Author: Jae young
September 26, 2025SINGAPORE – What do you do when you want a ramen fix but don’t have the time to dine at a restaurant and yet find instant noodles too insubstantial?You do as they do in South Korea – hit a DIY ramen shop. This is more convenient than a restaurant and fancier than having instant noodles at a convenience store.DIY ramen shops can be found across Singapore. Mostly self-service, they feature cooking machines for users to simply cook their dry or soup noodles by pushing just a few buttons. Toppings and condiments are available for customers to customise their…
September 26, 2025SEOUL – A South Korean court recently ruled in favor of a Guinean man, who challenged the Ministry of Justice’s decision to dismiss his request for refugee status determination.The Busan District Court said the head of the Gimhae Airport Immigration Office must cancel the decision not to process the man’s application for refugee status.The plaintiff, who is in his 30s, reportedly applied for refugee status after arriving at Gimhae Airport in Busan on April 27. The Justice Ministry, however, decided not to refer his case for examination.In response, the man refused to return to his home country and…
September 26, 2025SEOUL – South Korea is facing a deepening suicide crisis, with new government data showing that intentional self-harm has overtaken cancer as the top cause of death among people in their 40s for the first time since records began in 1983.Statistics Korea said Thursday that 14,872 people died by suicide in 2024, up 6.4 percent from the previous year and marking the highest toll in 13 years. The national suicide rate rose to 29.1 deaths per 100,000 people, its highest since 2011 and nearly three times the OECD average of 10.8.Men died by suicide at a rate 2.5…
September 25, 2025SEOUL – Tensions between the judicial branch and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea escalated Wednesday, as the party voted through an unprecedented motion to summon Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de for a parliamentary hearing.The conservative opposition People Power Party boycotted the vote and condemned the move as a fatal blow to the separation of powers.The renewed controversy also comes as President Lee Jae Myung’s administration advances a broader judicial overhaul focused on splitting the prosecutorial functions of indictment and investigation between two new bodies and increasing the number of Supreme Court judges.The ruling party has raised…
September 25, 2025SEOUL – San Francisco has long been a meeting point of Asia and America. The Gold Rush in the 19th century was one of the first tides to carry thousands of Asians across the Pacific.“San Francisco has a really key role in telling the story of the Asian diaspora in its culture — it has a deep, long history of Asians coming right from the 19th century onward,” said Lee So-young, new director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Sept.3.“For all Asian Americans working in the…
September 25, 2025SEOUL – Former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday denied all charges as her criminal trial opened on allegations of stock manipulation, influence-peddling in the 2022 by-elections, and bribery.Kim entered the courtroom of the Seoul Central District Court wearing a badge displaying her inmate number, 4398.Kim’s hearing, the first with a former first lady as a defendant, was open to the press, with the court granting reporters permission to take photographs before the session began, but not during the proceedings.Standing in the defendant’s seat, the former first lady briefly responded, “I am unemployed,” when her occupation was…
September 25, 2025TOKYO – Former Japanese followers of the Unification Church voiced their anger and expressed their hope that the facts behind the alleged bribery by the church’s leader would be uncovered.A South Korean special prosecutor arrested Han Hak-ja , the leader of the Unification Church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, on suspicion of bribing the wife of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and an aide. It is said that the funds used in the alleged bribery may include money sent from Japan.According to reports by South Korean media, some followers gathered near…
September 25, 2025SEOUL – South Korea’s foreign minister urged Russia and North Korea to immediately cease all activities that violate UN Security Council resolutions, speaking at an official UNSC session attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Russian delegation.Cho Hyun, serving as Council president, presided over official UN Security Council briefings on the Middle East and the war in Ukraine held at UN Headquarters on Tuesday, during UN General Assembly High-Level Week, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.“Taking note of the ongoing discussions among the US, Russia, Ukraine and European partners, we hope these efforts will contribute to the realization…
September 25, 2025SEOUL – Hybe has established a new local subsidiary, Hybe India, marking its fifth overseas headquarters after Japan, the US, Latin America and China.According to the company, Tuesday, Hybe India Entertainment Pte. Ltd. was officially registered in Mumbai earlier this month. Mumbai, home to Bollywood, contemporary art and diverse performing arts, is regarded as a strategic hub for global entertainment and cultural enterprises.Hybe India’s stated mission, “Where voices of India become global stories,” reflects its ambition to discover and develop local talent and connect them with global audiences by combining Hybe’s expertise with India’s unique cultural sensibilities.The new…
SEOUL – Three of the 48 individuals who were detained during September 17 raids on a suspected scam operation have been placed in pre-trial detention at M1 correctional centre in Phnom Penh.South Korean nationals Sing Song Hun, 48, Song Eungyu, 21, and Park Yeongun, 26, have been charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with aggravated fraud through an organised network, explained the investigating judge’s report, released to the public September 22.The trio were arrested in the capital’s Tuol Kork and Sen Sok districts, along with 45 other suspects including 30 South Korean countrymen, and Cambodians and Vietnamese.The three South…