How Koreans once celebrated snow

Seoul saw its first snowfall of the season on Thursday, as temperatures dipped below zero degrees Celsius. People filed out of their homes, schools and offices to catch a glimpse of the season's first wintry weather. In contemporary Korea, snow carries a tender, almost cinematic meaning. Couples often promise to meet when they see the first snow, and many singles make bold moves, believing that confessing one’s love under the first flakes will guarantee success. The white snow that blankets the

Dec. 4, 2025

Japanese remains top second-language elective for Korean university hopefuls

Japanese and Hanmun — classical Chinese characters used in premodern Korean texts — remained the most popular second foreign language electives on this year’s College Scholastic Ability Test, or Suneung, with overall preferences showing little change from previous years. According to data released Thursday by the Ministry of Education, about 50,000 students, or roughly 10 percent of all test-takers, chose to sit for a second foreign language on the Nov. 14 exam, with the English section mandator

Dec. 4, 2025

Thousands brave bitter cold to mark 1st anniversary of Yoon’s martial law

Thousands packed the street in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday, braving biting winds and subzero temperatures in Seoul to mark the first anniversary of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law decree. Silver thermal blankets snapped in the wind. Protesters wrapped themselves in wool scarves with only their eyes peeking out, yet kept their pickets raised, chanting “End the insurrection!” into the frigid air. Just meters away, rows of police officers in neon jackets and riot gear sto

Dec. 3, 2025

Dongduk Women’s University to go coed by 2029 amid student backlash

Dongduk Women’s University said Wednesday it will open its doors to men in 2029, a decision students have denounced as ignoring the continued need for women-only institutions in a country where gender bias still shapes women’s experiences. The decision follows a recommendation from the school’s Coeducation Discussion Committee, which said Monday it had completed deliberations and concluded the university should transition to a coeducational model. Despite the backlash, the university issued a st

Dec. 3, 2025

How teachers are navigating martial law crisis in classroom

Han Yu-ra, a 32-year-old history teacher in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, vividly remembers the night when then-President Yoon Suk Yeol abruptly declared martial law. “As a history teacher, I was taken aback and angry, and thought I must talk about this in class the next day,” said Han, who teaches eighth and ninth graders at Chunghyeon Middle School. She frantically opened her laptop, typing, researching and creating a PowerPoint titled “2024 12.3 Crisis: The Story of Last Night.” She posted

Dec. 2, 2025

Jeju Air Crash victims’ families call for independent probe

Families of victims of last year’s Jeju Air crash began a sit-in protest Monday outside the Presidential Office in Seoul, shaving their heads as they called for an independent investigation and a delay to the government’s interim report on the accident. In cold winter winds, six of the victims' relatives sat in a line as monks shaved their heads, beginning the protest with a collective head-shaving ceremony. Some wailed as hair fell to the pavement -- an act they described as a plea for truth an

Dec. 1, 2025

Roh Moo-hyun receives highest post-presidency approval, Yook Suk Yeol lowest: survey

Former President Roh Moo-hyun received the highest retrospective approval rating among South Korea’s past presidents, while former President Yoon Suk Yeol ranked lowest, a poll showed Friday. In the Gallup Korea survey, 68 percent of respondents said Roh “did many good things as president.” He was followed by former Presidents Park Chung-hee (62 percent), Kim Dae-jung (60 percent), Kim Young-sam (42 percent), Lee Myung-bak (35 percent) and Moon Jae-in (33 percent). Yoon topped the list of leader

Nov. 28, 2025

Woman found dead after 44-day search, ex-lover arrested

A woman in her 50s who had been missing since mid-October was found dead on Thursday, bringing an end to a 44-day search. The Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency said the woman’s body was discovered inside a sack at a waste disposal facility in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, at around 8 p.m. Thursday. Her former lover, surnamed Kim, also in his 50s, had earlier confessed to killing her and hiding the body at a client’s business site. Police initially booked him for involuntary manslaughter

Nov. 28, 2025

Korea once had its own 'bless you.' Does it need to be revived?

Nisa Sermchaiwong, a 26-year-old American who moved to Seoul for graduate school in 2022, recalls the awkward moment she first said “bless you” to a classmate who sneezed. “I was in our school lab, and I guess my friend was sick because she sneezed five times in 10 minutes,” she said. “I said ‘bless you’ each time because that’s the norm in the States.” But in a silent room, the gesture quickly became uncomfortable. “Our lab was very quiet because everyone was working. And each time I said ‘bles

Nov. 28, 2025

Guro Elementary becomes Seoul's first primary school with IB accreditation

Seoul Guro Elementary School has become the first primary school in the capital to earn accreditation for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Thursday. With the certification, the school is now authorized to offer official IB curricula and assessments designed to promote inquiry-based learning. The education office launched an IB advisory and research group in 2022, designating 31 schools to pilot the program. As of this year, 11

Nov. 27, 2025