Most Popular
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Yoon apologizes for first lady Dior bag scandal, calls push for special probe ‘political’
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Can K-pop break free from ‘fandom’ model?
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YouTuber fatally stabbed on livestream by another YouTuber in Busan
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Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
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Arrest warrant issued for medical student for allegedly killing girlfriend after breakup
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S. Korea to let doctors with foreign licenses practice
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Action called for to stop violence, discrimination
A leading activist for the rights of female migrants called for more action to protect them from domestic violence and discrimination.“Many immigrant spouses are still tormented in places that are void of human rights protection,” said Han Kuk-yeom, founder and director of Women Migrants Human Rights Center, in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Three women were murdered (by their husbands) last year alone and many others are suffering from domestic violence with their children,” she said. Fro
April 10, 2013
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Broken dreams for immigrant wives
Globalization, demographic change and economic growth have led Korea to embrace cultural diversity and tolerance toward others. But biases and discrimination against foreigners remain and Koreans’ pride of ethic purity is deeply entrenched. This is the second in a 10-part series on the nation’s efforts to promote multiculturalism and on challenges in immigration laws, education, welfare, public perception, mass culture and other diverse aspects. ― Ed.Around 2000, Korea began to witness an influx
April 10, 2013
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Oxford expands research collaboration
Top universities are rushing to open overseas branches in emerging countries, especially in Asia and the Gulf region, in pursuit of lucrative markets and untapped talent. Data showed the total number of overseas campuses worldwide is currently close to 200, almost three times as many as in 2006.Basking in its history and research competence, Oxford University bucks the trend that risks “ending up with shiny new buildings where little good research happens,” its chief said.“We prefer focusing on
April 10, 2013
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300 million won needed to raise a child: report
It costs around 300 million won ($263,000) to raise a child through college in South Korea, a government report showed Wednesday.The report from the Ministry of Health and Welfare is based on a 2012 survey of 18,000 households throughout the country, in which the respondents said they were spending an average of 1.19 million won a month on each child.The amount marks a significant growth from 748,000 won per month in 2003 and also from little over 1 million won tallied in 2009, according to the
April 10, 2013
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More Korean women think marriage not essential
The gap in perceptions of marriage between genders has widened in three years, a recent survey showed. According to research on nationwide marriage trends conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 13.3 percent of single women said “marriage is a must,” about half the rate of unmarried men, at 25.8 percent. In the same survey conducted three years ago, the gap between women and men was 6.5 percent, with 23.4 percent of men and 16.9 percent of women calling marriage a necessity.Although pos
April 10, 2013
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TV personality Koh gets 5-year-term for sexual assault
A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced TV personality Koh Young-wook to five years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting minors.Koh, 37, the former member of the 90s popular singing group Roo-La, was found guilty of a total of four accounts of rape and sexual assault against three teenagers between July 2010 and December 2012.The Seoul Western District Court also ordered that Koh wear an electronic monitoring anklet for 10 years and that his personal information be made available to the pub
April 10, 2013
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Seoul City retreats from sales restrictions for big retailers
The Seoul Metropolitan Government backed down from a controversial plan to ban major retailers from selling 51 everyday items. The move, meant to redirect customers to beleaguered smaller merchants, had been criticized by customers, subcontractors and retailers alike. Last month, the Seoul government announced a list of 51 products to be banned from sale in large stores. The metropolitan government reportedly said it would submit a bill to the National Assembly so that its recommendation would b
April 9, 2013
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2 overseas Koreans probed over pro-N.K. allegations
Two Korean expatriates who are registered as members of North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri were found to have conducted pro-North Korean campaigns, according to news reports Tuesday.International hacking group Anonymous disclosed the information of 15,000 members of Uriminzokkiri, including 2,600 presumed to be South Korean nationals, after it hacked the website last week.One person surnamed Kim who went to the U.S. in 1990 is thought to have operated a pro-North Korean website and vi
April 9, 2013
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Seoul to begin test run of late-night buses this month
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it will launch two lines of late-night buses crossing the city this month for a three-month test run as part of efforts to enhance public convenience and encourage more use of mass transportation.The test run will begin on April 19 for three months, with the buses set to run two routes: One line will run across the city from Gangseo ― the western part of Seoul ― to Hongdae, to Jongno and to Jungnang ― the eastern side of town. The other line will ru
April 9, 2013
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Court rejects arrest warrant for Ssangyong unionist
