Most Popular
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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What's next for the government's push in quota hike?
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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Woman falls to death from acquaintance's home after exhibiting ‘unexplained' behaviors
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N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-US military drills, warns of 'catastrophic aftermath'
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‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
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N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
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[Robert J. Fouser] Social attitudes toward language proficiency
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[Graphic News] How much do Korean adults read?
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Major shift in N.K. policy on Seoul could point to other causes of top official's death: U.S. expert
A major shift in North Korea's policy toward South Korea could suggest that Pyongyang's top negotiator with Seoul, Kim Yang-gon, could have died by causes other than a car crash, a U.S. expert said Thursday. The North announced Wednesday that the 73-year-old Kim died in a traffic accident, a cause that immediately raised doubts as some other top officials have died similar deaths in a nation known for scant traffic, including the 2003 death of Kim Yong-sun, who was also in charge of inter-Kore
DefenseJan. 1, 2016
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JCS Chairman Lee inspects readiness at NLL aboard Aegis warship
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin has inspected the military's combat readiness posture along the inter-Korean maritime border, aboard an Aegis-equipped destroyer. "If the enemy provokes, retaliate severely with speed and accuracy," Lee instructed a commander of an Air Force flight team during a combat simulation performed inside the Sejong the Great destroyer in the Yellow Sea near the Northern Limit Line. South Korean Air Force performs an air drill across the coastal city of Pyeong
DefenseJan. 1, 2016
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S. Korea, China establish military hotline
South Korea and China set up a hotline between their top defense officials Thursday to reinforce their cooperation on security issues on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.Defense Minister Han Min-koo had his first telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan earlier in the day on the newly established hotline, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press release."During today's phone call, the two defense ministers shared their understanding of the need to expand de
DefenseDec. 31, 2015
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FM Yun defends 'comfort women' deal
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se stepped up efforts Thursday to appease critics of a recent deal between South Korea and Japan on wartime sex slaves.The government has come under fire since it reached a breakthrough agreement with Japan Monday aimed at ending a decades-long dispute over the so-called comfort women.Under the deal, Japan admitted responsibility for the wartime brutality and offered reparations of 1 billion yen to the 46 surviving South Korean victims.However, some of the victims and
Foreign AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Presidential office refutes rumors on Seoul-Tokyo agreement
Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, on Thursday refuted rumors surrounding a deal with Japan on the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II."Reports based on false facts and groundless rumors that only confuse society only leave another scar on the issue of wartime sex slavery," presidential spokesman Kim Sung-woo told reporters.On Monday Seoul and Tokyo reached a breakthrough deal in which the Japanese government apologized and of
PoliticsDec. 31, 2015
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Assembly ends with little achieved
The National Assembly held its last general assembly Thursday morning to pass some 210 pending bills, but only without disputed labor and economic bills. The revised election bill to redraw electoral districts, also remained up in the air.Parliamentary Speaker Chung Ui-hwa, who had refused to push ahead with the bill on his own authority, said that he would submit his version for review to the National Election Commission at midnight.“There will be a legislative emergency situation starting from
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Non-emergency patients to face ER fee hikes
Non-emergency patients will face much higher medical costs if they use emergency rooms starting this month, as part of the government’s measures to limit the unnecessary use of emergency rooms, officials said Thursday. The Welfare Ministry said patients visiting the top 140 emergency rooms in the country will be classified into five categories depending on the urgency and severity of their condition, and charged different fees accordingly. Non-emergency patients who show mild symptoms such as f
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Former teacher dedicates 30 years to charity work
As volunteers of all ages, occupations and causes lined up wearing Korean Red Cross uniforms and chef hats at the headquarters in Jongno, central Seoul, one instructor took them through how to split the dough to make cream cakes.Hours later, sponge cakes and sweet bread came out from the oven. Looking at their warm, puffy creations, the cooks’ beamed as they imagined them being doled out to those in need, a daily routine for the volunteers.Standing among them was Yoon Kyung-ae, an 83-year-old vo
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Korea’s diplomatic presence rises in 2016
In 2016, South Korea will take the helm of nine international organizations including the U.N. Human Rights Council, underscoring the country’s enhanced diplomatic stature on the world stage.In particular, Korea will take some leading U.N. posts in the areas of peace and security, development and human rights ― the three principal areas that the international organization has been focusing on, Seoul officials said. U.N. Economic and Social Council President Oh JoonSince July 2015, Oh Joon, Seoul
Foreign AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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General election a warm-up for presidential race
