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, there stood the 24-year-old man who is alleged to have blackmailed dozens of women and minors into f

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 website, I let out a sigh of relief. It was a close call. This has become the new norm

  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 government has been releasing information on the infected, providing a timeline of their wherea

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 cigarette smoke wafting in through the window, thanks to an unconscionable neigh

In October 2005, I visited Pyongyang and Myohyangsan with a small group of South Korean travel journalists. This was the time of the Roh Moo-hyun administration when there were robust inter-Korean exchanges. A year earlier, I had traveled to the Kumgangsan resort and attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a South Korean company-invested 18-hole golf course. I also visited Singyesa Temple, where a South Korea-led project to restore the Silla-period Buddhist temple had just commenced. Writing

This sounds rather silly. For a couple of years, I had seen copies of “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles on prominent display at the Kyobo Book Center. On the cover was a black-and-white photo of an elderly man in a suit and a hat leaning ever so slightly over a balcony, appearing to be peering down into the city streets, his back to the viewer.Convinced that it was a spy thriller -- anything with the word “Moscow” seems suspect -- I did not bother to lift up the book

The first day of the new year is perhaps one of the most optimistic days of any year, bringing with it a host of new possibilities. “Out with the old, in with the new,” we intone.In this age of befuddlement marked by growing confusion and mounting uncertainties, clarity has become a much-sought-after commodity. The year 2020 rings hopeful -- the very sound of “twenty-twenty” conjures up an image of acuity, sharpness, focus. Hindsight is 20/20, it is said. But what if, in

What is the relevance of a women’s college today? “The world is still a place where males have tremendous privileges. Smith is an intervention,” said Kathleen McCartney, president of Smith College, a private women’s liberal arts college in Massachusetts, in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Nov. 22.“What I hear from alumnae is that they found their voice at Smith,” said McCartney, who was in Seoul as part of an Asian tour, meeting with alumnae and

The long-brewing dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over history has come to a head, spilling over into the economic realm, with Japan restricting the exports of key materials for manufacturing chips and displays to South Korea and removing it from its whitelist of trade partners.While the Korean government has responded with retaliatory measures of its own and citizens here are boycotting Japanese goods and travel, there are concerns about bilateral relations and how the current situation will pan

A desk with an old computer, a chair and a potted plant -- the room installation by Hwang Moon-jung does not require any sophisticated jargon to explain. You just need to sit and play the game installed on the computer: “Great Artist Maker” -- a remake of famous 1990s Japanese simulation game “Princess Maker.” “Great Artist Maker” has you arrange Hwang’s schedule and plan her activities to grow her career and get her recognized as a great artist. Hwang&r

When former first lady Lee Hee-ho, who passed away Monday night aged 96, and Kim Dae-jung tied the knot in 1962, they entered into a lifelong partnership that would endure numerous hardships and tribulations.By all accounts, most people on Lee’s side opposed the marriage. She was a well-educated woman who had studied sociology in the US and was playing an active role in the country’s nascent women’s rights movement. Her colleagues and family thought that marriage to Kim, an opp

Dulwich College Seoul students pose for a photo at the Dulwich College campus in London on March 24.Some 60 students and teachers from Seoul participated in the Dulwich Olympiad London 2019.(Dulwich College Seoul)The Olympiad, which took place March 24-29, included sports, music and drama events marking the 400th anniversary of the college’s founding.More than 900 students from 11 Dulwich schools around the world took part in the celebrations.

The largest-ever David Hockney exhibition in South Korea is underway at the Seoul Museum of Art, featuring some of the artist’s iconic paintings such as “The Bigger Splash” (1967) and “A Bigger Grand Canyon” (1998) -- as well as “In the Studio, December 2017,” which is being shown to the general public for the first time.  David Hockney’s double portraits are on exhibit at the Seoul Museum of Art on Thursday. (Yonhap)Born in 1937, Hockney is the world’s most famous, beloved and expensive living

In Gwangju for the first time a few years ago, I walked down Geumnanro, the site of violent clashes between Gwangju locals and troops enforcing martial law on May 18, 1980. Events were being held on the broad avenue closed off to traffic for the day -- a play, a concert and a samulnori performance to name but a few, all commemorating the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. There were few people in attendance, but that didn’t seem to matter. These were people remembering the massacre in whic

Taking the steep, narrow staircase to meet architect Seung Hyo-sang, or Seung H-Sang as his business card says, one almost fears for one’s life, tottering down the steps in heels with one hand against the wall for support in the semidarkness.Upon reaching the floor, there is a sigh of relief and a sense of salvation as one follows the sound of choral music to Seung’s office. It is a few days before Christmas, and there is something of a sacred quality to the space, crammed with bookcases and a l

The third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang last week had many Instagrammable moments.There was the pomp and ceremony of Moon’s arrival at Sunan International Airport where he was greeted by Kim and his senior officials, ceremonial guards and a 21-gun salute. A motorcade through the Pyongyang thoroughfare saw the two leaders standing side by side in an open-top car waving at the crowds of people in colorful hanbok chanting “Unifica

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday that it would ask the prosecution to investigate seven government officials over their alleged involvement in the blacklisting of cultural figures by the two previous administrations.Of the seven, five belong to the Culture Ministry and accusations had been filed against one of them by a concerned cultural group. Three officials are currently heads of Korean cultural centers overseas, and will be summoned back to Korea as soon as possible

Sex crime reports are continuing to increase in Korea despite a decline in overall crimes.One of the reasons is because more people are speaking up amid a changing social perception of sex crimes.“Sex crimes are the most underreported crimes,” according to an official the National Police Agency. (123rf)“Previously, many women were reluctant to report that they were victims of sex crimes, but now more people are reporting, and this is one of the reasons of the increase in the number of cases.”Whi

A funny-looking vampire in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts dancing to “Gangnam Style” is how I would describe “Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation.”That is exactly the yardstick to determine who will enjoy the film and who will hate it. Does that image -- actually in the movie, and exactly as it sounds -- have you rolling on the floor? You are in for a treat. Are you grinding your teeth? Leave now. "Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation" (Sony Pictures Korea)The movie briefly looks at the pa

Looking for Mark Tetto’s house in Gaehoe-dong, Seoul, Monday morning, I encounter groups of foreign tourists -- from the Philippines and Vietnam, mostly -- posing and taking pictures against the backdrop of narrow alleys lined with Korea’s traditional hanok. After walking up and down a hill, going round in circles under the blazing morning sun, I finally locate Tetto’s house, its slim gate hard to find between the walls of houses next to it on either side. I swear I had walked past this street 1