Most Popular
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South Korea faces unprecedented turmoil in aftermath of Yoon's martial law
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Why did President Yoon Suk Yeol resort to martial law?
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Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment vote looms large
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Impeachment motion to be voted on Saturday
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How Yoon’s fate could unfold under 4 scenarios
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In Yoon's martial law speech, a window into his troubling worldview
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Yoon needs to be stopped from exercising power as president: ruling party head
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Yoon aides, Cabinet members offer to resign
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The six-hour shambles that showed Korean democracy's strength
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Protests sweep South Korea as calls for Yoon Suk Yeol's resignation intensify
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Folk museum exhibition offers deeper understanding of shamanism
Shamanistic rituals that revolve around the lives of fishermen are the subject of a special exhibition currently taking place at the National Folk Museum of Korea.For the exhibition, “The Sea and Rites,” the museum’s curators gathered objects from more than 12,000 reference items that were donated by folklorist Ha Hyo-gil in 2012. Ha, who has studied and collected data about Korean shamanism since the 1970s, served as the director of the museum from 1982 to 1986. The exhibition offers insight in
July 17, 2013
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Art-on-the-go to bring culture to remote regions
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is launching its latest initiative to bring the arts to the country’s most remote areas. The project is geared toward educating children and the elderly living in non-metropolitan areas where access to museums, theaters and concert halls are not readily available. The Ministry has organized several programs to provide the public with more opportunities to get involved in the world of art and culture, including the “Moving Arts Bus,” “Visiting Arts Educ
July 17, 2013
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French stamp inspired by topless feminist causes stir
PARIS (AFP) ― A new stamp emblazoned with the face of Marianne, France’s revolutionary symbol, has caused a stir after its creator said it was inspired by a Ukrainian feminist known for topless protests.The stamp, unveiled by President Francois Hollande on Sunday’s national day, shows the face of a youthful, dewy-eyed Marianne from the shoulders up, her long hair flowing down and her hand raised.“For all those who ask who the model was for Marianne, it’s a mix of several women, but particularly
July 16, 2013
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Switzerland returns ancient treasure to Peru
GENEVA (AFP) ― Swiss authorities said Friday they had returned a pre-Columbian ceramic jug to Peru after police caught someone trying to sell it over the Internet.The Geneva public prosecutor’s office said it had returned the small, two-handled jug dating from the pre-Columbian Chancay period between the 12th and 15th centuries to the Peruvian embassy in Bern.“It is priceless,” Sophie Bernard, a spokeswoman for the office, told AFP.Federal Swiss police had discovered last year that a man born in
July 15, 2013
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China discovers primitive, 5,000-year-old writing
BEIJING (AP) ― Archaeologists say they have discovered a new form of primitive writing in markings on stoneware excavated from a relic site in eastern China dating about 5,000 years back. The inscriptions are about 1,400 years older than the oldest known written Chinese language and around the same age as the oldest writing in the world.Chinese scholars are divided on whether the etchings amount to actual writing or a precursor to words that should be described as symbols, but they say the findi
July 11, 2013
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China discovers primitive, 5,000-year-old writing
Archaeologists say they have discovered a new form of primitive writing in markings on stoneware excavated from a relic site in eastern China dating about 5,000 years back. The inscriptions are about 1,400 years older than the oldest known written Chinese language and around the same age as the oldest writing in the world. Chinese scholars are divided on whether the etchings amount to actual writing or a precursor to words that should be described as symbols, but they say the finding will help
July 11, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Jangju alleges monks made gambling trips
Secret video footage showing a group of monks playing poker while drinking and smoking in a hotel room shocked the nation last year as the news of a handful of local Buddhist monk leaders from the Jogye Order, the country’s largest Buddhist order, caught gambling made headlines.At a press conference held in the Pohang City Hall Briefing Room on Monday, Ven. Jangju further revealed the severity of the gambling addiction among some monks, who even went abroad to gamble with the order’s donation mo
July 9, 2013
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Newseum in D.C. makes changes as funding falls short
WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Newseum has become a major attraction with 4 million people visiting its exhibits about journalism and freedom of speech. Yet, in five years since moving to its new home overlooking the U.S. Capitol, it’s been struggling mightily to cover its costs.Public financial documents reviewed by the Associated Press show revenue fell short of expenses by millions of dollars in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Its parent organization, the Freedom Forum, has used its endowment to provide the bulk
July 9, 2013
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Actor Namgung Won: A living witness of Korean film industry
