Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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[Graphic News] Teenage smokers on the decline
The number of teenage smokers has declined this year, by over 60,000 among middle and high school students, according to the latest data.The number of students who picked up the habit was also the lowest in the last decade, according to the Ministry of Education and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.In the statistics released on Monday, the ministry said that the rate of teenagers who smoked in the last 30 days dropped to 7.8 percent, a 1.4 percentage point drop from last year
Nov. 17, 2015
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Korean youths turn to clinical trials for cash
Nearly 50 Koreans have died in the last three years after participating in paid clinical trials and suffering from adverse effects, while an increasing number of financially struggling young Koreans turn to such trials to make easy money, a report by a local nongovernment agency showed. According to the report by the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, which used data released by Rep. Kim Sung-ju of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, 476 Koreans who participated in such trials
Nov. 17, 2015
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Top court to establish patent dispute mediation center
Korea’s top court will establish a patent dispute mediation center as part of efforts to promptly help settle cross-border legal battles involving intellectual property rights, officials said Tuesday. The Supreme Court said it would launch a special “one-stop” center under the Patent Court where the international intellectual property conflicts can be negotiated and resolved. “Mediation is crucial in patent cases, as they mostly deal with highly professional knowledge and sensitive issues involv
Nov. 17, 2015
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Number of kids studying abroad falls 63% in 8 years
Yoon Jeong-sik, a 30-year-old who has studied in the U.S. for half of his life, has struggled to find a job in Korea. Having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political philosophy from a state university in California, Yoon has remained unemployed for almost two years since finishing his mandatory military service. “I thought the applicant like me who speaks fluent English and has work experience would have little trouble getting a job in Korea,” said Yoon. He applied to more than 30 compan
Nov. 17, 2015
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Number of overseas Korean students continues to drop
The number of young South Koreans studying abroad plunged by a third over eight years, official data showed Tuesday, apparently thanks to the nation's improved English education system.In 2014, 10,907 students from primary and secondary schools left the country to study abroad, down 12 percent from 12,374 the year before, according to the tally released by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Education Development Institute. It is about one-third the number of students in 2006, which peaked
Nov. 17, 2015
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Court rules taking pictures of women in revealing clothes not sex crime
A 36-year-old man who was indicted for secretly taking pictures of women using his smartphone at Beomgye Station in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, from April to May was sentenced to eight months in prison with two years of probation. However, he received a “not guilty” verdict for taking a total of 16 photographs containing women’s entire bodies, rather than specific body parts such as legs. From April to May, the man sneakily took pictures of body parts of women, mostly wearing revealing clothing,
Nov. 16, 2015
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Abuse of antibiotics for children’s ear infection rampant
Antibiotics are prescribed for children suffering from acute ear infection too rampantly in South Korea with the rate reaching 84.2 percent, a report showed Monday.Of 7,610 medical facilities nationwide, more than eight out of 10 prescribed antibiotics for children suffering from the infection, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service said. The rate, however, marked a slight annual decrease since 88.7 percent in 2012, although still high compared to other countries like the Netherlands
Nov. 16, 2015
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Who is to blame for ‘violent’ protests?
On a chilly Saturday night, downtown Seoul turned into a battlefield between antigovernment protestors and the police in the largest rally held in seven years. At the forefront of the battle were 20-something police conscripts armed with shields and helmets. Looking frightened, they confronted protestors of similar age who took to the streets against the government’s push to reintroduce state-authored history textbooks. “I was too afraid to be there. ... I was pushed for one hour by angry protes
Nov. 16, 2015
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Seoul City urges eased drone rules
Seoul City on Monday urged the central government to loosen drone regulations as part of its plans to use the unmanned aerial vehicles for the public good. The Seoul Metropolitan Government requested the Defense Ministry and Transport Ministry simplify the approvals process for drone use in cases to be used for monitoring the city’s traffic status, officials said. Under current rules, flying drones over 12 kilograms requires a permit from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration. Regardless of
Nov. 16, 2015
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Kindergarteners’ blast anti-communism contest sparks controversy
Videos of 6- to 7-year-old children making strong anti-Communist remarks during a speech contest held at a church in Seoul went viral, sparking controversy among social media users. “Let’s become kindergarteners who fight against the evil Communist Party and defeat them,” a girl shouted in the string of videos released by the church, which requested to stay anonymous, on a portal site in June. In another clip, a boy wearing a military uniform says, “The reason why this country was torn apart was
