1. Topic: Education System In South Korea 

2. Writer: Srayeta Bhowmik 

3. Short Explanation: This article explains in detail how the education system works in South Korea. 

4. Wikipedia Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Education_System_in_South_Korea

5. The Whole Article: 

South Korea has some of the highest rates in education, especially in terms of literacy, sciences, and mathematics among OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries on its Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The quality and level of Korean schools and their education is high. Both public and private schools provide a great standard of teaching.

The Korean Education System has employed a 6-3-3-4 single ladder system, which denotes six years in elementary school, three years in middle school, three years in high school and four years in university. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is a government body that is responsible for the formulation and enactment of educational policies. The government provides guidance in basic policy matters as well as financial assistance.

Since 2004, all Koreans are required to complete middle school under compulsory education, where children need to study in school became compulsory to acquire basic education and knowledge. All citizens are equally given access to education, irrespective of social status and/or position. The nine years of middle and high school are compulsory but from high school and forth, students choose an education path based on their career choice.

HISTORY

Throughout ancient times, Korean society has valued education and the learned, but until the end of the Korean War, not everyone had access to a formal education. Young-Key Kim-Renaud mentioned in the ‘World Education Encyclopedia’, “Since antiquity, Koreans have studied abroad in China, India, and Japan, frequently acting as a bridge between nations. Despite foreign invasions, Korea remained independent until succumbing to Japanese domination (1910-45). Shortly after liberation, Korea suffered the further agony of national division and a cruel civil war (1950-53), which is still not officially ended.”

Two key cultural aspects have shaped the Korean educational tradition. The intense class consciousness of Koreans comes first. Being born into a respectable family was seen to be either a divine mandate or at the very least a reward for earlier lives of virtue. Prior to the development of modern society, advancement into a higher social class was only seldom achievable due to merit. The second and most significant trait is that Koreans have traditionally regarded society's top leaders as having the best education. 

Confucianism, Buddhism and Education in Korea: -

Korean educational beliefs have been influenced by Confucianism. Education, or the socialization into Confucian rules and virtues that started in early life with the reading of the Confucian classics, was the glue keeping the traditional nobility together. The ideal person was the so-called "true gentleman," a morally upright and educated scholar-official who was equally skilled in poetry and diplomatics.

According to the “World Education Encyclopedia, “Confucianism arrived in the Korean peninsula much earlier, but it was the Yi Dynasty (Joseon Dynasty) that adopted the neo-Confucianism of Chu Xi (1130-1200) as the official code for maintaining social and political order and for promoting harmony. Korean Neo-Confucianists believed in the transcendent dignity and goodness of man, and in human perfectibility. Donald N. Clark wrote in “Culture and Customs of Korea”: “In Confucian societies such as China and Korea, education was a prime qualification for leadership. This education was attained through a lot of work and cost in district and village schools, where it was rigorously enforced by experienced teachers.

Buddhism also had an impact on the education in Korea, even though not as influential as Confucianism. According to the World Education Encyclopedia, “Buddhism was introduced in A.D. 372 through China, first to the Goguryeo (고구려), but was soon embraced by both aristocrats and commoners throughout the peninsula. t became the national religion for 865 years. Chinese characters were implemented along with Buddhism and as a result, art and academia flourished. Buddhist temples were also used as educational institutions. In east Asia, notable scholar-monks founded significant Buddhist schools.

Both traditional Korea and modern North and South Korea's social and cultural development has been significantly influenced by formal schooling. Beginning in A.D. 788 and continuing until 1894, the classic Confucian-style state examinations, known as Gwageo (과거) were used to choose government officials. Young-Key Kim-Renaud wrote in the” World Education Encyclopedia”: “Formal education in Korea started in the Three Kingdoms era. It is recorded that the people of Goguryeo (37 B.C.-A.D. 668), the kingdom closest to China, were already studying the Five Classics of Confucianism, as well as Sima Qian's "Historical Records" (Shıjì) and Bangù's "History of the Han Dynasty" (Hàn shū), the Yùpian Chinese character dictionary, and an anthology of Chinese literature called the Wén xua n. 

Education during the Shilla Dynasty:

Silla (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), being the farthest from China, is thought to have been the most authentically Korean kingdom. It had an innovative educational system known as Hwarangdo (화랑도)(The Way of Flower Knights), which was well-organized and trained young men for physical and mental beauty and strength with the ultimate goal of protecting their nation. This resulted in the unification of the three kingdoms by Silla in 668. Soon after the unification, when Gukhak (국학) (National Learning) was founded in 682, Confucianism seemed to compete with Buddhism as an unique school of thought. This public university underwent a name change to the Taehakgam (National Confucian University) in the year 750.

Education during the Goryeo Dynasty:

The first Chinese-style civil service examination was given in Korea in A.D. 958 under the Goryeo (고려) Dynasty to fill a critical shortage of government bureaucrats for the establishment of the new dynasty. The dynasty's national school was established in 930 particularly to educate future leaders. In 992, Gukjagam (국자감) (National University), a comprehensive national institution, was founded. Although it was built on the Tang model once more, only nobles had access to it, and they were further defined by the social standing of their families. During the reign of King Injong (인종), the Gukjagam started to resemble a modern university (1122-46). The so-called Six Colleges of the Capital, which included the University College (Gukjahak, 국자학), High College (Taehak, 태학), Four Portals College (Samunhak, 사문학), Law College (Yuhak, 유학), Writing College (Sohak, 소학), and Arithmetic College (Sanhak, 산학), made up this university.  It was decided which school students would attend based on their household social status rather than their interests.

Education during the Joseon Dynasty: 

With the adoption of Neo-Confucianism by the Joseon (조선) Kingdom or Yi Dynasty, the aim of education was to produce moral men who would exercise sound judgement in their acts, attributes seen crucial in all leaders, including the king himself. Appreciation for education and scholarship was unwavering. King Sejong (세종), the creator of the Korean script, established the Jiphyeonjeon (집현전) (Hall or Academy of Worthies), a royal study center whose members had special privileges, such as the ability to pursue their unique intellectual passions at home or in remote locations. Once the dynasty was founded in 1392, the Seonggyungwan (성균관) (National Confucian Academy) was founded in 1398 for identical reasons that motivated Goryeo to build a national institution at its inception. Confucian classics once more become a key educational topic. The system remained to primarily serve aristocrats with the explicit aim of passing the civil service examinations, although it grew more examination-focused over time. Although anybody might theoretically take these exams, in practice only the children of yangban aristocracy had access to preparation options. In Joseon Korea, women were not permitted to attend formal education programs designed to educate men for careers in public service and higher education since they were expected to remain within the confines of the house. Yet, the idea that women needed appropriate education since they were important members of the family and society survived even in a more confucianized Korea. The private academies, called sowon (소원) first appeared in the middle of the sixteenth century and flourished until the late nineteenth century, when they peaked at roughly 300. These institutions appear to have only had minor differences in magnitude and detail from the national college. Several sowons were started by former officials in retirement or with the support of the court. According to some historians, the Confucian literati, also known as the Sarim (forest of academics), withdrew from national politics to live in peace and quiet in the countryside, avoid persecution, and pursue their studies of neo-Confucian philosophers. Others see the growth of private academies as a sign of the rise of the Sarim, a new breed of scholar-officials who are ambitiously committed to neo-Confucianism and determined to achieve the objectives of the Confucian thinkers.

Silhak (Practical learning):

According to the “World Education Encyclopedia”: ““In the early seventeenth century, amid the numerous social and political ills following the invasion, one critical cultural development was a movement called Silhak (실학)(Practical Learning). Silhak scholars emphasized the necessity for public education as well as the promotion of realistic thinking and technocracy because they were serious about changing the status quo to create what they saw as an ideal society. Their research went far beyond Chinese classical studies to include social sciences like politics and economics as well as historiography (especially Korean history), geography, linguistics, astronomy, natural sciences, Western technology, agriculture, medicine, martial arts, and a host of other subjects in almost every field of study.

Education in the 19th century: 

There were significant changes in education during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The central government abolished the sowon. Western-style curricula were taught in the modern schools that Christian missionaries founded. One of these was the first institution of higher learning for women, Ewha Woman's University, founded in Seoul in 1886 as an elementary school by American Methodist missionaries. Up to 3,000 private schools teaching contemporary courses to both sexes were established by missionaries and others during the dynasty's final years. The northern region of the country held many of these schools. Both Koreans and foreign Christian missionaries founded modern private schools. The latter were especially significant since they encouraged women's education and the spread of Western political and social concepts. Education was viewed by enlightenment activists and patriotic leaders as a necessary component of modernisation and independence during the late Joseon period. The English School opened its doors in 1883, and the Garden of Youth Education did the same in 1886. However, the Wonsan Haksa (원산 학사) (Academy), a private school established in 1883 by Jeong Hyeon-seok (정현석), a county magistrate in Wonsan(원산) at the request of the Wonsan traders' association and other locals, was the first modern school in Korea. Korea's first modern school was thus established at the initiative of the residents of a newly opened port city with their own resources in response to a challenge from abroad.

Missionaries and Western Ideas About Education in Korea: 

Roman Catholic missionaries originally introduced Western concepts to Korea in the late eighteenth century, and Protestant missionaries did the same in the late nineteenth century. The ancient reverence for knowledge, traditionally associated with competence acquired through humanistic and liberal education, has now expanded to include disciplines once regarded as less honorable, such as medicine, engineering, mathematics, manufacturing, commerce, foreign languages other than Chinese, professional (as opposed to amateur), fine and performing arts, and others. South Korea has maintained close ties with foreigners ever since the war. Most today's leaders have a wealth of knowledge about various cultures. The fifth year of Korean globalization has been greatly aided by interactions with Americans.

Education in the Early 20th Century: 

Boseong college which is known as Korea University at present time started with two departments- Law and Commerce. They were intended to introduce Western legal, commercial, and technical knowledge to the Korean people struggling to maintain their country's independence. Two years before Korea fell under Japanese colonial rule in 1908, there were roughly 200,000 students enrolled in the country's 5,000 vocational institutions. Christian missionaries founded 796 of these schools, more schools for girls than for boys. In Korea, modern education thus started for women at the same time as it did for males. Private schools providing Western-style education promoted democratic principles and people's self-esteem during the colonial era, which sparked the Korean independence movement. Private schools for both genders continued to thrive, creating a new elite class, even though conservative elements, which made up much of the society, thought the new education was unsuitable and corrupting, especially for women. Education thus became a method of achieving upward social mobility, especially for women. In addition to the Confucian classics, new disciplines like medicine, mathematics, geography, and foreign languages also gained importance. Outside of the home, women started to pursue careers. The 1919 independence movement, which was started by Yu Gwansun(유관순), a young woman from Ewha Hakdang, included complete participation from women.

Education During Japan Period (1910-1945)

After 1910, during the Japanese colonial era, mass schooling started. Following Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910, the colonial government set up an educational system with two objectives: first, to give Koreans a minimal education that would prepare them for subordinate roles in a modern economy and make them obedient subjects of the emperor; second, to give Japanese expatriates a higher quality education. After 1910, during the Japanese colonial era, mass schooling started. Following Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910, the colonial government set up an educational system with two objectives: first, to give Koreans a minimal education that would prepare them for subordinate roles in a modern economy and make them obedient subjects of the emperor; second, to give Japanese expatriates—who had migrated in large numbers to the Korean Peninsula—a higher quality education. The latter received greater funding from the Japanese, and as a result, prospects for Koreans were severely constrained. Only 12.2% of Korean children aged seven to fourteen went to school in 1930. In Seoul, a state institution styled after Tokyo Imperial University was founded in 1923, but the percentage of Korean students allowed to enroll there was never higher than 40%; the remaining students were Japanese.

Development of Modern Korean Education during the Japan period:

Economic independence and national development through education were highly valued during the 1910–1945 national movement against Japanese rule. This led to the opening of some 3,000 private schools nationwide, strengthening the Korean educational system. According to the “World Education Encyclopedia”: “The government of Japan turned to formal education as a nonmilitary means of ensuring the proper implementation of its policy of educating only as many Koreans as needed, i.e., to improve "market worth" of the colonized to the Japanese interests. The Japanese government launched the assimilation program known as naeson ilche ("Japan and Korea are one entity") from 1930 to 1945 in an extensive effort to erase Korean national identity. This policy was the harshest. Korean language was forbidden in all official settings, particularly in schools and publications, and Koreans were forced to modify their names—even their family names—to sound Japanese. Ironically, the colonial connection therefore deepened the existing intimate cultural ties between Japanese and Korean societies, including their common language and philosophical roots. The Koreans' desire for modernisation and greater appreciation of Western culture are two further effects of the Japanese occupation, which the Koreans regarded as bolstering Japan. Nonetheless, many Koreans were already interested in Western concepts and methods before the occupation as potential remedies for the numerous flaws in their cultural legacy. The country has seen significant changes because of its will to reconstruct after the Korean War and Japanese rule. As pragmatism is seen as beneficial to progress, it has not only become unavoidable but also respectable. The first national program placed a strong emphasis on economic development, particularly during the 30 years of military rule (1961-92). Koreans' understanding of the world grew as their economy and politics demanded regular interaction with foreigners. 

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION OR PRE-PRIMARY

It is known as Yuchiwon (유치원).This is to eliminate- the educational gap and the first step towards learning. Early childhood education is imparted usually in two different setups. First are daycare centers that provide care for infants and toddlers and second, kindergartens that educate and nurture three-year-olds and above. Kindergarten was introduced in South Korea by the Japanese in 1897 which was the Busan Kindergarten and then in 1913 and 1914 respectively, Gyeongseong (경성) Kindergarten and Ewha  (이화)Kindergarten were established. As of 2021, there are 8,659 kindergartens in total, which consist of 3 national, 5,058 public, and 3,598 private kindergartens. The kindergarten enrollment rate in 2000 was only 26.2% but has steadily climbed to reach a record 48.9% in 2019.

-:Law:-

The government developed certain kindergarten policies based on the Education Act of 1949. The Kindergarten Facility Standards Code (1962), the National Kindergarten Curriculum (1969), and the Early Childhood Education Promotion Act (1982) were subsequently constructed. In 1992, the Education Act and the Early Childhood Education Promotion Act were revised to enable 3-year-olds to be admitted to kindergarten.

The government implemented policies on early childhood education to ensure equal educational opportunities, available to all, from an early age and is continuing to do so. One of them is the government funded, Nuri Curriculum. This curriculum was released for 3–5-year-olds in July,2012 to strengthen the nation’s responsibility for early childhood education and reducing the burden on parents. It is a national-level curriculum that has been enacted to provide equal educational opportunities to all children by providing free educational expenses during the early ages. The National Kindergarten Curriculum which was enacted in 1969 has been reformed 11 times which in 2012 got a new name known as Nuri Curriculum. Initially, the curriculum was for 5-year-old children in kindergarten and daycares. In 2013, it was expanded to include all children from 3- to 5-year-old children. Pre-primary education mainly focuses on developing and enriching a child’s basic abilities such as reading, writing, mathematical thinking, music, and physical activity.

PRIMARY EDUCATION 

In Korea, the primary education consists of primary or elementary schools and middle schools, and hence is compulsory for all Korean citizens. Korea’s compulsory elementary school education began in 1950 and following that, in 1985 compulsory middle school education was introduced. It first started on a small scale, in small and medium-sized cities. Slowly, it spread regionally to larger cities and finally Seoul, with nationwide implementation in 2004.

The elementary level is for 6 years and is mandatory for all. At the elementary level, students are taught Korean, Social studies/Ethics, Mathematics, Science/Practical Arts, Physical education, Music/art, and English, where the Practical Arts classes are applicable to grade 5 and 6. A 1-hour class period usually lasts for 40 minutes in principle but it is subject to change and are altered according to weather, season, student development, learning content types, and school situations. Time allocated, in terms of respective grades and subjects shows standard class hours in 2 academic years, each with 34 weeks.

The middle school is for 3 years, and this level is also mandatory for all citizens. At this level, almost the same subjects as middle school are taught which included Korean, Social Studies (including history)/Ethics, Science/Technical Education & Home Economics, Physical Education, Music/Arts, English and Elective.  Here, each 1-hour class period lasts for 45 minutes in principle, but they can be altered depending on the weather, season, student development, learning content types and school situations. The standard class hours, at the middle level, are spread over 3 academic years, each with 34 weeks.

After graduating from middle school and getting sufficient grades, students can get admission in high schools.

SECONDARY EDUCATION 

In South Korea, all high school programs are for a timeframe of three years. High schools are referred to as Godeung Hakgyo (고등 학교). Individuals who have graduated from middle school or who have passed a qualifying exam and/or an assessment where equivalent credit is granted may enroll in high school. High schools can be broadly classified into four categories- regular, special-purpose, vocational and autonomous. The vocational classes are for gifted students, the special schools are for science, arts, physical education etc. and the autonomous schools have more freedom over school administration and curricula. The methods of admission to each of these depend on the type and/or the location of the school. High schools are not compulsory and hence they are not free of cost, so students have to pay for entrance fees and tuition.

The main goal of high school is to help young students with middle school accomplishments become a democratic citizen who is competent and efficient enough to communicate with the big world around them and after understanding their aptitude, outline and help them with their career goals. To reinforce and develop and manifest their essential learning and encouraging, motivating, and empowering and helping them to do their best with their wanted career plans. To achieve this, the general course of study focuses on four main subject areas. They are fundamental, exploration, physical education and art, life, and culture. One major requirement is meeting unit requirements. Students can choose from an array of classes that best suit their interest and goals, but they must meet the needed unit requirements. The coursework is divided into standard and advanced where the standard coursework includes all the core subjects that the students must take and complete to equip them with basic academic skills. 

Regular high schools consist of curriculums that involve general educational components in a variety of disciplines that make up a major part of all high schools. When taking admissions, they consider academic grades and test scores.

In case of special-purpose schools, talents from different fields of study are considered and hence for them, highly specialized modules are created and applied. These high schools are categorized into science high school, foreign language high school, international high school, arts high school, physical education high school and customized industry high school. Admissions screening takes into consideration, a transcript, teacher recommendation letters, an interview, a performance report, and an assessment of self-directed learning.

The third type of high schools are vocational high schools. Hands-on teaching and coaching toward aptitude development are the focus here. These schools produce creative and intelligent professionals through coaching. Core subjects include Korean, English, Mathematics and Social Studies. Along with that, vocational high schools employ rational, pragmatic programs according to their characteristics such as manufacturing, agriculture/living industry, industry, commerce and information, fisheries/marine science, home economics/business. Here, admissions depend on grades, an interview and performance. Most of the vocational education take place in specialized vocational high schools wherein Meister high schools provide students with industrial demand-driven courses and along with this, there are several general schools who offer several vocational education programs as part of their curriculum. Meister high schools refer to a system in Korea that focus teaching students’ practical knowledge so that they can perform in industrial field as professionals and hence find decent jobs immediately after graduating from high schools and continue building their career without having to go to college. The word Meister comes from the German word ‘Meister’ which refers to the highest level of professional skills and craft qualifications. 

The government's employment support system links schools, local offices of education, and the central government to assist students in finding more career opportunities following graduation. The Central Employment Support Center which is a newly established facility oversees identifying companies with good future career prospects and then this information is communicated to the employment support centers under the metropolitan and provincial offices of education. Vocational schools promote the initiative that has been undertaken by the government which goes by the tagline ‘Job first, University later’ which helps students to get a job at an earlier age. It additionally permits individuals to increase their proficiency through higher study anytime they choose to do so after obtaining a job. The broadening of college curricula for working students and tuition assistance are two additional forms of support that are employed to help them achieve their career objectives.

And lastly, there are the autonomous high schools. On a broader level, these high schools have a curriculum that is quite like regular high schools but additionally, they provide diversified courses while balancing autonomy and accountability. Autonomous high schools are of both public and private. Autonomous public schools conduct their admissions based on a random computerized lottery among an application pool. Alternately, in case of the autonomous private schools, they employ holistic review where it considers each applicant’s GPA, teacher recommendations, assessment of self-directed learning, and interview.

HIGHER EDUCATION 

Higher education is given to high school graduates or other similar individuals who have educational backgrounds equivalent to a high school graduate and is approved and recognized and authorized by relevant laws and regulations in Korea and a bachelor’s degree or a professional license is given once they complete the respective course. The goals of universities and colleges are to shape students' personalities, teach, and conduct research on the profound theories of science and art required for global and national progress. Higher education institutions usually include four-year universities and colleges, two or three-year junior and technical colleges, and graduate schools. Addition to these, there are also several special types of universities and colleges, depending on their purpose of establishment. Some of these institutions include universities of education where elementary school teachers are trained, industrial colleges for lifelong education, cyber universities based on information and communication technology, corporate colleges founded by companies to meet the needs of their employees, and polytechnic colleges for training job-related skills. Many universities have graduate schools and deliver masters’ and doctoral programs for several courses. Students can pursue postgraduate degrees at professional graduate schools in the disciplines of law, pharmacy, and medicine as well as at specialized graduate schools in public administration, education, and business administration. Generally, universities take in students based on the applicants’ College Scholastic Ability Test results, school transcript and other factors that put forward their readiness for tertiary education.

On May 20,2021, the Ministry of Education announced the Support Strategy for Systematic College Management and Innovation to reduce and avoid the deterioration in the pursuing and quality of tertiary or higher education as a significant decline in school-age population pursuing higher studies. Since the limited source of prospective students restrained colleges from carrying out their purpose properly in education and research. This initiative proposed three main policies: -

1. Actively support colleges to voluntarily adjust to optimal sizes to pursue self-sustaining innovation.
2. Induce financially and educationally unstable colleges to undergo drastic transformation, whereas those not showing improvement are closed.
3. Create a more collaborative higher education ecosystem between colleges in the metropolitan area and elsewhere, universities and junior colleges, as well as colleges in the same locality. 

Admissions:-

As mentioned earlier, admissions in higher education institutions depend on high school diploma or equivalent and an entrance exam called the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). Colleges and Universities select students based on their performance in the CSAT exam and by analyzing their previous education records (especially high school). To prevent confusion and to avoid bias, college admissions process has been made more focused on the CSAT exam and their school records instead of essay writing and other skills as they may be subjective depending on the type of school they come from and private tutoring. Admissions policies and guidelines are announced to the public well in advance to make certain students have adequate time to prepare and plan for their college admissions. 