Veteran actor Namgung Won joined a highly select group of acclaimed figures in the Korean film industry last week as he became a member of the National Academy of Arts, a state-run organization of Korean artists dedicated to promoting the development of arts in Korea. Namgung is only the second actor to become a member of the organization, after veteran actress Hwang Jeong-soon in 2006. The prestigious group of prominent cultural figures in Korea includes directors Kim Ki-duk, Im Kwon-taek and B
July 7, 2013
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Urban camping for the metropolitans at heart
One doesn’t have to be an adventurous wilderness savant to enjoy the splendors of camping in the woods. In fact, one doesn’t even have to leave the city. The original purpose of leisure camping was for people to leave the urban sprawls and retreat to the outdoors, away from the spoils of modern technology and into an environment of simplicity and tranquility. However, for those who are not quite up to the task of roughing it out in the boonies with nothing but a tent and some s’mores, there are
July 5, 2013
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At the old ball game
On June 21, Friday afternoon, the roads near Jamsil baseball stadium in southern Seoul were packed. Men and women sporting replica uniforms of their favorite players stood in line to get in. It was the day when Seoul-based Doosan Bears took on the Daejeon-based Hanwha Eagles. The game started right on time at 6:30 p.m. While players on the mound fought their hearts out for another win, die-hard fans screamed out the names of the players, made waves with their hands and sang cheering songs, mostl
July 5, 2013
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Calendar
Pop music“2013 Ansan Valley Rock Festival”: As Korea’s biggest rock festival, the Valley Rock Festival presents one of the best line-ups of big musicians from Korea and abroad such as this year’s headliners The Cure, NiN, Skrillex, the Foals, the XX, My Bloody Valentine, Idiotape, Peppertones and many others. This year’s festival has moved from Jisan Resort to the Daebu Sea Breeze Theme Park. The three-day festival will be held July 26-28. Ticket prices are 120,000 won for a one-day pass, 230,0
July 5, 2013
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[Photo News] Do the twist
July 5, 2013
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Rare Chinese stamp sells for $890,000
HONG KONG (AFP) ― One of China’s rarest stamps sold for HK$6.9 million ($890,000) at auction in Hong Kong, the auctioneers said Wednesday.With just 32 recorded copies, the Qing Dynasty “1897 Red Revenue Small One Dollar” stamp is “China’s rarest regularly-issued stamp,” Interasia Auctions said in a press release.The bright red stamp, symbolising luck and good fortune in Chinese culture, is rare because the characters “Qing Dynasty postal service, one dollar” were considered too small, prompting
July 4, 2013
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Overseas Sejong institutes to top 100 this year
The number of Korea’s government-funded overseas institutes that offer Korean language courses is expected to exceed 100 this year amid the global boom of Korean pop culture, officials said Thursday.The government will open 27 more King Sejong Institutes in 20 countries across the world, increasing the number of the institutes to 117, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.Named after the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) king who invented the Korean alphabet Hangeul, the institutes offer lan
July 4, 2013
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Paintings by 3-year-old British girl with autism stun the world
Iris Grace Halmshaw, an autistic 3-year-old girl living in Britain, has attracted keen public attention with her fascinating paintings. Iris, diagnosed with autism in 2011, cannot talk; she even gets distressed when her friends get close to her. She started painting as a part of therapy. In the process, her parents noticed she is a talented painter. Since then, her paintings have been on display on Facebook and two pieces were sold for up to 1,500 pounds ($2,200) each. Her parents are now plann
July 4, 2013
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Recent discovery on Silla tomb relic may overturn existing theories
The National Museum on Wednesday unveiled the discovery of a king’s name inscribed on the sheath of a large sword found at the ancient Geumgwan (Golden Crown) tomb in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The inscription, “Yisajiwang” or King Yisaji, is the oldest name of a king found at a Silla (B.C. 57-A.D. 935) tomb and makes Geumgwan the only sepulcher with an identified owner, researchers at the museum said. The Geumgwan tomb, believed to have been built in the sixth century, has been thorou
July 3, 2013
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Government to change casino authorization process
Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong on Wednesday said that the government will change the current casino authorization process in order to sort out unfeasible and unhealthy casino plans from the initial stage.Yoon said that the authorities will design the casino establishment first and seek the appropriate candidates rather than authorizing projects as they come. Currently, one only needs to present a plan ― without making any actual investment ― for investing more than $300 million in hotel and othe
July 3, 2013
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Veteran curator of Russia’s Pushkin Museum quits at 91
MOSCOW (AFP) ― The tireless 91-year-old matriarch of the renowned Pushkin Art Museum in Moscow is leaving her post after steering the institution for 52 years, Russia’s cultural minister said Monday.The announcement came as a surprise but follows a protracted battle Pushkin director Irina Antonova has waged to return to Moscow a collection of Impressionist art from Saint Petersburg, where it was sent on orders of Joseph Stalin in the 1940s.“Irina Alexandrovna is a living legend, and she is a per
July 2, 2013
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Restoring the glory of long-abused ancient Babylon
BABYLON, Iraq (AFP) ― At ancient Babylon’s Ishtar Gate, Iraqi workers labor with a heavy saw, hammers, a chisel and crowbar to break up and remove a concrete slab that is hastening the structure’s decay.The concrete lies between the two long, towering walls of tan bricks decorated with processions of bulls and dragons that make up the more than 2,500-year-old Ishtar Gate, in what is now Iraq’s Babil province.The masonry slab was laid during the late dictator Saddam Hussein’s rule.Removing the co
July 2, 2013