On Wednesday, May 5, protesters gathered outside the former site of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul as they do every Wednesday. The turnout may have been higher because of the Children’s Day holiday. They were calling for justice for the survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery — for Japan to make a genuine apology, acknowledge…
“I was not paid when I was in the comfort station in China,” said Lee Ok-Seon Halmeoni. “That’s why I didn’t have any money to buy a train ticket in order to go home, or even I didn’t know which way I should go … to come back to Korea. … So in order to…
There’s a picture on my computer from 2009 that’s stayed with me: elderly women dancing in a circle, surrounded by drummers and dancers in traditional Korean garments. They were celebrating the first full moon of the Lunar New Year in an outdoor space at the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul….
Beagles, beagles everywhere. A bright beagly landscape, Disneyland for beagles, beaglemania — a magical place full of wagging tails, inquisitive noses and muddy paws. Also, a few dogs who aren’t beagles but must have decided to join the fun. I admit I’m an overgrown child when it comes to beagles. I can’t help it. Many…
Heeji Yi has become an unstoppable force in the local animal rights scene. She’s attended protests, done vegan education at Cube of Truth events, and organized Save vigils for animals on their way to slaughter. This year she founded Direct Action Everywhere Seoul. Her first Save vigil, about a year ago, was for chickens. Since…
Sometime around 2007, a woman I barely knew started a thread on a message board and addressed it to me. She made sure to tell me to fuck off in the subject line. Another member of the same site sent me a private message with the subject line “I found your picture.” The attachment showed…
It was an honor to interview Yiombi Thona in 2014 for a special issue of Groove Korea to commemorate the magazine’s 100th edition. The theme was “100 expats who made a difference in Korea.” Even though the resulting article had to be cut short to fit the tight space, I’m happy to say Yiombi’s human…
The first time I took the subway to Myeong-dong, the busy shopping area in downtown Seoul, to observe a Cube of Truth event, I had been following the group’s activities on social media for some time. The activists were representing Anonymous for the Voiceless, AV for short. According to its international website, “Anonymous for the…
