Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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[News Focus] Transition to farming loses luster for city dwellers
SEJONG -- Over the past decade, a growing number of urbanites in South Korea have moved to rural areas to tap the agriculture industry, helped on their way by various government-led benefits for new farming households.A large proportion of them were in their 40s, 30s and 20s, and quit salaried jobs in big cities to take up farming.But the situation has changed. Many of them have failed to accommodate themselves to the rural life and farm work.Among their troubles are difficulty getting along wit
July 4, 2019
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[Breaking] 2 injured from wall collapse at construction site near Sinsa Station
Part of a building under construction near Sinsa Station in Seoul collapsed Thursday afternoon, crumbling on to cars parked nearby. According to Seoul Seocho Fire Station, the exterior wall of a five-story building undergoing demolition suddenly crumbled around 2 p.m. that day. Two people were injured as the concrete wreckage fell on to several cars parked nearby. They have been transported to a nearby hospital.Local fire fighters are investigating for further damage and injuries. By Choi
July 4, 2019
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Labor advocates boycott council for social dialogue, prevent vote from going ahead
A presidential council for social dialogue has been crippled due to boycotts by some of its members representing labor, halting discussion on a number of agenda items. The Economic, Social and Labor Council said Thursday that the mandates of four of its committees would expire this month.The committees responsible for improving the social safety net and for ensuring industrial safety and health will stop operating July 11 and 16, respectively. The other two committees, one responsible for improv
July 4, 2019
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[Photo News] Ernst Busch workshop
With the sponsorship of the Goethe Institut, the Seoul Institute of the Arts and Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts have collaborated to host a theater workshop themed around unification. A performance will be presented Thursday at the institute’s Red Door Theater, Ansan campus. Anyone can attend free of charge.
July 4, 2019
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Ministry busts anti-air pollution mask scams during two-month crackdown
Over 1,000 online advertisements for anti-pollution masks have been blocked and sales banned after the government found they included false or misleading information.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korean Intellectual Property Office conducted an inspection of anti-pollution masks that were sold online in May and June, and found a total of 1,125 cases of misleading product labelling. Of them, 437 involved false advertising, 8 false quality indications, and 680 false patent marks. Th
July 3, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Irregular workers’ strike disrupts school operations
Irregular workers at schools went on strike Wednesday, calling for an end to discrimination in wages and welfare benefits vis-a-vis regular workers and disrupting meal services at thousands of schools nationwide. Six-hour-long negotiations between irregular workers at schools and education authorities fell through the previous day, leading some 22,000 irregular workers at schools -- including cooks, nutritionists and administrative workers -- to stage a walkout until Friday. As of 10 a.m. Wednes
July 3, 2019
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[Feature] Public anger, concerns persist over contaminated tap water
For more than a month, Lee Su-jin, who lives in western Incheon, has relied on bottled water to do household tasks from cooking to cleaning. Driving to a neighboring city to eat out or use a self-service laundromat has become a daily routine. It is all because of “reddish water” still running from her taps, a problem that was first detected May 30 and has affected some 15,000 households and 160 schools in Incheon. “It has become almost impossible to lead a daily life for t
July 2, 2019
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[Herald Interview] ‘Men taking parental leave first step to reducing gender inequality’
Men should be allowed and expected to take parental leave and attend to their children’s needs as the first step to achieving gender equality at work, according to a prominent US feminist scholar. To encourage men to take parental leave more freely in a society where those who choose to do so are seen as poor workers and ineffectual men, the government should put in place a “daddy quota,” Joan C. Williams, a professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law
July 2, 2019
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Over 1,500 homes in Seoul have water cut off
Over 1,500 households at a large apartment complex in Seoul have had no access to water since Monday evening due to a ruptured pipe.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday that its waterworks office dispatched a support team to the apartment complex in Seoul’s west-central district of Seodaemun-gu at around 8 p.m. Monday, after a report of a flooding situation in the basement. The water valves were shut off to prevent further flooding, blocking water supplies to all households.
