Most Popular
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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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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‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
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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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[Graphic News] How much do Korean adults read?
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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Korean firms target EV charging market in US
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Top court confirms dismissal of SNU cloning scientist
The dismissal of disgraced stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk by Seoul National University is legal, the top court ruled Wednesday, putting the final nail in the coffin of a scandal that rattled the nation in the late 2000s.In articles published in the journal Science between 2004 and 2005, Hwang claimed to have succeeded at creating the world's first cloned human embryo, a breakthrough extolled by the nation and the scientific community.Hwang, however, did not provide any verifiable data to bac
Dec. 23, 2015
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2 injured soldiers awarded medals for response to North Korea's mine attacks
Two South Korean soldiers severely injured in North Korea's land-mine attack in August were awarded national orders Wednesday for their "bravery and contributions" to national security, the Army said. Army Staff Sgt. Kim Jung-won, 23, lost his right leg on Aug. 4 after stepping on a land mine buried by North Korea on the South Korean side of the demilitarized zone.Following surgery and rehabilitation, Kim returned to the Army with a prosthetic leg in early December.The other injured soldier, 21-
Dec. 23, 2015
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Refugees from Myanmar arrive in Korea for resettlement
A total of 22 ethnic Karen refugees from Myanmar arrived in South Korea, officials said Wednesday, becoming the first beneficiaries of Seouls new resettlement program for refugees.The refugees, four different families, had been staying at refugee camps in Thailand to avoid suppression in Myanmar before being allowed to fly to South Korea. The refugees will be provided with F-2 residency visas, Justice Ministry officials said.Education, among other reasons, led them to choose South Korea as their
Dec. 23, 2015
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Korea's childbirths edge up in Oct.
The number of childbirths in South Korea rose in October after falling for two straight months, a government report showed Wednesday, a positive development for a country struggling with an aging population.In October, some 36,900 babies were born, up 1.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the report from Statistics Korea.The rebound follows newborn numbers falling 3.6 percent and 3.7 percent in August and September, respectively. South Korea, whose population is expected to pea
Dec. 23, 2015
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Korea to declare end to MERS threat 7 months after first outbreak
South Korea is to formally declare an end to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome health threat at midnight Wednesday, more than seven months after the first case was confirmed in the country, the government said.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the decision follows guidelines set by the World Health Organization that states an "end of transmission" can be declared 28 days after the death of the last MERS-infected patient.The 28 days takes into account the maximum incubation period for ME
Dec. 23, 2015
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Cause of collective pneumonia outbreak identified in South Korea
Health authorities on Tuesday identified the bacteria that may have caused the collective pneumonia outbreak that took place at Konkuk University in Seoul and affected 55 students beginning from October. According to the Health Ministry, the bacteria was identified as Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula, which causes hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an inflammation of the alveoli within the lung triggered by inhaled organic dust. The sufferers are known to have been commonly exposed to the dust during t
Dec. 23, 2015
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Textbook row taken to Constitutional Court
South Korean civic groups on Tuesday filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court against the government for “infringing upon the impartiality of education” by taking over the publication rights for secondary education history textbooks.Minbyun, or Lawyers for a Democratic Society, said it made the appeal against the Education Ministry’s recent plan to reinstate government-issued textbooks from 2017, a contentious plan that has stoked opposition from mainly the progressive faction and much of the
Dec. 22, 2015
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Nearly 70% survive 5 years after cancer diagnosis in South Korea
Almost 70 percent of Korean patients who were diagnosed with cancer from 2009-2013 have survived or are expected to survive at least five years after their initial diagnosis, a newly released government report showed Tuesday. The survival rate, 69.4 percent, is an increase of 15.6 percentage points over the rate for patients who were diagnosed from 2001-2005, which was 53.8 percent. The increased number of Koreans engaged in regular health checkups and healthier lifestyles, as well as a decrease