Eligibility and Requirements for Admissions: -

1. CSAT: The CSAT is a standardized test used to assess students' aptitude for university admission. Contents of CSAT include Korean language, mathematics, English, Korean history, exploratory (social studies, sciences, vocational education), foreign language, and Chinese characters.
2. Transcript of High School Records: The transcripts require both academic and non-academic activities. The academic section includes students’ high school academics and life, and the non-academic section includes students’ volunteer activities, certificates, and award history.
3. University Examination: As part of the candidate screening process, universities use a variety of exams, including essays, verbal interviews, aptitude tests for the major, performance tests, and others.

There are three different types of admissions. They are: -

1. Early Admission: Application starts in September and announcement of successful applicants is done in the month of December. For early decision admission, applicants may submit applications to up to six four-year institutions. Conventional screening methods include academic screening, comprehensive screening, and performance screening (including special ability screening).
2. Regular Admission: Application starts in December and successful applicants are announced in February. Students are allowed to apply to up to three universities for regular admissions. Screening procedures usually include CSAT screening and essay screening.
3. Additional Admission: When universities require additional students after early and regular admission, additional admissions are conducted. 

As of 2021, there are 152,281 international students in Korea. There are 32,263 students enrolled in non-degree courses and 120,018 students who are pursuing undergraduate degrees. The non-degree courses include students in language courses, jointly operating curriculums, student exchange programs, visiting programs and others. Although institutions in Korea have distinct college entrance criteria, Korean language proficiency is mostly examined to admit foreign students.

Scholarship:- 

Korea's national and public institutions have an average tuition of $4,792, ranking it in eighth place, while private colleges have an average tuition of $8,582, ranking them in seventh place. The expense of paying for postsecondary education was proving to be difficult for many citizens. Regarding this, in 2012, the national scholarship program was introduced by the government with the purpose of educational equity to those with ability and willingness despite their circumstances. In 2022, the budget will be 4,1348 trillion won, up from 1,7500 trillion won in 2012. Government-funded scholarship grants are differentiated based on household income and asset levels. For example, Type I scholarship is granted directly to applicants meeting the income and asset levels and the minimum requirement for GPA. Students who have two or more siblings can also receive scholarship, whereas Type II scholarship is granted to students meeting specific requirements set by each university. Along with them, local talent enrolled in a college in a non-metropolitan area after graduating from a high school in the same non-metropolitan area can also receive a scholarship. The government promotes universities as places where future leaders can be developed by tailoring the curricula to the needs of both students and companies. 

SPECIAL EDUCATION 

Special Education refers to education offered to children and students with disabilities and special needs. In Korea, special education for students with disabilities is compulsory from kindergarten through high school. The Ministry of Education has started well-crafted services for children with different types of disabilities such as support for counseling, family matters, treatment, care assistants, assistive technology devices, learning equipment, commuting, and information access. Children with disabilities under the age of three, as well as those who wish to pursue higher vocational and career education after high school graduation, are both entitled to free education. These advanced vocational and career education programs are generally provided by special education institutes for one or two years. According to the severity and features of the disability, special education comprises a tailored curriculum and assistance (counseling, treatment, and assistive technology device). 

Act On Special Education for Persons with Disabilities, etc.: -

This act was enacted in 2008 with the goal of providing individuals with special needs with an integrated educational and learning environment. Adapting educational strategies to a student's traits and level of impairment at various points in their life cycle can help them reach their full potential in society. Additionally, it explains how central and local authorities play a role in the selection and placement of special education receiver and the prevalence and practicality of compulsory schooling- kindergarten, through elementary, middle schools to high school as well as free educational opportunities.

The special education program can be broken down into four categories: kindergarten, core courses, electives that follow general education requirements, and fundamental courses that are intended to support students' independence and community involvement, to those who are incapable of realizing general education competency.

LIFELONG EDUCATION 

Section 31. 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea declares that the State shall promote lifelong education. The term ‘Lifelong Education’ refers to all types of systematic learning activities other than regular school curricula, which incorporates six major areas: supplementary education, adult literacy education, competence-based vocational education, humanities education, culture and art education, and citizen involvement education. The 21st Century Education Committee of UNESCO proposed lifelong learning as the key to transforming the 21st century by placing "learning to live with," "learning to know," "learning to do," and "learning to be" at the center of education in a report titled "New Perspectives and Prospects for Education in the 21st Century" in 1996. At their meeting in 1996, the education ministers of the OECD decided to create policies for "lifelong learning for all. Lifelong learning was added to adult education, which had previously been referred to as recurrent education, and it was given national urgency or importance.

In 2015, the UN General Assembly embraced the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which put forward 17 targets that needed to be achieved by countries and the international community until 2030. The Goal 4 of Sustainable Development Agenda encapsulates ambitions for education which aims to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.’

One of the aftermaths of the Fourth Industrial Revolution was a shrink in the number of school-age population and a rising surge of adults. It has been estimated that by 2025, people 25 years and older would form more than 80% Korean population. In this situation, lifelong learning is seen as the central focus of governmental policies. Policies are devoted to nurturing human resource skills, combating social polarization—caused by income, knowledge, technology, area, and academic background, enlivening local communities, and fostering democratic citizenship.

There are different types of lifelong education. They include:

1. Autodidacticism: In an alternative open higher education system known as autodidacticism, self-learners could achieve a bachelor's degree while also advancing the goals of self-actualization and community improvement. A bachelor's degree will be awarded in the name of the Minister of Education to someone who successfully completes the prerequisites for high school graduation by self-studying and passing the primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary exams. The Central Education Evaluation Institute started offering the self-taught higher education test in 1990. Associated responsibilities were rendered to Korea National Open University in 1998 and to the National Institute for Lifelong Education in 2008 with the Lifelong Education Act amended. This type of higher educational institutes offers 11 majors in 10-degree types, including Bachelor of Arts, Laws, Public Administration, and Engineering.
2. Credit Bank: Credit Bank is a system that enables individuals to gain or receive credits for various types of experiences, learning and credentials gained both inside and outside the classroom. Under Article 9 of the Credit Recognition Act, etc., if a person who holds high school diploma or equivalent or reaches certain criteria by accumulating credits, they can earn an associate or bachelor’s degree. The representative open lifelong learning system of Korea compensates for the shortcomings of regular higher education. The Korean Educational Development Institute was entrusted with the credit bank system in 1997, and in March 1998, it was first administered.  The operating body was transformed to the National Institute for Lifelong Education in 2008 because of the Lifelong Education Act's amendment in 2007. Degrees are granted by the Minister of Education or the head of a higher education institution.
3. Lifelong learning voucher: The Lifelong Education Voucher Support project which aims to provide economically underprivileged individuals with the opportunity participate in lifelong learning and improve their quality of life. Individuals receiving voucher assistance can select a course based on their circumstances and educational background. The Lifelong Education Voucher Support Project was started in 2018 to improve government responsibility for adult education. Formerly, an educational welfare system included elementary, middle, and high schools as its core. A low-income individual receives a voucher of 350,000 won annually, while an active user receives a voucher worth 700,000 won annually. Voucher recipients take a class they are interested in—at approximately 1,700 institutions that accept vouchers.
4. K-MOOC: K-Mooc stands for Korean Massive Open Online Course. Amid a global paradigm change for tertiary education, this service that enables anyone to engage in college classes whenever, anywhere, at no cost, was launch in 2015. At present, about 890,000 members get access to over 1,000 courses of K-MOOC. Artificial Intelligence courses have also been added recently. Massive Open Online course (MOOC), in general, is a web-based platform that offers courses with proper constructed goals. There are limit to these classes and can be taken by anyone. Interactive learning is carried out through several methods such as question-answer sessions, discussions, quizzes, assignments, and a network of communities between professors and students and among students. ‘Great Class, Great Minds’ is a broadcast that features world famous scholars from humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences which is initiated in collaboration with EBS and began from the end of August 2021.
5. Short-term vocational certificate (Matchup): Matchup is committed to developing and managing 36 online courses that address business needs in nine growing industries, including big data, blockchains, smart cities, and new energy vehicles. To demonstrate their prospective value throughout the hiring process, learners can use it as an opportunity to develop their abilities further and acquire both a certificate of completion and a certificate of proficiency. Hours of matchup training are recognized by some employers. The Enforcement Decree of the Act on Credit Recognition, etc. was amended in December 2019 to allow matchup completion results to be acknowledged as credits.
6. Support for Lifelong learning system at College: With the help of the College Lifelong Learning System Support Project, which was started in 2017, the government assists colleges in making their facilities suitable for adult learners and providing practical classes. Presently, around 4,000 students who attend 30 schools (23 colleges, 7 junior colleges) and 113 departments are beneficiaries.
7. Support for local-friendly lifelong learning: The Regional Lifelong Learning Support Project is carried out to foster a culture of lifetime learning and create an ecosystem of locally driven lifelong learning. Lifelong learning cities have been designated and these cities have been provided financial assistance since 2001. So far, there are 180 Lifelong learning cities.
8. Adult literacy education: As per adult literacy policies, curriculums are established and strengthened that encompasses elementary to middle school education as well as literacy programs for illiterate or poorly educated individuals over the age of 18.  The National Adult Literacy Education Poetry Exhibition is held each year.

EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION 

Central Education Administrative Governance:

In Korea, the national education administration is governed by both the central and provincial organizations. The central education administration oversees the President, Prime Minister, Ministry of Education as well as its affiliated organizations. It is interesting to note that the Minister of Education also serves as Deputy Prime Minister. The Ministry of Education is the principal administrative body in charge of overseeing all aspects of education on a national level, including the formation of policies pertaining to lifelong learning, schooling, and academic affairs in general.

Provincial offices of education:

Since the Local Education Autonomy Act was passed in 1991, the administration of provincial education has been decentralized, and provincial offices of education now handle most of the administrative decision-making and the provincial education budget on behalf of the Ministry of Education. The provincial offices of education, the provincial education administration organizations, and the education committees under local councils, which are the deliberative and decision-making bodies of provincial education, are key players in local education governance. Provincial superintendents of education are directly elected by their residents. Superintendents of education oversee all aspects of provincial educational administration throughout their four-year terms, including education, the arts, and science.

6. Sources

1. https://english.moe.go.kr/main.do?s=english

2. http://koreaneducentreinuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2020EducationinKorea.pdf

3. https://www.krivet.re.kr/eng/eu/ek/euBAAVw.jsp?gn=E1-E120200969

4. Culture and Customs of Korea” by Donald N. Clark, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, London, 2000

5. Andrea Matles Savada and William Shaw, Library of Congress, 1990

6. Young-Key Kim-Renaud, “World Education Encyclopedia”, The Gale Group Inc., 2001

7. A Glossary of Romanization of Korean (Excel file):

1>TOPIC : . KOREAN RED CROSS BLOOD SERVICES 

2>WRITER: MIMLI CHATTERJEE , SANHITA BOSE , MADHUMITA BODAK , SUMAIRA RAHMAN

3>BRIEF SUMMARY: This project is about the blood services operations offered by Korean Red Cross. The project discusses in details how Korean Red Cross Blood Services is the major organisation offering blood services across the country . It also sheds light into its structure and major achievements in their field of work.

5>ARTICLE:

1. KOREAN RED CROSS BLOOD SERVICES:-

 The Korean Red Cross Blood Services (KRCBS) is the major blood supplier in Korea. With the support of their voluntary non-remunerated blood donors, they aim to provide safe and effective blood products and services. In addition to collecting, testing, processing, and providing blood products to patients in need of a transfusion, they are also committed to transfusion research and plasma fractionation products and bone marrow donations. In 1958 it took over the national blood centre to initiate blood services and was renamed as Korean Red Cross Blood Centre. Initially the blood services operated on the system of paid donation later in the year 1974 it transitioned from paid donation to voluntary non-remunerated blood donations. Finally in 1981 it was entrusted with National Blood Services by South Korean government in accordance with Presidential Decree No 10285. The government in 1994 entrusted it with the management and supply of plasma fractionation products and bone marrow donations. In one of it’s applauded moves in 2012 it designated 13th of every month as “Blood Donation Day”. In the recent years of 2019 and 2020 in the former year a MOU was establish between Korean Red Cross Blood Services(K.R.C.B.S) and United States Forces Korea(U.S.F.K) for blood collection and supply, and in the later year it was involved in the collection of convalescent plasma to treat covid-19 patients. 

2. THE STRUCTURE OF THE KOREAN RED CROSS BLOOD SERVICES ORGANIZATION: -

 The Director General looks after 4 branches

i> Planning and Management Bureau 

ii> Blood Donor Promotion Bureau 

iii> Blood Safety Bureau

iv> Information Management Bureau

 Each of these branches are subdivided as follows: -

 i> PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT BUREAU 

     • Planning and Coordination Team 

     • General Affairs Team 

     • Financial Management Team 

     • Procurement and Asset Management Team

     • Labour Cooperation Team 

ii> BLOOD DONOR PROMOTION BUREAU 

     • Inventory Analysis and Management Team 

     • Blood Donor Promotion Team 

     • Public Relations Team 

iii> BLOOD SAFETY BUREAU

     • Safety Planning Team 

     • Quality Assurance Team

     • Quality Verification Team

 iv> INFORMATION MANAGEMENT BUREAU 

     • Information Planning Team

     • Blood Information Team

     • Business Information Team

•  The entire process involves :-

              i> Blood Centre (15)

                    • Blood Donation Centre (146) 

             ii> Plasma Fractional Centre

            iii> Blood From Fusion Research Institute

            iv> Blood Laboratory Centre(3)

 3. KEY FIGURES: -

➢ Number of blood donations

➢ Number of blood products issued (KRCBS): -

➢ KEY FIGURES IN 2021: -

4. DONOR ELIGIBILITY: -

 Donor Eligibility for Foreigners (Updated on September 17, 2019)

•  One must have stayed in Korea for more than a year to donate blood (excluding the period for overseas travel)

-If one has visited other countries for more than 90 days accumulatively within one year, one will need to wait a year from the date of return.

-You will be deferred from donation if you have travelled overseas within 1 month

※ If one has travelled overseas while living in Korea, he/she has to contact  with our staff by telephone or email to avoid unnecessary visit.

• one should be able to speak Korean as the interview will be conducted in Korean                                                                                - Only their staff or a third person will be qualified as an interpreter (family members and co-workers are not allowed to provide interpretation)
• One should have a valid ID card to participate in blood donation. Alien registration, domestic residence report certificate, domestic driver's license, permanent resident card, ID card issued by USFK are accepted as valid ID cards. A passport is valid if you are exempt from alien registration.

-In special cases, such as being an ambassador, the requirement for valid ID card may be waived after a thorough review by the blood centre.

• All of the above should be met in order to donate.

5.KEY MILESTONES  :-

The major achievements  in their field of work includes:-

• BIMS
• Nucleic acid amplification for HIV (2005),HCV(2005),HBV(2012)
• Introduction of Computer based Blood donor self-interview system. 
• Introduction of blood product GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)

• BIMS: -    The Blood Information Management System (BIMS) was established to manage all the process from collection to supply (2003).BIMS is a web-based integrated system, established in 2002, to manage overall blood services from donor selection to the supply of blood products. BIMS enables users to use the system more efficiently with easy access. It is an optimized system to improve the integrity of blood safety management and the efficiency of services provided to donors and patients through the real-time analysis of the database. 

➢ SIGNIFICANCE OF BIMS: -

• Introduction of nucleic acid amplification test for HIV and HCV(2005): -

Nucleic acid testing (NAT) is a molecular technique for screening blood donations to reduce the risk of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) in the recipients, thus providing an additional layer of blood safety. NAT technique is highly sensitive and specific for viral nucleic acids. It is based on amplification of targeted regions of viral ribonucleic acid or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and detects them earlier than the other screening methods thus, narrowing the window period of HIV, HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections

• Introduction of computer based blood donor self-interview system (2009): -

There is a substantial literature suggesting that computer-assisted interviewing has advantages over face-to-face and written self-administration of interviews in venues eliciting sensitive information similar to that sought in blood donor history screening. We review some of the recent developments in blood donor history screening, the evidence suggesting that automated interviews should be useful, and the experience to date using computer interviews for blood donation. These data suggest that automated computer-assisted interviewing increases the elicitation of behaviours associated with the risk of transfusion-transmissible infection in donors, improves donor and staff satisfaction, and reduces errors and omissions that frequently accompany traditional interviewing methods.

•  Introduction of blood product GMP (GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE) (2019): -

GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE(GMP): - Good manufacturing practice in blood establishments GMP is the part of quality assurance that ensures that blood products are consistently produced and controlled to the quality standards appropriate to their intended use, as required by predefined specifications and, if applicable, by the marketing authorization. GMP is aimed primarily at diminishing the risks inherent in any blood establishment operation — such as contamination (including cross-contamination), mix-ups, disease transmission or other unexpected adverse outcomes resulting from the use of blood products. GMP is concerned with both production and quality control. 

The basic requirements of GMP are the following:-

• All manufacturing processes are clearly defined by policies and standard operating procedures, are systematically reviewed in the light of experience, and are shown to be capable of consistently manufacturing products of the required quality that comply with their specifications. 
• Qualification of equipment and reagents and validation of processes and methods are performed prior to use in the manufacture of products intended for transfusion or further manufacturing. 
• All necessary resources are provided — including appropriately qualified and trained personnel, adequate premises, suitable equipment, appropriate materials, approved procedures and instructions, suitable storage and transport.
• A system is available to maintain traceability of all released products in order to facilitate recall, if necessary, of any product suspected of not conforming to standards, and there is also a system to handle complaints. 
• A system is available that addresses process and quality improvement functions and activities.

6. WHO CC: -

 KOREAN RED CROSS BLOOD SERVICE was designated as WHO CC in 2014. Its function is to carryout activities in compliance with WHO Programs. WHO collaborates with other international health organizations to aid humanitarian purposes .

❖ The scope of work includes:

Training and mentoring the members in order to develop well organized national programs.

Provide technical support to’ WHO’ especially in the centralization of blood donation testing and processing. This is done as per the WHO guidelines and recommendation so that it can function with maximum efficiency reaching both global and regional levels.

It also spreads awareness among the public to accomplish 100% voluntary nonremunerated blood donation through donor education materials.

❖ Activities as WHO CC:-

➢  Capacity building for blood transfusion service (Tanzania) (2016 - 2018)

From 2016 to 2018, 45 delegates of Tanzania visited KRCBS for capacity building to enhance Tanzania's blood services and contribute to public health.  

Through the 3 years of training, the delegates were able to set up an action plan to secure a stable blood supply in Tanzania.    As a result, blood collection in Tanzania has increased from 196,735 units in 2016 to 307,835 units in 2018.

➢ Study tour

The KRCBS has developed study tour programs for blood service professionals from other countries since its designation as a WHO Collaborating Center since 2014.

The purpose of the programs is mainly to share the expertise in operating a national blood services and provide the opportunity to visit facilities. As of December 2019, delegates from 19 countries participated in the study tour program to learn best practices in blood service.

➢ Asia Pacific Workshop on Voluntary Blood Donor Recruitment in 2016

The KRCBS hosted the 'Asia Pacific Workshop on Voluntary Blood Donor Recruitment' in 2016, in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The purpose of the workshop was to raise the awareness of VNRBD and share best practices with national societies.

24 countries participated in the workshop and discussed their VNRBD development strategies and opportunity for future cooperation.

7. THE NEED OF CENTRALIZATION OF BLOOD:-

Blood transfusion is an essential component of health care. An insufficient or unsafe blood supply for transfusion has a negative impact on the effectiveness of key health services and programmes to provide appropriate patient care in numerous acute and chronic conditions. To ensure lifesaving blood transfusion, access to whole blood and blood components is vital. Other types of blood products, plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) in particular, are critical for the prevention and treatment of major morbidities associated with a wide range of inherited and acquired medical conditions and diseases. For these compelling reasons, it is important to ensure access to safe, effective and quality-assured blood products in all countries. Therefore, there is a need for a nationally coordinated and well managed blood system to ensure the safety, effectiveness, and quality of blood products.

The purpose of a national blood system is to ensure timely access to quality, safe and sufficient supplies of blood and blood components for all the patients needing transfusion. However, many low- and middle-income countries are still unable to provide sufficient supplies of whole blood and blood components for patients at all times or in all geographical locations. Vulnerable  groups in these countries, such as women with peripartum haemorrhage and children with anaemia from malaria, are often the worst affected by insufficient or unsafe blood supplies. A major barrier to the achievement of universal access to safe blood transfusion in these countries is their ineffective and inefficient blood supply systems. These systems are often fragmented, composed of many small-scale blood establishments, operated by multiple players and have varying levels of performance owing to resource and infrastructure limitations. Experience in many countries has demonstrated that a nationally coordinated and effectively regulated network of blood establishments, in which key functions are centralized, has many advantages. Centralization optimizes use of resources, reduces overall costs, promotes compliance with quality and safety standards, improves patient access to the most suitable blood components for transfusion, and enhances resilience in emergency situations that affect blood supply or safety. The World Health Organization’s Action framework to advance universal access to safe, effective and quality assured blood products 2020–2023 recommends countries to consolidate blood donation testing and processing in appropriate facilities. Such facilities should have effectively implemented quality systems to overcome the shortcomings that often exist in decentralized blood systems that are highly fragmented and to achieve the strategic objective of building functioning and efficiently managed blood services. There is a guidance document provided by WHO for the same. Guidance on centralization of blood donation testing and processing provides a strategic framework to assist Member States in deciding whether to centralize blood donation testing and processing and how to choose the most suitable centralization model for the unique characteristics of the blood system of each country. The guidance document explains the key steps in planning a blood establishment to centralize activities. It also offers practical guidance on implementing quality, risk management and information management systems, and on managing the infrastructure, human and financial resources necessary for a blood establishment that will perform centralized blood donation testing and processing. Centralization of blood donation processing can play an important role in increasing the availability of quality plasma for fractionation. This guidance is complementary to the Guidance on increasing supplies of plasma-derived medicinal products in low- and middle-income countries through fractionation of domestic plasma. The guidance document provides a strategic framework to assist Member States in increasing their volume of quality plasma suitable for fractionation to help address unmet needs for plasma derived medicinal products. 

