Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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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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N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
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‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
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District pushes for controversial ex-dictator’s memorial park
A Seoul district is renewing its push to construct a public park to commemorate a former dictator, a project that was suspended in 2013 due to a budget spat and criticisms of political motivation. The Jung-gu Office in the center of the capital said it would establish the memorial park around the house of late ex-president Park Chung-hee, father of incumbent president Park Geun-hye. The one-story 11,075-square-meter building with four basement floors will consist of a public underground parking
Jan. 12, 2016
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Diving into village life in Malaysia
BANGHURIS, Malaysia -- At a remote village in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, a bus pulls over to unload a group of Korean youth in their teens and 20s.They are greeted by a group of locals playing their traditional music and the sounds of beating drums, as expressions on the Koreans’ youthful faces vary between gleeful, excited and even a little confused at the exotic welcoming ceremony. Participants of ASEAN-Korea Center’s homestay program pose for a group photo. Yoon Min-sik/The Korea Heral
Jan. 12, 2016
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First foot-and-mouth disease contracted in 8 months
The animal quarantine authorities of the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday confirmed the first breakout of foot-and-mouth disease in eight months, vowing stronger watch on the spread of the livestock disease. The Agriculture Ministry dispatched specialists to a farm in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, where 700 pigs were tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, or QIA, said the 700 pigs at a farm in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, tested pos
Jan. 12, 2016
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Korean scholar calls for establishment of forum on 'comfort women'
South Korea and Japan should launch a scholarly forum to bridge wide gaps in public perceptions in the two countries of Japan's wartime sexual slavery so as to realize a genuine reconcilation, a South Korean scholar said Monday.Park Yu-ha, a professor of Seoul's Sejong University, made the remark during a seminar in Washington, calling last month's landmark agreement between Seoul and Tokyo on resolving the so-called "comfort women" issue only a "political settlement.""I hope that a consultative
Jan. 12, 2016
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Former veterans minister gets jail term for bribery
A former veterans minister and grandson of one of the country’s most revered patriots received a four-year prison sentence Monday on charges of helping a foreign defense firm win a bid to build military helicopters in exchange for kickbacks. The Seoul Central District Court convicted Kim Yang, former head of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, of lobbying senior military officers to pick the Anglo-Italian AW159 Wildcat as the country’s new multimission maritime helicopter, while recei
Jan. 11, 2016
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Koreans drink coffee 1.7 times daily
Korean adults drink coffee 1.7 times a day on average, more often than they eat mixed or white rice, statistics by the Welfare Ministry and the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed Monday.Of 3,427 men and women aged 19-64, men drank coffee 14.3 times a week, while women drank 9.6 times. The numbers were higher than the 6.52 times eating white rice per week and the 8.93 times eating mixed grain rice. Those who drank coffee at least three times a day marked 24.4 percent. Anothe
Jan. 11, 2016
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Koreans’ health at risk for sitting too much
Han Jin-hee (not her real name), an office worker in Seoul, spends about eight hours each day sitting at work. While seated, her job consists of taking phone calls and writing reports at the same time. About six months ago, Han worked in a different division which required her to stand most of the time greeting clients. “I don’t know which is better -- sitting too much or standing too much,” the 28-year-old told The Korea Herald. “But ever since I moved to my current division, I’ve been experien
Jan. 11, 2016
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Increasing number of Koreans in U.S. renounce Korean citizenship
An increasing number of South Koreans in the United States are renouncing their Korean citizenship, with more than 2,000 such cases filed with the consulate general in Los Angeles, data showed Sunday.A total of 2,117 people renounced their South Korean citizenship in cases filed with the LA consulate last year. It was the first time that the number of citizenship renunciation requests received at the mission has exceeded 2,000.Such cases have been on the rise in recent years, with 1,468 in 2013
Jan. 11, 2016
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Police think tank forecasts rise in elderly crimes
Crimes committed by senior citizens are expected to increase this year mainly due to financial difficulties, despite the decrease in the overall crime rate, a police-affiliated think tank said Sunday.The Police Science Institute, operated under the state-run Korean National Police University, predicted that Korea’s high elderly poverty rate would result in more crimes by underprivileged senior citizens aged 61 or older. According to “Pensions at a Glance 2015” by the Organization for Economic Co
Jan. 11, 2016
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Colonial period quarry to turn into public park
A quarry used during the Japanese colonial era will turn into a public park as part of Seoul City’s urban restoration project, officials said Sunday. Seoul Metropolitan Government said a 19,000-square-meter-large quarry cutting area in Jongno will transform into a sightseeing park with an observatory. The cutting side of a 40-meter-high stone pit will be the main ground of the park. The stones quarried were used in constructing historical buildings such as the Japanese Government General of Kore
