workers inside their own heads, Kim says they are squeezing workers and minorities into a frame of a victim narrative, competing to show who is the bigger victim in an increasingly sensational manner. “It must be asked if this is right,” says the so-far mild-mannered Kim, raising his voice in anger and frustration. Wh...

The novel coronavirus that began its insidious spread at the beginning of the year continues to wreak havoc around the world, claiming lives, slowing down economies and changing the way we live. South Korea, which was initially hit hard by a large cluster of COVID-19 cases in Daegu involving a cultish religious group, continues to be plagued by low-level spreads. On Thursday, the government anno...

Yi has been hosting one radio show after another ever since he made a debut as a radio DJ in 2007. His shows have included an indie music program, which he hosted from 2014-2017, as well as a literary show in which he read out passages and played music to go with the literary selections. He also hosted a music program on KBTS TV Chuncheon for two or three years. He has been hosting “World Music J...

By Kim Hoo-ran ( khooran@heraldcorp.com )

The 1,442nd Wednesday Rally held across the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday proceeded as it has for 30 years, opening with a performance followed by individual citizens and group representatives coming to the microphone to express their support for former Japanese military sex slaves during World War II and call on the Japanese government to officially apologize to the victims and provide ...

Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, life seems to have settled into a humdrum rhythm. Days pass like the swing of a pendulum -- back and forth, back and forth, from home to work, work to home. Yet, such regularity as I have not experienced in years does little to offer peace of mind or comfort. Beneath the surface calm is the constant whirring of the brain. Actions have consequences and in these ...

At Myongji Hospital, music is not just a complementary program but a proper entity in itself. “We have an independent Center of Arts and Healing, established in 2013, with 13-14 staff, offering programs in five areas. Music therapy is the most active of the programs,” Lee said. In the beginning, collaboration was difficult, Lee recalled. “I asked doctors to look for medical evidence (of art’s ro...

Today is Parents’ Day. In any other year, the day would be celebrated with family dinners, bouquets of red carnations, presents and cash gifts. This year, however, the government is asking people to stay away from the elderly, especially the elderly in care facilities to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The elderly were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, their bodies alrea...

With the World Health Organization predicting that the coronavirus will not dissipate anytime soon, we are left to grapple with the stark reality of living with a highly contagious, still largely unknown virus with no known cure as of yet. The COVID-19 pandemic has infected nearly 2.6 million people and killed more than 180,000 people around the world since the first case of the acute respirator...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” So it feels today, the 10th day of voluntary self-isolation at home. Much to my relief, my younger child and husband returned home from the UK safe and in good health at the end of March, their plans disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The two are following the government’s orders for returnees to immediately go into self-isolation at home ...

Reading the news on secret chat rooms on Telegram where videos of sexual exploitation were traded feels like wading through filth. So much so, I consciously stayed away from it as much as possible until Wednesday, when it was no longer possible. Leaving Jongno Police Station in Seoul on Wednesday, Cho Ju-bin stood in front of a photo line for the press. Without a mask or cap to cover his face, t...

The novel coronavirus has landed at my doorsteps. Literally. Almost 60 days into the COVID-19 outbreak, my mobile phone screeched an alert with a message that two people in my neighborhood were confirmed with the respiratory illness. My mind raced, trying to retrace my steps over the past several days hoping that our paths did not cross. Following the patients’ movements posted on my district’s ...

The entire country, and increasingly the world, is gripped by the fear of a possible viral pandemic. In South Korea, what seemed at first controllable is now virtually out of control, with new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infections growing by the hundreds every day and the number of deaths -- most of patients already in poor health with preexisting conditions -- climbing as well. The g...

Yes, I have finally found someone who understands what it is like to live with a heightened sense of smell, I thought, watching Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite.” I felt vindicated about my irritation at being hit with the sharp, pungent smell of kimchi upon opening the fridge, the boxes of odor-absorbing baking soda apparently past their expiration date. The agitation of waking up to the acrid smell of...