6>SOURCE:

KOREAN RED CROSS: http://www.redcross.or.kr/eng/eng_main/main.do 

Blood GMP: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/biologicals/bloodproducts/document-

migration/gmp_bloodestablishments.pdf?sfvrsn=34ddd5b6_3&download=true 

Nucleic acid amplification test: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3943139/ 

Need of centralization of blood: Guidance on centralization of blood donation testing and 

processing 

Image sources: http://www.redcross.or.kr/eng/eng_main/main.do 

TOPIC: CRIMES IN THE STREETS OF KOREA

WRITER: SWASTIKA CHOWDHURY

SHORT EXPLANATION: This article extensively deals with the different categories of crimes committed in South Korea and the legal and administrative measures taken by the Korean Government to eradicate the same. 

WIKIPEDIA LINK: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CRIMES_IN_THE_STREETS_OF_KOREA_-_DRAFT_-_SAYUL.pdf

THE WHOLE ARTICLE:

South Korea has one of the lowest crime rates in the entire world. Upon brief statistical scrutinization it was revealed that South Korea’s crime rate & statistics for the year of 2020 was 0.60. Despite having a lower crime rate than most of the other industrially developed nations around the globe, fluctuations can be seen in the statistical growth of the crime rate post the year 1978. These sudden changes can be pointed as ramifications of the rise in the non-native citizens in the country over the years. Some of the demographic data collected over the years also attests that 1.4% of the crimes committed in the streets of South Korea are committed at the hands of foreigners which is low considering 3.5% of the South Korean population are non-natives. 

SYNDICATE

At the advent and prolongation of the Korean war in 1953, the nation has undergone massive social, political and economical altercations which in turn led the way for the emergence of organised crime in South Korea. Amidst such confusion, organised gangs entered the heart of the ‘entertainment districts’ and thereafter infected the Korean political scenario at large. They capitalised elections and also came to the aid of politicians by using organised violence to crush political rallies and more. Post the Korean War of the 1950s, organised crime pierced through the Korean capital i.e., the city of Seoul. This led to the establishment of two major gangs, the first was known as the “Chong-ro Faction” whose members belonged to the southern Korean peninsula, and the second was known as the “Myung-dong Faction” whose members were from Pyonyando province. These two gangs thereafter emerged and claimed dominance over northern Seoul. The military control thereafter managed to eradicate organised crime to its core. ‘In the years from 1961 to 1963, 13,000 members of these gangs were arrested causing organised gangs to almost completely disappear (Lee, 2006)’. The 1970s brought a thorough easement of public discipline and control in the streets of the Korean subcontinent which subsequently saw the emergence of two new groups known as the “Master Sergeant Shin Faction” which was located in the city Seoul and the “Ho-nam Faction” found in the Mugyo-dong area of Seoul. ‘In 1975 there was a violent battle over territories among the two groups which ended with the Shin Faction becoming victorious’. Assassination of President Park in 1979 led to the proclamation of martial law, thereby causing  a decline in organised crime rate. But these criminal syndicates re-emerged and flourished yet again.

Korea's rise in globalisation and doubling of economic growth came with its drawbacks as well. The organised crime rate flourished at a larger scale as the international linkages started providing aid for grievous crimes like drug trafficking, financial fraud and even human trafficking. 

In today’s world, crime syndicates have become a global issue across continents. 

NARCOTIC & PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES 

Abuse or usage of any such drug specified as narcotics under the South Korean drug policy is penalised by its administration and judiciary. Various reports suggest that ‘Most of the drug related offences occur in the Gangnam and Yongsan Districts. In 2013, there were 129 drug related crimes reported in the Gangnam area and 48 drug related crimes reported in the Yongsan area’. 

The Korean legal system prohibits its citizens from using drugs even in nations where such drugs are legalised. For instance Korean citizens living abroad, will be punished for taking marijuana with a sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment upon returning to their home country. 

In December, 2007 HIV and drug tests were made mandatory for the extension of visas to the non-native teachers. In the year of 2009, one American teacher Andrea Vandom initiated a complaint with regard to the country’s drug policy and raised the said issue before the Constitutional Court and the said appeal was thereafter dismissed in 2013. Later, Vandom put up a petition with regard to the same before the United Nations Human Rights Committee wherein the Korean Human Rights Commission declared the said policy as indiscriminate. Vandom further argued as to how such a mandatory policy not only degrades the moral character of non-native teachers but also victimises them to biases such as news reports that often depict them as criminal suspects. Even though the HIV test part was scrapped upon the advice provided by the United Nations, the drug policy remains till date. 

In the year 2021, a dual test namely Tetrabromophenolphthalein ethyl ester (TBPE) drug test was introduced by the Ministry of Education, owing to an amendment to the Primary and Secondary Education Act. The policy however received a backlash from not only the non-natives but also the native teachers. "Medical workers whose jobs are directly involved with drugs such as doctors, nurses and veterinarians are subject to only one drug test when they apply for their licence. But making teachers undergo the test twice is an unfair measure, creating a misperception that they are more likely to be drug abusers than other occupational groups," said Park Keun-byeong, Head of the Seoul Teachers' Association. It was also opined later by the authorities concerned that from 2022 such drug tests would be included in the annual medical check-ups of teachers provided by the South Korean government. 

MURDER

Even though South Korea has a low rate of murders it has not yet been eradicated. Assassinations, spree shootings, organised violence etc., have been few of the major issues related to the same. Two of the most well known areas affected by murder are the districts of southwest Seoul, Gangseo and Yeongdeungpo which houses many low income citizens and foreign workers. ‘In 2013, there were 21 murder cases in the Gangseo District and 11 murder cases in the Yeongdeungpo District’. 

A Police Administration professor from the Dongguk University, Kwak Dae-gyung said, “there are many foreign residents that have yet to adapt to Korean society and citizens lower in the economic strata in these areas, there’s trouble in terms of economic competition and a lengthy period of cultural assimilation that leads to people committing violent crimes out of frustration and the need for frequent police action”.

CORRUPTION

Corruption in South Korea is considerably moderate compared to other nations in the Asian subcontinent. In accordance with the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2022 as provided by the Transparency International, South Korea ranked 31st among 180 nations worldwide and scored 63 out of 100. One of the notable corruption cases in South Korea is the case of President Park Geun-hye who was found guilty of 16 charges of abuse of power and bribery and was incarcerated for 25 years of imprisonment. The Korean government has taken substantial measures to combat corruption such as the Act on the Protection of Public Interest of Whistle-Blowers which deals with the protection of whistleblowers ‘who report public and private corruption as well as foreign bribery’. ‘Public services have also been digitised in order to avoid opportunities for corruption. However, large chaebols pose significant difficulties as illicit business behaviour is still common among them. Some of the large conglomerates have been involved in tax evasion and corruption, and their powerful role in South Korea's economy has made corruption investigation very difficult’.

PROSTITUTION & SEX TRAFFICKING

Prostitution is illegal in South Korea. Despite the penalisation of prostitution, in accordance with a report provided by the Korea Women's Development Institute, ‘the sex trade in Korea was estimated to amount to 14 trillion South Korean won ($13 billion) in 2007, roughly 1.6% of the nation's gross domestic product’.

South Korea is both a destination and source for sex trafficking. Young girls from other nations like Thailand, China, Russia, Ukraine are lured by agencies under different pretences such as a promise for high salary and employment and pushed at the trail of sex trade for the purpose of sexual exploitation and even slavery. 

RAPE

Article 297 of South Korea’s Penal Code defines rape as intercourse by means of “violence or intimidation.” The South Korean Justice Department rejected a recent plan of South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to revise its legal definition of rape in order to include non-consensual sex. Earlier Korean scholars and philosophers noted that the interpretation of law with regard to rape narrowly confines the definition within the perimeters of violence and intimidation when the heart of any and all statutory measures regrading sexual assault should be consent. This further de-sensitizes and even invalidates many rape victims. Susanné Bergsten Park, a Senior Coordination in the Women’s Rights Division writes “The courts also find mitigating circumstances when imposing punishments, such as the offender having no previous criminal record or being “mentally weak” when committing the crime.”

CONCLUSION

The South Korean legislature, as early as during the period of monarchy, developed criminal laws partly consisting of the Chinese legal system but it has its own uniqueness based on Joseon traditions and Neo-Confucianist ideologies.

‘The Penal code of South Korea is composed of two parts, a general regulation and each crime. In general regulations, there are four parts, 1. Application scope of Criminal law, 2. Crime, 3. Punishment, 4. Duration. It defines 42 crimes.’  

Other than the penal statutes, multiple policies have also been implemented by the Korean Ministry in order to eradicate crimes from its core.

SOURCES

1. https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=28627&lang=ENG

2. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/01/south-korea-cancels-plans-update-definition-rape

3. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022

4. https://www.koreabang.com/2013/stories/2013-seoul-crime-rates-rape-in-gwanak-drugs-in-gangnam.html

5. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/03/113_311701.html

6. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180802000650

7. https://seoullawgroup.com/drugs-in-korea/

8. https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/eng/engMain.do

9. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KOR/south-korea/crime-rate-statistics

Topic: BOARD OF AUDIT AND INSPECTION

Country: WB1 team3

Writer: Taniya Singh, Dipali Rana, Suchana Dutta

Brief description:

The Board of Audit and Inspection is a primary function to  the audit and inspection of the accounts of state and administrative bodies. Council of Commissioners of BAI take decision related to audits and inspections . All the development of society among all these years are finalized by the audits .Some of the rules and regulation are  -Constitution of the Republic of Korea,Board of order audit inspection act.,Enforcement decree of the atom public sector audits, act on liability of accounting personal. The history of BAI is started from 1960s . The Philippine Intellectual Property Authority (PIPC) engages in deliberation and makes decisions on the scope of personal information when it is to be used beyond the consented purpose, or provided to a third party.

Full Article:

Council of Comissioners of BAI

The council of commissioners is composed of seven commissioners including the chair, the council makes decisions on the following matters: 

1.Policies for audit and inspection and major audit and inspection plans. 2.Confirmation of the final accounts of revenues and expenditures of the State. 3.Disposition of audit and inspection results .

4.Reconsideration .

5.Reporting on the Annual Report on the Examination of the Final Accounts of the State .

6.Review of Claims.

7. The rendering of opinions on the enactment, revision, abolition, interpretation, and application of laws to accounting, audit and inspection. 8.Enactment, revision, and abolition of the BAI's regulations .

9. BAI's budget requests and the closing of its accounts .

10.Exemption from audit and inspection. 11.Delegation of audit and inspection. 12.Other matters chosen and forwarded by the Chair. 

Responsibilities and Functions Introduction

In accordance with Article 97 of the Constitution and Article 20 of the BAI Act, BAI examines the final accounts of revenues and expenditures of the State, audits the accounts of the State and such organizations as prescribed by law, and inspects the work performed by government agencies and the duties of their employees in order to improve the quality of administrative services. BAI is a constitutional agency established under the President, but retains an independent status in terms of its duties and functions.

Duties and functions of BAI in detail are as follows: 

Examination of the Final Accounts

BAI examines the final accounts of revenues and expenditures of the State every year and reports the results of such examinations to the President and the National Assembly in the next year.

Audit of Accounts

BAI regularly audits the accounts of the State and other agencies prescribed by other laws in order to ensure proper and fair accounting. The matters subject to BAI’s audit can be classified into two categories: matters subject to mandatory audit; and matters subject to discretionary audit which would be conducted when BAI deems it necessary, or upon the request of the Prime Minister.

Inspection 

BAI inspects the works performed by government agencies and the duties of their employees in order to improve the operation and quality of government services. 

Disposition of Audit and Inspection Results

Judgment on liability for reparation, BAI examines and adjudicates whether an accounting official or any other person is liable for reparation, in accordance with the Act on Liability of Accounting Personnel, Etc.

  Request for disciplinary action

BAI may request the responsible Minister or the appointing authorities to take disciplinary action on public officials who fall under causes for disciplinary action as provided for in the State Public Officials Act or other statutes, or who refuse audit and inspection or neglect the submission of documents under the BAI Act without proper reason. Among the requests for disciplinary action, if a request for dismissal has been rejected, BAI may, on its own initiative, request deliberation or review thereof by the disciplinary committee which is established at the immediately higher-level agency, and the chair of the disciplinary committee concerned shall, without delay, notify BAI of the results thereof. For a person to whom the provisions of statutes relating to the disciplinary measures are not applied, or who is deemed to have committed serious irregularities, BAI may request the authorities who appoint or recommend the appointment to dismiss the person concerned. Also, a person who has refused an audit and inspection or neglected submission of documents without proper reason shall be subject to a penal servitude for not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding KRW 5 million. 

 Request for correction

In case BAI has found what seems to be illegal or improper as a result of audit and inspection, it may request the responsible Minister, the chief of the pertinent supervisory agency or the chief of the agency concerned to correct or pay more attention to it. When the request is made, the competent Minister, the chief of the pertinent supervisory agency, or the chief of the agency concerned shall comply with such request within a period specified by BAI. 

 Recommendations

When the results of audit and inspection show that it is inappropriate for BAI to make requests for disciplinary actions, correction, warning, and improvement, or it seems necessary for the chief of the relevant agency to handle the matter on his own initiative or if it is needed for the economy, efficiency, and fairness of administration, BAI may make recommendations or provide advice for improvement to the responsible Minister, the supervisory agency, or the chief of the agency concerned. The competent Minister, the chief of the competent supervisory agency or the head of the agency concerned who has received the recommendation or notification shall notify BAI of the results of the actions taken. 

 Accusation, etc

In case where BAI considers that there is a suspicion of crime as a result of audit and inspection, it shall institute an accusation with the public prosecutions authorities. An accusation should be decided by the Council of Commissioners. However, it can request the public prosecutions authorities to investigate without going through the decision process by the Council of Commissioners in case there are apprehension about destruction of evidence or runaway. If it is difficult to directly institute an accusation or an investigation with the public prosecution authorities because of limits on time or place, BAI can request the responsible organizations to take appropriate measures

Reconsideration

If audited entities, pertinent Ministers, appointing authorities, appointment recommending authorities, head of the supervisory agency, or an individual (who has been ordered to make reparation) believe that the BAI’s decisions against them are illegal or unjust, they can submit a request for reconsideration to BAI. Furthermore, BAI may initiate the reconsideration process on its own authority if it finds its decisions inappropriate or unjust due to error or omission of evidence, or its requests and recommendations illegal or unjust as long as such a finding has been made within two years after the decision. If the BAI’s rulings of reconsideration are not acceptable, the parties concerned can file an administrative litigation against BAI.

Claims Review

Any person who has an interest in a disposition concerning the duties of a person subject to BAI’s audit and inspection or other activities prescribed by BAI regulations may request BAI to review it. BAI will review the case and communicate the results of its review to the individual who has made the claim and the head of the relevant agency. The head of the relevant agency must take measures in accordance with the BAI’s decision. The individual can file an administrative litigation against the relevant agency by reason of his dissatisfaction with the agency’s measures.

Civil petition services and the 188 hotlines

BAI examines at firsthand or consigns the internal audit and inspection institutions to examine civil affairs handed out by petitioners or sent from other agencies, or illegal or improper matters reported through 188 hot lines. As a result of audit and inspection, BAI may request the responsible organizations correction or appropriate measures and notify the result of audit and inspection to the petitioner or the 188 reporters.

Expression of Opinions

Government agencies should ask for BAI’s opinions when the enacting, revising or abolishing relevant laws concern accounting, powers of BAI or internal audit and inspection. Should accounting officials of entities subject to BAI’s audit and inspection request advisory opinions concerning the interpretation of accounting laws, BAI will provide its authoritative interpretation.

Audit Activities

The audit and inspection system of Korea has a 1,300 year-old history. During the times of the dynasties, it focused on uncovering wrongdoings of government officials. After the government of the Republic of Korea was established, and pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of 1948, the Board of Audit was founded under the President of the Republic as the supreme audit institution (SAn. In accordance with the provisions of the Government Organization Act of 1948, the Commission of Inspection was also established under the President to supervise and inspect the duties of the employees of central and local governments, government-invested organizations, and other organizations prescribed by law.

Because the work of the Board of Audit and the Commission of Inspection was in many cases so closely related, the revised Constitution of 1962 prescribed that these two organizations be merged. The Board of Audit and Inspection Act of 1963 established the current Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) on March 20,1963.

In recent years, the Korean people have had high expectations for economic revitalization, national competitiveness, and transparent government. In response, the Korean government has been demanding both a bold restructuring in the public sector and the eradication of corrupt practices. Within this environment, the BAI has identified three directions for its audit operations: audits to promote reform, productivity audits, and open audits. The BAI expects that its efforts will increase the effectiveness of government reform measures, help eradicate an environment that nurtures corrupt practices, promote creativity and responsiveness in public service, and encourage popular participation in audits and prompt responses to the interests of the public at large.

Among all these years development of society was made by the government and some of them are listed below.

.Audit on Imposition and Collection of Major Charges Audit on the Smart City Development Project.

.Audit on the Demographic Crisis II - Focusing on Old-age Income Security Audit on the Management of Consumer Chemical Products .

.Audit on the Demographic Crisis I - Focusing on Regional Areas .

.Audit on Personal Information Protection .

.Audit on the Status of Taxation Data Processing and Utilization .

.Mid-and Long-Term Fiscal Management II.

.Mid and Long-term Fiscal Management I .

.Audit on Status of National Safety Diagnosis Program .

.Development of Pohang Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Project.

.Safety Management of Chemical Handling Facilities Safety Management of Nuclear Power Plants .

.Operation of Emergency Medical Centers .Fine Dust Management .

.Prevention and Control of Quarantinable Infectious Diseases .

.Status of Efficiency and Soundness of Local Education Finance.

.Safety Management of Power Supply Facilities Status of Operation and Management of Long-Term Care Institutions .

.Insufficient Information Sharing Between National Fire Agency (NFA) and Korea Centers for .

.Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). .Insufficient Utilization of Standard Analysis Models for Public Big Data / Insufficient Utilization of .

.Data on Crime Hot Spots When Analyzing and Designating New CCTV Locations. .Direct Job Creation Programs for Vulnerable Groups .

.MERS Prevention and Response.

.Promotion of Data-based Administration. .Implemetation Status of Projects for Improving the Environment for Elementary, Middle and High Schools.

 .Safety and Quality Management of Fishery Products .

.Status of Education and Support for Protected Juveniles .

.Establishment and Use of Information System for Land and Environment.

. Management of Weather Forecast and Earthquake Notification Systems Supply Management of Public Housings for Vulnerable People. 

These audit direction made by BAI ARE

Missions - Strengthening accountability & imprising performance through examination of government accounts and special of government official. 

VISION - maintaining commitment to duty while preparing for the future for the perspective of the people.

 STARTEGIC OBJECTIVE -Fiscal soundness, Economic Vitality, Public Welfare Stablity, discipline in public service.

AUDIT DIRECTION- audit responsive to external needs, Audit enhancing public sector performance, focus audits of quality, effective audits prepared in advance.

CORE VALUES - independence, accountability, fairness, trust.

 Rules and Regulations 

1.Constitution of the Republic of Korea.

2. Board of order audit inspection act. 

3. Enforcement decree of the atom public sector audits .

4. act on liability of accounting personal. 

5. National finance act .

6. National accounting act .

7. National assembly act.

8. From the prevention of corruption and establishment and management of anti corruption civil right Commission.

 9. Act on public sector audits .

10. Enforcement decree of act on liability of accounting personnel. 

Brief History of BAI

The timeline below delineates historical information about BAI from 1948, when the Board of Audit and the Commission of Inspection were merged into the current Board of Audit and Inspection, until the present day. 

1960s: 

1962.12 ~ The Article 92 of the Third Republic Constitution was amended to provide the legal foundation for BAI.

 1963.03~ The first BAI Chair was appointed and four regulations including the Regulation on the Organization of BAI Secretariat were promulgated. 

1963.03~ The BAI Act was enacted and promulgated. -"BAI shall be established under the President of the National Rebuilding Supreme Assembly, but shall retain an independent status in regard to its duties. 

1963.04 ~ Three regulations including the Regulation on Audit and Inspection Activities were promulgated. 

1963.12 ~The BAI Act was newly enacted and promulgated. -"BAI shall be established under the President, but shall retain an independent status in regard to its duties."

1965.06~The BAI joined the INTOSAI (International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions) as a member

1970s

1971.04~ The construction of BAI’s present headquarter building in Seoul was completed and BAI moved to th

building.

1977.12~ Computer terminals for audit work activated.

1979.08~The BAI joined the ASOSAI (Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions) as a member.

1980s

1982.08~The Audit and Inspection Training Building was opened.

1990s

1991.03~The construction of BAI’s annex building was completed.

1993.03~Petitions Reception Center was established within the BAI.

1993.04~The Committee for the Prevention of Corruption as BAI Chair’s advisory body was established.

1993.12~ The 188 Hotline Center was established within the BAI.

1999.08~The Public Sector Auditing Standards were enacted.

2000s

2001.10 ~ 2004.10~BAI served as INTOSAI Chair.

2004.03~ The Civil and Business Petition Center was founded.

2005.05~ The Audit and Inspection Research Institute (AIRI) was established.

2009~ BAI was elected as the Secretary General of ASOSAI in 2009.

2010s

2013.03~The Act on Public Sector Audits was enacted

2013.06~The BAI's 4th annex building construction was completed.

2014.06~Standards for Exemption from Disciplinary Measures for Proactive Actions were developed.

2014.08~Bureau of IT Audit was newly created.

2014.11~Audit Innovation Committee was formed.

2015.08~The BAI Exhibition Hall was opened.

2015.09~Legal grounds and deliberation process were prepared for Auditee Rights Advocacy Officer System.

2016.09~The BAI Rules on Processing Reports for Improper Solicitation and Graft was enacted.

2017.01~E-Audit Management System (BEST) was introduced.

2017.03~E-Conference System was introduced.

2017.05~INTOSAI Working Group on IT Audit was held (May 22nd-23rd, Seoul).

2017.07~ BAI Innovation and Development Committee was launched with ToR being enacted.

 2018.03~ The Advisory Committee on Proactive Governance and Disciplinary Action Exemption was created. 

2019.04~ BAI officially announced its candidacy for the UN Board of Auditors (BoA). 

2020s

2020.01~ BAI appointed as an External Auditor of the International Criminal Court. 

2020.11~ The Audit Data Analysis System called BARON was established. 

