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Balanga’s mangroves natural shield vs floods, lifeline for fisherfolks

Nov 5, 2026

Balanga’s mangroves natural shield vs floods, lifeline for fisherfolks

MANILA, Philippines — For years, coastal communities in Balanga City lived with a growing sense of uncertainty. Floodwaters regularly threatened homes and fishponds during high tide, especially when accompanied by strong winds and storms. At the same time, fish catches declined as mangrove forests that once protected the coastline were cut down and degraded, making

Manila Archbishop orders prayers for rain amid El Niño threat

Nov 5, 2026

Manila Archbishop orders prayers for rain amid El Niño threat

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula has ordered all parishes and communities in the Archdiocese of Manila to pray for rain amid the threat of a strong El Niño that could bring prolonged drought and water scarcity. In a circular released on Thursday, Advincula directed churches to include the Oratio Imperata ad Petendam

Entire SK council in Sarangani resigns over canceled polls

Nov 5, 2026

Entire SK council in Sarangani resigns over canceled polls

KORONADAL CITY, SOUTH COTABATO, Philippines — An entire 10-member Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) council in Malungon, Sarangani province has resigned altogether—declining two more years in office as a result of the postponement of the Barangay and SK Elections (BSKE)—saying they can’t keep postponing their personal and career plans. Last September, President Marcos signed Republic Act No.

Agusan del Sur logs 20 dengue deaths as infections keep rising

Nov 5, 2026

Agusan del Sur logs 20 dengue deaths as infections keep rising

SAN FRANCISCO, AGUSAN DEL SUR, Philippines — Some 20 people have died from mosquito-borne dengue infection in Agusan del Sur province in the last 10 months, with the number of cases continuing to rise in the past five weeks. The last two deaths happened between Tuesday and Wednesday this week. From only 14 deaths as

Comelec targets 3M additional voters for 2028 polls

Nov 5, 2026

Comelec targets 3M additional voters for 2028 polls

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is targeting an additional three million registered voters ahead of the May 2028 national and local elections as it prepares to open a nine-month voter registration period. Registration will run from Nov. 10, 2026, to July 30, 2027. However, registration in Naga City and Batanes will begin

[FRIENDS OF KOREA] An American teenager in Seoul in 1967

Nov 5, 2026

[FRIENDS OF KOREA] An American teenager in Seoul in 1967

I was 13 when our family of 10 (mom, dad and eight kids ranging in age from 1 to 15) arrived at Kimpo Airport in August 1966. We arrived a bit prior to the first volunteers of the Peace Corps K-1, because our school started in early September. The older kids attended Seoul Foreign School (SFS) in Yeonhui-dong, behind Yonsei University. In fact, the founders of our school were some of the same missionaries who founded Yonsei, such as the Underwoods, the Allens and the Avisons. Today, there is a statue to Horace Grant Underwood in front of one of the Yonsei buildings. Being born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and at our young ages, none of us kids were very familiar with the outside world, so when Dad (Kevin O'Donnell, the first Peace Corps country director for Korea) told us he got a new job and we were going to move to Korea, we thought he said Berea, a Cleveland suburb near the airport, and wondered why in the world would anyone want to move there. He said, "Not Berea — Korea. It's a foreign country over by China and Japan." This got most of us quite excited, but my older sister wa

[FRIENDS OF KOREA] How one Peace Corps Volunteer helped deaf Koreans find their voice

Nov 5, 2026

[FRIENDS OF KOREA] How one Peace Corps Volunteer helped deaf Koreans find their voice

As I trudged across Sinchon Rotary and up the steep walkway to Severance Hospital, I kept repeating to myself a phrase from a childhood story about a train engine: “I think I can, I think I can.” It was a bitter cold winter morning in 1969. Today was the day that I was to come to the hospital and show the doctors in the ear, nose and throat section of the hospital that I could, indeed, get a deaf child to speak. Only days earlier, I had arrived in Korea to volunteer for the Peace Corps at age 23. Once it got around that I had training as a speech therapist for the deaf, Peace Corps Korea Director Kevin O'Donnell urged me to pursue it. At the time, Korea had no speech pathology center. George Worth, an American missionary in Korea, introduced me to staff at both Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital and Severance Hospital. Both hospitals were interested in starting a program but wanted to see how it could work, so they told me to come back the next day, when they could bring me a patient. That's how I found myself "auditioning" for a speech and hearing center. I was confident tha

[FRIENDS OF KOREA] Two Peace Corps Volunteers' brush with cinematic fame in 1960s Myeong-dong

Nov 5, 2026

[FRIENDS OF KOREA] Two Peace Corps Volunteers' brush with cinematic fame in 1960s Myeong-dong