July 2, 2019
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Non-regular school workers to stage joint strike this week
South Korean schools will likely be hit hard by a joint walkout by their non-regular workers this week.An alliance of non-regular employees working at elementary and secondary schools, including cafeteria cooks, dietitians and administrative assistants for teachers, has threatened to stage a general strike from Wednesday to Friday to push through wage increases.Ahead of the launch of the strike, representatives of the non-regular workers and education officials held last-minute negotiations on T
July 2, 2019
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[News Focus] Payments for jobless soar in Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu
SEJONG -- The nation’s jobless rate, which posted the critical 4 percent or over for the fifth consecutive month this year, has forced the government to pay out ever-higher amounts in benefits for the unemployed. The growing volume of payouts reflects the sentiment-reflected jobless rate, a measure that also takes underemployment into account. The sentiment-reflected jobless rate far exceeds the official unemployment rate of 4 percent mark, having hovered around 12 percent f
July 2, 2019
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Women still paid less than men: report
Women in Korea are still paid less than men on average despite their increasing economic and academic participation, a report showed Tuesday.A report on women’s lives in Korea, released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Statistics Korea, revealed that the average monthly wage of women in 2018 stood at 2.29 million won ($1,920), 68.8 percent of that of men. The report surveyed workplaces with five or more regular employees. Data showed that in 2018, 73.8 percent of female high school s
July 2, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Singer-actor Park Yoo-chun given suspended sentence for drug use
A local court sentenced Park Yoo-chun, an actor and former member of boy band JYJ, to 10 months in prison on Tuesday, suspended two years, for using an illegal drug.Suwon District Court in the city of Suwon, south of Seoul, also ordered the 32-year-old disgraced entertainer to pay a fine of 1.4 million won (around $1,203) and issued probation and treatment orders for him."Drug-related crimes should be harshly punished due to severe addiction and harmful effects on individuals and society,&q
July 2, 2019
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Baskin Robbins hit by claims of sexualizing 11-year-old
Baskin Robbins is at the center of heated debate concerning its latest promotional video, which features an 11-year-old model. As the ad came under fire, the ice cream chain took it down from the internet and apologized Saturday. The video, released Friday, features kid model Ella Gross advertising the new flavor “Pink Star.” She wears a sleeveless pink dress and savors the ice cream in various poses. Within a day of the release, heated debate erupted online as to whether the ad was
July 1, 2019
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[News Focus] Baby boomers make waves in job market
SEJONG -- They were the backbone of the country’s social and economic development in the 1980s and 1990s, and many of them are still working in core posts in the public and private sector.But now South Korea’s baby boomer generation -- born between 1955 and 1963 -- are having to deal with a retirement that many are not ready to accept.As some employers have a mandatory retirement age 60 or earlier, boomers have been leaving their main jobs since 2010, with knock-on effects on the job
July 1, 2019
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[Feature] Patients alienated as mental illness falls through cracks in system
Is it safe to live with people with mental disorders? This is the question many South Koreans are asking after a series of highly publicized crimes committed by people with psychological conditions.In a country where mental illness has long been stigmatized and patients removed from the community, reports of traffic accidents and crimes committed by those with mental illness are viewed with great alarm.But mental health groups and advocates question whether the mental health information is even
July 1, 2019
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[Newsmaker] South Korea wrestles with finalizing 2020 minimum wage
As interested parties struggle to decide next year’s minimum wage, the Korea Employers Federation said Monday that various economic indicators show the rapid increase in minimum hourly wage has taken a toll on companies, laborers and the government.Discussion at the Minimum Wage Commission has been stalled since members representing management left the meeting after the commission voted down a proposal to change the minimum wage by industry.“The recent sharp rise in minimum hourly wa
July 1, 2019
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Women sex crime victims double in past decade: report
The number of women who were victims of a sexual offense in 2017 has increased over twofold since 2007, according to a ministry report.An annual statistical report on women’s life in Korea, released jointly by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Statistics Korea on Monday, showed that women who were reported as the victims of sexual offenses had increased 2.3 times from 12,718 in 2007 to 29,272 in 2017. Men who were reported as sexual offense victims also increased 2.6 times from 697 to 1,
July 1, 2019
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Body of Korean tourist drowned in Kota Kinabalu set to return home
The body of a South Korean tourist who drowned in waters off Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, has been found and will be returning to Korea, the Korean Embassy in Malaysia said Monday.According to the Korean Embassy in Malaysia, an 18-year-old surnamed Ahn went missing at around 3:30 p.m. Friday after he was swept away by waves while swimming at a beach in Karambunai. A search and rescue team comprising the local fire department, the police and the Coast Guard was deployed at around 4:17 p.m. after his
July 1, 2019
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Rallies welcoming, protesting Trump held in central Seoul
Civic groups continued to hold rallies opposing and welcoming US President Donald Trump’s visit to Seoul on Sunday as Trump held a summit with President Moon Jae-in and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone. Trump arrived in Seoul on Saturday after attending the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan. On Sunday, Trump held bilateral talks with Moon at the presidential office and met with Kim at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas.
June 30, 2019