At a glance, the series of numbers -- six years, 235 days, six hours, four minutes and 55 seconds -- makes little sense. But they are arguably the most important numbers for humanity. They represent the time we have left until the Earth’s deadline: the “point of no return” in the climate crisis. The monument-sized Climate Clock showing the numbers was unveiled Thursday on the roof of the Herald Corp. headquarters in Seoul, sending a chilling warning that the Earth is racing

Social Affairs May 13, 2021

Popular K-pop stars joined hands in a campaign to highlight the dangers of climate change and call for bolder action on the defining challenge of the age, marking the 41st Earth Day on Thursday. Some 31 members from seven K-pop groups including Oh My Girl, BTOB, Day6 and The Boyz shared their thoughts on climate change and encouraged their millions of fans around the globe to take part in climate action. In the first video, released Thursday on the campaign’s official website, the idol

K-pop April 22, 2021

A coalition of South Korean environmental groups urged the government to declare its intention to go coal-free by 2030 at the upcoming US-led climate summit of world leaders, with a two-day campaign featuring a blue-spotted giraffe mascot. President Moon Jae-in is among the 40 world leaders invited by US President Joe Biden to the Leaders Summit on Climate to be held online Thursday, where the leaders are expected to discuss how to limit global warming. Seeking to reestablish his country&rsq

Social Affairs April 16, 2021

As South Korea’s National Assembly works to draft and pass a climate law to make the country’s goals of going carbon neutral by 2050 legally binding, the law should put “justice” at its core to effectively address the climate emergency, according to a local environmental activist. Last year, the Moon Jae-in administration jumped on the climate crisis bandwagon by announcing its ambitious Green New Deal and promising to go carbon neutral by 2050. The National Assembly

Social Affairs March 31, 2021

South Korea’s first store dedicated to raising awareness about menstruation opened in Seoul earlier this year as part of efforts to fight the long-held stigma around periods and to give women more eco-friendly choices. The Period Shop, which opened in January near Daebang Station in Seoul, is a space for customers to openly explore, discuss and purchase period products. It offers a variety of sustainable menstrual products ranging from menstrual cups, reusable pads to washable period

Social Affairs March 28, 2021

Last year South Korea pledged to invest more in clean energy and green infrastructure, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 -- ambitious climate goals for one of the world’s key emitters. It is time for Korea to turn its words into action by devising a concrete road map and bringing an end to financing for overseas coal plants, according to the top representative of the European Union here. “In less than a year, Korea politically committed to doing a lot of things for climate,

Diplomatic Circuit March 8, 2021

The embassies of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in South Korea will co-host a webinar on Thursday to share their experiences of long-term public-private partnerships that can accelerate the decarbonization of industries for a more sustainable economy. Titled “Nordic Talks Korea: Innovation for a Green Transition,” the event will bring together experts from Korea and the Nordic region to discuss how the public sector, the private sector and the rest of society can collaborate t

Diplomatic Circuit Feb. 22, 2021

A rise in the number of unregistered migrants who are stranded in South Korea, unable to return home amid the coronavirus pandemic, is prompting calls to allow them to live and work legally in the country. With international flights curtailed due to the pandemic, the government has granted extensions of stay for migrant workers whose visas have expired. But they are not allowed to work here during the extended stay. “We urge the government to extend work permits for migrant workers w

Social Affairs Feb. 13, 2021

People living in Seoul spent more time sleeping and using media and less time working than usual during the coronavirus pandemic last year, a recent survey conducted by the Seoul city government showed.   　 According to the poll by the Seoul Metropolitan Government with 1,000 Seoul residents aged 18 to 69, those in Seoul worked five hours and 19 minutes on average a day in 2020, down 12 minutes from 2019.   　 As the nationwide social distancing campaign has kept people at home longe

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2021

South Korean civic groups on Wednesday filed a petition with the country’s human rights watchdog over a now-suspended artificial intelligence chatbot for its prejudiced and offensive language against women and minorities. An association of civic groups asked the National Human Rights Commission of Korea to look into human rights violations in connection with the chatbot Lee Luda, which was developed by local startup Scatter Lab. The groups, which include the People’s Solidarity

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2021

Public outrage is mounting after it was reported that Cho Doo-soon, one of Korea’s most notorious child rapists, and his wife are receiving basic livelihood grants and the pension for senior citizens. Cho, 68, who was released from prison on Dec. 12 after serving a reduced sentence of just over a decade for kidnapping, beating and grotesquely raping a young girl, now lives with his wife in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and is unemployed. After news surfaced that Cho and his wife began to re

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2021

Nearly 8 out of 10 businesses in South Korea suffered the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year, a recent survey showed. Of those, 4 out of 10 were operating in emergency mode. According to a survey of 302 local firms by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 75.8 percent said they had taken a hit from the coronavirus crisis and some 8.3 percent said their survival was threatened. Only 14.6 percent of the companies responded that the coronavirus had helped their

Social Affairs Feb. 2, 2021

Levels of stress and depression increased among South Koreans as the coronavirus pandemic dragged on, a survey showed Monday, with 7 in 10 Koreans saying they were stressed. According to a survey of 1,016 Koreans by a team led by professor Yoo Myung-soon of the Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, 72.8 percent of the surveyed said they were stressed, up 15.7 percentage points from the survey conducted last October. Only 4.5 percent of the respondents said they were no

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2021

Only 4 in 10 victims who experienced sexual harassment at work came  forward, a recent study showed. And of those who did, 9 out of 10 suffered retaliatory actions such as bullying or dismissal. Workplace Abuse 119 (Jikjang Gapjil 119), a nongovernmental organization, published an analysis on Sunday of the 364 sexual harassment reports it had received since November 2017. Among the sexual harassment victims who turned to the organization for help, 136 people, or 37.4 percent, filed forma

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2021

South Korea is pushing to publicize attempts to distort the history of the Japanese historical industrial sites, including Hashima Island, inscribed on the UNESCO’s world heritage list, the country’s cultural agency said Friday. As one such effort, the Cultural Heritage Administration published a report taking issue with Tokyo’s failure to deliver on its promise to address the full history of the island, also known as Battleship Island, including Koreans coerced into labor dur

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2021