A local court dismissed Tuesday a police request to arrest the union leader for Ssangyong Motor Co.'s laid-off workers on charges of interfering with officials' attempt to dismantle protest tents in central Seoul, citing a lack of justification for his detention.Kim Jeong-woo, who leads Ssangyong's labor union affiliated with the Korea Metal Workers' Union, was detained on Saturday on suspicion of the obstruction of justice and violating the law on assembly and demonstration. (Yonhap News)
April 9, 2013
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Doctor convicted in HIV confidentiality case
A doctor in Seoul has been found guilty of disclosing confidential information of a patient suspected of being infected with human immunodeficiency virus, court officials said Tuesday.The doctor, whose identity has been withheld, was charged with notifying a fellow doctor of the HIV status of the patient last year, in breach of the relevant law that prohibits doctors or other medical personnel from disclosing any medical information on those infected with HIV.The defendant divulged that a blood
April 9, 2013
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Public hospital shutdown sparks dispute
Jinju Medical Center, the nation’s second-oldest public hospital located in South Gyeongsang Province, is now under threat of a shutdown. The South Gyeongsang Provincial Government made an official statement on Feb. 26 that it has decided to close JMC by May due to its chronic operational deficit and strong trade union. Last year, the medical center incurred a 6.9 billion won ($6.1 million) operational loss, adding to an accumulated deficit of 27.9 billion won. The province governor Hong Joon-py
April 9, 2013
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Public sector temps’ conditions to be improved
The government will expand its plan for granting regular job status to temporary workers in public workplaces until 2015, officials said Monday. More contract workers at state-run offices and public companies will be made “indefinite contract workers,” who will have job conditions and security similar to that of permanent workers, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said. The government has been making efforts to improve working conditions for irregular workers since 2011. But the new plan will
April 8, 2013
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Women make inroads into ‘male-dominated’ industries
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance promoted 161 workers to the position of junior manager on Monday, 50 of whom are female workers. The figure is a three-fold increase since 2010 when the percentage of women was less than 10 percent. “The company will spare no effort in encouraging women to actively work at the office,” an officer from SF & MI told local news media. The move reflects a steady change in male-dominated Korea, encouraging women to pursue their career in diverse industrial sectors. Th
April 8, 2013
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S. Koreans stay calm amid threats of war
South Koreans remained calm and carried on their daily lives over the weekend amid escalating tensions brought on by the North’s recent war threats and security concerns raised by foreign media on the Korean Peninsula.International communities and foreign news outlets dealt sensitively with the deluge of threats from North Korea, a stark contrast to many South Koreans who reacted calmly over the current political tension.A 32-year-old office worker, Lee Young-eun, said she and her friends make j
April 7, 2013
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Pyongyang rumblings have little effect on SKoreans
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Outsiders might hear the opening notes of a war in the deluge of threats and provocations from North Korea, but to South Koreans it is a familiar drumbeat. Separated from the North by a heavily fortified border for decades, they have for the most part lived with tough talk from Pyongyang all their lives. In annual defense drills, war alarms ring in their ears. Foreigners unused to North Korean rumblings have canceled trips to the Korean Peninsula. But to get South Korea
April 5, 2013
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Laughter the best medicine
A high-pitch electric sound suddenly brought to life the platform at Yeonsinnae Subway Station in northern Seoul on a recent Thursday. Station employee Lee Myung-hwan belted out a medley of funny trot songs. The audience instantly swelled to about 80 as the self-styled laughter-master performed his routine. “Let’s try this, open your mouth wide and say ‘ha-ha’ as you breathe out. Then ‘ho-ho’ when you breathe in,” he told the audience sitting on plastic stools.During the warm up, the crowd were
April 5, 2013
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Cancer sufferers learn to chuckle
Laughter may be the best medicine for more than 40 cancer patients who regularly participate in a weekly workshop at Seoul National University Hospital.The program is led by Lee Yim-seon, a nurse from the department of family medicine, who is one of Korea’s pioneers of laughter therapy. The 12-week program lasts for an hour each session. Lee leads the patients in a series of stretches to upbeat music her patients like. She guides patients to relax their facial muscles, shoulders, intercostal mus
April 5, 2013
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Court overturns ruling in ‘octopus murder’ case
A higher court cleared a man of killing his girl friend, overturning a previous ruling in the “octopus murder” case.The 32-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for suffocating his 23-year-old girl friend in a motel in Incheon. He had claimed that she died while eating an octopus. But the victim’s family later discovered that she had signed up for life insurance only a week before her death with Kim as the beneficiary.The Incheon District Court concluded in October last year
April 5, 2013
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Korea to create detailed crime map, augment police
Public security authorities plan to introduce an online crime map, allowing the public to check what offenses have been reported in their neighborhoods.In a policy briefing to President Park Geun-hye, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration said it would complete the database by 2015. When it is completed, the public can search for information on crimes, such a sexual assault and school violence, that have taken place by region.Minister Yoo Jeong-bok noted that the map would alert peo
April 5, 2013