Ministry of Environment
Debunking the China Myth
Air pollution is a huge problem in South Korea. There’s ozone, yellow dust, fine dust…. Among them, fine dust probably decorates your headlines the most often. What is it, and how valid is the argument that China is to blame? If you want to send an invoice
Do I Need to Wear a Face Mask in South Korea?
Walk along the street in any South Korean city and you’ll see plenty of people wearing surgical-style face masks. Covering the nose and mouth and held in place by elastic loops that reach back behind the ears, the masks are cheap and sold in almost all convenience stores and
South Koreans Ready to Discard Disposable Cup Culture
Sit down with a coffee at almost any café in South Korea and you’ll be surrounded by people drinking from disposable takeout cups. Walk in any public place during the morning rush or after lunch and you’ll notice every public garbage bin overflowing with plastic cups. In cafés,
Moon Jae-in May Not Live Up to His Promise in "Oxy Affair"
Victims of South Korea’s deadly humidifier disinfectant scandal, which has killed dozens of consumers and left hundreds more injured for life, had pinned their hopes on the new Moon Jae-in administration to provide compensation. But the signals now coming from the government are mixed. Humidifiers are widely used in
It's Just Plain Weir-ed: The Plan to Liberate Seoul's Han River
As yet another drought keeps South Korea’s reservoirs and waterways in the news, campaigners are calling for Seoul’s iconic Han River to be restored to its natural state. The news may come as a surprise to many who view the wide, placid river each day from its bridges
US Military Contaminates Central Seoul Neighborhood
Critics of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 claimed the United States was moving into a foreign territory in order to take its oil. But here’s a new one: The U.S. military occupies a swathe of foreign soil for 65 years, fills it with oil, then moves out.
Truth of Contamination at U.S. Military's Yongsan Garrison Begins to Emerge
South Korean environmental campaigners won a significant victory against the country’s environment ministry on Tuesday. Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society), a civil rights NGO, had sued the environment minister in a bid to force the disclosure of information about environmental pollution on U.S. Army Garrison
South Korea's Latest Food Craze: Gigantic Rodents?
About 70 cm in length and weighing over five kilogram in maturity, a nutria looks fuzzy and cuddly…if you discount the fact that it is basically a big rat. Nutria, also known as copyu, comes from Latin America. Improbably, in South Korea, it is taking off as medicine