[Korea Beyond Korea] Korean culture boom fuels interest in Korean studies in Europe

“Korean Studies Beyond Korea” explores the current landscape of Korean studies through interviews, in-depth analyses and on-the-ground stories told from diverse world areas. Funded by the Korea Press Foundation, this series delves into the challenges and opportunities facing the field as Korea's rise as a cultural powerhouse has drawn interest from scholars, researchers and leaders from around the globe. – Ed. For a long time, the field of Korean studies in Europe remain

Hashtag KoreaOct. 9, 2023

N. Korea dominates in weightlifting in return to int'l sports competition

HANGZHOU(Yonhap) -- Marking its return to international multisport competition after a five-year absence, North Korea dominated in weightlifting at the 19th Asian Games in China. Athletes and officials from the reclusive regime also generated headlines away from the field of play in and around Hangzhou. North Korea had been absent from the past two major international sports competitions. It skipped the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021, citing COVID-19 concerns. The International Olympic Committe

More SportsOct. 9, 2023

Israeli forces clash with Hamas gunmen after hundreds killed

Israeli forces clashed with gunmen from the Palestinian group Hamas on Sunday, 24 hours after the militants launched a surprise attack on Israel in which about 500 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence in Israel for 50 years. The biggest incursion into Israel in decades could undermine US-backed efforts to forge regional security alignments that could threaten Palestinian aspirations for statehood and the ambitions of the group's main backer, Iran. Hamas fighters began their a

World NewsOct. 8, 2023

Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation

    JERUSALEM — Backed by a barrage of rockets, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. A stunned Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with its prime minister saying the country is now at war with Hamas and vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.” In an assault of startling breadth , Hama

World NewsOct. 8, 2023

Safety is top priority as over 1m expected to gather for fireworks festival

Crowd control measures and road closures can be expected in Seoul over the weekend as the capital gets ready for the 2023 Seoul International Fireworks Festival. Ahead of the festival, which is set to take place in Yeouido on Saturday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo ordered the government to execute detailed crowd control and put emergency medical arrangements in place near the site. Han said Thursday authorities must work to designate entrances and exits at the venue, set up barriers to dema

Social AffairsOct. 6, 2023

LG Energy Solution secures massive battery supply deal for Toyota EVs

LG Energy Solution and Toyota announced Thursday that they have signed a 10-year supply contract for lithium-ion battery modules to be used in Toyota’s battery electric vehicles assembled in the United States, marking the first collaboration between the Korean battery maker and the Japanese auto giant in the burgeoning EV market. LG Energy Solution said it will invest 4 trillion won ($3 billion) in its Michigan plant to set up new production lines for battery cells and modules exclusively

MobilityOct. 5, 2023

Culture minister nominee warns celebrities to be cautious over political speech

Culture Minister nominee Yu In-chon said Tuesday that public figures should be careful when speaking out publicly, when asked about his thoughts on a social media post by a singer concerning Japan's discharge of contaminated water. “Although anyone is free to express their opinions, when it comes to celebrities or public figures who have social influence, they should be careful when they publicly speak about something because it comes along with responsibility," he said in a writ

PoliticsOct. 4, 2023

No. of depression patients exceeds 1m in 2022

The number of patients with depression in Korea has increased by more than 30 percent over the past five years, exceeding the milestone of 1 million for 2022, data showed Tuesday. According to data that Rep. Nam In-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and the Health and Welfare Committee received from the National Health Insurance Service, the number of patients treated for depression has increased every year since 2018. From 752,976 in 2018, there were 799,011 in 2019, 832,378

Social AffairsOct. 3, 2023

[Out of the Shadows] Tell the truth: Advanced drug education needed to curb teen exposure, experts say

Drug prevention education has long been thought of as a criminal issue in South Korea, but an increase in teenage drug offenders has led to wider calls for enhanced drug education. As concerns grow over adolescents’ shallow awareness of drugs due to a lack of education, politicians on both sides of the aisle are also demanding more thorough drug abuse prevention. In November last year, Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the ruling People Power Party proposed a bill that would make drug prevention program

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2023

Where is Blackpink headed?

Will Blackpink continue or will the group disband? Are the members moving to a different label or will they go independent? Rumors have been swirling as K-pop's biggest girl group and its agency, YG Entertainment, remain silent on the future, despite their seven-year contract having apparently reached the end of its term in August. On Tuesday, it was reported Jennie and Jisoo had established their own independent labels, though YG Entertainment denied to confirm the reports. "Nothing has be

K-popOct. 1, 2023

Same day, different holiday: Mid-autumn festivals across East Asia

People staring at screens to book tickets to home, jammed highways and families enjoying festive foods are typical scenes associated with Chuseok, one of South Korea's biggest traditional holidays. Along with Seollal, Chuseok is one of two holidays that span three consecutive days. The origins of Chuseok are unclear, but similar holidays are celebrated across East Asia on the same date -- Aug. 15 on the lunar calendar -- though some have come to mark Aug. 15 on the solar calendar as well.