2021.09~ The ASOSAI Working Group on Crisis Management (WGCMA) was established upon the proposal of BAI.

 2021.09~ BAI was elected as a Governing Board member of ASOSAI. 

Audit on Personal Information Protection 

Overview

The global economy has experienced a significant transformation, becoming a data-driven economy with new value. The Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), self-driving cars, smart factories, smart healthcare and bio-industry, and intelligent finance are just a few examples of the industrial sectors where data can be used as a source. The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) carried out an audit on the protection of personal information in order to examine procedures and create reforms for the existing system.

Background

Legislation on the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and launch of the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC)

Beginning in the year 2000, there was a rise in the number of cybercrimes like hacking that violated personal information. Hacking attacks in particular that target large web portals or online companieshave increased. The personal data of 35 million users of Cyworld, the largest local social networking site at the moment and operated by SK communications, was compromised in a hack in July 2011.

Major incidents related to the leak of personal information

Leakage data was used for voice phishing, loan fraud, identity theft, and telemarketing, resulting in increased calls for mobile carriers and insurance companies. Due to certain blind spots that were not covered by individual laws, social interest and demand started growing, urging the government to increase the general level of personal information protection to be at par with other major advanced countries. With this strong demand to enact general laws for personal information protection, the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) was legislated in 2011, and the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) was launched on Sep. 30, 2011 as an independent administrative commission under the President, to serve as the control tower for personal information protection.

Amendment of PIPA and launch of the Integrated PIPC

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently passed a law that would protect personal information and ensure proper use of data for a data-driven economy. This law was met with criticism from the U.S., EU, and Japan, as it could undermine innovation in the digital-based economy. To address this, related organizations such as the PIPC, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) came up with new measures to improve related laws. In Jan. 2020, the National Assembly passed amendments to Korea's three main data privacy laws (PIPA, the Act on the Promotion of the Use of the Information Network and Information Protection ("Network Act"), and the Credit Information Use and Protection Act ("Credit Information Act). An integrated PIPCE was formed as the new central administrative agency which consisted of nine members including two standing members. The integrated PIPC assumed the role of supervising the protection of personal information.

The Integrated PIPC introduced an encrypted private number system in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, allowing parents or guardians of children to have a prompt access to original footage of their children from CCTV recordings. This was due to privacy concerns over the potential leak and misuse of phone numbers from the hand-written entry logs recorded for the tracing of possiblecontacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients. The PIPA has played an active role in protecting and managing personal information. 

Audit Results 

Need to enhance effectiveness of deliberation and decision of the PIPC 

The Philippine Intellectual Property Authority (PIPC) engages in deliberation and makes decisions on the scope of personal information when it is to be used beyond the consented purpose, or provided to a third party. The PIPC is supposed to conduct investigation on the status of personal data protection and provide education. BAI conducted a sample survey on the issuance of payment notice by public parking lots in the Gyeonggi province to check for personal information.

The audit found that the PIPC made a decision that the only personal information that city/ county/ district offices may provide to their affiliated public corporations was the name and address of vehicle owners, which applies to local public corporations. To analyze the cause of such problems, BAI conducted a survey on personal information controllers and officers in charge of personal information of 38 organizations, including 19 cities/ counties and their affiliated pub corporations. As a result, 34 personal information Controllers (90%) and 13 personal Information handlers (34%) reported that they had never seen any statement of decision from the PippC, suggesting that personal info controllers in local governments or local public Corporations had little understanding of deliberation and decision by the NIPC.

Inappropriate supervision of the system of protection and use of biometric information

BAI examined how biometric data is managed in 22 university dormitories and 7 ski areas, and found that it is important to protect biometric information as it can be used to identify a specific individual and facilitate extraction of additional characteristics such as race, medical history, etc. According to the PIPA and the Biometric Data Protection Guideline, a personal information controller must collect and useBiometric data to the minimum extent necessary to confirm and verify an individual's identity, and notify users when additional consent, other than general consent for personal information, is obtained. Additionally, the controller must examine whether there are other means to fulfil the task while minimizing the risks of infringement on the user's privacy. Finally, users should be informed of types, protection measures, and processing methods of their biomet data that has been collected and used through the Personal Information Processing Policy1.

Collection of biometric data for access to university dormitories

In order to confirm the identity of students for issuing access to dormitories, colleges and universities were seen to use biometric data such as the back of hand vein patterns. The audit found that 8 (36.4%) out of 22 dormitories retain this biometric data beyond the necessary period, and even after the students’ residence period is over.

Moreover, 5 (22.7%) dormitories did not obtain consent from the students for the collection and use of their biometric data, while only 3 (13.6%) dormitories recorded over 5% of actual use of alternative means such as card keys.

1 According to Article 30 of the PIPA, every personal information controller shall establish procedures and standards for processing personal information including the purposes for which personal information is processed, the period for processing and retaining personal information, provision of personal information to a third party, and procedures and methods for destroying personal information. Through the Personal Information Processing Policy, data subjects can compare and confirm how a personal information controller process their personal information

Collection of biometric data to confirm identity for ski season pass users

Swist pass users were forced to give consent on the collection and use of biometric data, even after the season had ended, as no ski slopes provided alternative means. Biometric data was used to verify the identity of ski pass users.

Need to improve the task of detecting and deleting contents exposing personal information and posts2 illegally distributing personal information

 The PIPC entrusts the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) with detecting contents exposing personal information and posts illegally distributing personal information on domestic and foreign websites, and to request ICT service providers to delete and block such posts. 

Insufficient efforts to detect and delete exposed personal information

 The PIPA requires website operators to ensure that users' personal information is not exposed to the public through information and communications networks. The KISA is required to take steps to prevent the spread of exposed personal information by blocking it on search portals, but failed to take any measures to detect and delete it. As a result, 280-522 pages of personal information has been exposed through the internet every year, with personal information of 4,000 users from 3 websites exposed for over one year. 2 Posts illegally distributing personal information are ads for selling and/ or buying personal information such as ID, etc. without containing any personal information in itself.

Insufficient efforts to detect and delete posts of illegally distributing personal information

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection prohibit the transfer of personal information from a third party or distribution through the information and communications network unless it has been obtained from the data subjects or other statutes. However, posts illegally distributing personal information are still being uploaded faster than being deleted, making it easy to search for maliciousposts. Search portals are used to limit search results by popping messages from social campaigns to fight drugs or prevent prostitution, and provide contact numbers of administrative agencies to help provide assistance to users.

Audit of Mid- and Long-term Fiscal Management 

Audit Background

The Korean government has increased its spending to respond to the public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the 2020-2024 National Fiscal Management Plan, fiscal expenditure is expected to reach $543.5 billion (increasing at an annual rate of 5.7%) by 2024, while government revenue is projected to be at $468.05 billion in 2024. The government has put various efforts to manage potential fiscal risks that may arise in the long term, such as introducing new fiscal rules and restructuring expenditure frameworks. To ensure fiscal sustainability, BAI conducted audits on the mid- and long-term fiscal management system with focus on government receivables, public funds, and national debts.

Audit Focus

BAI focused on the operation and management status of fiscal management tools such as government receivables, bonds and public funds, auditing the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) and fund managing entities. BAI identified potential risks to fiscal management and management status, and recommendations to strengthen fiscal sustainability. 

Table 1:

Key Audit Results

 Public Fund Management 

Fiscal Management Status of Individual Funds and Funds Program Management System 

Individual Funds’ Balance

The most important details of the phrases BAI, fund, fund balance, individual funds, and adequate level are that BAI used the Adjusted Fund Balance to analyze the soundness of individual funds and found that 27 out of 61 funds1 have balance deficits, and 13 funds are expected to recover the fund balance by expanding self-financing revenues and reducing expenditures. The other eleven funds are highly dependent on transfers from the General Account or loans from the Public Capital Management Fund, which is not easily possible due to the increasing program cost.

Mid- and Long-term Fund Management Plan

The MOEF develops the 'Mid- and Long-term Fund Management Plan' for eleven pension, insurance and bond issuance funds such as National Pension Fund, Employment Insurance Fund, and National Housingand Urban Fund. BAI reviewed whether any more funds needed to be added to the Plan, such as the 'Micro Enterprise and Market Promotion Fund' and 'Korea Credit Guarantee Fund' due to their deteriorating financial condition.

Gov’t Loan Programs and Gov’t Loan Guarantee Programs

BAI analyzed the government loan programs of the five funds that had large-scale programs and were financing them through external borrowing. It found that the financial burden percentage2 varied from fund to fund, with an average of 3.09% for Small Medium Enterprise's Start-up and Promotion Fund,1.87% for Tourism Promotion and Development Fund, and 1.23% for Micro Enterprise and Market Promotion Fund. BAI also found that there is always a risk of borrower's default depending on the economic fluctuation, making the mid- and long-term management of government loans necessary to reduce financial risk burden.

1.  Out of total 67 public funds, five account funds and Deposit Insurance Fund Bond Redemption Fund were excluded from the analysis.

2.  In case a financial burden percentage is 3.09%, the financial burden of $309 will be annually incurred due to thebad debt expense and negative net interest margin when lending $10,000.

Management of Surplus and Shortage of Funds

Intra-governmental Transactions

MOEF manages excess fund balance of individual funds by allowing inter-fund transfers and interfund loans, which are flows of assets between funds without repayment. Inter-fund loans are beneficial if the fiscal health is in good condition, but must be chosen when the fund is facing a temporary shortage of capital . NBAI reviewed whether financing through intra-governmental transactions is being appropriately performed, and it was found that the National Health Promotion Fund was financing through inter-Fund loans despite its poor fiscal condition through inter-Fund loans despite its poor fiscal condition.

Distribution of Lottery Fund Revenues

The Lottery Fund is one of the largest surplus funds that can be used for other funds in need, with 35% of the lottery sales revenue distributed to ten Funds and agencies such as Korea Sports Promotion Fund and Korean Veterans Health Services, and the remaining 65% to support public interest projects. BAI analyzed fiscal conditions of individual funds to assess if they need support from the Lottery fund and if the allocation ratio is reasonable. Currently, the Korea Sports Prevention Fund has a lottery fund allocation ratio of 10.3%, but this ratio needs to decrease due to increased self-financing sources.

Management of Government Receivables and National Debt

Government Receivables and Overdue Receivables

Bookkeeping of Government 

ReceivablesBAI found that as of the end of FY 2019, $2.75 billion of spent nuclear fuel management cost was recorded as receivables in the Radioactive Waste Management Fund's statement of financial position, but was not recorded in the Report on Present Value of Receivables and in the Statement of Total Value of Reivables. The liquidation process for corporates is completed, so BAI's findings are not included in the report.

Collection of Overdue Receivables

The National Receivables Act amended in 2014, allowing central government agencies to trust the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) with the collection of overdue receivables (delinquent debt). BAI reviewed the debt collection activities of Central Government Agencies (BAI) to assess the effectiveness of KAMCO's arrear collection services. It was found that there was a lack of effective and efficient debt collection capabilities, and that some government agencies had no internal guidelines to select which delinquent debts to be outsourced. Those government agencies with the proposed internal guidelines had a higher receivable turnover ratio (average 4.0%) than those that did not (average 0.7%).

National Debt Management 

National Debt Management Plan

 The MOEF establishes a National Debt Management Plan every year to ensure the risks of debt management are controlled in an efficient manner and ensure the mid- and long-term fiscal soundness. The Plan includes a repayment plan for already issued bonds whose maturity dates will arrive before the end of the debt management plan period (5 fiscal years). BAI found that short-term bonds amounting to $55.8 billion were not included in the repayment plan. It was also found that the MOEF did not accurately estimate the amount of interest costs on treasury bonds, as they applied the anticipated interest rates for the year of estimation instead of applying the interest rates at the time of issue. If the expected rate of 2023 were to be 2.36%, the interest costs would increase to $21.4 billion, with an estimated value of $20.3 billion.

Financial Debt

The MOEF classifies national debt into two types of debts based on its assets, which are financial and deficit. NBAI reviewed assets of ten funds and found that three funds lacked assets compared to debt. In case assets are not sufficient to repay the debts, they should be labelled and calculated as deficit debts for better management of national debt. Treasury bonds and tax revenues are also used as repayment sources.

Expected Outcome 

BAI provided the MOEF with recommendations on supplementary measures necessary to enhance efficiency and transparency of fiscal management as well as to prepare mid-and long-term risks.

Resources:

https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/intro/council https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/intro/briefHistory https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/intro/officialDuties https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/board/base/list?brdId=BAE_0004 https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/audit/manageKeynote https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/audit/rulesRegulations https://www.proquest.com/docview/236822474 https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/board/base/detail?brdId=BAE_0004&postNo=118 https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/board/base/detail?brdId=BAE_0004&postNo=116

https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/board/base/detail?brdId=BAE_0004&postNo=118 https://www.bai.go.kr/bai_eng/board/base/detail?brdId=BAE_0004&postNo=115

Wikipedia link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Audit_and_Inspection

Glossary file:

Topic    Flavored Tobacco Products in Korea

Country    India WB Team 4

Name    Palak Doshi, Supriya Mallik, Alisha Sarangi

Hello, we're from Sayul, WB Team 4 and we've written an article on the use of flavoured tobacco in Korea. We've written this article after thorough research and tried to summarize it in short. 

This is the link to our Wikipedia Article. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Flavored_Tobacco_Products_in_Korea

Introduction 

Flavoured Tobacco is defined as “tobacco products in which additives, such as flavourings, are added to give taste or aroma.” A variety of tobacco products, including traditional cigarettes, capsule cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs), and water pipes, can have flavourings added to them. Flavoured tobacco products (FTPs) are frequently used by young people, women, and teenagers, hence action is required to stop tobacco usage. In comparison to 2016, there are more FTP users, fewer people are aware of how harmful it is, and flavoured products are now available in addition to cigarettes and capsule cigarettes in heated tobacco products. It was found out that people were getting habitual towards smoking, 1.80 times higher due to Menthol Cigarettes.

Flavoured tobacco encourages people to begin and continue smoking by lessening the unpleasantness of the habit and making it more enticing through colourful marketing efforts that stress diverse tastes, flavours, and modifiers. It is well established that flavoured tobacco lowers smoking quitting rates and increases nicotine dependence. Those who used sweet-flavoured items instead of menthol were considerably less likely to give up smoking. 

The Status of Flavoured Tobacco Use

This survey has 10,030 participants and people aged 13-39 years, 3,656 are non-smokers ( this also includes non-users of all tobacco products) and 6,374 (63.5%) have smoking experience.  Of those who had used tobacco products, 5,243 are current smokers, 1,131 (17.7%) were past smokers  Of the 5,243 current smokers,4,045(77.2%) have used FTPs. The increasing percentage from 12.4 % to 64.8% (2,827 of 4,360) people are recorded in the study named “A Study of the Effects of Flavored Tobacco on Smoking  Attempts” (2016), and this study investigated the effects of Flavored Tobacco on smoking attempts. The rate of current smokers who have used the FTP is 75.9% in males and in females is 78.4%. The highest percentage of adolescents is 85.0% and they were aged from 13 to 18, followed by those who were aged 19 to 24 have a percentage of 80.1 %, and those who were aged between 25 to 39 years have a percentage of 74.5%. In a qualitative study, the use of FTPs among adolescents is high. So more surveys are done to determine the reasons participants for using those products. The results showed that males began to smoke flavoured cigarettes where as females started to smoke disposable electronic cigarettes. There is no feeling of repulsion for either continuation of use or to switch to conventional cigarettes with the using FTPs.

Adolescents aged 13 to 18 years used FTP because of smoking which includes capsule cigarettes rated at 40.0% and electronic cigarettes used at rated 21.9%. The adults aged from 19 to 24 years mainly used capsule cigarettes followed by conventional cigarettes and those who are aged from 25 to 39 mainly use conventional cigarettes followed by capsule cigarettes. Current tobacco users are basically smokers the percentage of 19.5% use HTPs whereas 20.5% use liquid-type products 

Awareness of the Harmfulness of Flavoured Tobacco

The response towards the item “Flavoured tobacco is harmful to health” is 89.1% were non-smokers,77.6% were non-flavoured cigarette smokers, and 92.0% were flavoured cigarettes who answered “strongly agree” or “agree”, which indicates a decrease of awareness of the harmfulness of flavoured tobacco of FTP non-users. In 2016 when the responses to the survey were compared the result was 95.5%,93.5% and 79.7%.

Flavoured Tobacco, Smoking Attempts, and Continued Smoking

When the investigators asked the effects of FTPs on the attempts of smoking there are 4,310 people out of 6,374 participate with an experience of smoking rated 67.6% participants who had answered stonglyagreed and agreed to the item that “Flavoured tobacco influenced my first attempt at smoking,” while in other hand only 2,064 (32.4%) answered disagree and strongly disagree. The main cause of using the flavoured tobacco is the pleasant  flavour which also followed by the odour removal and also reduce the physical discomfort to the throat. Both males and females aged 19–24 years clearly indicated that flavour influenced their first smoking attempt, with the rate of response for “I like the flavour” highest among those were aged 13-18 years  in which males are 56.5% and female 54.7%.

The risk of becoming a current smoker was 1.4 times higher (95% CI, 1.2–1.6; age-adjusted) among participants whose first one or two puffs had involved FTPs than among those who started with non-FTPs. Similarly, their risk of continuing to use tobacco products was 10.9 times higher (95% CI, 9.5–12.4

How to overcome tobacco

1.School Tobacco Awareness Programs: since the majority of the smoker started smoking before 18 years of age, the school plays an important role to make students aware about tobacco and causes of addiction.

2.Difficult access of Tobacco for youth: if access of such products becomes more difficult for teens to obtain it would reduce a lot of teen smokers to use such products in their daily life.

3.A total ban on tobacco advertising and promotion should be implied

4.Health education campaigns/ Raising Awareness: Future efforts must focus on identifying the use of flavoured tobacco in various tobacco products and developing strategies to raise youth understanding of the dangers of smoking.

Source

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7509116/?report=reader

https://nosmk.khealth.or.kr/ntcc/eng/subIndex/569.do

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8961692/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949246/

https://www.phwr.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.56786/PHWR.2023.16.7.1#ENGbody02

https://coda.nih.go.kr/usab/pheweb/intro.do

1. Topic : Korean Chicken Feet 

2. Writer : Labanya Biswas 

3. Short Explanation : here I talked about Korean food which is not famous but the taste make it unique and interesting. 

4. Wikipedia Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Darft:_Korean_Chicken_Feet

5. The Whole Article:

Meals like galbi (갈비), bibimbap (비빔밥), and mandu-guk (만두국). These are the meals you take your visiting friends and family out for because they may not be as adventurous as you now are after living here for a year or more. As foreigners develop a taste for these meals, they gradually start tasting the side dishes which tend to be fermented and spicier thereby developing taste buds for some of the other Korean main dishes.

This dish made of chicken feet with a spicy red pepper sauce. The skin and tendons that make up the feet make the bite a bit crunchy while at the same time squishy. If you are a person who would like to try very unique texture with a great combination of crunchy and delicious taste melt in your mouth, this dish for you. Korean Chicken Feet wouldn’t be the main dish of the meal but would be a main dish while drinking Korean beer or soju, Just like spicy chickens wings. That special spicy sauce on the feet makes them perfect for that bite, as it’s like sparkling Golden ketchup On your beard. The feet are fatty and coated in a spicy sauce the flavours burst in your mouth.

Prepare the ingredients:

Combine chicken feet, sea salt and soju and massage for 1 min. Let sit for 10-20 mins.

Drain and wash the chicken feet in cold water at least 3 times.

Make the sauce:

Combine all Sauce ingredients and blend well with a hand blender. Set aside.

 Cook the dish:

Prepare a steamer, place the chicken feet in a steam liner and steam covered until they are tender, about 1 hr.

While the chicken feet is still hot, transfer the chicken feet into a mixing bowl and mix well with the sauce. Cover and let sit in the fridge to cool completely, at least 2 hrs.

Heat some oil in a pan on medium high, pan fry the chicken feet about 4-5 mins each side until they are well heated and slightly charred.

Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle sesame seeds on top as garnish. Serve.

6. Sources:https://thesoulofseoul.net/korean-eating-lets-eat-feet-korea/

https://asianinspirations.com.au/recipes/korean-chicken-feet-dakbal/

7. A Glossary of Romanization of Korean (Excel File):

https://in.docworkspace.com/d/sIB2Np7jJAYf8tqAG?sa=00&st=1t

Topic: Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Mask (양주 별산대 연잎탈 가면)

Team: West Bengal Team 1

Writers: Bijuri Dey, Pallabi Das, Meghobarna Kundu, Himani Saha

• Introduction:

‘Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Mask' or “양주별산대 연잎탈 가면” refers to a typical face mask used during the Yangju Byeolsandae Nori or Korea’s cultural mask-dance drama. The culture and traditional history of Korea has a record of using masks in several contexts. Masks were used during wars, during the performance of a Shamanic ritual along with theatrical and traditional dance performances (Joung, 2020).

• History:

Masks play a significant role in Korean tradition. There are approximately 250 types of masks which are used for dance drama, an essential part of the country’s rich cultural heritage. The origin of Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Mask is Yangju (양주), Gyeonggi Province. This mask is an integral part of the Yangu Byeolsandae Nori (양주별산대놀이), the first dance-mask play that was recognised as an “important intangible cultural property” (Jeon, 2005).

• Character and Symbolism:

The mask usually represents a character known as “Yeoniptal” (연잎탈)- a Buddhist monk of higher rank with mystical strength and power. (mask museum). The duty of this character is to punish the corrupted monks. As the dance drama portrays, “Yeoniptal” character rebukes “Sangjwa” (상좌)- a dishonest monk character with typical youthful mischievousness. (korea.net) Some of the other characters of this kind of dance drama are “Yangban” (양반) or the aristocrats, “Chungin” (청인) or the middle class, “Seomin” (서민) or the commoners, “Cheonmin” or the lower class characters, doctor, shaman, courtesan, servant and so on (Park, Choe, 2016).

The mask dance has always remained popular among the people. The idea was to eradicate existing social and cultural barriers. Once the performers wore musk, they became free from the societal restrictions and conventions. They can finally behave the way they want.

