Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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S. Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10m by 2044 amid low births
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Doggy patrol team on the move to protect their cities
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Seoul to get tough on slobby cab drivers
Seoul City will be stepping up its monitoring of cab driver’s attire as part of its efforts to improve taxi service quality, officials said Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it plans to crack down on cab drivers who wear sleeveless shirts, short pants, sportswear, slippers or hats that cover the face. Under the current transportation rules, drivers must wear “decent” outfits or the attire designated by taxi companies. Seoul City had initially designated cab driver’s recommended atti
Oct. 5, 2015
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S. Korean watchdog probes alleged FX law violators
The South Korean financial watchdog said Monday that it has launched an investigation into 27 local investors for allegedly violating foreign exchange laws and pocketing illicit gains.Disguising themselves as foreigners, the investors allegedly established 45 paper companies in tax haven countries, including Hong Kong and Luxembourg, and invested in South Korean securities, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The local foreign exchange regulations require all South Koreans to report t
Oct. 5, 2015
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Gun-range stabbing suspect planned robbery
Police said Sunday that the man they had apprehended on suspicion of stabbing the owner of an indoor shooting range and running away with a handgun and bullets in Busan, committed the crime as part of a plot to rob a local post office. The 29-year-old man, identified only by his surname Hong, was arrested on Saturday, four hours after he stabbed the range’s owner, who attempted to stop him from stealing a handgun and 19 bullets, according to the police. (Yonhap)After his arrest, the suspect init
Oct. 4, 2015
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Strange pecking order of the vulnerable in Korean subways
Ahn Ji-young, a 31-year-old woman living in Seoul, has avoided taking public transportation since becoming pregnant. “I’m worried about my baby,” said Ahn, who expects to deliver her child next month. “I get stressed and anxious whenever I sit on a priority seat on the subway. I’m constantly worried about being attacked by the elderly.”Throughout her pregnancy, Ahn ― staggering to hold balance with her burgeoning belly and swollen feet ― has faced a number of uncomfortable situations while takin
Oct. 4, 2015
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Number of Seoul overpasses declines
The number of overpasses in Seoul City has dropped in recent years, due mainly to concerns over the safety and convenience of pedestrians, officials said Sunday. According to Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of pedestrian overpasses decreased to 166 last year ― down 34 percent from 15 years ago. In 1999, 12 out of the 25 administrative districts in the capital had more than 10 overpasses. But now, only five districts have more than 10 overpasses. Dongjak-gu and Dongdaemun-gu plan to dem
Oct. 4, 2015
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Korea to expand free legal counseling to expats
The government and a group of lawyers plans to expand a free legal counseling service ― so far limited to Korean citizens ― to foreign residents from this week, officials said Sunday. The Justice Ministry and Korea Bar Association said they would run the neighborhood lawyer service for foreigners as a trial project from Monday. The service will be launched first in 10 communities in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province with large foreign populations. This includes Daerim-dong, Gwanghee-dong and Hyehwa-do
Oct. 4, 2015
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‘Workload, sexism, lack of voice ail Asian teachers’
Many teachers in countries across the Asia-Pacific region are suffering from a series of problems including overtime work, gender discrimination against females and the lack of opportunities for professional development, a recent UNESCO report said.Released to mark “World Teachers’ Day” on Oct. 5, the report examined the status and rights of teachers across eight participating countries: South Korea, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Samoa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Indonesia. The report, “Teachers
Oct. 4, 2015
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Man caught after stabbing owner, fleeing shooting range with gun
Police said Saturday it has arrested the man who stabbed the owner of an indoor shooting range and fled with a handgun and bullets in the southern port city of Busan earlier in the day.The man, presumed to be in his 20s or 30s, stabbed the female owner at the range at 9:40 a.m. in her abdomen, and ran away with a .45-caliber handgun and 19 bullets.The suspect was wearing a black jacket and blue jeans at the scene, and is around 178 centimeters tall with short hair, investigators said, based on t
Oct. 3, 2015
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Man stabs owner, flees shooting range with gun, bullets
A man stabbed the owner of an indoor shooting range and fled with a handgun and tens of bullets in the southern port city of Busan, police sources said Saturday.Police said the man, presumed to be in his 20s or 30s, stabbed the female owner at the range at 9:40 a.m. and ran away with a .45-caliber handgun and around 30 to 40 bullets.The suspect was wearing a black jacket at the scene, and is around 178 centimeters tall with short hair, investigators said. The owner was taken to a nearby hospital
Oct. 3, 2015
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[Weekender] Beyond words to serve, protect
While the translation of different languages is one of the most commonly known forms of interpretation, there are other unique types of interpretation that serve to protect the people or connect societies that otherwise remain poles apart.Air Force interpreter officers salute at a ceremony in March at the Air Force’s Operations Command in Osan Air Base, Gyeonggi Province, marking their completion of training. (Air Force)They range from sign language translators who act as the gateway to the outs