CultureSept. 29, 2023

New teachers’ manual bans recording devices in classrooms

Parents have been banned from using recording devices or other means to record lessons without the teacher’s permission, according to a new teachers’ manual distributed by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday. The move aims to prevent parents from installing sound recording apps on their child’s phone to eavesdrop on classrooms, as some parents have reportedly confronted and verbally attacked teachers in the past based on such audio recordings, according to the ministry. Unde

Social AffairsSept. 27, 2023

Do professors in Korea have too much power over students?

Earlier this month, a former professor saw his appeal denied in a lawsuit he filed to overturn the university’s decision to dismiss him. He was fired for sending inappropriate messages to a graduate student -- a female foreign national doing a doctorate. In 2021, the male professor sent sexually suggestive messages to the Ph.D. student, while implying that he would not pass her dissertation if she continued to avoid his advances. In some of the messages disclosed to the media, he described

Social AffairsSept. 26, 2023

[Korea Beyond Korea] Early Koreanists 'on verge of extinction overseas'

Compared to the ancient and medieval history and archaeology of China and Japan, those of Korea have been substantially understudied overseas, with only a small number of scholars interested in the field. But the number has dwindled even more over the past years due to a lack of job opportunities and funding, according to Jack Davey, a US-based scholar of early Korean history and archaeology. A 2019 symposium on the archaeology of Korea, for instance, brought together just 12 scholars -- and s

Hashtag KoreaSept. 25, 2023

Esports legend Faker seeks to lead Korean surge at Asian Games

Among the biggest names in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou is South Korean Lee Sang-hyeok, better known by his gaming handle Faker and reputed to be one of the greatest esports players of all time. The 27-year-old is part of the country’s delegation of 1,140 athletes and officials participating in the Asian Games that kicked off Saturday. Led by Lee, South Korea has formed a national team of 15 players competing in four of seven categories of esports, which is making its debut as a medal

More SportsSept. 24, 2023

Modern pentathlete Kim Sun-woo wins silver for S. Korea's 1st medal in Hangzhou

South Korean modern pentathlete Kim Sun-woo won silver for the country's first medal at the 19th Asian Games on Sunday. Kim scored 1,386 points in total to take home the silver medal in the final of the women's individual modern pentathlon at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou at the ongoing summer Asian Games. She finished 20 points behind Chinese Zhang Mingyu, while China's Bian Yufei took bronze with 1,374 points. Kim's silver was her third consecutive Asian Games medal, following her tea

More SportsSept. 24, 2023

Koreans prefer cash in Chuseok gifting for parents

More Koreans are expressing a preference for offering cash instead of gift sets to their parents during the Chuseok holiday, data showed Thursday. According to a survey conducted by KB Kookmin Card, a subsidiary of South Korea's KB Financial Group, among a total of 420 survey participants, 91 percent are planning to prepare gifts either in monetary or non-monetary form for their parents, with almost 80 percent opting for cash while 43 percent are considering product purchases. In terms

Social AffairsSept. 22, 2023

[Well-curated] A weekend for fall-time festivities

Namhae Oktoberfest comes to Seoul A limited-time pop-up event introducing Namhae German Village is being held in Seongsu-dong through Tuesday. The event sheds light on how Namhae German Village -- a village built by Koreans who went to work in Germany primarily as nurses and miners in the '60s and the '70s and returned to Korea after retirement, many of them with their German spouses. The village was first settled by about 75 families. The event showcases photos and maps of Namhae Germ

CultureSept. 22, 2023

Number of dementia patients set to surpass 1m this year

As South Korea's population ages at a rapid pace, the number of dementia patients in the country is also rising quickly, projected to exceed one million for the first time this year. According to the “Current State of Dementia 2022” report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1 in 10 Koreans over the age of 65 suffers from dementia. The number of dementia patients aged 65 or older last year was 935,086, accounting for 10.38 percent of the senior population aged 65 or

Social AffairsSept. 21, 2023

No more hurdles for Korea's nuclear reactor exports?

A recent favorable ruling in the US may have lifted some pressure on South Korea regarding its export of nuclear reactors, but challenges remain as its US partner shows no sign of agreement in their ongoing legal disputes. The District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday dismissed Westinghouse Electric Company’s lawsuit against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, ruling that the US energy firm -- which lacks the authority to enforce US nuclear technology export control requirements -- d

IndustrySept. 20, 2023