A dynamic, cutthroat society that never rests -- that has been South Korea until now. Changes have taken place in this Asian country in recent decades at speeds no other nation could follow: from poverty to prosperity, from the ruins of colonial occupation and civil war to becoming a rising cultural superpower on the international stage. But at the same breakneck pace, Korea is leading the world into a future where the majority live past 90 years old and fewer people are working to keep the econ

Social Affairs March 11, 2023

Ondoni Ssem was previously just another popular fitness instructor on YouTube. But her online identity changed overnight when she uploaded a video late last month. In the video, she revealed herself to be the sole survivor of an infamous familicide that happened in Seoul’s satellite city of Yongin in 2017, in which her stepbrother killed her father, stepmother and younger brother. With her confession, the YouTuber with over 200,000 subscribers joined a growing group of individuals who are

Social Affairs March 6, 2023

Mastering a foreign language requires a long-term commitment that can take years. Without the promise of it becoming a valuable asset to your professional or personal life, it can be difficult to stay committed. What are the rewards for attaining fluency in Korean? Will the time and energy learners put into learning the language pay off in some way other than being able to watch K-dramas without subtitles? To explore the benefits of learning Korean further, The Korea Herald spoke to four non-Kor

Hashtag Korea March 5, 2023

Delivery riders helped police catch a drunk driver who fled after hitting a parked truck, officials said Friday. The Changwon Seobu Police Station said the 40-year-old male driver was suspected of crashing into a truck while changing lanes near the city’s northeastern district of Uichang-gu at 11:28 p.m. on Wednesday. The driver had been on the run in his vehicle after some officers began chasing him upon receiving a report of suspected drunk driving. Following the hit-and-run, instead of

Social Affairs March 3, 2023

A Seoul court on Monday ruled against a local hospital which mandated a recovering alcoholic to clean its facility as part of its rehabilitation program. The Seoul Administrative Court said the hospital’s policy was tantamount to a violation of patients’ rights in terms of human dignity and access to care. Court documents showed that the hospital in question mandated its in-patients to engaging in manual labor including cleaning, laundry and meal distribution, as part of its recovery

Social Affairs Feb. 27, 2023

Two Korean Americans and one Korean national died over the weekend after being swept up in an avalanche on a mountain in Washington state, US, officials said Thursday. The three climbers, who were part of a six-person group, were attempting to climb a 2,650-meter peak in Washington’s Cascade Mountains on Sunday when the avalanche was “triggered,” the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release shared via Twitter. According to sheriff’s office, the victims

Social Affairs Feb. 23, 2023

Over 8,000 child day care centers in South Korea closed over the past four years, weighed down by declining births, government data showed. Some 21 percent, or 8,248, of all day care centers across the nation disappeared from end-2018 to the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Sunday. The total number of day care centers, which typically admit children aged 6 and under, stood at 30,923 as of Dec. 31, compared with 39,171 at end-2018. Separate data showed that the

Social Affairs Feb. 20, 2023

With the introduction of bullet trains in the mid-2000s, the usage of intercity charter buses began to decline rapidly in South Korea. Several bus terminals across the country have gone out of business since. The Seoul Express Bus Terminal is an exception. The terminal, which opened in 1981 in what is now one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Seoul, still teems with visitors. The terminal itself is a testament to Seoul’s rapid economic growth. Starting as a bus terminal in the middl

Culture Feb. 19, 2023

인공지능 (AI) 챗봇 챗GPT가 국내외 불문 높은 인기를 끌고 있으나 한국에 대한 기본적인 정보에서조차 오답이나 오류가 많아 우려의 목소리가 나오고 있다. 특히 윤석열 대통령과 더불어민주당 이재명 대표를 구분하지 못하는 등 한국인의 이름을 쉽게 헷갈려 했다. 전문가들은 이 같은 결과가 한국에 대해 영어로 쓰여진 정보가 한글 로마자 표기법 (스펠링)면에서 일관성이 부족하고, 일부 부정확한 정보를 포함하고 있는데 기인한다고 보았다. 코리아헤럴드는 챗GPT에 다수의 한국인에 관해 영어로 물어봤다. 우선, 윤석열 대통령에 관한 질문을 한 결과, 챗GPT는 “전 경기도지사 (the Governor of Gyeonggi Province)"로 더불어민주당 소속 (affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea)”라고 답변했다. 이재명 대표와 혼동한 것이다. 조국 전 법무부 장관의 배우자 정경심 전 동양대 교수에 대한 질문에는 삼성

한국어판 Feb. 16, 2023

Artificial intelligence-powered chatbot ChatGPT is all the rage, with the potential to change the way many people work. But for those hoping to get quick answers about Korea from the AI platform, it is not to be trusted, at least for now. As of Thursday, the bot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI gives error-ridden answers to some basic questions about Korea, starting from the profile of Korea’s current President, Yoon Suk Yeol. For the question, “Who is President Yoon Suk Yeol?&rd

Technology Feb. 16, 2023

Among those considering coming to Korea for language study, two university-run language institutes have long been considered the best options. Associated with and located on the main campuses of Yonsei University and Sogang University, they take pride in providing the “most immersive learning experience.” Here’s a closer look at the archrival language institutes, whose competition for reputation has brought about benefits to not just learners but the field of Korean language

Hashtag Korea Feb. 12, 2023

Jeon Joo-yeon’s path to becoming the first South Korean to win the World Barista Championship is a typical “passion leads to success” story. In 2008, then a social welfare major at a local college, she started a part-time job at a big coffee shop in her hometown of Busan. At first, she did not even touch coffee cups. She was part of the shop’s online sales team. Slowly but naturally, she gravitated toward making coffee. In 2009, she made up her mind to become a barista.

Food Feb. 12, 2023

BUSAN -- South Korea’s southeastern port city of Busan is a popular holiday destination for those seeking to enjoy quality seafood and relax at the beach. But in recent years, tourists have been flocking to the city to get a taste of something different -- coffee. Global coffee competition winners are opening up cafes in Busan, with a shared goal of transforming the city into the next coffee hub like the Australian city of Melbourne. At the forefront of the movement is barista Jeon Joo-ye

Food Feb. 11, 2023

A planned exchange visit to a US town by South Korean high school students last year was canceled after animal activists there raised the issue of dog meat farms operating in the area the students are from, it was revealed Friday. Palisades Park, New Jersey – a twin town of Gangwha County in Incheon-- decided to cancel the planned three-week exchange program in June last year. The decision was made after some activists reported to the borough’s council about illegal dog meat activi

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2023

"History through The Korea Herald” revisits significant events and issues over the seven decades through articles, photos and editorial pieces published in the Herald and retell them from a contemporary perspective. – Ed. When the dust from the 1950-53 Korean War settled, orphans were left to fight for survival. It was then a Christian couple from the US -- Harry and Bertha Holt -- stepped in to play a key role in arranging the babies to be adopted by foreign parents. The Holts

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2023