Weekly Brief: Oct. 3rd - 9th
NHRCK decides that it’s anti-HIV/AIDS discrimination The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has finally recommended that the Ministry of Justice end the practice of requiring HIV tests for E-2 visa recipients, after the UN’s CERD called for the same in May last year. As described
Weekly Brief: Sept. 26th - Oct. 2nd
Baek Nam-gi’s struggle continues in death The government’s handling of Baek Nam-gi’s death has begun to attract international attention. Despite strong opposition from Baek’s family, civic groups, associations of doctors and lawyers, and even a joint statement from four major international NGOs and IGOs, the
Weekly Brief: Sept. 19th - Sept. 25th
RIP, Baek Nam-gi Baek Nam-gi, the farmer knocked over by a police water cannon, has succumbed to his injuries (a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage) and passed away yesterday after being in a coma for the last 10 months. He was 69. As of press time there is a sit-up
Weekly Brief: Sept.12th - Sept. 18th
Shockwaves felt around the country In the aftermath of a 5.1 earthquake and a 5.8 aftershock that hit the south-eastern part of the country on Monday, politicians of all stripes criticized the government’s slow response and the limitations of the current alert system (which notifies citizens via
Weekly Brief: Sept. 5th - Sept. 11th
“Just take off the mask” Demonstrators wearing masks may soon be subject to sentences of up to 18 months despite an absence of legislation on the matter. The Supreme Court issued sentencing guidelines last week that view masks as aggravating factors on obstruction of justice charges. Following mass demonstrations late
Weekly Brief: August 29th - September 4th
Sunken Ship, Sinking Commission The Sewol Special Investigation Commission held its third hearing into the causes of the tragic ferry disaster from April 2014, despite the government’s attempts to disband it. The government claims that the commission’s term is up and no further hearings on the
Weekly Brief: August 22nd - August 28th
Migrant fishermen vulnerable to abuse In news that everyone in South Korea should know but very few people hear about, the 22,000 migrant workers in South Korea’s fishing industry face rampant abuse, including unfair wages, exploitation, verbal abuse and physical abuse, in some cases amounting to forced labour
In Defense of Feminism
A voice actress puts on a T-shirt that reads “Girls do not need a prince” and tweets the photo. That seemingly innocuous phrase prompts widespread accusations that she is a man-hater. Angry men bombards Nexon, a game company for which she did work, with complaints. The company terminates
Megalia: South Korean Feminism Marshals the Power of the Internet
Founded on August 6th, 2015, independent website Megalian.com embodies a new type of feminism – one that uses the country’s world-class information and communications technology infrastructure to promote gender equality and to humorously bash misogyny on the South Korean web. The name, currently filed for trademark registration&
Samsung Sex Scandal: Illustrating Prostitution as Social Norm
South Korea has been rocked by the allegation that Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of South Korea’s all-powerful Samsung Group, paid to have sex with prostitutes at least five times. According to video footage obtained exclusively by Newstapa, an independent news outlet, Lee received women on three occasions at his residence
My Search for Religion
I live in a tower of glass and concrete, surrounded by lush trees. My friends and family are men and women accustomed to wearing finery, driving oversized sedans and dining at choice restaurants. But deep down, hollowness is wrenching. South Korea is an economic miracle, I often hear. So many
Changes at Famed Noryangjin Fish Market Ignite Struggle
These days any tourists or shoppers passing through Seoul’s Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market will see a lot of red. Not just the red of the plastic slotted bins for sorting fish, the rubber gloves used for handing them or the deep flush of stacked sea pineapple. In Noryangjin today