The mask dance used to begin with a sacrificial rite. “Yeoniptal” masks along with its counterpart “Nunggeumjeogi” were placed on the other side. They get honorary possessions because they are believed to ward off evil spirits. Some of these masks such as those of (for ex.“Sangjwa”) can also be called an essential item for the exorcism ritual purposes (korea.net).

(Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Mask)

• Material:

The masks are mostly made of wood. Some masks are made of cotton hood and paint. Red has always been a prominent colour in Korean masks. The apparently grotesque shape and size of the masks may create a disruption in the minds of the viewers’ at first glance but that gets changed gradually. The exaggerated noses, eyes or mouths and other facial features seem to be based on the emotions portrayed by the characters wearing the Yeoniptal masks.(Oh, 1982). The primary colour red represents the sheer power, emotion and individuality of the character.

• Venues for Yeoniptal Mask Dance:

In general, Mask dances are performed in front of an open audience. The primary reason is to bridge the gap between the viewers and the performers. They can watch the performance from their own seats around the stage. The more they cheer the more intense those performances can get.

• Timing:

Performers wear Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Masks during the performance which generally takes place on festive days such as Buddha’s Birthday on April 8, Thanksgiving, Dano and so on. The mask dance is also accompanied by an hourglass shaped drum, large bamboo flutes and so on (Oh, 1982).

• Impact:

Apart from  being recognised as a cultural icon, this mask play is known for creating an impact on the people. The dance acts as a release of emotions and suppressed desires. The red mask with its exaggerated features tends to mock the dubious nature of the society and ushers the viewers towards weaving a better future where the emotions are not required to be suppressed or hidden (Pakr, 2011)

• References:

1. Joung, Madeline: “Face Mask Culture Common in East, New to West”. Voice of America, April 2, 2020. Retrieved on November 1, 2022.

2. Jeon, Kyung Wook: Korean Mask Dance Dramas: Their History and Structural Principles, 2005.

3. Park Min Jae, Cho Woo Hyun: A Study on the Stage Costume of Yangju Byeolsandae Nori, 2016. Retrieve on November 1, 2022

4. Oh, Kon Cho: “The Mask Dance Theatre from Hwang-hae Province”, Korea Journal, 1982, P 39

5. Pakr, Tayong: Korean Mask-Dance and Aristotle’s Poetics, 2011. Retrieved on November 1, 2022

6. https://www.maskmuseum.org/mask/byeolsandae-yeoniptal-1/

7. https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=121401

8. https://www.antiquealive.com/Blogs/Korean_Mask.html

9. https://www.yangju.go.kr/eng/contents.do?key=2298

10. https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=121717

11. https://www.maskmuseum.org/mask/byeolsandae-yeoniptal-1/

Topic: Korean Seasonal Holidays

Writers: India WB1 Team 2 (English Sub Team: Juhi Majumder, Eshani Bora and Yoshitha Chigarapalli)

Introduction

The public holidays during which work is suspended by law in South Korea include New Year’s Day, Seollal (or Lunar New Year’s Day, celebrated for 3 days), Chuseok (Mid-autumn Festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, celebrated for 3 days), Buddha’s Birthday (on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month), Children’s Day (May 5), Memorial Day (June 6), and Christmas Day. There are 15 public holidays on which businesses are closed by law and employees have a day off, from which Constitution Day is excluded. The culture of all people in the world is precious. In the modern world, we need to respect and understand other people's cultures, irrespective of differences in nationality, ethnicity, tribe, religion, politics, and ideology. Far beyond the exchanges between states, cultural exchanges today are active not only at the person-to-person level, but a global artistic community has also been formed where information can be transmitted in real-time to any part of the world through the Internet. Perhaps the most essential basis for this exchange without borders is the understanding of each other’s culture. Korean seasonal customs represent the traditions of praying at the beginning of each season or during each holiday on a farming or fishing calendar for good harvests and abundant catches. These customs involved a variety of rituals, games, etc., performed by the family or community. Korean seasonal customs reflect the life of people and nature.

FIRST LUNAR MONTH

JEONGWOL DAEBOREUM: Referred to by various names such as Sangwon (Kor. 상원, Chin. 上元, lit. High Beginning), Ogiil (Kor. 오기일, Chin. 㣱㑮日, lit. Crown Memorial Day) and Daldo (Kor. 달도, Chin. 怛忉, lit. Sorrow and Anxiety), Jeongwol Daeboreum (Kor. 정월대보름, lit. Great Full Moon of the First Month) is a traditional folk festival held on the tenth day of the first lunar month. Unlike the Lunar New Year’s Day, which was usually celebrated through family events, the Great Full Moon Festival provided an occasion for many community celebrations, including the Dongje (Kor. 동제, Chin. 㟳祭, lit. Village Tutelary Festival). The purpose of these celebrations was to promote unity and solidarity among the community members. During the Great Full Moon Festival people engaged in various divination practices related to the harvest. In one such ritual referred to as Daljip taeugi (Kor. 달집태우기, lit. Burning the Moon House), young villagers on a hill built a house called Daljip (Kor. 달집, lit. Moon House) with straw, pine needles, and tree branches. Cheering loudly, they set it on fire when the moon began to rise.

SECOND LUNAR MONTH

IWOL CHOHARU: First day of the second lunar month, Iwol choharu, (Kor. 이월 초하루) was traditionally celebrated as a holiday. -is holiday is also known as Meoseumnal (Kor. 머슴날), Nobiil (Kor. 노비일), Adeurennal (Kor. 아드렛날) and Hariadeurennal (Kor. 하리아드렛날), all meaning “Slaves’/Servants’ Day”. The festivity was originally referred to as Junghwajeol (Kor. 중화절, Chin. 中和節), named after measurement sticks (referred to as junghwacheok, Kor. 중화척, Chin. 中和尺), which the king used to bestow upon his servants on this day in order to encourage farming. The holiday is also associated with a number of folk customs. On Iwol Choharu, the servants toured the village in groups, performing music and dances as a form of fundraising event known as geollip (Kor. 걸립, Chin. 乞粒). As the geollip came to a close, the servants would gather for rounds of ssireum (Kor. 씨름, Korean wrestling). Another well-known custom was harvesting rice ears from the hay-wrapped pole made on the Great Full Moon Day (the fifteenth of the first lunar month) and baking them into cakes stuffed with sweetened soybeans. Servants were served these cakes called naitteok (Kor. 나이떡, lit. age cake), with the number of cakes served to correspond to each servant’s age.

THIRD LUNAR MONTH

 HANSIK: Hansik (Kor. 한식, Chin. 寒食, lit. cold food) occurs on the 105th day after the winter solstice and is approximately April 6th on the Gregorian calendar. It is one of the four major holidays in Korea, along with New Year’s Day, Dano, and Chuseok. According to a Chinese custom, people refrained from using fire and ate cold food on this day. For this reason, the day can also be referred to as Geumyeonil (Kor. 금연일, Chin. 禁煙日, lit. no smoke day), Suksik (Kor. 숙식, Chin. 熟食, lit. cooked food), or Naengjeol (Kor. 냉절, Chin. 冷節, lit. Cold Day). As Hansik is not based on the lunar calendar, it can fall during either the second or the third lunar month. In traditional Korea, people believed that if Hansik occurred in the second lunar month, it was a sign suggesting a good year with warm weather. When Hansik fell on the third lunar month, people in some regions avoided planting grass on their family burial mounds on that day. In modern Korea, Hansik has lost much of its importance compared to the Goryeo (918-1392) and Joseon (1392-1910) dynasties because many of the related customs and festivities have been forgotten. However, customs related to ancestor worship are still practiced. Families may hold a memorial service in their ancestral shrine or travel to their family’s gravesites. In Seoul and its vicinities, families sometimes perform a worship service to mountain spirits before proceeding to an ancestor memorial ceremony. Tombs of distant ancestors who were not included in the memorial services or relatives who died without a direct descendant are also visited on this day.

FOURTH LUNAR MONTH 

CHOPAIL: Chopail (Kor. 초파일, Chin. 初八日, Shakyamuni’s Birthday) is the Birthday of Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. The day can be referred to as Bucheonim Osinnal (Kor. 부처님 오신 날, Buddha’s Advent Day), Bultanil (Kor. 불탄일, Chin. 佛誕日, Buddha’s Birthday), Yokburil (Kor. 욕불일, Chin. 浴佛日, Buddha Bathing Day) and Seoktanil (Korean. 석탄일, Chin. 釋誕日, Day of Shakyamuni’s Birth). The most common name of this day, Sawol Chopail (Kor. 사월 초파일), meaning “the eighth of the fourth lunar month”, is also the date on which the holiday is celebrated in Korea and China. In Japan, Buddha’s Birthday is celebrated on April eighth according to the Gregorian calendar. Shakyamuni’s Birthday is one of the four major Buddhist holidays. Shakyamuni’s Birthday is arguably the most important of all four Buddhist holidays. It is a popular holiday in Korea and is often celebrated by people of all religious beliefs. Brightly-colored paper lanterns are hung in temples and homes, along the sides of streets, and various celebratory events are held on the day of Shakyamuni’s birth and are marked with religious symbolism. Considered to be the day of light, lanterns decorate the streets as symbols of wisdom and enlightening.

Fifth Lunar Month 

DANO: Dano (Korean - 단오, Chinese - 端午 English - first fifth) is the first traditional holiday on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The word translates to 단 meaning first, and 오 meaning five. It is one of the major holidays celebrated on the sunniest day of the month just before summer. In the past, it was believed to be a day abundant with yang energy meaning it could chase away evil spirits and bad luck from families. Koreans also collected herbs such as mugwort and motherwort to protect themselves from evil spirits. They carved seals on Dano for good fortune and luck. Danocheop (Korean- 단오첩, Chinese- 端午帖) is a collection of poems recorded during the Joseon Dynasty to celebrate Dano but this eventually lost meaning in the later years. Gangneung Danoje (Korean - 강릉 단오제, Chinese - 江陵端午祭) folk festival is celebrated on the day of Dano and has been designated as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005. It consists of a number of shamanic rituals headed by a female shaman. The main event of this festival is the Gangneung Danogut (Korean - 강릉 단오굿, Chinese - 江陵端午-) which delivers the wishes of humans to the Gods and Goddesses. Daechunamu sijip bonaegi (Korean – 대추나무시집보내기, meaning date tree mating) is a custom of Dano which promote tree fertility. Danojang (Korean - 단오장, Chinese - 端午粧, meaning Dano decoration) is another custom of Dano to adorn oneself during the festival to keep away from evil spirits. According to traditional Korean history, women used to wash their hair and face with changpo extract which is believed to help with hair loss and maintain healthy hair. New clothes were worn by the people as they did on New Year's to indicate the folk festival.

SIXTH LUNAR MONTH

YUDU: Yudu (Korean - 유두, Chinese - 流頭) is a traditional summer festival held on the fifteenth of the sixth solar month. Yudu is a water festival literally meaning people wash their hair and body towards the east. The direction of the east indicates the flow of positive energy that is yang. This folk festival has been celebrated since the Silla Dynasty. Nongsinje (Korean - 농신제, Chinese - 農神祭, meaning rite for agricultural god) is a rite that takes place during Yudu when farmers pray for a good harvesting season and it takes place on three occasions that is on Yudu, Sambok (Korean - 삼복, Chinese - 三伏, three hottest days in the sixth and seventh lunar months), and Chilseok (Korean - 칠석, Chinese - 七夕, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month). A specialty of this site is the usage of oil which was used by farmers in the past in their fields to keep the crops safe from pests and insects. Yudu Cheonsin (Korean - 유두천신, Chinese - 流頭薦新, meaning offering of new on Yudu) is another rite during Yudu where the harvested crops and fruits are offered to the ancestral spirits as an expression of gratitude. 

SEVENTH LUNAR MONTH

SAMBOK: Sambok (Korean - 삼복, Chinese - 三伏) refers to the three days in the sixth and seventh lunar months, which are known to be the hottest days of the year. During Sambok Koreans have samgyetang, and porridge to keep their health during the summer heat. Farmers also did a rite called bokje to offer food to the God of agriculture wishing for an abundant harvesting season. Customs such as Bokdarim (Korean - 복달임, meaning picnic on Sambok) is when people go on picnics to nearby streams and valleys. Takjok (Korean - 탁족, Chinese - 濯足, meaning washing feet) is the custom of dipping feet in cold water to beat the heat of summer and stimulate the energy of the body to improve one's health. Such customs were done to tackle the heat and mark the coming of a new season soon.

BAEKJUNGJE: Baekjungje (Korean - 백중제, Chinese - 百中祭) is a traditional folk festival celebrated in Jeju Island on the day of Baekjung (Korean - 백중, Chinese - 百中, Buddhist All Souls’ Day) where the farmers pray for the safety, health, and fertility of their cattle. The three important livestock pigs, cows, and horses are tended by the cattle farmers or by the community jointly. The festival starts off with a sacrificial rite and then with a feast for the entire community. Families also prepare food to offer to their guardian deities and conduct a rite called Seommeori (Korean - 섬머리, meaning island’s head).

NINTH LUNAR MONTH

JUNGYANGJEOL: Jungyang refers to a date where the number of the lunar month and the day are the same and both are odd. Such days in fengshui are considered full of positive energy and include the third of the third month, the fifth of the fifth month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and the ninth of the ninth month. Among these days, the ninth of the ninth month is considered the most important and is referred to as Jungyangjeol (Kor. 중양절, Chin. 重陽節, holiday of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month). Depending on the region, the holiday may also be called Junggu (Kor. 중구, Chin. 重九) or Gwil (Kor. 귈). Koreans believe that Jungyangjeol swallows that have come to the peninsula on the third of the third lunar month start their journey southward. Around this time farmers harvest their last crops. As a variety of family gatherings and events were held on Jungyangjeol, government officials were granted the day off. In appreciation of the positive spirit of Jungyangjeol, no executions of criminals could take place on that day. As Jungyangjeol occurred at the height of the chrysanthemum blossom season, many of the customs were related to this flower. People brewed chrysanthemum wine and ate chrysanthemum rice pancakes. A native variety of chrysanthemum, called gamguk (Kor. 감국, Chin. 甘鞠, lit. sweet chrysanthemum), was used for wine and rice pancakes because of the flower’s strong scent and enduring colors. Gukhwajeon (Chrysanthemum rice pancakes), is still popular today. The holiday also had a clear association with paying respect to the elderly and the idea of longevity. There is a connection that can be seen in customs that include royal banquets for elderly court members and drinking chrysanthemum wine to stay healthy and live a longer life.

TENTH LUNAR MONTH

MALLAL: Mallal (Kor. 말날, Chin. 午日, lit. Horse Day) refers to the first day of the tenth lunar month with a celestial stem meaning “horse.” Also known as Mail (Kor. 마일, Chin. 馬日), this day is recognized as an equine appreciation day. Historically, it was associated with the custom of placing rice cakes coated with mashed red beans, known as pat-tteok (Kor. 팥떡), in front of a stable and praying for the health of the horses. People also paid homage to the horses by offering special treats to the animals on the year’s first Day of the Horse in the first lunar month, known as Sangoil. However, the Horse Day in the tenth month was deemed more important. In contemporary Korea, rural communities still consider Mallal an auspicious day and often choose it for the autumn rite which is aimed at thanking spirits for good crop yields. It is not precisely known when the custom of holding a rite at the horse stable on Mallal first began. During the Unified Silla period (BCE 57-CE 935) under the reigns of Queen Seondeok (632-647) and King Hyegong (765-780), proper nouns in vernacular Korean were replaced with Chinese-style names, and many customs were changed according to the way that they were conducted in China. Presumably, the horse stable rite also underwent a transformation at this time, affecting the manner in which the custom was observed in ordinary homes. Although, in modern Korea such practical necessity has disappeared, certain horse-worshipping customs are still observed mostly due to the symbolism of this animal. The horse represents vigor, vitality, and, by extension, prosperity, and fertility. One example of such customs is the practice of placing new grain in a jar for the land tutelary god on the Day of the Horse.

ELEVENTH LUNAR MONTH

DAESEOL: Daeseol (Kor. 대설, Chin. 大雪, lit. big snow) is the twenty-first of the twenty-four solar terms; it follows Soseol (Kor. 소설, Chin. 小雪, Day of First Snow), and precedes Dongji (Kor. 동지, Chin. 冬至, Winter Solstice). This day is supposed to be the time of the season’s largest snowfall. Although this may have been the case in the Heibei region of China where the traditional East Asian calendar system originated, the amount of snow is not necessarily the greatest at this time on the Korean peninsula. Occurring sometime in the eleventh lunar month, Daeseol usually falls on December seventh or eighth on the Gregorian calendar and corresponds to the time when the sun is at an ecliptic longitude of 255°. The eleventh lunar month, also the time of the Winter Solstice marks the transition point toward mid-winter and is the beginning of the off-season in farming communities. With their granaries filled with the fruits of their hard work, households do not need to worry about a lack of food and can afford to attend to other businesses, such as preparing for the New Year celebrations. In popular belief, a large snowstorm on Daeseol day is a harbinger of a warm winter. It seldom snows on this date and if it does, the amount is insignificant.

TWELFTH LUNAR MONTH

NABIL: Nabil (Kor. 납일, Chin. 臘日, lit. Hunting Day) designates the third-day mi-il (Kor. 미일, Chin. 未日, day of lamb) after Dongji (Kor. 동지, Chin. 冬至, Winter Solstice). It is also known as nappyeong (Kor. 납평, Chin. 臘平), gapyeong (Kor. 가평, Chin. 嘉平), gapyeongjeol (Kor. 가평절, Chin. 嘉平節), or naphyangil (Kor. 납향일, Chin. 臘享日). As Nabil generally occurs at the end of the year, families used to spend this day reflecting on the year that was and honoring the memories of their ancestors by offering sacrifices on their altars. The service was also meant as a report to the ancestors’ spirits about the outcome of the year’s farming. In the royal ancestral shrine Jongmyo (Kor. 종묘, Chin. 宗廟), the king informed the spirits of past kings how the country had fared during the year. Meanwhile, farming results were stated during the service held at Sajik (Kor. 사직, Chin. 社稷, lit. Royal Ancestral Altar). These two rites were respectively referred to as Jongmyo-daeje (Kor. 종묘대제, Chin, 宗廟大祭) and Sajik-daeje (Kor. 사직대제, Chin. 社稷大祭). The ancestral memorial service on Nabil in ordinary Joseon households was called naphyang (Kor. 납향, Chin. 臘享, lit. Nabil rite) and followed proceedings similar to those of regular memorial services held at a shrine or at home on major family holidays. Nap (Kor. 납, Chin. 臘) in the word Nabil is derived from the character ryeop (Kor. 렵, Chin. 獵) meaning “hunting”, which was indeed practiced on this day. While any game caught during Nabil was supposed to be beneficial for health, sparrow meat was believed to be particularly good for the elderly or frail. Snow that fell on Nabil was saved, melted into water, and used to cure bodily ailments as well as to prevent maggots by treating objects before they were stored. Clean snow was first shoveled and collected in a jar. Once it melted, the water was used to make a paste and pills by mixing with a medicine powder; to wash the eyes of those suffering from eye diseases; to rub onto books or clothes to keep worms and moths away, or to add to kimchi to keep it fresh for longer. In some provinces, there is a custom of making taffies in the evening.

SEE ALSO

Culture of South Korea

Korean traditional festivals

Lunar month

References

http://xsltcode111.blogspot.com/2015/07/festivals-by-lunar-month-list-of-korean.

https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/4909

https://www.cntraveller.in/story/best-local-brews-in-south-korea/

https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=1023292&cid=50221&categoryId=50233

https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/detail/3959

https://www.goesan.go.kr/festival/contents.do?key=992

http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0013638

https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=534357&cid=46670&categoryId=46670

https://www.gn.go.kr/dano/sub02_02_01.do

http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0041368

https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/detail/4669

https://asiasociety.org/korea/jeongwol-daeboreum-great-full-moon-festival

https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200206000667

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/02/13/culture/koreanHeritage/jeongwol-daeboreum-full-moon-korean-heritage/20220213110337882.html

https://www.ijih.org/talk/61

https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/4724

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/festivals/festivals.cfm?Subject=Hansik

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/how-south-korea-celebrates-buddhas-birthday/

https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/5045

TOPIC: Korean environment cooperation (한국 환경 협력단)

TEAM MEMBERS: Rupkatha Pal, Suchana Dutta(WB1, team~3)

*****************************************

Korea Environment Corporation:

INTRODUCTION:

K-eco aims to contribute to eco-friendly development of Korea through the effective operation of greenhouse gas reduction programs to prevent environmental pollution, improve the environment. Facilitate resource recycling and respond to climate change. (Law No. 11446, the K-eco Act)

Their mission is to contribute to eco-friendly national development through the improvement of the environment and promotion of resource circulation. Their vision is the establishment of healthy and happy environment for the nature and human beings. Their slogan is “Closer to Nature, Closer to People”. Their management policies are Innovation, Harmony, and Transparency. The key values are Professionalism, Customer-centered purpose, Challenging spirit, and Globalization.

5 strategic target ,15 strategic tasks:

Creating a clean atmospheric environment:

 Implementation of solutions for a new climate system, Establishment of a scientific air quality monitoring system, Improved management of air contaminants.

Creation of healthy water environment:

Prevention of deterioration of the water environment, Support for recovering the health of the hydro-ecological system, Establishment and operation of future water and sewage infrastructure.

Building a society that sustainably re-circulates resources:

Improved operation of a resource circulation system, Establishment of a waste management system based in ICT, Laying the foundation for energy recovery from wasted resources.

Construction of a safe living environment:

Establishment of an environment safe from chemicals, Extension of environmental services that are closely related to everyday life, Establishment of safe soil environments.

Reinforce of institutional abilities to prepare for the future:

 Discovery of growth engines for the future, Management support and security control ability, Improvement of people’s trust through strategic public relations.

Management Disclosure:

Information disclosure system is an act to ensure the people’s right and to secure their participation to protect the right and the benefit in the end to realize the true democracy by either prescribing the information asked from the public in the form of reading /copy/duplication or spontaneously (or by the law) disclosing the information which is preserved obligatorily by the public institution. Applicants (all the applicants who have the right to request the information disclosure are as below):

 Every people :

 In case of the person under the middle school age , they can request through their representative , and in case of high school age and above, they can have the right to request themselves in the boundary of understandable purpose and the contents if affordable.