Jan. 10, 2016
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Flu cases increase steadily
The number of flu patients has been steadily rising since late last month, health officials said Sunday, stirring concerns over the further spread of the influenza virus. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ratio of flu-suspected patients per 1,000 outpatients in the country reached 10.6 from Dec. 28 to Jan. 2. This is higher by 1.6 from the previous week and about 3 points higher on-year. The disease control agency conducted an influenza sample test at 200 med
Jan. 10, 2016
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[Weekender] Tragic and extraordinary stories of Korean prodigies
When Heo Nanseolheon (1563-1589) was just 8 years old, she wrote her iconic piece “Inscriptions on the Ridge Pole of the White Jade Pavilion in Kwanghan Palace,” a poem filled with a unique imagination about the world of spiritual beings. Today, the piece is still considered as the work of a poetic genius -- who later died at age of 27, after suffering an unhappy marriage and the deaths of her two children. Heo is one of very few women writers from Korea’s Confucian Joseon kingdom (1392-1897), w
Jan. 8, 2016
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[Weekender] From prodigies to geniuses: the 'gifted' fascination
“Mediocrities everywhere, I absolve you. I absolve you, all,” uttered Antonio Salieri in the 1984 film “Amadeus,” loosely based on the real life of the Italian classical composer and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As Mozart’s less-capable archrival, the movie version of Salieri was forced to shudder in jealousy, marvel with wonder, and bear witness to the immortal genius of a man many consider to be one of the greatest musical talents of all time. Throughout history, tales of those with exceptional c
Jan. 8, 2016
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[Weekender] ‘Elite education vital to help students reach their full potential’
The debate over gifted education in Korea is generally played out between two sides: Opponents argue the special education program is tailored for the select few and undermines the principle of equal opportunity, while others see the programs as a chance to foster smart minds who can lead the nation. (Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald)An expert in gifted education agrees with the latter. Suh Ye-won, director of the state-run National Research Center for Gifted and Talented Education, says such educ
Jan. 8, 2016
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[Weekender] Past, present and future of educating ‘gifted’
Last month, 18-year-old Song Yoo-geun retracted his first academic paper “Axisymmetric, Nonstationary Black Hole Magnetospheres: Revisited” -- which would have made him the youngest-ever Korean Ph.D. -- after he was accused of plagiarism.The shattered legend of a science prodigy once dubbed “boy genius” by media -- and showered with government support from 2010 -- sent shockwaves across the country and stoked questions over whether Korea was headed in the right path in educating its “gifted” chi
Jan. 8, 2016
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Gifted education to help students reach their full potential
The debate over gifted education in Korea has often played out between two sides: Opponents argue the special education program is tailored for the select few and undermines the principle of equal opportunity, while others see the programs as a chance to foster smart minds who can lead the nation. A prominent expert in gifted education agrees with the latter. Suh Ye-won, director of the state-run National Research Center for Gifted and Talented Education says that the education can achieve
Jan. 8, 2016
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Mutation detected in Korean MERS virus
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus that spread through South Korea last year underwent a mutation that could have affected its ability to infect people and the fatality rate, the government said Friday.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said bodily fluid specimens taken from eight people infected with the MERS inducing coronavirus, showed signs of slight genetic "variation" in spike glycoprotein when compared with previous documented cases. Spike glycoprot
Jan. 8, 2016
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Former state oil firm head found not guilty of breach of trust
A local court on Friday acquitted the former head of the national oil company of causing a huge loss to state coffers in the purchase of two Canadian firms.The Seoul Central District Court ruled Kang Young-won, the former CEO of the Korean National Oil Corp. (KNOC), should not be held responsible for losing 550 billion won ($464 million) of state funds by acquiring two Canadian resource companies -- Harvest Oil Operation Corp. and its affiliate North Atlantic Refining Limited -- in 2009.Prosecut
Jan. 8, 2016
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Pitchers sanctioned for overseas gambling charges
Two South Korean baseball pitchers facing illegal gambling charges were suspended by the nation's top professional league on Friday.The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Lim Chang-yong and Oh Seung-hwan, both currently free agents, will be banned for half of their team's games should they return to the South Korean league.Lim and Oh were recently investigated over charges that they'd illegally gambled in Macau in 2014, but Seoul prosecutors in December applied for a summary order and sought
Jan. 8, 2016
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Gov't warns budget airlines of safety lapses
The government will launch a special inspection into domestic budget airlines next week over their safety practices and impose heavy sanctions on violators of related rules, the transportation ministry said Friday.Low-cost carriers (LCCs) have been under fire for two recent problems, which have sparked concerns over their safety.An airplane of Jeju Air Co., owned by mid-sized retailer Aekyung Group, dived to an altitude of 8,000 feet from 18,000 ft on its way to Jeju Island from Seoul on Dec. 23
Jan. 8, 2016