Once again, election season is high. The forthcoming April general election to constitute the 20th National Assembly will be a race for parliamentary seats as well as a prelude to the 2017 presidential election.The rival parties are mired in a power struggle of their own as their eyes are singularly set on individually and collectively winning the next Assembly seats, the configuration of which is likely to decide the fate of the incumbent administration’s initiatives to cope with the approachin
PoliticsDec. 31, 2015
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Korea braces for year of confrontation
It was a harsh end to the year 2015, as the nation roiled in escalating angst against the government’s agreement with Japan to settle the World War II wartime sexual slavery issue. The year had already been riven with conflicts over education, ideology, labor and other social issues that are likely to continue in the coming year.Social division is expected to only deteriorate as the nation enters major elections, starting with the April 13 general election, which is shaping up as a prelude to th
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Ewha hospital opens organ transplant center
Ewha Womans University Medical Center said Wednesday it had opened the Organ Transplantation Center to provide a wide range of services for patients who need organ transplants. One of the nation’s leading medical institutes said that the specialized center in southwestern Seoul was part of the EUMC’s efforts to sharpen its competitiveness in organ transplants -- one of its key fields of expertise -- before unveiling its second hospital in Seoul in 2018.Headed by director and surgeon Jung Gu-yong
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Opposition steps up against sex slave deal
The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea on Thursday declared the results of South Korea and Japan‘s agreement on wartime sex slavery issue “invalid,” urging renegotiation and the dismissal of Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.The epochal agreement Monday, in which Japan apologized for victims of sexual slavery during World War II, in addition to funding a 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) project to support the surviving “comfort women.” But the surviving victims, along with the nongovernmental organiz
Foreign AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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‘Hot peace’ to take hold in East Asia
The security and diplomatic landscape in East Asia is expected to be relatively stable in 2016, as major powers seek cooperation in fighting terrorism and focus on domestic issues such as elections and economic revitalization, analysts forecast.Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China are set to persist as the latter strives to expand its sphere of influence in the region and beyond. But they may seek to deescalate tensions and avoid military clashes to fostermutual cooperation, analysts
Foreign AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Inter-Korean ties face rocky road
Relations between the two Koreas are expected to continue to face a rocky road this year as they failed to build on rare momentum in recent months and the North could still stage major provocations.Cross-border ties have quickly turned frosty since their first formal meeting in years broke down early last month due to irreconcilable differences in their positions on stalled tours to a North Korean mountain resort, reunions of separated families and other issues. Soldiers patrol the border area i
North KoreaDec. 31, 2015
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Koreans mixed on 'comfort woman' deal: poll
South Koreans are split nearly equally over the recent deal between their country and Japan regarding Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, a local survey showed Thursday.Some 50.7 percent of the respondents disapproved of the Monday agreement, under which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized for his country's atrocity and promised to pay 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) in damages, a survey by South Korean pollster Realmeter showed.Those who supported it accounted
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Korean IMO chief to take office next month
The newly elected chief of the United Nations maritime body will start his four-year term in the beginning of next year, the South Korean government said Thursday.Lim Ki-tack, a former head of South Korea's local port operator, was elected in June to head the International Maritime Organization.Lim will replace Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu to become the 9th IMO secretary-general starting Jan. 1.His inauguration was approved unanimously by the IMO's general assembly last month, according to th
InternationalDec. 31, 2015
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Korean court to open formal suit on wartime sex slaves
A local court has opened a formal damage suit that ten former South Korean sex slaves for Japan's World War II soldiers filed against Tokyo, after failing to find solutions through a mediation process.The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday ended the mediation process after the Japanese government repeatedly rejected to participate in the procedure, court officials said.The decision came a few days after Seoul and Tokyo reached a breakthrough deal in which the Japanese government apologize
Social AffairsDec. 31, 2015
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Most Chinese people oppose Korea-Japan deal on wartime sex slaves
Most Chinese people believe that Beijing should not accept conditions set by South Korea and Japan in possibly resolving the long-running grievance of Chinese victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, a survey by a state-run Chinese media showed Thursday. The online survey, conducted by the Global Times, published by the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, found that 95 percent of 10,686 respondents say the deal between South Korea and Japan on wartime sex slaves "can
InternationalDec. 31, 2015
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Kim Jong-un offers condolences to his key aide's death
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has offered "profound" condolences over the death of his key aide who handled inter-Korean affairs, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.On Wednesday, Kim visited the mortuary of Kim Yang-gon, a secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, who died on Tuesday in a car accident, according to the Korean Central News Agency.North Korea held a state funeral for Kim, who is called "the closest comrade-in-arms" of the North Korean leader, earlier in the day.The KC
North KoreaDec. 31, 2015