 Corporation and Organization :

 Corporation is an entity of social interactions and has appropriate social value so it is allowed to have the claim for information disclosure.

 Foreigners:

 Foreigners who reside in a certain place or temporarily stay for the purpose of study or the corporation(organization) which has an office in domestic area.

CORE BUSINESS 

1. CLIMATE AND AIR:

 Operation of the GHG and Energy TMS:

∆Supporting GHG Reduction Policies; The object of this system is to designate and manage corporations that emit more than specific amount of GHG in order to achieve medium-term targets (40% reduction in GHG emissions in 2030 compared to 2018) according to Carbon Neutral Green Growth Framework Act for Response to Climate Crisis.

∆Setting target; First, derive expected emissions amount of target year of each company considering the average emissions of three years right before designation year.

Then, set the emission allowance by applying the annual national reduction rate to the derived expected emission amount according to Carbon Neutral Green Growth Framework Act for Response to Climate Crisis.

∆Implementation System; Relevant ministries set the annual target with consideration of new, additional facilities and potential reduction (Bottom-up) after the target of each sector and category of business is set (Top-down)

Relevant ministries continuously evaluate implementation plans and reports to manage goals of GHG reduction.

∆Main task; Supporting functions of overall control on Green House Gas target management Examining appropriateness, duplication or omission in selection of reporting entities of each agency Assisting an agency responsible for each sector with the review and evaluation Establishing Guidelines on Green House Gas Target Management Green House Gas target management in the public sector Examining implementation plans in the public sector Evaluating performance tracking report in the public sector Green House Gas target management in the waste sector Examining GHG data report Examining implementation plans and performance report Selecting designated objects of reporting entities Establishing GHG targets for reporting entities Technical support for reporting entities

Supporting management and preparations for GHG data reporting, implementation plan, performance report and other involved reports Technical supports on devising reduction plans Supporting operation for the reduction of GHG and ways of improving efficiency of facilities.

 Implementation of Green house gas reduction project:

∆Developing and vitalizing CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) project; Advanced countries which have ceilings for GHG emissions (emission caps), assist developing countries that do not have emission caps, to implement project activities to reduce GHG emissions (or removed by sinks), and credits will be issued based on emission reductions (or removed by sinks) achieved by project activities.

∆CDM project cycle; 01 Planning a CDM Project activity--) Project Participants 02 Making the project design document--) Project Participants 03 Getting approval from each party involved--) DNA 04 Validation--) DOE 05 Registration--) CDM EB 06 Monitoring a CDM project activity--) Project Participants 07 Verification and Certification--) DOE 08 Issuance of CERS--) CDM EB 09 Distribution of CERS--) Project Participants.

∆Operation of Offset System; The offset is a system to secure flexibility in achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets. The entities that has been assigned a mandatory greenhouse gas reduction amount can utilize offset credits which is certified by the government for achieving their reduction goal in Emission Trading Scheme(ETS). K-eco provides needed support to enable the offset system to be implemented properly.

2.WATER AND SOIL :

 Sewerage Policy Support:

∆"We induce efficient construction of public sewerage treatment facilities for better public waters!"; Department of sewerage conducts technical consultations to ensure that master plan for sewerage management established by local governments is established in a highly efficient and rational manner.

Through the design consulting of the public sewerage treatment facility, we review the appropriateness of the sewage treatment method, the scale of the facilities, and the installation cost, thereby contributing to the efficient installation of the public sewage treatment facilities and the efficient execution of the national budget.

 Technical support for government policy on urban flood prevention:

∆The Sewerage Sewer System Policy Support Team contributes to the efficient operation of the national sewage system by providing technical advice on the project and sewerage maintenance measures to prevent urban flooding by local governments.

∆Major Tasks; support policy on urban flood prevention in a priority control area of sewerage maintenance

A priority control area of sewerage maintenance means an area where the Minister of Environment may designate an area where flood damage occurs, or is likely to occur, due to sewage inundation or an area which is likely to worsen the quality of public waters as an area for priority control of sewerage maintenance

Technical review of designation or revocation of a priority control area Technical review of sewerage maintenance measures and design of business Technical review of about the raising and spending of funds on business of urban flood prevention.

∆Legal Basis; ENFORCEMENT RULE OF THE SEWERAGE ACT Article 1-3(Designation, etc. of Areas for Priority Control of Sewerage Maintenance)

④ When it is deemed necessary to designate, change or abolish the priority control area, or to review for sewerage maintenance measures which is established pursuant to Article 4-3(3) by the Special Metropolitan City Mayor, each Metropolitan City Mayor, Mayors/Do Governors(excluding the head of a Gun in a metropolitan city), The Minister of Environment may hear opinions from the head of National Institute of Environmental Research or Korea environment corporation in advance.

3. RESOURCE RECIRCULATION :

 Confiscated Goods Recycling Program:

∆K-eco contributes to the advancement of efficient use of resource and resource recirculation system by transporting, storing, disposing, and recycling illegal game machines and oil products acquired by the police and the prosecutors into legal objects using its own manpower, equipment, and facilities.

∆Resource Recovery of Illegal Game Machines and Computers ; The game machines and computers acquired from investigation authorities are stored and they selected in accordance with the Business Process Guideline of Confiscated Goods based upon the authorities' direction of disposal. There recyclable items are sold through competitive bids and other items are sold to disposal agencies or recycling agents after their use is abolished.

 Financial Support for the Recycling Establishment:

∆This service aims to foster the recycling business by providing financial support (K-eco provides 80~95%) for those who intend to establish recycling businesses, there by shortening the period of business establishment and minimizing the business establishment cost.

4.ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE:7  Ecological Restoration for the Riparian Area:

∆Ecological Restoration for the Riparian Area; Describes a set of activities that help improve the environmental health of a river or stream.

Causes of poor environmental health : urbanization, channelization, construction with artificial materials and so on.

∆Launched by the name of 'Eco-Stream Restoration Projects' by Ministry of Environment from the year of 2002.

∆Subdivided into 'several specialized projects' for some specific objectives according to characteristics of streams.

∆Several specialized projects; Eco-Stream Restoration Projects Urban Stream Restoration Projects Flagship Species Restoration Project Fish-way Construction Projects.

 Non Point Source Pollution Reduction: 

∆Non Point Source Pollution Project;

The Non Point Source (NPS) refers to the source of emission where the water pollutants are discharged in an unspecified manner from the unspecified places such as cities, roads, agricultural fields, mountainous areas and construction site. In this regard, K-eco installs the Non Point Source Monitoring Center to manage the NPS appropriately.

Non Point Source Reduction in Urban Areas to handle the NPS generated from the residential, commercial, and industrial areas, the ecological retention sites and the ecological parking lots are installed while the infiltration trenches and retention ponds are built by the roads. In the meantime, the large-scale equipment-type facilities are installed in the industrial areas.

Non Point Source Reduction in Rural Areas

To handle the fertilizer, agrochemical, muddy water, and manure washed off by rainwater from the agricultural and livestock houses, the constructed wetlands of high efficiency are installed.

5.ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH:

 Operation of environment love Exhibition & Education Hall:

∆K-eco operates 7 permanent exhibition & education halls to educate and encourage the children and the public to practice green life.

 Management Noise and Vibration Monitoring Network:

∆The automatic monitoring network of the noise for environment and aircraft; Maintenance of environmental/aircraft noise monitoring instruments and analysis of the monitoring data.

∆The monitoring network of the railroad noise and road vibration; Analysis of the monitoring data. 

Source:

http://www.keco.or.kr/en/main/index.do

1. Topic: Housing System and House Warming in South Korea
2. Writer: WBT2 (English Sub Team: Diyasha Datta and Sucheta Adhikary)  

Wikipedia: Housing System and House Warming in South Korea

Introduction

South Korea has successfully made into the list of nations that witnessed the most rapid urban transformations in the human history. Comprehending the ensuing urban morphology and the changed inter-personal relationships in the modern city requires understanding the evolutionary phases of the different housing systems that emerged as a result of modernization. After the initial adaptation of the traditional urban house and the early modern developments, the apartment building became the prevailing housing typology in South Korea. Three important aspects have influenced its success. Firstly, the location of the tanji or the collective housing blocks in the city in contrast to the European system where the hosing blocks are located on the outskirts. Second aspect is given as the use of high-quality standards for the construction of apartment buildings that were oriented towards the rising middle-class and not the lower strata of the society. And lastly, unlike in Europe where the vernacular place was seen as a privileged spot, the remaining low-rise residential areas in Korea suffered from a lack of urban and architectural quality and came to be seen as unattractive to the majority of the population. People in Korea began to see apartment buildings as a symbol of modern life and a highly desired product. Nevertheless, apartment buildings still continue to be considered as the best and most convenient preference among all other housing options because of the optimal space and feasibility it serves. In this way, a global architectural typology has been locally conditioned in both its spatial adaptation and in its political application, determining the success of a housing type that has been disparaged elsewhere.

The cities of contemporary South Korea are landscaped by a unique display of sky-scrappers and modern apartment complexes that are home to millions of residents including both native and foreign inhabitants. These housing complexes exhibit omnipresence in their monotonous manifestations that embody and symbolize the dreams and aspirations of the Korean populace. The housing system and the architectural forms have evolved in line with the traditional culture of South Korea that revolves around various social, cultural or religious beliefs. For instance, the number four is seen as unlucky in Korean culture, that explains why elevators in South Korea are designed with the character "F" instead of the number "4" to denote the fourth floor. With the advancement of modern housing and architectural systems, South Korea is not an exception to the widespread adoption of serial mass housing at par with the other emerging nations. Historical speaking, Korea's traditional urban habitations predate the current contemporary metropolis, which has been growing since the 1960s.The decade in which the urbanisation process was thought to have attained its complete maturity was the 1980s. The mass dwelling typology is believed to have greatly aided the urban transformation of the South Korean housing system.

Korea has a peculiar system of housing which is really hard to find in other countries. It is an obvious requirement and desire for any person living in any country to be able to live in a well-furnished house that is able to satisfy ones needs. In such circumstances, renting a house is considered to be the most prevalent and feasible housing alternative if owning or building a home is beyond one’s affordability limit. In most countries, when people choose to rent a house, they are required to pay a minimalistic rent fee every month to the house owner. This is the most usual way all over the world. But strangely, the second choice in Korea is something quite different from the choice in other countries. Besides this main difference concerning the rent fee payment system, there are also other differences concerning the house structure.

For instance, most Americans who cannot afford to buy a home live in rented houses while making monthly rent payments. On the other hand, in Korea, most people who cannot afford to buy a house live in a leased house after depositing a certain amount of money to the lessor. The tenant incurs no additional costs while residing in the leased home if this deposit is paid in full. However, this is by no means a modest sum of money. In contrast to Koreans, who need a lot of money up front, Americans do not require as much money when signing a lease for a home. As a consequence, Koreans must bear the burden of paying the money back along with the interest to the bank. In this respect, the American system seems to be more attractive and convenient.  But there is also another thing to take into account. The Korean government permits the withdrawal of long-term loans for such purposes, at a low interest rate.

The government of the Republic of Korea has proposed a number of housing policies over the years to encourage improvement in the accommodation options on their territory. The eradication of housing shortages and the price stabilization have been the two main objectives of housing policy. The government has been working with the private sector to accomplish these goals while also creating the institutions and legal framework for the public sector, supplying developable land, and allocating housing units to the intended target populations. The nation's severe housing shortage has been alleviated, and general housing conditions have much improved, thanks to the consistent and massive provision of new housing, provided since the 1980s. Enhancing the housing welfare of low-income households and the poor has been added to housing policy aims since the turn of the new millennium. To achieve the new policy goal, the availability of public rental housing was increased, and a housing benefit was implemented, but more work needs to be done in this sector. Due to the nation's demographic and socioeconomic developments, the Republic of Korea now also faces new housing issues.

Housing typology development in South Korea

Initial Modernization: 

During the Japanese colonial era, the Korean Peninsula experienced its first significant modernization impact (1910-45). Even before Korea was annexed, Japan had put enormous pressure on the country. The first wave of urbanisation began in 1876, when Korea was compelled to abandon its long-standing isolationist policy. Five interior communities and ten port cities opened were opened for commercial use, creating new requirements for contemporary urban planning. Japan selected the colony of Korea as the centrepiece of its ambition to expand its empire imperialistically, since the early 1930s. This was followed by a subsequent rise in the construction and modification of various infrastructures nationwide.

In between the foundation (1394) and the colonisation era of Seoul, it did not undergo any significant spatial alteration. The "ordering of streets" urban policy, which began in 1910, changed the original street network by enlarging old thoroughfares and constructing new roadways. The major goal was simply to entirely change the traditional ideas of the original city by introducing economic and military elements to the way the urban area was organised. Prior to this, urban planning was based on a traditional oriental geomantic theory known as Pungsu, or Feng Shui in Chinese. This theory is a collection of theoretical guidelines based on the study of the wind and water. While the main urban fabric was based on a gridiron layout, there existed a maze of subsidiary arteries. According to a report, the space between the axis is described as, “Roads providing access to the houses branch chaotically, forming a convoluted maze of frequent dead-ends, all highlighting the essentially pedestrian nature of this network”. Afterwards, Seoul was remodelled in accordance with new contemporary urban principles that were initially put to the test in Tokyo before being applied to other cities like Osaka, Kyoto, Taipei, and Pyongyang. According to the City Ward Improvement Plans of 1912 and 1919, substantial new avenues were constructed and old roads were enlarged.

The 1920s saw more urban growth, but it is the 1930s that saw the emergence of the first modern planning laws, including the 1936 Gyungsung City Plan and the 1934 Joseon City Planning Act, which led to a significant enlargement of Seoul's boundaries. In terms of architectural advancements, new colonial Western Style structures, primarily public buildings and transportation amenities, were erected in the cities with the intention of strengthening colonial power. Due to the long-standing ties between Japan and the UK, the structures embraced neo-classical eclectic styles that were mostly influenced by Britain.

Fast Metropolitan Revolution:

One of the largest single country-to-city migrations ever recorded took place in Seoul following the Korean War (1950–1953). The "economic miracle of the Han River" in Korea spurted, and since the early 1960s, this region saw rapid demographic expansion. Seoul's uncontrollable urban growth had led to the preservation of the urban organisation introduced by the Japanese colonisers. Planned large-scale public works projects replaced the expropriation and destruction of ad hoc development. From 1961 to 1987, South Korea was governed by a military dictatorship, and under President Park Chung Hee's administration (1961–79), modernization was a top political priority. Massive economic expansion and harsh repression characterised this time period. President Park had a clear intention to use the urban transformation as a tool for social reform, introducing large scale population control in Seoul. Therefore, it was believed that the creation of enormous mass housing complexes, or ap'at'û tanji, was "a very effective tool for guiding and managing the social groups that have been at the core of South Korea's economic success."

Seoul implemented an urban growth management approach based on ring-radial roadway circulation, numerous centres, and green belts to handle an increasing number of new urban settlers. The Garden City and Western New-Town Planning concepts served as the foundation for the suggested urban design. The city's expansion was facilitated by the Comprehensive Development Plan that was created in 1966. It included thirteen radial arterials and four ring highways that were located at various distances from the city center. These routes' intersections were supposed to develop into subcentres. Following this came the 1972 National Development Plan, which included a new greenbelt system and was quickly overtaken by an unplanned development. The strategy also pushed new construction toward the Han River's south side, and the urban developments on both north and south banks of Han attained equivalence by the mid of 1930s. In 1989, five new big towns with a specified range of population densities were built: Ilsan, Jungdong, Sanbon, Pyeongchon, and Bundang. This was part of a larger decentralisation strategy. Songdo Smart City and Sejong Metropolitan Autonomous City are two recent examples of ambitious new town projects.

Features of Large-Scale Housing Complexes:

In this setting, modern apartment buildings expanded over both the city and the countryside to become the predominant housing form and, satiating the South Korean landscape. Serial construction methods "became the prevalent technology of mass housing over the world, and at the same time a stylistic principle of modern city planning," as noted by Florian Urban, a Professor of Architectural History and Head of History of Architectural and Urban Studies. Prefabricated high-rise structures made up less than 4% of South Korea's housing stock in the 1970s, but by 2000, that percentage had increased to a significant 50%. This was also accompanied by a decrease in the share of individual houses during the same time frame, dropping the percentage from 90% to an abysmal 25%. A Japanese corporation had built Korea's first apartment complex, the Mikuni Apartment in Hoehyun-dong, in 1930 to house its employees. In 1935, the construction of the second apartment building in Naejadong had been witnessed. Records indicate that the Yurim apartment, which was the first to be built for rental purposes, was constructed in the same year. However, none of these still exist.

After the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonisation, it was only in 1958 when the first apartment complexes of Korea were constructed. Between 1962 and 1964, the Korean National Housing Corporation (KNHC) constructed the Jongam apartments which comprised of three four-five storeyed high buildings and the first to be equipped with flush toilets. Another construction under KNHC during that time was the Mapo apartments that consisted of ten six-floor building, equipped with individual hot-water heating system. The Mapo apartments created a set of planning principles for the design of the tanji, the autonomous collective housing complexes comprising of at least 300 units with shared facilities. However, the formal laws that applied to the apartment buildings were determined later.

When the government passed the Housing Construction Promotion Act in 1972, the tanji or collective housing blocks expanded at an exponential rate. The Act encouraged the development of high-density residential zones within city boundaries and other newly designated areas after being revised and reinforced in the early 1980s. The tanji thus came to be described as a collection of large urban blocks that had slabs of monofunctional housing with a distribution of few commercial buildings and service amenities.

The Fordist construction technique, which builds residential slabs in a reinforced concrete structure using prefabricated components, was employed in the construction model. Slab Buildings having several vertical access points and a single-loaded corridor system with open corridor facilitating gallery access, became the primary construction types. The ridgeline of the structure that is typically oriented east-west on these slabs maximises solar exposure, leaving the north facade solely as a functional aspect that is aesthetically forgotten. These characteristics enabled the maximum land utilisation accompanied with lowest construction expense; however, it brought about a completely new environment that led to the disintegration of traditional family structures and social relationships. Even so, the apartments evolved into a sign of social prestige and a highly sought-after product that is still in trend. It has been observed that, the classic apartment layout is a fusion of several cultural influences that blends various unique interior designs.

According to prior analysis, the traditional layout of the apartments has been derived from the urban Hanok after being modified to spec house, where the madang (yard) has been incorporated as an internal space within the house and started to serve as a living room. Through Japan, the Western influences spread, bringing with them new construction techniques and new spatial arrangements. In the 1940s, the usual LDK floorplan system (Living, Dining, and Kitchen) was already being developed in Japan. It was later employed in Korea and has since then, become the standard design for contemporary Korean apartments. To merge the continuity and consistency of the traditional plan into the contemporary design, these influences were combined with the conventional floorplan to form a hybrid arrangement along with these foreign systems.

Theories of Hybrid Modernism for Korean Serial Apartments:

Examining the theories of the modern movement and the experiments created by the architects who rallied around the International Congresses of Modern Architecture (CIAM) can prove to be helpful in tracing the architectural references of the Korean contemporary apartment complex. The Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne (CIAM), or International Congresses of Modern Architecture, was a group that was established in 1928 and disbanded in 1959. It was in charge of a number of gatherings and congresses that the most well-known architects of the time organised across Europe with the aim of spreading the Modern Movement's ideas in all the major areas of architecture (such as landscape, urbanism, industrial design, and many others). Among the projects organized by CIAM, the "The Functional City" (1933) project was an ambitious attempt to apply contemporary methods of architectural analysis and planning to the city as a whole, that took place following the two earlier CIAM conferences on "The Minimum Dwelling" (Frankfurt/Main, 1929) and "Rational Land Development" (Brussels, 1930). In particular, by codifying the paradigm of rigorous urban functional division, Le Corbusier's 1943 release of the Athens Charter prefigured Korean urban design.

The most avant-garde unfinished projects that have impacted many urban planners worldwide served as the inspiration for contemporary Korean development, especially, the ones established at the early 20th century by the greatest modern masters. With the plans for High Rise City in 1924 and Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt Square in 1927, Ludwig Hilberseimer, a German architect and urban planner, contemplated a repetition of similar residential structures organized in a rational geometric arrangement that was utterly detached from the surrounding environment and the existing content. Furthermore, the 1929 house plans by a German-American architect, Walter Gropius, demonstrate a clear scientific approach to the issue of large housing complexes. Le Corbusier's three major urban plans, Contemporary City for Three Million People (1922), Plan Voisin (1925), and The Radiant City (1933), ultimately served as the main inspiration for Korean architecture. His emphasis on height, light, and geometric order were seen as a solution to the unproductive and unhealthy metropolitan sprawl.

The American urban-planner, Clarence Perry's Neighbourhood Unit is another crucial notion that shaped how modern apartment complex development is characterized in Korea. The Neighbourhood Unit theory, which the American urbanist conjectured in 1929, effectively defined a residential block bordered by transportation arteries. The building is intended to be self-sufficient, housing all the services and providing amenities required to maintain the residents therein, including shops and other businesses. The Neighbourhood Unit would be built to house a population of between 3,000 and 9,000 people, which equates to 1,000 to 1,600 children in a primary school. Nonetheless, the residential structures were meant to be low-rise single homes and this urban project can undeniably be associated to The Garden City movement with respect to influence and impact, but it's interesting to note that the Korean tanji were meant to be built right in the centre of the city and in the new expansion areas, whereas the Garden City movement advocated urban dispersal as a response to the crowded urban centre. The final urban design chosen by Korean urban planners merged elements of the modernists' proposal for conjunct high-rise residential towers and slabs with Clarence Perry's Neighbourhood Unit. The real picture, however, portrayed that the tanji were not entirely independent, and the modern city is distinguished by a mix of high-rise and low-rise structures with clear functional distinctions. A distinctive political approach is sighted, while contrasting the 1950s-60s European plans with the Korean tanji and it is observed that the Korean high-rise flats were built within the existing urban regions and were targeted at the expanding middle class and upper-middle class, in contrast to the European projects, which were developed as "social housing" for the poor and situated on the outskirts of the city. In a similar vein, Korean housing was built on a policy of home ownership while social housing in Europe was intended to be rented.

