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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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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Korea, Japan defense chiefs poised for talks
Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, were to hold talks Tuesday to discuss military issues, including Japan's recent security legislation that expands Japanese forces role abroad.The talks scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul will mark the top defense officials' second meeting this year following the previous one held in Singapore on the sidelines of a regional security forum in May. It will also mark the first visit by a Japan
DefenseOct. 20, 2015
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Construction begins to restore former Korean legation in Washington
Construction began Monday to restore a historical building that housed the Korean legation in Washington more than a century ago, before it was forcibly taken over by Japan following its colonization of Korea.In 2012, the South Korean government bought the red brick, three-story building in central Washington from an American individual for $3.5 million in an effort to preserve a symbol of diplomacy of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).On Monday, CVMNEXT, an American construction firm commissioned
InternationalOct. 20, 2015
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Park-Obama summit puts to rest concern over warming of Seoul-Beijing ties: U.S. expert
Last week's summit between President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama lacked any grand new agreement, but the meeting was still important as it laid to rest concerns over South Korea's warming of relations with China, a U.S. expert said Monday.Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, made the remark during a discussion at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, saying the two allies had little to announce because they had already worked out a seri
InternationalOct. 20, 2015
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Little support for larger U.S. military levels in Asia-Pacific: survey
Majorities of Americans, South Koreans and Japan are in support of maintaining a U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, but oppose increasing American troop strength, a survey showed Monday.The Chicago Council survey showed that 64 percent of Americans, 61 percent of South Koreans and 53 percent of Japanese favor maintaining the U.S. military presence, but only 11 percent of Americans, 14 percent of South Koreans and 9 percent of Japanese support increasing American troop levels in t
InternationalOct. 20, 2015
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S. Koreans travel to N. Korea for family reunions
Hundreds of South Koreans arrived at a North Korean mountain resort Tuesday for meetings with their relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.The 389 members of 96 families were to meet with a total of 141 North Koreans on Mount Kumgang along the communist nation's east coast.It marks the first inter-Korean family reunions event since February 2014, a fruit of the Aug. 25 deal between the two Koreas on ending a military standoff.The South Koreans, mostly elderly, will stay here through Thurs
North KoreaOct. 20, 2015
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Cabinet reshuffle to affect next general election
President Park Geun-hye's partial Cabinet shake-up brings two ministers back to next general election and more changes to the ruling party.On Monday, Park nominated Kang Ho-in, former chief of the Public Procurement Service, as transport minister, and Vice Maritime Minister Kim Young-suk to lead the ministry, according to presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.Maritime Minister Yoo Ki-june and Minister of Land, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Yoo Il-ho were both appointed by Park earlier this y
PoliticsOct. 19, 2015
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Park proposes meeting with party leaders on U.S. trip
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has proposed a meeting with representatives from rival political parties to debrief them on her recent trip to the United States, party officials said Monday.They said Park has called for a session with heads of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, and also floor leaders from the parties, at the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, to discuss the results from her summit with U.S. President Barack Obama.The meeti
PoliticsOct. 19, 2015
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Prosecutors seek 18-month jail term for Japanese journalist over libel charges
Prosecutors sought an 18-month jail term on Monday for a Japanese journalist charged with defaming President Park Geun-hye in print.Prosecutors argued that Tatsuya Kato, former Seoul bureau chief for Sankei Shimbun, knowingly published groundless rumors in August last year that Park might have been with her former aide, Jeong Yun-hoe, at the time of the sinking of the Sewol ferry, one of South Korea's worst peacetime disasters on April 16, 2014, and that Kato had clearly intended to slander the
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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Park replaces two ministers, top aide on foreign affairs
President Park Geun-hye on Monday replaced two ministers for transport and maritime affairs along with her senior secretary on foreign affairs, in a small reshuffle that came amid heavy criticism of her foreign affairs’ team in a fighter jet technology transfer debacle.Park named Kim Kyou-hyun, the National Security Council secretariat chief, as new senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security. He replaces Ju Chul-ki, who has reportedly offered to resign taking respons
PoliticsOct. 19, 2015
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Chinese tourists disappear upon arrival
Over a dozen Chinese tourists disappeared during a sightseeing tour in the southern city of Busan, with the purpose remaining mysterious, police said Monday. Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said 13 Chinese visitors -- including seven men -- ran away while traveling to tourist spots in Busan on Sunday. They disembarked from 116,000-ton cruise ship Sapphire Princess in the morning for a day trip in Korea. “They gradually disappeared in small groups of two or three,” the tour guide was quoted as s