Nov. 16, 2015
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Justice minister vows to punish violent protesters
The country's justice minister said Sunday those who have orchestrated a massive rally downtown and violent protesters there will be harsh punished in accordance with related laws.Police said they arrested 51 people at a massive rally in downtown Seoul the previous day against the government's education and labor policies, the biggest of its kind in years.Around 130,000 demonstrators from 53 labor unions and civic organizations took to the streets Saturday in the Gwanghwamun area in protest of t
Nov. 15, 2015
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51 detained after violent protests
The largest protests in years held in central Seoul on Saturday spiraled into violence, with police firing tear gas and water cannons to stop antigovernment protestors from marching toward the presidential office. The rallies, led by labor, civic and farmers’ groups, took place in protest against the government’s push to reintroduce state-authored history textbooks, reform the labor sector and open the agricultural market.Police estimated some 64,000 people took to the street for rallies through
Nov. 15, 2015
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Seoul school accused of admissions fraud
Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday that it found multiple cases of admissions fraud by Hana Academy Seoul in a special investigation of the school.According to the SMOE, the academy rigged the admissions tests results from 2011 to 2013 to allow more boys to enter in a bid to retain an even male-to-female ratio. The officials said some 90 students who were below the cutoff grade were admitted to the school as a result.The SMOE decided to file charges with the prosecution against t
Nov. 15, 2015
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Ministry to punish teachers for textbook protest
The Education Ministry has requested disciplinary actions against teachers who participated in a nationwide condemnation of the recently revived state-authored history textbooks, officials said Sunday.According to the ministry, officials have called for punishment of 21,379 teachers from 3,904 schools across the country who publicly denounced the government’s plan to use state-issued history textbooks for secondary education on Oct. 29. The governmental plan, which hinges on its claims that curr
Nov. 15, 2015
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4,500 nabbed for illegal immigration
More than 4,700 immigration law violators were caught in the last two months along with over 1,100 employers who hired them, Justice Ministry officials said Sunday. The ministry said it caught 4,751 foreigners in breach of immigration law including some 3,600 who worked here without a visa. The rest were people whose visas had expired. The ministry has carried out an intensive crackdown against illegal immigration since September in cooperation with police and other ministries. Under the Immigra
Nov. 15, 2015
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1 in 7 teenagers thinks smoking harmless: survey
Park, an 18-year-old Seoul high school student, has smoked for more than three years. Smoking a few times a day, he does not think cigarettes pose significant health risks to him. “I only smoke two or three times a day. I don’t think I’m very addicted and don’t have serious health issues yet. It’s just a way to hang out with friends,” Park told The Korea Herald, asking not to be named. Park is one of a large number of Korean teenagers who do not consider smoking harmful. According to the latest
Nov. 15, 2015
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Police arrest 51 at massive protest rally
Police said Sunday they arrested 51 people at a massive rally in downtown Seoul the previous day against the government's education and labor policies, the biggest of its kind in years.Around 130,000 demonstrators from 53 labor unions and civic organizations took to the streets Saturday in the Gwanghwamun area in protest of the Park Geun-hye government's plans to adopt state-authored history textbooks for secondary students and revamp the labor market.By the number of participants, it was the la
Nov. 15, 2015
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Police raid Christian group over alleged security law breach
Police raided the office of a Protestant church group and homes of two pastors affiliated with it on Friday as part of an investigation into suspicions that they contacted a North Korean spy to help a defector return to the communist state, the group said.Rev. Choi Jae-bong and Kim Sung-yoon are key members of the Seoul-based Protestant ministers' group suspected of working on defector Kim Lyun-hee's repatriation to the North. The defector has been claiming that she came to the South against her
Nov. 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Internship: Tool and requirement
Koreans often imply that our society is more competition-focused than comparable societies. That statement, at least in terms of finding employment and the lengths the young people go to find “respectable” jobs, may be true. For some time now, internships have been a “standard” part of a job seeker’s resume, along with a good alma mater, high GPA, unnecessarily high English language scores, and a whole list of other qualifications. (Bloomberg)And interns are everywhere. From newspapers and tele
Nov. 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Youngsters toil in vain in bleak job market
Hardships from working overtime to sexual assaults are common, but future remains bleak for most jobseekers It is very common to see youngsters rushing to the subway station at dusk to catch the first train, when it is still dark and chilly, with a cup of coffee and toast in hand. They are eager to be the first ones in office, and for a reason.It used to be no different for young intern Jeon -- she wished to be identified only by her family name -- until all her hard work came to naught. She use
Nov. 13, 2015