Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Sex slavery victims offer funds for quake-hit Japan
Two South Korean victims of Japan’s sexual slavery during World War II on Thursday offered humanitarian assistance totaling 1.3 million won ($1,150) to quake-hit regions in Japan. Kim Bok-dong, 90, and Kil Won-ok, 87, offered the money to aid Japan’s rescue and restoration efforts for the disaster-stricken Kumamoto prefecture.The first quake on April 14 and the larger magnitude-7.3 quake 27 hours later left 48 people dead and more than 1,100 injured, with aftershocks continuing to strike the are
April 21, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Reckitt Benckiser apologizes, offers funds
Amid the prosecution’s widening probe into Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Korea and other companies related to their toxic humidifier disinfectants, the British firm apologized on Thursday to victims and unveiled a plan to offer an additional 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in humanitarian assistance. In a letter released Thursday afternoon, the company addressed its “social responsibility” in deaths and diseases caused by its humidifier sterilizers, saying it would cooperate with investigators to solve the
April 21, 2016
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Korea to celebrate Earth Day
The South Korean government and municipalities reaffirmed their efforts to contribute to global initiatives to cut carbon use as the country joins in the 46th Earth Day celebrations Friday.To raise awareness on the urgency to save the Earth, the government and municipalities have been holding events throughout the week. Designating April 20-26 as Climate Change Week, the Environment Ministry has annually promoted environment-related events ranging from campaigns for using public transportation t
April 21, 2016
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Korea’s pet culture evolves with more adoption, tailored care
Daniel Kim, who lives in Incheon, is a father of two -- both adopted and with their ages unknown. One of them is a shitzu, presumably 6 years old, that he found on the beach while traveling in Jebudo Island four years ago. Another is a black poodle, found abandoned near his apartment before being adopted by him last year.“My family started to have more conversations and bonding time thanks to these two that we vowed to love and take good care of,” Kim said. As the shitzu -- named Casso after the
April 21, 2016
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W400m in drugs smuggled as hand sanitizer
A group of eight Korean men were caught for illegally trafficking hallucinogenic drugs worth 400 million won ($350,000) from the U.S., the Seoul police said Wednesday. The men smuggled in 4.5 liters of the drug disguised as hand sanitizer over eight international mail deliveries between August and December 2015. Each 4-milliliter vial was later sold for 350,000 won at nightclubs in Gangnam and on the Internet, raking in 120 million won over five months. (123RF)The smuggled drug, called “Tear of
April 21, 2016
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Pandas from China unveiled to the general public
A pair of Chinese panda bears that arrived here last month as part of a joint research project were officially unveiled to the public on Thursday at the country's largest amusement park south of Seoul.After some 50 days of allowing the animals to get used to their new environment, Samsung Everland in Yongin, about 50 kilometers south of Seoul, held an opening ceremony for "Panda World" and showed the pandas to the public.The two, named Ai Bao and Le Bao, were sent from the Chinese southwestern p
April 21, 2016
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Celebrity sex brokers admit all charges
The stakeholders of an entertainment management agency admitted to taking part in celebrities’ overseas prostitution at a public hearing held on Wednesday. The Seoul central court said the three accused, each identified by their last names Lim, Yoon and Oh, had connected a female celebrity and a trainee to a Korean entertainment company that owed them investment money. (123RF)The company’s CEO and chairman, surnamed Kang and Park, were under financial pressure to repay the trio for their invest
April 20, 2016
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Korea aims to ease commutes with more double-decker buses
At 6:50 a.m., a group of people with eyes half-closed make a long line outside Seoul Station.“This is quite usual (to wait in a long line). Even if the bus is packed, I will still hop on and ride the bus standing for the entire 40 minutes,” said Jeong Hye-ryoung, who commutes to Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province for work every day.Like Jeong, as many as 24,000 or 12.5 percent of bus commuters in the metropolitan region travel crammed into a bus daily, barely standing up and holding onto the seat for s
April 20, 2016
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105 potential sinkholes in Seoul
Seoul City has discovered 105 underground cavities after four months of high-tech ground inspection. According to the city government Wednesday, during its inspection of 48-kilometer section of arterial roads previously connected to cave-in accidents, 105 potential sinkholes were detected. A sinkhole that opened up at an apartment complex in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, last year. (Yonhap)With an additional 246-kilometer section to be scanned this year, an estimated 195 more cavities are expected be
April 20, 2016
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Incheon airport named world's best for 11th consecutive year
Incheon International Airport, Seoul's main gateway, won the world's best airport prize for a record 11th consecutive year at an award ceremony in Australia on Tuesday (local time).The airport grabbed the annual Airport Service Quality Award, presented by the Airports Council International, as the best in the business. Incheon scored 4.978 points out of 5.00 and extended its own record winning streak to 11 years.Incheon also shared first place with Changi Airport in Singapore as the best airport