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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South, North families await reunions
SOKCHO, Gangwon Province ― More than 390 South Koreans arrived at a hotel here on Monday to make final preparations for one of the most emotional events of their lives ― reuniting with their relatives in the North whom they were separated from some six decades ago.A day before the reunions at Mount Geumgangsan on the North’s east coast, 393 people gathered at Hanwha Resorts where they were briefed on various matters including the detailed schedule of the reunions that were last held in February
North KoreaOct. 19, 2015
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Park’s approval ratings edge up
President Park Geun-hye’s approval ratings edged up to reach 48 percent last week in light of her U.S. visit, polls showed Monday.The ratings marked an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the week before, according to Realmeter’s survey on 2,500 adults nationwide on Oct. 12-16.Disapproval of her administration, meanwhile, dropped by 2.1 percentage points to 47 percent. During the week, the ratings rose the most Thursday to reach 49.7 percent on the day Park paid a visit to the U.S. Pentagon i
PoliticsOct. 19, 2015
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‘Single version of history is against nature of education’
The Education Ministry recently announced that it will take back publishing rights of history textbooks for secondary education in a bid to restore “balanced history education.”But Yang Jung-hyun, a history professor with experience authoring a state-published textbook, said granting the government exclusive rights to write textbooks is among the worst idea imaginable. Last week, he and 23 colleagues at Pusan National University joined a nationwide move by professors to refuse to participate in
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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Seoul Zoo to buy back sold animals
Days after a hunger strike by a U.S. civic activist, a public zoo caved in and agreed to buy back the animals that were sold in an auction upon concerns that some of them had been sold to a slaughterhouse.Seoul Zoo, which is run by Seoul Metropolitan Government, said Monday that it has decided to buy back the animals that the zoo had sold at an auction in August. A.J. Garcia, the U.S. branch president of civic group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth, had launched a hunger strike in front of
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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Lawmakers begin to review 2016 budget plan
A parliamentary review of next year’s government budget kicked off Monday amid a partisan standoff among lawmakers in funding state-authored history textbooks and the government’s reform plans for labor markets and business sectors. The National Assembly’s relevant committees held meetings to review the 2016 budget plans proposed by the government. According to parliamentary law, the lawmakers must complete the review by Nov. 30 and put the budget plan to a vote no later than Dec. 2. But the pro
PoliticsOct. 19, 2015
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‘State history textbook will balance history education’
As criticism against the plan to revive state-authored history textbooks mounted over concerns that they will be biased in favor of conservatives, the government said it will rule out “far-right” scholars as authors, specifically those who participated in writing the controversial textbook by Kyohak Publishing Co.The Kyohak textbook has been accused of favorably depicting pro-Japanese figures and controversial politicians like former President Park Chung-hee, the father of incumbent leader Park
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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Seoul’s dilemma deepens amid China-U.S. rivalry
Though Seoul had managed to boost prospects for greater U.S. attention to North Korea through last week’s summit, it highlighted an increasingly convoluted dilemma between its traditional ally and a rising China amid their intensifying rivalry for regional supremacy. The Park Geun-hye administration has been boasting that its bilateral relations with the U.S. and China are at their “best-ever.” After appearing alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a massive military parade in Beijing last month
Foreign AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Ju takes heat for failed tech transfer
President Park Geun-hye’s surprising personnel shake-up on Monday was widely seen as a move to reprimand her foreign affairs team for its failed mission to persuade the U.S. to transfer fighter jet technology to Korea.Park named Kim Kyou-hyun, the National Security Council secretariat chief, as her new senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security. Kim replaces Ju Chul-ki, who had reportedly offered to resign to take responsibility for Washington’s refusal to transfer f
Foreign AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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[Graphic News] South Korea’s life satisfaction among lowest in OECD
South Korea reported one of the lower levels of life satisfaction among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a recent report showed.According to the OECD’s How‘s Life 2015 report, South Korea ranked 27th among the 34 OECD countries, with a score of 5.8, substantially lower than the OECD average of 6.58. Denmark topped the list, followed by other Nordic countries -- Iceland, Switzerland and Finland. Japan came in 26th, a notch higher than Korea. The OECD
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2015
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South Korea to offer matchmaking to boost fertility rate
After designating priority seats for pregnant women and offering free diapers and dried milk powder for all newborns for a year, the South Korean government has come up with yet another measure to boost its critically low fertility rate: matchmaking services. The plan was announced through a government report released Sunday, which stressed that the nation’s increasing number of delayed marriages is one of the biggest factors behind the low fertility rate, which currently stands at 1.21 childre
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2015