Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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General appointed to senior member of U.N. Command
A South Korean major general was appointed to lead the United Nations Command’s military armistice commission, which supervises the implementation of the Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953, the UNC said Friday. Maj. Gen. Chun In-bum will lead the UNC’s five-member military armistice commission team in the truce village of Panmunjom on the southern section of the demilitarized zone, which is co-supervised by five representatives on the northern side of the DMZ. With 28,500 Amer
April 26, 2013
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Top court upholds 20-year term for wife-killer doctor
The nation’s top court on Friday upheld the conviction of a medical doctor for murdering his pregnant wife.The 33-year-old doctor, surnamed Baek, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for strangling his nine-month pregnant wife to death during an early-morning quarrel over his heavy computer game addiction in January 2011.Baek initially received the same jail sentence by a district court and an appellate court in Seoul. The Supreme Court, however, overturned the appellate court’s conviction and se
April 26, 2013
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Seoul to launch website on Dokdo in Japanese, other languages
The Foreign Ministry plans to establish a website on Dokdo in seven languages, including Japanese, in August to counter Tokyo’s claim to the easternmost islets.The ministry also plans to create a mobile version for smartphone, and tablet PC.“The ministry decided to create a homepage in multiple languages so that foreigners can easily understand Korea’s stance,” a ministry official said.The current Korean-language homepage contains information and the government’s stance on the Dokdo issue.Japan
April 25, 2013
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Migrant spouses allowed to apply for Korean names
Naturalized migrant spouses in South Chungcheong Province can now apply to get a Korean name.The Chung Cheong Nam Do Council of Social Welfare, the provincial government and law firm Blue and Wise will receive applications for name changes until July 26, the Council announced Thursday. The purpose of the project is to provide naturalized migrant spouses with a sense of solidarity in Korea and stability at home. Along with a Korean name, applicants can even make a family name and location of fami
April 25, 2013
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Park to preside over trade, investment promotion meeting
President Park Geun-hye will meet with government officials and businesspeople next week to discuss ways to boost trade and investment during the prolonged economic slump, a senior government official said Thursday.The meeting, scheduled to be held at the presidential office next Wednesday, will be the first of its kind under the new government of President Park, who took office in late February. A large number of businesspeople are expected to attend along with economy-related ministers and chi
April 25, 2013
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Park calls for rule of law to protect weak
President Park Geun-hye on Thursday renewed her call for a strict rule of the law, saying laws should be a means to protect the weak.“The law should be a warm protective shield for the weak in society,” Park said in a speech marking the 50th Law Day at the Supreme Court. “The phrase, ‘Let’s do what the law says,’ should not be a means for the strong to threaten the weak, but a safety shield for the weak to protect themselves.”In a first step to build a country ruled by laws, the government will
April 25, 2013
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Migrant workers were not ‘aliens,’ after all
In 1996, eight Chinese laborers ran away from the sock factory where they were employed and sought refuge at nearby Cheong Am Church in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Minister Choi Eui-pal was not very welcoming at first. But upon learning about the abuse and harsh conditions they had faced, he and his colleagues built deeper ties with their guests, and he found a mission to which to devote the rest of his life. “At one point, we realized that we were not so different after all. We realized we wer
April 24, 2013
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Will to change key to migrant policy
Korea began inviting foreign workers in 1993 to make up for labor shortages in smaller firms. In 2012, the nation hired 791,000 non-Koreans, according to Statistics Korea. A majority of alien workers toil in factories, restaurants and construction sites, filling the gaps left by the native workforce that is fast aging and increasingly shunning hard, low-paying jobs. Despite their contribution to keeping the economy competitive, migrant workers are still suffering from exploitation, discriminatio
April 24, 2013
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A century-old mission to teach
On a cold winter day in 1910, American pastor Arthur T. Pierson arrived in Korea, the land of the morning calm. Touched by the people who walked for days to hear his preaching, he decided to set up a Bible school. But he grew ill and had to return to his homeland, where he died only months later. Before his death in 1911, Pierson left a will to his family and friends to build a college in Korea. His mission has been passed down through the generations at the school that is now called Pyeongtaek
April 24, 2013
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The secret to making ‘free learning semester’ work
One of the major pledges of the new government is the so-called “free learning semester system.” The basic concept of the new system is that middle schools implement programs to promote career exploration, discussion, field study and hands-on experience for one semester, while still providing lessons on main subjects, so that students can have opportunities to develop their dreams and talents. Yet no concrete road map has been suggested by the Ministry of Education to back up its implementation.