April 20, 2016
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Foreign students learn about spirit of April Revolution
Located near the serene Bukhansan National Park in northwestern Seoul, the April 19 National Cemetery is home to 199 victims who sacrificed their lives in the April Revolution of 1960.Thousands of students had marched from Korea University to the presidential office on April 19, 1960, calling for the resignation of then-president Syngman Rhee to overthrow the autocratic First Republic of South Korea.Police opened fire on protestors, wounding thousands and killing approximately 180. That day, the
April 20, 2016
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Koreans' working hours cut by more than 30 min over 25 yrs
South Korean workers' working hours have fallen more than 30 minutes over the past 25 years, government data showed Wednesday.The total money-making hours of working people aged over 20 years averaged six hours and 52 minutes per weekday in 2014, down from seven hours and 25 minutes in 1999, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The working hours for Saturdays dropped to six hours and one minute from six hours and 50 minutes over the cited period, while the Sunday figure fell to fiv
April 20, 2016
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Work accidents plague foreign workers
Maria, a 25-year-old dancer from a small country in West Africa, sustained leg injuries after falling on a slippery floor during a performance in 2012. The young migrant worker used to work for the African Art Museum in Pocheon, which later made headlines for their appalling working conditions for African workers in 2014. Her employer neither took her to a hospital nor paid for her medical expenses when she cried for help. Foreign workers attend a rally calling for protection of their rights in
April 20, 2016
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Seoul City vows to build more schools for disabled
Seoul City’s education office vowed Wednesday to build three more special schools for the disabled by 2019 to improve the education infrastructure.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it would establish two schools for those with intellectual disabilities in the eastern and western capital, and one school in Gangnam for those with physical disabilities. If successfully built, they will be the first of such schools established in the city since 2003. As of this year, a total of 29 spec
April 20, 2016
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Disinfectant maker accused of destroying data
Household products manufacturer Oxy Reckitt Benckiser allegedly destroyed evidence related to humidifier disinfectant blamed for the loss of some 140 lives, when the prosecution launched a probe in late February, prosecutors said Wednesday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said that the firm is suspected of deleting a number of materials and safety data sheets written from 2001 to 2011 and created by a local chemical company SK Chemical.An official from the humidifier disinfectant m
April 20, 2016
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Japan's quake could affect Korea in upcoming years: geologist
The possibility of an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 5.5 occurring on the Korean Peninsula in the next several years cannot be ruled out in the wake of Japan's latest quakes, a geologist here said, citing a pattern of seismic activity.But the presumed quake, even if realized, will cause no severe damage to South Korea as its buildings are designed to resist a maximum 6.5-magnitude earthquake, according to Ji Heon-cheol, head of the quake research center at the state-funded Korea Institute
April 20, 2016
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Russian arrested for cashing a counterfeit check
A Russian sailor who cashed a fake 10 billion won ($8.8 million) check was arrested on Wednesday. The Busan Saha police said the 29-year-old Russian exchanged the visibly crude counterfeit check at a convenience store for 650,000 won.Police discovered the store’s part-time worker to be verbally impaired and lacking in discernment. The counterfeit checks the Russian held upon arrest. (Yonhap)Emboldened by the initial success, the man attempted an identical trick two hours later at another conven
April 20, 2016
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Girlfriend-killer arrested a day after murder
A man who killed his girlfriend and fled the scene was caught on Wednesday, a day after the murder. The 31-year-old identified by his surname Han, had stabbed his girlfriend multiple times in broad daylight at the parking lot of an apartment complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul. (123RF)Han had later fled on a motorcycle but was caught in a field near a greenhouse in Guri-si, Gyeonggi Province. The Songpa police said Han had admitted to attacking the victim. The motive of his crime is currently unknown.
April 20, 2016
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Teen masturbates in class, let off for ‘playfulness’
The Busan education authority is looking into a case of a male middle school student masturbating during a class run by a female teacher, local media reported Wednesday. According to reports, the student masturbated during a female teacher’s class on April 14. An ordinary Korean schoolroom. (Yonhap)The teacher was alerted to the situation when other students started laughing, and instructed the boy to stop immediately. The incident was reported to the school management, but the school alerted th
April 20, 2016
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Gangnam to reduce cigarette venders
Seocho-gu area in Gangnam will be reducing its number of cigarette vendors by widening the distance between each vendor starting October. The Seocho-gu district government said on Wednesday it will increase the minimum distance between vendors from 50 meters to 100 m. (Yonhap)This new rule will also apply within building complexes, therefore making it difficult for an establishment to house more than one cigarette seller. Previously, buildings over six stories in height and 2,000 square-meters i
April 20, 2016