One evening in Seoul, having nothing better to do, I decided to go out on the town in Myeong-dong with my friend Ron Rezac, a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer. Back in the 1960s, Myeong-dong was a trendy spot for Korean youth, filled with bars, cafes and music venues. After a few hours and a few beers (maybe more than a few), I let it be known that I, strangely, wanted to cap off the evening with some tea. The two of us hightailed it to a nearby "dabang" cafe, walked up some stairs to get in and were met at the door by a man who told us the place was closed and we couldn't come in. "What do you mean we can't come in!" we protested. "We have our rights!" we demanded in our excellent Korean, no doubt causing him to nearly keel over from the fumes of our beer breath. Seemingly at a loss, he let us in, pointing to a table where he wanted us to sit. Once inside, we learned that the reason they didn't want to let us in was that a movie company had taken possession of the dabang for the night to shoot a feature film. They decided on the spot that the scene in the dabang would now include two drunk

Children bear cost of adoption delays, advocate says

Nov 5, 2026

Children bear cost of adoption delays, advocate says

Children awaiting adoption in Korea are losing precious time to form bonds with permanent families as lengthy reviews and unclear screening standards delay placements, the head of an adoptive families’ advocacy group said. In an interview with The Korea Times after a press conference Tuesday outside the Board of Audit and Inspection in central Seoul, Oh Chang-hwa, head of the National Adoptive Family Federation, called for faster adoption matching and transparent assessment standards. “Children are there and parents are there. But they cannot meet,” he said. His organizations and six other civic groups submitted a petition asking the state auditor to inspect the screening and matching procedures under the new adoption system, which took effect on July 19, 2025, shifting responsibility for adoption procedures from private agencies to the central and local governments. Their complaints center on administrative delays, allegedly inconsistent screening and excessive collection of sensitive family information. According to figures submitted to the National Assembly and cited by the fede

Documentary spotlights Peace Corps Volunteer's role in Gwangju Uprising

Nov 5, 2026

Documentary spotlights Peace Corps Volunteer's role in Gwangju Uprising

The 1980 Gwangju Uprising produced a great many memorable photos, not least of which was one of a young man with blonde hair helping carry a man on a stretcher through the streets. The identity of this foreigner remained a mystery for decades, but as U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) who were there began publishing their memoirs, his identity and role in the uprising gradually came into focus. The person in the photo was a PCV named Tim Warnberg, who had arrived in Korea in 1978 to work as a health volunteer at Gwangju Christian Hospital. Those who knew him before his arrival in Korea remember him as someone whose character and concern for others help explain his actions in 1980. Warnberg was from Brainerd, Minnesota, where his father was the town’s longest-serving sheriff. His mother was, as his sister Roxanne Wilson remembers, “devoted to caring for others” and creating “a home that was warm and inviting to neighbors, friends and persons in need.” As his closest childhood friend, Keevie Fairbanks, put it, “Tim was the best of both of his parents.” Robert Grotjohn, who at

Remembering Peace Corps' 15 years in Korea

Nov 5, 2026

Remembering Peace Corps' 15 years in Korea

It may come as a shock to many these days that the Peace Corps once had a mission in Korea. The U.S. volunteer agency sent more than 2,000 young volunteers to Korea between 1966 and 1981 in 51 waves, from K-1 to K-51. The country they arrived in was very different from the advanced nation Korea has grown to become. Coming out of the 1910-45 Japanese occupation and 1950-53 Korean War, Korea was for decades one of the poorest nations in the world. In the mid-1960s, when Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) began arriving, Korea's hills were barren, and the gutters were filled with human waste. The authoritarian government maintained a strict curfew, barring people from the streets from midnight to 4 a.m. “My first impression was ‘My god, what have I got myself into?’” Ed Klein (K-1) said in 2016. “It was the way it was,” David McCann (K-1) said in 2019, “and that didn't strike me as strange.” U.S. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 with an executive order. It was designed to serve three main goals: helping various countries meet their need for trained me

Foreign residents' first hurdle is housing. Enkostay says it can clear it.

Nov 5, 2026

Foreign residents' first hurdle is housing. Enkostay says it can clear it.

For many foreign residents, the first few weeks in Seoul can feel almost effortless. The subway works. Convenience stores are everywhere, and there is always another café, restaurant or corner of the city to discover. Then the paperwork begins. An appointment for a residence card. A landlord asking for a deposit that can run into the tens of millions of won. Almost overnight, the experience shifts from exploring Korea to deciphering it. For years, newcomers have leaned on Facebook groups for answers, and learned to sift through thousands of unverified listings and contradictory advice. Now they’re asking a blunter question, often on Reddit: Is this website legit? That was the question Huy Kim Nguyen, better known online as Kim Ninja, kept seeing about Enkostay, a rental platform for foreign residents. Nguyen came to Korea five years ago and began documenting the realities of living in Korea while working as a software developer. His YouTube videos explaining how Enkostay works went viral, drawing more than a million views. "You can't always trust the internet with a pretty website these

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