Japan and the United States brought more direct influences to the Land of Morning Calm, which is directly or indirectly reflected in the housing styles. Japan was the only Asian nation to create the Metabolism architectural avant-garde, which had a global impact, and developed its post-war modernization process before Korea. South Korea, on the other hand, had developed a highly distinct corporation system that was characterised by the nation's massive building conglomerates (chaebol). Major housing projects are the tool used to control the real estate market, leaving only the small and middle-scale projects to more autonomous and progressive architectural firms. These large corporations played a key role in the urban and regional transfiguration and continue to do so.

Design of Houses in South Korea

The South Korean culture has developed alongside an eventful past that led to the development of various monuments and structures that align with several religious and social beliefs. The Land of Morning Calm has been ruled by various dynasties and colonised by other nations, witnessing wars, epidemics and adapting to various local and foreign cultures at different points of time in the history. The journey from the traditional Hanok to the high-rise buildings is a result of modification seeking convenience and meeting requirements. Everyday norms of eating, relaxing, and working, as well as industrialised production techniques and geographic conditions, all serve as inspiration for Korean architecture. Materials are used in an attractive way with Asian accents to embellish the buildings with a touch of their own culture. Some of the prevalent elements of Korean home designs are greenery, wide spaces, lots of windows, crystal doors and the presence of sunlight in key locations throughout the house.

Simplified L-shaped Korean House Design:

South Korea is a beautiful country located among the calm and magnificent mountains while the peninsula is surrounded by sea on three sides. The L-shaped house design is known to bring peace and tranquillity allowing an ideal environment for relaxation and recreation. Away from the hustle of a busy city life, these houses are mainly observed in the Korean highlands, the serene haven serving peace and comfort after a busy day of work. The traditional appearance is put up with a touch of Asian flair by incorporating ancient woodworks adorning the entryways and combining the sleek grey roof with the white walls. A wooden terrace surrounds the higher, somewhat elevated portion, which blesses the viewers with a splendorous spectacle. The perfect times to view this sight are in the early morning and just before sunset, when air circulates through all directions. The huge, modest, one-storey house is located away from the road and other commercial structures in a gabion-walled enclosure.

The pure elegance of Hanok:

The regular interactions Koreans have with nature taught them valuable life lessons. Everything, including where and how a residence should go, was carefully evaluated in light of the surroundings. Because of their closeness to nature, people constructed simple homes devoid of superfluous amenities. Hanok is a representation of the ideal relationship between people and nature. Since the Hanok has no ornamentation, a natural style is predominant. The building of this Korean home uses a variety of materials, including mud for the walls and floors, stone for the gudeul (the ondol's central heating system), and wood for the columns and maru. Clay keeps a Hanok warm in the winter and cool in the summer thanks to its inbuilt heating and cooling properties. The extensive usage of hanji, a paper made from the bark of mulberry trees, which is used to cover every solid surface, is another distinctive feature of a Hanok. Hanji has been used to cover doors because of its exceptional permeability and shielding ability, letting in natural light while still keeping the interior warm. Without opening any doors, air may circulate freely throughout the home thanks to intake vents in hanji walls. Compared to homes with glass walls, this is a major advantage.

Stunning Korean house design with a brick and wood frame:

These kinds of dwellings are fairly common in Korea. While brick has a rough texture and irregular patterns that are reminiscent of country homes, wood has a clean feel and crisp lines that are indicative of city life. These two seemingly unrelated landscapes are unexpectedly combined to create a modern Korean house design.

A certain area of the home may have innate landscaping. The house's size is divided by varying floor levels, which also enable it to mix in with the diverse architectural styles of the surrounding area. In this Korean home design, the living, dining, and kitchen spaces are all on the ground floor. On the upper level, there is a playroom, secondary bedroom, and the primary bedroom. There are two terraces outside; the front terrace provides views of the city, while the back patio provides access to the hills beyond. The house's façade features multiple windows to offer some isolation because it is situated on a busy location.

Open-air top flood house designs:

The families that reside in Korea's darkened rooftop houses with elevated mesh gables enjoy a tranquil outdoor area as well as a location for casual business gatherings. The top of the three-story building is decorated with decorative gables made of white corrugated metal and clear PVC panels. Clear plastic lets light in while the metal mesh screens it out to provide a comfortable environment. This third floor gets lots of sunlight and airflow because there is no dividing wall surrounding it. When the doors are opened, the steel and concrete structure of the house dangles up to form a guard rail and partial barrier. Metal beams that are fastened to the sides and down through the flooring support a steel roof. The garage and a distinctive pedestrian entrance, which is framed by an arched concrete slab, are both located on the lower level. A large, open living room on the first floor opens onto a terrace outside that is accessible through a set of stairs.

Korean home plans with concrete ridge ribbons:

This South Korean family home is surrounded by chamfered concrete walls, which results in a dynamic interplay of shadows. This Korean home design has two stories and is constructed to adapt to the area's topography between the highlands and the metropolis. To achieve a distinctive appearance, several materials including cement, stones, bricks, and wood are used.

The concrete bands that surround the house's exterior are its most distinctive feature. These free-form overhangs gently caress the hilly areas, harmonising with the nature much like Hanok roofs do. A few rooms extend to the northern and southern sides of the main hallway, which is very spacious and continuous in design. The main living room's large open window frames face south. The main family living quarters are located on the lower floor and consist of a two-storey lounge and a kitchen cum dining room that opens to the living room. On the upper floor, in addition to the master bedroom, there are three further bedrooms, a second living space, and a separate workstation. Each of these buildings, which are arranged in a row, is connected by a long hallway. This Korean building design makes significant use of glass partitions because they improve lighting transmission.

House designs for multiple generations:

This Korean multi-story home with a vented brick facade is home to several generations of the same family, all of whose apartments are built on top of one another. The six-storey structure occupies the entire space on the little plot of land it is situated on. The facades are cut away at various angles as the building climbs in height to accommodate lighting needs. The ground floor's front empty space of the house has room for the family's vehicles. The uniform brick façade of the home is broken up by openings in places where a certain level of isolation is sought, some of which are partially concealed behind a perforated brick foundation. Two families share the first and second-floor apartments, while a third family takes up the entire third floor, and the top two levels of the home are combined to form a fourth apartment. Three single-family houses are layered on top of one other to create an architectural style for each level that is suited for the lifestyle of each family. Each apartment has all the necessities for a home, but certain communal areas, like the kitchen in the first-floor house, are meant to be used by the whole family. A lot of the internal areas maybe expanded in use, and walls enable different parts to be partitioned into private rooms as needed. Mobility spaces are maintained to a minimum inside the apartments. The flat on the top level features an attic room with a pitch-like ceiling and a flight of open stairs connecting its storeys.

Types of Houses in South Korea:

Officetel(오피스텔)

The most luxurious alternative available to single Koreans is undoubtedly Officetel. "Officetel" is a unique term created from the English words “office" and "hotel." These are apartment-like buildings but their floor layout is designed to be a combination of office and living space. Large developers frequently construct it near the metro stations and on busy roads in commercial regions. It is commonly not secured by the residential renter protection law because it is designed to be a live-and-work space. The majority of these buildings are less than 10-15 years old because officetel is a relatively recent idea. Even though many inhabitants use it as their homes, the same floor can usually consist of a number of businesses, including a nail salon, a massage parlour, or a travel agency office operating simultaneously. Although, officetels provide the best room conditions among all the options available for single households, they are typically also the most expensive alternative. The majority of officetels are studio-style, whereas extremely infrequently, in 2 bed room style. The owner of an officetel usually allows their tenants that are a company or small business owners to register their company/business address using the officetel address. This is kind of cost-effective because the burden of renting a house and a separate office space is eased.

Pros:

1.Officetels generally come with security system. They include a security guard and round-the-clock-surveillance equipment on the first floor.

2.It’s close to a lot of convenient stores and is situated in a good location, especially in the commercial districts close to subway stations and other facilities.

3. It is provided with some electronic appliances of daily use.

Cons:

1. They cost much more than other alternatives such as one rooms or studio apartments and it includes the fees for using the elevator.

2. Apart from the housing price, other bills such as gas and electricity expenses also tend to e higher owing to the wider space occupied by officetels as compared to some other alternatives.

3. Officetels never come with an internet service which adds to our expenses of paying for the internet as well.

Ideal users:

 i) People who want to work from home

 ii) Freelancers

 iii) One-man businesses such as accountants, artists or fortune tellers

 iv) Common for students

 v) Ideal for newlyweds who wish to start off at an officetel and go for house upgradations slowly

Rent example
1) Hongik University Station vicinity
Deposit ₩10,000,000 / Monthly Rent ₩850,000 + Maintenance Fee ₩200,000
2) Gwanghwamun Station vicinity (near Gyeongbok Palace, main CBD area)
Deposit ₩10,000,000 / Monthly Rent ₩1,200,000 + Maintenance Fee ₩250,000

Hasokjib (boarding house) (하숙집)

Hasokjib is a kind of family house in which rooms are rented by different people. These houses have shared common areas, that is, shared kitchen, bathroom and living room. These places are usually run and maintained by the lady of the house who looks after the eating, cleaning and laundry requirements of the people living there. In many cases, it is also used as a boarding house where a woman runs a business or teaches while the students are given separate rooms in the hasokjib.

Pros:

1.People living there don’t need to do their own household work because the lady or the ajumma of the house looks after those kinds of requirements.

2.It’s pretty affordable as it doesn’t require any big deposit to be paid in the beginning.

3.A good option for foreigners as they will be living with locals which gives them the advantage of learning about the Korean culture and language.

Cons:

1.Hasokjib is a place where different kinds of people live together and most are strangers.

2.It can be a risk to privacy and feel uncomfortable.

3.Language and cultural barrier might be problematic in some cases.

Ideal users:

i)Usually students as these places are located near schools and colleges

ii)People who want a local experience

One-room/Studio Apartments (원룸)

A one-room apartment, or studio, is a compact building that consists of housing unit without a separate bedroom. Housing conditions are not as favourable since one-room structures or villas are typically constructed by private owners on a tiny plot of land. These structures are often constructed in three months by tiny, local home builders who make concessions like using sewage lines or thinner walls. These usually have a kitchenette, a stove, a washing machine, and many additionally include an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a desk, and sometimes even a bed. Before making any form of payment, it is required to negotiate whether "options" (furniture) are included by the contract. Here, the pay deposits rise upto atleast $5000-10,000. The rent can vary from $400 to 4800 which usually depends on the size and location of the apartment. Along with the deposits, these places require the buyers or tenants to find a real estate agent or a mediator in order to find a one-room housing. The contracts are usually for one year minimum. Realtors inquire whether or not, the person looking for a house is alright with "red brick buildings (빨간 벽돌집)" or "ancient structures (구옥)" because red brick buildings were popular in the 1990s. Older structures were constructed with care and have their own unique character while the newly constructed buildings emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and chemicals. The rent range can be fairly wide depending on the age of the structure and maintenance status.

Pros:

1. They are fully furnished alongwith the provision of big appliances, AC, washing machines, stove, fridge and occasionally a microwave and a bed.

2. It allows privacy as it is not a shared house form.

3. It allows to bring in more guests if required.

4. Has a private kitchen that is good for people who enjoy cooking.

5. It is possible to get free internet in studio apartments sometimes.

Cons:

1. The contract has to be for atleast one year which makes it compulsory to stay in Korea for a minimum of 12 months.

2. The rooms can extremely small and congested.

3. It is quite expensive.

4. It is required to pay commission to the real estate agent.

Ideal users:

 i) students

 ii) non-married working adults

Rent example
Hongik University Station vicinity
Deposit ₩10,000,000 / Monthly Rent ₩600,000 + Maintenance Fee ₩50,000

Goshiwon(고시원)

The Goshiwon is a very small single room closet or dormitory that can only contain a bed and a reading desk. Goshi refers to the national civil service examination. Goshiwon originally started out as a small room for students studying 16 hours a day for Goshi to sleep in an environment with no distractions. Building conditions are the worst in Goshiwon rooms since they are not considered housing units. While some apartments have private showers and toilets, some have common bathrooms in the hallway. Typically, the shower stall in an apartment is so small that taking a shower requires you to sit over the toilet. Noise can be an issue because the partitions between each unit are built of plywood. Additionally, there is poor air ventilation. Some apartments might even be windowless. Many international students opt to reside in Goshiwon despite these disadvantages. They are majorly situated around universities in Korea and are student-friendly in terms of cost. It's inexpensive and simply takes a deposit of one month's rent. Goshiwon is a commitment-free alternative to one-room, officetel, and two-room apartments, all of which often demand a one- or two-year lease and a sizable deposit. Additionally, it is outfitted with a bed, table, chair, refrigerator, TV, common washing machine, and is frequently provided with complimentary rice and kimchi.

Pros:

1. It’s really cheap and requires paying a rent per month instead of submitting a large amount as deposit.

2. Goshiwon that cost a little bit more than the cheapest ones come with a shared kitchen that provides free rice, Kimchi or even Ramyeon.

3. The rent varies from $200/₩200,000 to $500/₩500,000 providing a wide range of options at a lower price.

Cons:

1. These are extremely tiny places with no proper window and ventilation system.

2. A lot of these places are segregated by gender and the partitions between apartments are very thin which makes it difficult to bring in guests if required.

3. Although these houses provide with air conditioning and heating systems, they are non-adjustable which makes it difficult to control the temperature of the room.

Ideal users:

Students and people who don’t spend much time at home.

ii) People who only need a place to sleep.

Rent example
Hongik University Station vicinity
Deposit ₩500,000 / Monthly Rent ₩500,000

Apartment (아파트)

Population density in Korea is ten times higher than the world average. Cities with limited space have extremely dense populations, which results in an abundance of apartments. The Korean word "apateu (아파트)", which is derived from the English word "apartment," is used a little differently than it is in the United States or other countries. Apartments are huge buildings, usually over 5 storeys, with multiple rooms for living space that are typically constructed on expansive lots to create exclusive residential communities, allowing for each household to live independently. They are usually established, furnished, and equipped with utilities. Apartments for the larger segment of the population are generally 42.975 ㎡, 59.504 ㎡, or 82.645 ㎡ in size, but there are also luxury-size apartments with over 148.76 ㎡ in space. In most city areas, apartments use gas piped in from elsewhere for heating and cooking. The definition of an apartment in the US is the closest to a condominium. In Korea, being able to afford an apartment is a sign of accomplishment, so many young couples choose to put off getting married until they can afford one or rely on their parents to rent or buy one. Monthly rent (wolse) for apartments is less typical than Jeonse, with the refundable deposit ranging from 60 to 80 percent of the purchase price. It is also known to have highly secured parking spaces, playgrounds, gyms and fitness centers, etc. It is quite comfortable and the cost of renting this category of an apartment depends on the size and where it is located.

While "yeollip jutaek (연립 주택)" may also be called apartments, in Korean, the word "apateu" generally refers to high rise apartments, while yeollip jutaek refers to "small size apartment buildings" of under three stories. They are similar to high rise apartments in internal layout.

Pros:

1.They are equipped with Elevators.

2.They come with security and surveillance features.

3.They have good maintenance and services.

4.They are usually close to all the convenient stores and is situated commonly in city areas.

Cons:

They are generally too expensive and require a good amount of savings if taking a loan is not desired.

Ideal users:

These apartments are ideal for families and married couples.

Rent example
Hongik University Station vicinity 2BR, 1BATH
Deposit ₩250,000,000 / Monthly Rent ₩0 + Maintenance Fee ₩0

Villa (빌라)

Villas, also known as townhouses in South Korea, are multi-residential buildings that are 4 floors or less. These are low-rising apartments also known as townhouses in Korea. This low-rise building has lesser storeys than the high-rise building and is built in a very accommodative way. It is built to have a magnificent luxurious setting and comes with extra perks like balconies and a private compound. These places are very hard to rent or in other words they operate according to Jeonse rental system under which the tenant needs to pay a huge sum of deposit at the time of renting which is given back again after the contract period is over. The landlord, most likely, use these money for other investments. These places might be spacious but are neither furnished nor equipped with any of the appliances, and fixtures that are used in daily life. The charge for security internet also adds to the expenses. However, this type of housing is highly affordable compared to the cost of a private house.

Pros:

1.They are a lot more spacious than one-rooms and Goshiwon and consist of multiple bedrooms.

2.They are comparatively cheaper than private houses and high-rise apartments.

3.Security and maintenance costs are quite less.

 Cons:

1. These kinds of houses are not equipped with elevators.

2. Security costs have to be paid.

Ideal users:

Families or couples.

Private Houses (단독주택)

Dandok jutaek is detached house that serve the purpose of isolated living. This style is called "dandok jutaek" in Korean, meaning "private house". Private homes are typically one or two storeyed buildings with limited yard areas. These are restricted homes created for well-heeled individuals and families. In Korea, it is not a standard practice to live separately with family in an apartment or a private building. Contrary to a public residence, where numerous people live together in different apartments in a compound, private homes are just for the owners, their families, and any invited guests. The majority of private homes are found in urban areas and international districts like Korea's capital Seoul and some other well-known cities. This is a luxurious kind of housing for those that are financially capable of affording homes. The comfort, luxury, and security are unmatched. Celebrities and business titans are the high-class residents of these apartments who can easily afford the high expense of renting the apartment in Korea.

Service Residence

In Korea, there are residents called service residents. These are a kind of residences that are built, fully furnished, decorated, and designed to accommodate visitors. Either visitors staying for a short or long period. The features and characteristics of a service residence may sound similar to that of a hotel, but the service residence is different from hotel settings because in a hotel it is required to just pay per night for the room or suite that will be occupied while the service residence is a kind of house type in Korea where rents are paid according to the duration the visitor wants to stay. A service residence is usually the best apartment to go for, if someone has to stay in Korea for few months for business deal, language course or other such works. Everything is well-equipped in a service residence. The tenant enjoys a well-furnished living room, kitchen, appliances and other amenities. The service residence usually contains everything a person would enjoy in a typical rental apartment within a short visitation period. Among other things, service residence also offers the perks of staying as a family, doing washing and dishes, and cooking if preferred. Visitors visiting Korea choose living in a service apartment over a hotel room where they pay per night and have everything done for them at an additional expense.

Korean House-Warming (집들이)

Overview

Moving into a new house has always been considered as an auspicious event in anyone’s life. People feel the most secure when at home, spending quality time with the loved ones and making beautiful memories with family. Although, the rituals associated with moving in a new house might vary across boundaries, the main intention behind it is always to celebrate the accomplishment and to wish for good fortune and prosperity for the inhabitants during their stay in the house. In Korea, as in the majority of other nations, it is customary to host a housewarming celebration for family, friends, and acquaintances after relocating into a new residence. A similar celebration is also planned when a newlywed couple enters the home after returning from their honeymoon. It essentially includes rituals and ceremonies held in advance when entering a newly built house for the first time or moving into someone else's house. However, this practice is gradually fading in the contemporary Korea due to various socio-economic circumstances.

Visitors attending jibdeuri present soap, candles, matches, and other items as presents to the owner in an effort to make their wishes come true. Such traditions, however, had a brief history, and in poor farm households, life revolved on making bread and sharing it with the neighbourhood. While Jibdeuri refers to the organising of a house warming party, Jibari is the term that refers to attending a housewarming party and visiting a newlywed couple or someone who has just moved into a new home. In other words, from the viewpoint of the home's owner, "housewarming" is actually "householding" from the standpoint of the guest visiting the house. It is also known as "deulchari (들차리)" in Ongjin-gun, Gyeonggi-do, and in the evening of the "good day" chosen by feng shui, the owner invites friends and residents of the community to a feast. Bibimbap (비빔밥) is typically served with rice, bean sprouts, and gangtu (a type of seaweed). People sing and play the hourglass-shaped drum (장구; janggu) throughout the night to rejoice. In the Seongnam area, people also have a similar celebration when building or moving into a new home. In Jeju Island and other places, traditional customs such as performing ancestral rites during housewarming, still persists.

By drafting and distributing a housewarming invitation (Hanja: 招待狀), it is vital to notify the invited guests about the housewarming by writing down fundamental information such as basic greetings, the invitation date and time, the venue, and the event's agenda. The structure and style of the invitation are chosen taking into account the type of ceremony and the preferences of the guests. It can be said that it is one of the essential customs of housewarming to prepare delicious cuisines to the guests invited to the housewarming feast, and it is clear that this tradition is linked to the culture in which a newcomer distributes different types of delicious cuisines to the neighbors’ home.

Past and Present

In the past, it was considered as an occasion that held various superstitious and religious significance, and required performing of various traditional rituals such as hosting an ancestral rite to have the blessings of the ancestors or a religious ceremony to keep away negative energy; however, in contemporary Korea, it serves as a venue for family members to visit the new home or to honour the homeowner. People still tend to hold large housewarming parties owing to the belief that the feast brings good fortune to the house and their owner.

In the recent years, “Online housewarming” or "Internet housewarming", is gaining much popularity. It is a type of housewarming that takes place online and involves posting pictures of a beautifully adorned home on social media, etc. The difference between an online housewarming and a traditional one lies in the choice and the number of people invited. In traditional form, only people with social connections are invited, however, in the online form any people using the social media is able to see the house through the uploaded posts. Also, online form does not necessarily require the viewers to visit the house physically which, in turn, allows managing the number of visitors. Additionally, unlike a conventional housewarming, this online platform allows guests to view images of interior construction sites.

Traditionally, the customary practices associated with housewarming were not only more socially oriented but also deeply rooted to and intertwined with various religious and superstitious beliefs. However, it is to be noted that the rituals and beliefs did vary among the inhabitants of the different regions of the Korean peninsula and its islands. The popular customs practiced during housewarming included “seongjumulrim (성주물림)”, one of the rituals of the Jindo samurai family, and “seongjupuri (성주풀이)”, a shamanic myth or epic song, in honour of Seongju God (Hangeul: 성주신; Hanja: 城主神), the supreme deity of the house, who builds and protects the house, and oversees every element related to the household, from furniture and appliances to peace and good fortune in the family. It is Seongju that brings cattle, grains, rice paddies and silk clothing to the home, and ensures the longevity of parents and proliferation of offspring that are pious and loyal, promising success in government service and in farming.