Oct. 2, 2015
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[Weekender] Not getting lost in translation
On Sept. 2, during the summit between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the two were seen to reaffirm their relations, with Korea’s media outlets quoting Xi as touting the two countries’ ties as being the “best ever.”The unprecedented description of their partnership was considered momentous, as Seoul sought to bolster political cooperation with its biggest trading partner at the risk of irking Washington.It was only a few hours later that it was revealed t
Oct. 2, 2015
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Ex-P.M. quizzed over bribery
South Korea’s former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo on Friday made his first public appearance in 140 days since his resignation amid bribery allegations in April, to attend a trial for graft charges at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul. Lee Wan-koo. Yonhap Lee had been accused of accepting illegal campaign funds worth 30 million won ($28,000) from the late businessman Sung Woan-jong for the 2013 by-elections, on April 4 that year, at his campaign office in Buyeo, South Chungcheong
Oct. 2, 2015
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Cabs to get incentives for Gangnam Friday night rides in Seoul
Cab drivers who accept passengers near Seoul’s busy Gangnam subway station on Friday nights will be given incentives worth 3,000 won per ride starting later this month, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The move was announced to tackle the chronic shortage of cabs at night with taxi drivers choosing and picking long-distance passengers especially during the peak hours of weekend nights near popular nightlife areas such as Gangnam in southern Seoul and Hongdae in the western capital
Oct. 2, 2015
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Top interpreter reveals life in translation
When Choi Jung-wha first landed in France in 1978, she was shocked by its liberal culture. Young couples kissed in the subway and cohabited without shame, petrifying young Choi, who grew up in a country then heavily controlled by the military dictatorship with conservative values.The 22-year-old was a fresh graduate of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, embarking on a graduate program of interpretation and translation at ESIT Universite Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3.For the next 10 years, Choi ch
Oct. 2, 2015
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[Weekender] Women prevail in interpretation arena
In several sectors of Korean society, from education to the civil service, women prevail. The interpretation profession is another such field, if not one of the most notable ones.At local graduate schools specializing in interpretation and translation, female students have far outnumbered male ones for a long time, which has contributed to the female dominance in the field. For example, women account for some 80 percent of students at the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at Hank
Oct. 2, 2015
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[Weekender] Will technology topple Tower of Babel?
Kim Sung-jun, a 30-year-old translator, relies more on the Internet than before to translate technical documents for military equipment. Tasked with books as thick as a dictionary, his trick to quick translation is to run the document through the Internet translation first before tackling the job himself.“Internet translation service saves time and efforts. Although the quality is not as good as that of translation by humans, it would have consumed twice as much time to translate the whole docum
Oct. 2, 2015
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Former South Korean PM attends trial for over bribery
South Korea’s former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo on Friday made his first public appearance in 140 days since his resignation amid bribery allegations in April, to attend a trial for graft charges at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul. Lee had been accused of accepting illegal campaign funds worth 30 million won ($28,000) from the late businessman Sung Woan-jong for the 2013 by-elections, on April 4 that year, at his campaign office in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province. He was in
Oct. 2, 2015
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[WEEKENDER] Interpretation beyond words to serve and protect
While translation of different languages is one of the most commonly known forms of interpretation, there are other unique types of interpretation that serve to protect the people or connect societies that otherwise remain poles apart. They range from sign language translators who act as the gateway to the outside world for the deaf, to soldiers missioned with a crucial role to deliver military information in the world’s last-remaining divided country. In Korea, there are about 1,200 sign langua
Oct. 2, 2015
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S. Korea ordered to compensate lepers for abuse
A Seoul court ruled Friday that the South Korean government should compensate five lepers for forced vasectomies and abortions performed decades ago, the latest in a series of legal victories for leprosy patients. The Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to pay 40 million won ($33,000) each to the plaintiffs. The court also ruled in favor of nearly 600 others in four separate cases filed by lepers since October 2011, ordering that they be compensated. Cho Young-seon, a lawyer w
Oct. 2, 2015
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Prosecutors to summon ex-President Lee's brother over alleged corruption
Prosecutors said Friday they will summon an elder brother of former President Lee Myung-bak next week for questioning over alleged influence peddling involving South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO. Lee Sang-deuk, the former six-term lawmaker, is set to appear before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Monday, they said. The elder Lee is suspected of peddling his influence to the authorities for POSCO in return for landing business contracts for TM Tech, a local company owned by his
Oct. 2, 2015