South Korea’s local governments -- all 243 of them -- have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, officials said in a joint declaration at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul Monday. It marked the first time in the world that every local government of a country made a joint pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions, according the Environment Ministry. In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the local governments promised to step up efforts to implement pro-climate pl

South Korea has become the first country in Asia to launch a project officially endorsed by the World Meteorological Organization’s Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System, or IG3IS, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Friday. The project is named Inverse-Korea, which is short for inverse modeling for validating and evaluating the reduction of sectoral emissions in Korea, according to the KMA. The National Institute of Meteorological Sciences under the weather agency

Education superintendents of 17 cities and provinces across the country have called on the central government to provide subsidies for kindergarteners of foreign nationality. The National Council of Governors of Education passed the proposal to offer financial support for foreign kindergarteners in its regulatory meeting on May 13, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Monday. The government currently covers tuition for elementary, middle and high school students of foreign national

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on Tuesday raided the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education over alleged hiring irregularities surrounding five teachers in connection with an ongoing probe against the city’s education chief.  Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon is accused of abusing his power by pressing for a special employment process for five teachers who were fired after being convicted of violating the Public Official Election Act. The

South Korea will resume offering first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine this coming weekend, health authorities said Sunday. Their use was suspended early this month so the scarce resource could be reserved for people getting their second shots. The unstable supply put a stop to the use of Pfizer’s vaccine across the country for people getting their first shots. The government is currently providing second doses of the American vaccine to seniors who received their first shots in

The Ministry of Education is hoping to bring all students back to school for in-person classes in the fall semester, a ministry official said Thursday. Schools currently follow the government’s anti-virus guidelines to decide how many students can physically come to classes while others stay at home for remote learning courses. Under the highest level of social distancing, for instance, no students are allowed to come to school and have to take online classes from home. On the other ha

Teachers are worried about the effects the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has on their students, a survey showed, as class disruptions continue to take a toll on educators’ well-being. With the 40th Teacher’s Day coming up on Saturday, the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations conducted a survey on 7,991 teachers at kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools and universities across the country from April 26 to May 5. Asked about the worst problem that public educat

South Korea’s traditional ascending kiln is a living relic of the country’s pottery and porcelain industry. Despite its centuries-old history, it is losing its ground with modern kilns being either gas-fired or electric. In order to revive and spread pottery culture, Korea’s traditional ceramics brand Kwangjuyo held an event on Friday to light up the Icheon Sugwangri ascending kiln -- also a South Korean Registered Cultural Heritage. The traditional kiln was built in 1949 a

Hoping for the growth of the game of Go, or “Baduk” in Korean, next-generation big data platform company DataStreams and South Korea’s leading English daily The Korea Herald co-hosted the 2021 Pro-am Baduk Competition on Friday. “We put together today’s event to let the world know of Korean Baduk’s high position,” said DataStreams CEO Lee Young-sang. “DataStreams will continue to help expand the Korean Baduk’s status in the world of sports.

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has made life harder for most people. But some have borne the brunt of it. In order to help them, the local government of Yeongdeungpo-gu in western Seoul set up three special stores where district residents can get daily necessities without having to pay for them. The special stores are named “zero-cost stores,” according to the Seoul Yeongdeungpo-gu Council of Social Welfare. The stores opened on Jan. 18 to help local residents facing financial dif

Hiking has become one of the most popular outdoor activities in South Korea. But with the increasing number of hikers, a critical environmental problem arises: litter. While some ill-mannered hikers do not clean up after themselves, one group is trying to change the careless practice of leaving trash and garbage behind after a hike. These people call themselves Clean Hikers. Kim Kang-eun, who identifies herself as a hiking artist, is the founder of Clean Hikers.  “As a mountain l

April 16, 2014, left an unforgettable scar in the hearts of many South Koreans. On that day the Sewol ferry sank off the country’s southwestern coast, taking the lives of more than 300 people. Most were teenage students from Danwon High School on a field trip. It was one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the country’s history. As the nation commemorates the seventh anniversary of the tragedy on Friday, the April 16 Institute of Democratic Citizenship Education has opened in

The crisis in Myanmar has continued for over two months since the military coup on Feb. 1. Civilians have carried out mass protests to restore freedom and democracy. The armed forces have responded with brutal crackdowns across the country, leading to hundreds of dead victims including young children. “I want the world to know what is going on in Myanmar is not a war,” said Shwe Moe, a Burma-born writer residing in South Korea. “A war is two sides with weapons. It is just ter

In the South Korean military, there is a saying among soldiers: “Our enemy is not North Korea, but the officers.” This has become somewhat of a running joke among the troops -- most of them in their early 20s serving their mandatory duty required by law -- because the officers are usually the ones who discipline young soldiers or give them extra work. That was what photographer Rami Hyun, who has taken pictures of more than 1,400 Korean War veterans across the world, used to thin

Politicians and Burmese residents in Korea raised their voices together, pressing for the revival of democracy in Myanmar and an end to military control in the Southeast Asian nation. A group of lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and local representatives of Myanmar-related organizations held a press conference in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday. “It has been over 40 years, but Myanmar is going through the same pain that Gwangju citizens experienced in