April 24, 2013
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Park orders thorough overhaul of school textbooks
President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday ordered a thorough overhaul of school textbooks to make them more explanatory and easier to understand, reaffirming her commitment that questions in college entrance and other exams should not go beyond the levels of school texts.“Textbooks must improve further if we are going to keep the principle that nothing outside textbooks will appear in tests,” Park said during a Cabinet meeting, referring to one of her campaign pledges on education issues ahead of last
April 24, 2013
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Medical union resumes talks on Jinju Medical Center
The trouble surrounding Jinju Medical Center entered a new phase as the South Gyeongsang Provincial Government and the medical trade union agreed to postpone its closure and resume talks over its operation.Governor Hong Joon-pyo, who pushed shutting down the hospital because of its financial hardships, said on Tuesday evening that he will defer his plan for one month and reopen talks with the labor union. The governor’s offer was made after two union members tied themselves to a steel tower on t
April 24, 2013
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Gov't moves to strengthen penalty for in-flight violence
The government is moving to strengthen penalties for any behavior that could jeopardize the safety of a flight, including any type of violence against flightattendants, it said Wednesday. The move comes after an executive of POSCO Energy Co., an affiliate of the country's top steelmaker POSCO, was denied entry into the United States for allegedly assaulting a female flight attendant on a Korean Air flight from Incheon. The company official offered to step down Tuesday. Violence against the c
April 24, 2013
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Kim Yu-na's blackmailer receives suspended jail term
A man has received a suspended prison term for blackmailing figure skater Kim Yu-na demanding that she not appear in a liquor advertisement, court officials said Wednesday.The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the defendant, only identified by his surname Choi, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.Choi, 39, was found guilty of sending a total of 47 emails to the figure skating star between April and May 2012 threatening her safety if a beer TV commercial that she was in is air
April 24, 2013
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Mixed reactions over raised retirement age
Rival parties reached a final agreement Tuesday to raise the legal retirement age to 60 starting in 2016 in a landmark move to help the nation cope with the aging population and an impending pension fund crisis. The plan, however, instantly sparked fierce opposition from young workers who fear losing their share of already limited jobs. Companies also expressed concerns about the financial burden of retaining older workers who usually get higher salaries than young employees.To placate opponents
April 23, 2013
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Family homicides shock the nation
A string of cases involving parents killing their children have recently shocked the nation, ringing the alarm on the dangers of broken families and mental vulnerability.On Sunday, a mother in her 30s stabbed her two children to death in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, after reportedly suffering from depression. Her husband told police that he had found his wife bleeding from self-inflicted wounds on her neck. The 13-month and 3-week-old sons were found on the bed stabbed in the neck multiple times. Th
April 23, 2013
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Police tracking anti-American arsonists
Police in Daegu are searching for two suspects in an arson attack on a private English institute which the self-proclaimed anti-American activists apparently mistook for a U.S. government facility. Police said the fire appeared to have been started by improvised explosives on Monday morning. A cleaning worker, surnamed Lee, called the police after she heard an explosion and found smoke with fliers scattered in front of the institute on the third floor of a nine-story building in the city. Police
April 23, 2013
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Parliament agrees to extend retirement age to 60
Consensus was reached between ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday to extend the legal retirement age of South Korean workers to 60 beginning in 2016.Under the agreement, the public sector and big businesses with 300 or more employees should mandatorily set the retirement age at 60 from 2016 and other firms from 2017.The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party recommended the public sector and big businesses to gradually adopt the new retirement age. Currently, n
April 23, 2013
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Ministry to cut school class sizes further
The education ministry said Monday it plans to match the class sizes of primary and secondary schools to international standards by 2020 in an effort to provide a better educational environment.Under the plan, the class size of primary schools will be cut to an average of 21 students per class by 2020 from last year's 24.3. The average number will be reduced to 23 from 32.4 at middle schools, with the number to be lowered to 23 from 32.5 for high schools.The goals are designed to be in line with
April 22, 2013
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Police chief vows to uncover alleged attempt to cover up spy agency scandal
The nation's police chief pledged Monday to investigate claims that high-ranking police officers had tried to affect the outcome of a police probe into allegations that government spy agents intervened in December's presidential election.Wrapping up a four-month-long probe, Seoul's Suseo Police Station announced Thursday that two National Intelligence Service agents had illegally intervened in politics by posting a slew of politically sensitive comments on the Internet ahead of the Dec. 19 presi
April 22, 2013