Seongjupuri

The home guardian God Seongju and his wife Jisin, the land goddess, are the subjects of the shamanic tale or epic ballad known as "Seongjupuri," which tells their story. When someone moves into a new house or marks the completion of a newly built house, the song is performed or recited as part of shamanic ceremonies for Seongju God. The Ansim Guk (안심국) type from the Busan region and the Hwang Woo-yang (황우양) type from the northern regions of Gyeonggi Province are the two variants of this story that have survived. Both recounts how the union of heaven and earth led to the genesis of the deity Seongju, but the details are very different. The Hwang Woo-yang type begins with the birth of Hwang Woo-yang between Cheondaemoksin of the Palace Under Heaven and Lady Jital of the Palace Underground. The baby grew up and married, and one day a sudden east wind blew, battering the Palace Under Heaven into decline, and the palace’s guardian deity Seongju disappeared as well. The person summoned to solve this problem was Hwang Woo-yang, who was living at the foot of Mount Hwangsan in the Palace Underground. Since he did not have carpentry tools, his wife had them made for him, using metal she had received from the Palace Under Heaven. Seeing him off, she instructs him never to talk back to anyone on his way to the palace. But Hwang Woo-yang falls for Sojinnang's deception and agrees to switch clothes while conversing with him. Sojinnang attempts to assume Hwang Woo-yang’s role as husband by travelling to the Palace Underground while wearing his clothes, but Hwang Woo-yang’s wife outwits him and manages to keep him out while he continues his journey to the Palace Under Heaven. In his dream, Hwang Woo-yang learns of this predicament, and after finishing his duties, he immediately leaves for home. He learns what has been going on via a note that his wife had written in blood. He then changes into a bird to hide under his wife's skirt and succeeds in capturing Sojinnang. He confines the captive in a stone box and bestows the title of Seonang (Village Guardian Deity) upon him. He confers the title of Jisin, the land goddess, to his wife after learning that she has mastered the art of raising silkworms and spinning silk, and he adopts the title of Seongju, the home guardian deity, himself.

In the Ansim Guk type of the “Seongjupuri” narrative, the husband’s name is Ansim Guk, also known as Seongjossi. When he learns that there is no house for him in the Palace Underground, he plants pine nuts for lumber. He falls into debauchery, however, which sends him into exile and upon his return to the Palace Underground, cuts down the pine trees and builds his house. Upon completion of the house, he takes on the title of Seongju.

As a song used in shamanic rites to worship the house guardian god of a new home, the "Seongjupuri" myth is primarily a story about husband and wife, the cornerstone of the family. This myth lends meaning to family fortune-wishing rituals by narrating the tale of a husband and wife who overcome obstacles to become a house guardian deity and a land goddess, respectively.

Unlike in the contemporary Korea, where only the house owner has to look after the preparation of the feast, in the olden times, the whole village used to take part in the preparation and celebration of the house warming events. In the Jincheon-gun (진천군) region of Chungcheongbuk island (충청북도), there was a culture of praying for a peaceful life in a new home through Gosa (告祀) and Antaek (安宅), and this culture still exists today.

Gosa 

The term "gosa (Hangeul: 고사; Hanja: 告祀)" refers to a series of ceremonies conducted to pray for peace and well-being that is performed to invoke the domestic Gods, also known as "Gasin (Hangeul: 가신; Hanja: 家神)”, such as Seongju (the house guardian deity), Teoju (the land tutelary god), Jeseok (the goddess of childbirth), Samsin (the goddess of childbearing), and Jowang (Kitchen Deity).

This ceremony, which usually takes place in the tenth lunar month, is a comprehensive worship liturgy for the several guardian deities that protect the house. In the scripts of “Dongguksesigi (Hangeul: 동국세시기; Hanja: 東國歲時記)” (A Record of the Seasonal Customs of the Eastern Kingdom) it is recorded, “In the tenth lunar month, which was the best month of the year (sangdal; Hangeul: 상달), homes held shaman rituals for the household gods, with rice cake and fruits as sacrificial food.”

Following the selection of an auspicious date for the ritual, taboos are enforced to keep impurities out. A taboo rope is stretched over the gate (geumjul; Hangeul: 금줄), and red clay (hwangto; Hangeul: 황토) is scattered out front. Family members exercised extreme caution to avoid engaging in filthy acts once the taboo rope was hung, and kept within the grounds of the house. Alcohol and rice cake served as the primary sacrificed foods during the ritual. Sirutteok (시루떡), a red bean-filled rice cake consisting of thin layers, and Baekseolgi (백설기), a thick white block without layers, both served as offerings to Samsin, the goddess of childbirth who resides in the women's quarters' inner chamber. The woman of the home begins the ritual by bowing once the sacrificial foods have been set out. It is followed by a prayer which she performs while rubbing her palms together (bison) or reciting an invocation. Only sacrifices are offered to Chilseong (the Seven Stars), Cheuksin (the Outhouse God), Madangsin (the Garden God), and Munsin (the Gate God), without any kind of ritualistic procedures.

Gosa is essential to household deity worship, a ritual that highlights the importance of these spirits and their significance. The ceremony is performed after the fall harvest as a proceeding of thanks giving to the deities for a successful crop. It is also, occasionally, performed during the first lunar month.

Antaek (ritual for domestic harmony), “Antaekgosa Gido (안택고사 기도)” (Antaek exam prayer), “Dosinje (도신제)” (prayer ceremony), and Sirugosa (시루고사) are some regional versions of the word "gosa" (rice cake steamer rite).

Antaek 

The ritual known as Antaek, literally meaning "peace in the house," is performed by the lady of the house in order to thank and pray to the domestic Gods (Gasin) for a bountiful crop and for peace in the home.

On the first or tenth lunar month, this ceremony is performed either once a year or every three years. It is also celebrated when a new house is constructed, when the family receives a new house guardian god (Seongju), when ill luck strikes the family, and when the current house guardian God transfers authority to a new deity. Around the nation, there are two different sorts of Antaek rituals: the first is performed by the lady of the home and involves hand-rubbing bison; the second is performed by a shaman and involves gut procedures (shamanic ritual).

The steps for doing Antaek start with choosing an auspicious day for the ritual, then impurities are removed, sacrificial food is offered, and finally the rite is performed. The lady of the family chooses dates, although occasionally a village fortune-teller is consulted to choose a date that is beyond the reach of the prying spirit son. To keep others away on the day of the rite, a taboo rope (geumjul) is placed over the gate and red clay is scattered on the sidewalk (hwangto). The making of Sirutteok (a tiered rice cake with red bean filling), wine, a sweet rice beverage, and cooked veggies come next.

The home guardian God Seongju, who is housed on the girders of the open hall, is offered adoration and sacrificed dishes as part of the ritual's opening act. Additionally, ritual tables are set up in the kitchen for Jowang, on the sauce jar terrace or in the yard for the deity Teoju, the protector of the soil, and in the inner room for Samsin, the goddess of childbirth, where the housewife offers a simplistic prayer by rubbing her palms together. The hosting family distributes the rice cake to the neighbours after the rite.

When a shaman or sorcerer is called in to officiate, the ritual is called Antaekgut (안택굿), or shamanic ritual for peace in the house. Some wealthy or religious families do this ritual on a regular basis, hiring a shaman or sorcerer they have a strong bond with. In case of other families, when the shaman's divination predicts bad luck or three tragedies (Samjae; Hangeul: 삼재, Hanja: 三災) at the beginning of the year, this ritual is hosted. In addition to this, when a new house is built, a family member is gravely ill, or when problems like accidents or failed businesses persist in the family, Antaekgut is staged.

House warming test and rituals

It is interesting to note that, the term housewarming actually refers to a test that used to take place on the first day after moving into a newly built house or when moving into someone else’s house. It is also said that according to a theory, 'housewarming' originated from this housewarming test. Originally, the test was held on the evening of the first day of relocation, but as the celebration of the house's completion became more significant than the ritualistic nature of activities, the event's contents altered. Nowadays, there are cases where a prayer of thanksgiving or worship is held in place of the traditional housewarming examination.

The explanation related to housewarming events is well presented in the scripts of Forest Economy by Hong Man-seon, a scholar of the late Joseon dynasty. The words in the script says, when the house is built, incense and alcohol, a bowl of clean water, and a willow branch or green leaf are provided. It is required to offer sacrifices and purified water to the vassals or the Jowangsin. And while offering a rite to the gods of heaven and earth, he said, “Observe the yin and yang gods of heaven and earth and the sun, moon, and stars, I hope that auspicious energy will dwell in the house. Say to the six spirits that the incense fire will not go out for ten thousand years, and rule the house forever, so that no evil can dwell in it, and that no water or fire invades it. The Moon God protects the house and repels evil spirits, and Tae-eul protects the family and helps all things go smoothly.”  While entering the new house, the fire is put on before moving in the luggage. Entering empty handed in the house is believed to bring bad fortune, hence, it is good to take grains, mirror and the vassal while stepping into the house. This makes sense why fire-related braziers, briquettes, gas cylinders, and pots are moved into the house first.

A further summarization provides insights to the list of items that should not be carried to the new house. One should refrain from carrying brooms, cold rice, vinegar bottle, millstones, knives, animals, etc. It is believed that broom symbolises a depressing magical connotation of sweeping away the prosperity of a new house. Further, cold rice represents poverty while the vinegar bottle denotes that the household will become destitute along the lines of the sourness of the vinegar. Likewise, a millstone operates to grind grains which brings into scene, a metaphorical evil meaning of grinding the prosperity of the house leading to poverty. A knife, that basically slices and cuts down things, is symbolical of the dissolution or downfall of the family. Also, it holds a practical meaning of protecting the people from weapons like knives and axes. This is because the beasts believe that the good God of the house sees their ugly faces and runs away. Like a millstone, it is brought with a choice. It is said that a wealthy family held a sacramental ceremony when the house is built, and the year that celebrates the first year of the house is referred to as a "house birthday," much like a person's first birthday celebration.

Housewarming Gifts

When invited to a housewarming party, the most common and obvious gift that comes to mind is home-decor items like photo-frames, paintings, ceramics or bed-sheets. However, in Korea, it is a culture to present sanitary items such as toiletries, towels and shampoo, as gift, when attending a housewarming party. The most popular gifts include toilet papers and laundry detergent which signifies long term cleanliness in the new home. Additionally, it implies that household chores can be completed smoothly, like the roll of toilet papers (화장지), or profitably, like a bubble of detergent (세제). The tradition of purchasing toilet papers or detergents as gifts dates back to the time when South Korea was an underdeveloped nation and not everyone could afford to buy sanitary items as these were deemed to be expensive. Washing powders also hold an alternate meaning in Korean culture. The detergent symbolizes a home that is physically and spiritually pure. Money and prosperity are represented by the sparkling, spherical bubbles. Receiving laundry detergent as a housewarming present expresses the desire of the giver that the recipients have a clean and prosperous home. Another common variation of a laundry detergent is a dish washing soap. Even from a practical perspective, items like soap, detergent, towel, etc. are vital items that can be used in day-to-day life and will last long without rotting or expiring upon keeping unused for a long time.

Apart from sanitary products, items like air purifiers and potted plants (화분) serve as excellent gifts for such an occasion as they help in keeping the air fresh. Potted plants can bring some colour and life into a new house, particularly if they have fragrant blossoms. Green plants are viewed as a symbol of life, health, and prosperity in Korean culture. The Window-leaf plant and the Snake plant are two popular traditional plants to give as gifts. Large green fronds with oblong-shaped openings separate the leaves of the Window-leaf plant. This plant requires low care because of its excellent tolerance to dry and warm conditions. Additionally, this plant is believed to bring luck in businesses and is, therefore, common to be found in Korean company openings and important meetings. The Snake plant, on the other hand, has long, pointed leaves with a variety of green hues. This plant thrives in arid, shaded environments.

Koreans tend to give candles and matches as gifts on this auspicious day. The fire is usually the key element of the traditional homes everywhere around the world and the hearth is at its center. In the traditional Korean households, the fire was transferred as a part of a particular ritual, and its presence was required to satisfy and gratify the spirits. It is likely that it was also used to honour Jowangsin, the goddess of the hearth and fire. Candles and matches are still gifted today as part of this ancient ritual, as they are meant to "light up" the house with luck and prosperity.

Owing to the drinking culture of South Korea, gifting alcoholic drinks and beverages such as a bottle of wine or whiskey during a housewarming feast is not a bad option as well. In many cases, it helps in strengthening the bonds and relationships between the visitors and the house owner. Above all, it is a gift for the people who live in the house holding the housewarming party, so it is crucial to choose the gifts in consideration of the circumstances of the house owner and their family.

Rental System

Finding a house in South Korea can be a really daunting process as the housing market and the rental system in Korea is quite different than that in the other parts of the world. Those on their venture to finding a suitable accommodation require adequate research ability and judgement to choose the type of property that fits their needs as well as provides the feeling of a safety as afterall our homes are our safe spaces.[1] Rapid increase in demand of properties despite a global pandemic has resulted in a 40% increase in house prices in Seoul, compared to last two years. So rental housing is becoming an affordable choice for individuals.[1]

In Korea, the pricing mechanism is quite different than that in other parts of the world. Here rental system is divided into two main categories Jeonse (전세) and Wolsae (월세) and another short-term rental system Dangi Imdae (단기임대). [1]

 Jeonse (전세)

 Jeonse (Hangeul: 전세; Hanja: 傳貰) is an intermediary scheme which is in between monthly rent (Wolsae) and ownership (Jaga). [2] It is also known as “key money deposit” or “key money”, which is a type of lease where a tenant has to make a lump-sum deposit on a rental property instead of paying monthly rent. [2]This allows the tenant to live rent free until the end of lease term (usually 2 years). 10% of the Jeonse is paid as deposit and the rest should be paid upon moving in[3]. The landlord then uses this deposit to re-invest and keep all of the interest earned. Once the lease term is over, the entire deposit is then returned to the tenant. The landlord can treat the deposit as a 0% interest rate loan to invest into other capital, which made Jeonse especially desirable in the 20th century when interest rates were very high. This is quite a common system in South Korea for both consumers and landlords, as it also gives chance to combine a lower Jeonse with a lower monthly rent. [2][3]

Although, the landlord is able to invest the key money deposit, there is a condition that it must be returned at the end of lease period. there are certain rules and regulations that the tenant must abide by during their stay. For instance, during the tenancy, the tenant is responsible for keeping the property in good condition and must obtain the landlord's consent before making any construction-related changes. [4] Given that some tenants have had trouble getting their key deposits back, it is crucial to do a comprehensive research and validate all pertinent information regarding the landlord and the property. To protect oneself and avoid any fraud it is best to register the deposit with the local government office (구청) located nearest to the concerned property. There is also an option of doing credit checks on the landlord and the property.[1] The tenant’s deposit is protected by having a lien issued against the property for the amount given. [3]

Even nevertheless, the administration has taken a number of steps to adjust policies in order to preserve Jeonse since real estate values have increased significantly in recent years. The government has intentions to have a stable housing lease market by delivering additional housing properties across the country in an effort to lower prices, even though for tenants the Jeonse system is gradually losing favor due to the low interest rate on housing and the narrow margins on other investments. [1][2]

Weolse (월세)

Another main type of rental system in Korea which is becoming popular these days, is Wolsae (월세). Wolsae is a similar type of rental system that prevails in Western housing markets. Wolsae refers to a system where the tenant pays a small deposit after 1-to-2-years rental contract and pays a monthly usage fee or the monthly rent. The deposit is usually 10 to 20 times the monthly rent.[1] [4]

10% of the key money is deposited as the contract fee and remainder of the key money is paid after moving in. But if a tenant terminates the bond before the contract term is over, then the tenant will not be able to get their deposit refund. However, if the landlord terminates the bond midway, then they have to compensate the tenant with double the deposit amount.[4]

Though, normally the rule is to return the full deposit after the contract is terminated. If there are certain factors like rent, utilities, etc., the deposit can be returned excluding these arrears.[4] Usually, utility and maintenance fees are paid separately.[4] Next, the brokerage fees usually vary in accordance with the type, size and price of house. The real estate agencies are capable of conversing in foreign languages (mainly English, Chinese, Japanese) as well and the list can be checked from SMG real estate information portal (land.seoul.go.kr).[5]

Usually, the average deposits for Wolsae starts at 5,000,000 KRW and can go up to 40,000,000 KRW; as higher initial key money demands a lower monthly rent; for example, The average key-money amount in Seoul is 5,000,000 Won for a studio accommodation, and monthly payments can start from 400,000 won. [5] However recent trends show that Wolsae is slowly beginning to lose popularity as landlords opt for a more reliable source of cash flow in a monthly basis, so they lower the key deposit amounts. Since this entire key contract or key money is held directly with the lessor instead of any housing authority, there is always some risks behind such matters. This is why it is always important to investigate and run background checks on the property as well as the property owner.[1][5]

Dangi Imdae (단기임대)

The third type of rental system is the Dangi Imdae (단기임대), which is a short-term in contract nature. This rental system does not require any significant key money prior to moving in. However, this system is not very well-liked among people. Being a short-term rent, sometimes there is a key money or initial deposit that is equivalent to 1 month rent. Due to the unstable system and extremely little profit for the landlord, short-term rentals are not particularly common in Korea. [5]

Utilities and Maintenance

After renting any apartment or villa, the next thing to keep in mind is the building maintenance fee (관리비). This is a monthly fee which covers utilities such as internet, elevator maintenance, garbage disposal and building security guards. For villas it is a different case, there might be some fee which is decided along with the neighbors and co-residents to contribute to cover the cost of certain services like washing the villa exterior during the months in spring. Sometimes there is no maintenance fee at all, and it should be written “maintenance fee absent (관리비 없음)” in the rental contract. [1][5]

Sometimes the utility costs are to be paid in addition to the monthly rent. However, those charges are considered from the monthly rent. If the utility fees are included in the maintenance fee, the contract should have “maintenance fee included (관리비포함내역)” written on it. For example, if water and internet is mentioned right next to 관리비포함내역, then no separate fee for water and internet will be charged, but other utilities like gas, electricity has to be paid.

Building maintenance fees cost ranges from 50,000 KRW -110,000 KRW per month. This amount is variable as the utility and maintenance fees depend on the housing type. Each housing type has a different fee rate calculated per pyeong (평). Pyeong is a traditional method of measurement which the Koreans use to calculate the size of the houses. Pyeong is about 3.3 square meters or 3.5 feet approximately. One can find this measurement method is still in use when visiting the local real estate agent (부동산).[1][5]

Utility fees including water, gas, electricity, is calculated by a specific formula. A fixed charge (depends on the region, city, and the type of housing) + a consumption tariff + 10% VAT + a very small percentage of additional fees (about 0.04%, depends on the region, city, and the type of housing) = amount for payment. [5]

Housing Policies in Korea

Real estate and housing prices are a major political issue that results into dominating debates about the South Korean government.[7] To respond to market conditions in a preventative and flexible manner and to rein in a speculative demand in overheated areas while managing supply to an appropriate level in contracted areas and restore the housing market driven towards the actual demand of the citizens; keeping all these factors in check the government has introduced few policies in lieu of the housing and rental market.[8]

Housing Market Stability

As the housing market expands, the industry’s influence also expands and this becomes one of the most important aspects for the economy. Thus the housing policies has to two major goals- ensuring housing stability and maintaining the economy.[9] To control the speculative demand policies are designed which modify reconstruction regulations by increasing safety diagnosis of apartments that fall under the reconstructable category and recapturing surplus rebuilding gains. Another strategy is to introduce a debt service ratio or a stricter financial regulation for mortgage loans and applying heavier capital gains tax to multiple homeowners.[8]

Real demand centric

Imposing a stronger punishment for illegal practices to distort the housing market such as price rigging or fraudulent transactions or money laundering by making contracts and then intentionally cancelling them, raising asking prices as well as real transaction prices. Reducing the transaction period for reporting and modifying the subscription system to give non-homeowners more room for being drawn. Another effect of this policy is to strengthen restriction on the resale of pre-sale rights for apartments to which a pre-sale price cap is applied.

Contracted areas and Monitoring

This focuses on bringing down the housing supply to an appropriate level by managing the unsold pre-sale properties in provincial areas and adjusting LH's supply of sites for construction, and controlling the start of building public pre-sale houses. Along with this enforcing tenant protection by providing guarantee for the return of rental deposit and expanding the priority of claim for small-sum deposit. Monitoring of speculation prone areas or slumped areas also to be strengthened to assure that a rapid response to abnormal issues and thus preventing low-income households from being damaged.

The government also has plans to secure a stable housing facility for those coming from low-income households with a proper approach focusing on life stages and income levels, basically by increasing public rental housing to ensure long term residence.

• For citizens belonging to low-income households, the authorities plan to provide 1.04mn units of public housing by 2022, which if broken down further comes to 695,000 units for public rental housing, 200,000 units for public supply private rental housing, and 150,000 units for public pre-sale housing. This strategy expands housing benefits with the eradication of family support obligation rule in October 2018.
• For newlyweds, the plan is to provide 50,000 units of public rental housing and 100,000 units of pre-sale housing with proximity to childcare centers. The focus of this scheme is to increase number of recipients and ratio of pre-sale housing for newlyweds. By introducing Jeonse or mortgage loans with comparatively lower rates of interest, it can help to reduce the debt that acts as a burden for newlyweds seeking to buying a house or rental.
• For young adults, the government will Supply 270,000 units of rental housing in various types such as Happy Housing, share houses, SOHO clusters, dormitory-style residence, etc. In this way individuals who do not own a house and have a low income can fund for residence through a housing subscription account. Lowering the minimum age limit for Jeonse loans from 25 to 19 and slightly raising the monthly rent capital for loan from KRW300,000 to KRW400,000.
• For Elderly people, provision of 50,000 units of rental housing that connects barrier-free design i.e., no obstruction in doorways, sinks with adjustable heights etc. This can help aged people with free movement thus reducing chances of accidents occurring within homes. It is also planned to install motion sensors for senior citizens living alone to prevent lonely deaths. The government promises to support elderlies by covering their cost of living through facilitating pension schemes with the rents collected from lending out their houses for sale to others.

Conclusion

Housing in South Korea might seem a little too complex at first for people but with some insights into the foundations of the systems and types of houses, their measuring methodologies this issue can be overcome. The housing sector in South Korea is a beaming field these days, with its rapid growth and extensive infrastructural developments, introduction of new and improved policies for the benefits of the citizens, the government agencies and institutions play a pivotal role in the process. With its unique economic, social and cultural aspects, South Korea can be taken as a model of reference for inspiration on development and maintenance.

Source

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