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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[Weekender] Korea, to go
There are few things that cannot be delivered in this short-tempered, fast-moving and tightly networked country.Overnight parcel services are taken for granted. Fully cooked meals and snacks may be ordered around the clock. Even McDonald’s Korea uses a motorcycle fleet to make home deliveries of burgers and fries.Every November, on the day of the state-run college entrance exam, quick-delivery motorcycles are seen in all corners of the country, taking late-rising examinees to their test centers.
Jan. 10, 2014
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[Weekender] Fast, cheap and convenient
On a Saturday morning, a middle-aged man in a black leather jacket cuts between vehicles on a motorbike to reach the head of the queue at a red light. When the light turns green, he whizzes past other vehicles, riding off with a big pile of packages loaded on the back of his bike.“I like Saturdays. There’s less traffic and I can travel more quickly,” said Koag Sung-soo, a 54-year-old courier. Koag delivers documents, parcels or just about anything that is not too heavy or big for his 125 cc moto
Jan. 10, 2014
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[Weekender] Safety is key for women customers
On a Saturday night, I felt a sudden urge for instant noodles, a pack of frozen dumplings, tofu and some other trivial groceries, but didn’t feel like going out ― it was freezing and around midnight, and the idea of having to get dressed for an outing was unbearable. I picked up the phone and called a delivery service. The operator asked a few questions ― my name, address and the items I wanted to purchase. She acknowledged that it was a busy weekend night and the delivery might run a little lat
Jan. 10, 2014
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[Weekender] Mobile food order apps seek to go mainstream
South Korean students, office workers, singles and especially those who find it frustrating to stand in queues see home-delivered food as a blessing. Only a couple of years ago, they used to reach for flyers to place an order. Now, things have become smarter. Suh Jeng-hoon, for instance, is a student who enjoys food delivery and uses mobile apps specializing in this to read reviews, browse menus, check restaurant locations and even place orders. Like Suh, a growing number of Korean consumers pre
Jan. 10, 2014
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Ewha Womans University to allow male president
Ewha Womans University, one of the country’s top women’s universities, is planning to revise its rules to allow male candidates to run for the position of school president, officials said on Friday.The boards of directors at Ewha Womans University unanimously decided to discard its women-only president system starting this year. It plans to hold an election this year as the current president Kim Sun-uk ends her term in July. Ewha is the last remaining school in the country to do away with the wo
Jan. 10, 2014
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Government to invest big in PyeongChang
The government said Friday it will designate the 2018 Winter Games host city of PyeongChang as a special district and launch a large-scale development project for the successful international event and for sustainable regional growth.During a meeting of the commission in charge of supporting the 2018 Olympics in South Korea’s alpine city of PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, the government unveiled a comprehensive plan to develop the city and the surrounding areas in Gangwon Provinc
Jan. 10, 2014
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Getting angry won’t solve anything
Emotion has no place in international politics, according to John Foster Dulles, the U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s. “The United States of America does not have friends; it has interests,” he said.Korea’s Dokdo expert couldn’t agree more.Seo Kyoung-duk grabbed international attention after placing a full-page Dokdo advertisement in The New York Times in 2005 with funding support from pop singer Kim Jang-hoon. The ad explained why Dokdo, islets next to U
Jan. 10, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Ideology dominates textbook dispute
The dispute over a local history textbook is turning into an ideological war as lawmakers locked horns over reinstating a government textbook.Lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party condemned the ruling Saenuri Party’s proposal to bring back the state textbook system. Saenuri leaders had stressed the need for a single textbook in order to avoid disputes over historical accuracy such as the latest one surrounding the history textbook by Kyohak Publishing Co.“Don’t even think about it,
Jan. 9, 2014
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[Graphic News] Nuclear materials security index by country
North Korea is least capable of keeping nuclear materials secure among the 25 countries that possess the largest amounts of nuclear materials, a report concluded. According to the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Nuclear Threat Initiative, North Korea scored 30 out of a possible 100 on its nuclear material security index. The index was compiled by analyzing a range of factors including adherence to international standards and management capabilities of the countries that hold 1 kilogram o
Jan. 9, 2014
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Korea shivers on coldest day of season
A cold spell swept through the center of the country on Thursday, with the mercury dipping to the lowest levels reported this winter, according to the state weather agency. The first cold wave watches of the season were issued in central regions including Seoul and Incheon and Gyeonggi, Gangwon and North Chungcheong provinces, as the morning low reached minus 10.4 degrees Celsius in the morning, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.The cold snap will be the worst on Friday, when temperat
