Community members and outside breakfast searchers dot the tables at a hawker at Bedok South Block 58 in Singapore in this November 2024 photo. Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo

Always an eager and "opportunistic" traveler, my eyes remain keen for a chance to make a trip to a place that would infuse friends, food and an experience of a distinctive locality. Thus late last year — before the political whirlwind of the short-lived martial law imposition on Dec. 3 swept up national energy — an opportunity to travel arrived, with the news of a friend visiting her homeland of Singapore to celebrate her mother's birthday. She invited me to come along. I packed, and dared to ask for lodging from a few among the multitude of friends living and working in the city state. Aside from the joyful anticipation of reuniting with various friends and eating exotic food and fruit, I was also hoping to catch a glimpse of several of the city-state's policy initiatives often touted by Korean policymakers.

One was the foreign helper or foreign caregiver system, similar to what Seoul has been running on a pilot basis for the past six months. A total of........

© The Korea Times