Jan. 9, 2014
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Brokers insist on naked checkups of prospective foreign brides
Disputes intensified on Thursday over a growing number of marriage brokers forcing foreign brides to take their clothes off under the guise of conducting interviews before they leave for Korea. According to civic groups and local reports, some brokers have compelled foreign brides to undress, while making excuses that they need to “check their virginity or to see whether they are pregnant.” Most foreign brides end up complying with “their ridiculous requests” to “make a good impression on the br
Jan. 9, 2014
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Arrest warrant sought for ex-KT CEO
The prosecution is seeking an arrest warrant for Lee Seok-chae, former CEO of telecom giant KT Corp. on suspicions of embezzlement and negligence. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is reportedly planning to indict Lee along with other former and current executives of the telecom provider within the month. Lee is accused of inflicting damages of 10 billion won ($9.4 million) on the telecom behemoth in the process of launching new businesses and selling off real estate held by the com
Jan. 9, 2014
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[Photo News] New address system
Jan. 9, 2014
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Parents push their kids to start learning early
A flood of young women visited the grand convention center in Coex, Seoul, with fire in their eyes and passion in their movements.These women roamed the 30th Seoul International EDU-CARE Fair for Children and Kids Products Fair to look for things that will help their beloved children take a successful first step in the lifelong journey of education. “It’s quite a sight. It is more than just toys for kids. The companies there have really broke it (child education) down to a complicated system,” s
Jan. 9, 2014
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Wearable micro camera used in TOEIC cheating
The Busan police have caught eight people using a self-devised miniature wireless camera and transmitters to cheat on the popular Test of English International Communication, or TOEIC, on Tuesday. The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency booked two men identified by the surnames Jung, 33, and Lee, 31. The men, along with six others who purchased their devices, are suspected of obstructing business and brokering illegal devices.With the miniature video transmitter installed in the collar of his jacke
Jan. 9, 2014
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U.S. tries to end school discipline discrimination
The Obama administration wants to end the apparent disparities in how students of different races are punished for violating school rules. More than half of students in school-related arrests or referred to law enforcement were Hispanic or black, civil rights data show.“In short, racial discrimination in school discipline is a real problem,” according to a letter sent to schools.Civil rights advocates have long said that a “school-to-prison” pipeline relates to overly zealous school discipline p
Jan. 9, 2014
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Over 90% of SNS rumors can be filtered: report
A new technology that can draw a distinction between false rumors and truth on social networking services including Twitter has been developed in Korea, the world’s most wired country.A research team led by professor Cha Mee-young of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology announced Thursday that it is now possible to filter out false rumors with over 90 percent accuracy. “Rumors characteristically spread through arbitrary users. There was a clearly discernible pattern in their use of
Jan. 9, 2014
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‘Pay-per-minute’ cafe appeals to Korean small-coffee shop owners
The “pay-per-minute” café in Europe may be the answer to Korean small coffee house owners who worry over customers overstaying, including job-seekers and students.Ziberflat recently brought this innovative business model to London from Russia, charging three pence per minute. The price is all-inclusive, with access to Wi-Fi and complimentary snacks including biscuits and coffee. Ziberflat comes from the Russian and German words for clock, as guests take an alarm clock from a cupboard on arrival.
Jan. 9, 2014
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‘Groups pressured schools not to use Kyohak textbook’
The Ministry of Education said Tuesday that what it called “outside pressure” had forced schools to withdraw their selection of a controversial Korean history textbook by Kyohak Publishing Co.“The testimony from school officials showed that certain civic groups pressured schools to not use Kyohak’s textbook,” the ministry said in a press release. The textbook had been blasted by historians and opposition party Democratic Party lawmakers for “whitewashing” Japanese colonialism and South Korea’s p
Jan. 8, 2014
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[Uniquely Korean] Postpartum centers make life easy for new mothers
Traditionally for Korean mothers, the three weeks after giving birth have been considered the most critical period for staying healthy for the rest of their lives. They are tasked with keeping their bodies warm by wearing long sleeves even in the scorching heat of summer, not lifting anything heavy and eating miyeokguk, or seaweed soup, three times a day. None of these practices have been scientifically proven to be effective. But the desire of young mothers to follow the traditional rules remai
Jan. 8, 2014