Dec. 22, 2015
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Seoul to simplify pollution controls
The central government will simplify the system for controlling pollution-generating facilities starting from 2017 as part of its efforts to reduce unnecessary procedural issues and lessen the burdens of businesses, officials said Tuesday. For this, the Environment Ministry said it would integrate polution permit systems. Currently, up to 10 types of separate permissions are required to run one pollution-generating facility. The permissions range from air pollution to water quality.The new syste
Dec. 22, 2015
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Nigerian falsely accused, denied right to legal defense: watchdog
South Korea’s human rights watchdog said Tuesday that police and prosecutors were recently cautioned for denying foreign suspects’ rights to self-defense by detaining an African man for 12 days without contacting his embassy. According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, police and prosecutors arrested a Nigerian and detained him for 12 days, ignoring his multiple requests to contact the Nigerian Embassy. Police arrested the man, who was at the time on the wanted list, on a theft
Dec. 22, 2015
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Korea revives Universal Studio theme park project
South Korea on Tuesday announced a consortium involving Chinese investors as a preferred bidder to build a theme park in partnership with U.S.-based Universal Parks and Resorts, reviving the project after a three-year hiatus.The state-run Korea Water Resources Corporation said it chose the multinational consortium consisting of Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Dohwa Engineering of Korea as well as China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China's largest construction company, and Ho
Dec. 22, 2015
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Pastor faces trial over security law breach
Prosecutors said Tuesday that they have indicted a progressive pastor on charges of violating South Korea's National Security Law.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the 51-year-old, identified only by his surname Kim, is suspected of making reports to a North Korean agent on domestic situations in return for money.He is also accused of meeting with the agent in China three times and of pledging allegiance to the North.The pastor also allegedly read North Korean books and studied
Dec. 22, 2015
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Lawyers bring history textbook row to court
A group of lawyers filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday over the government's move to reintroduce state-authored history textbooks for secondary school students.The Lawyers for a Democratic Society claim that the government's decision to publish national textbooks violates the Constitution, which stipulates autonomy in education.A little more than a month ago, the government announced it would revise the current textbook publication system so that middle and high school student
Dec. 22, 2015
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Facebook most popular social media tool in Korea: poll
Facebook is the most popular social networking service in South Korea this year, a poll showed Tuesday, outpacing other global and local platforms.According to a survey by market researcher DMC Media on 780 SNS users aged between 19 and 59, 59.8 percent picked Facebook as their most-used SNS.KakaoStory, a photo-sharing service operated by Kakao Corp., followed with 17.1 percent. Kakao is the operator of KakaoTalk, a free mobile messenger that has 35 million local users in the country of 50 milli
Dec. 22, 2015
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Cancer patient survival rate hits 69.4% in 2013: data
The survival rate of cancer patients reached 69.4 percent in 2013, with the total number of people being treated dipping slightly from the year before, government data showed Tuesday.The Ministry of Health and Welfare report showed that from 2009 to 2013, two out of three people diagnosed with cancer lived more than five years, up 15.6 percentage points from 53.8 percent tallied for the 2001-2005 period.The survival rate for stomach cancer reached 73.1 percent, with numbers for colorectal and pr
Dec. 22, 2015
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Korea to intensify passenger pre-screening prior to flying
South Korea said Tuesday it will ban potential terrorists or other dangerous passengers from boarding any plane bound for the Asian country at the point of departure.The Ministry of Justice said it will analyze passenger information before airlines issue boarding passes to restrict inappropriate ones, such as terrorists, from flying into South Korea.The move will take effect in January. South Korea is also pushing for an anti-terrorism bill following the deadly attacks in Paris that killed more
Dec. 22, 2015
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'Dokdo School' opens in Shanghai
A school dedicated to teaching the history of South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo has opened in Shanghai, a South Korean professor leading the program said Tuesday.The so-called "Dokdo School" is aimed at raising awareness of the rocky outcroppings in the East Sea, the subject of a territorial dispute with Japan.Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Seoul's Sungshin Women's University, said he set up the school in Shanghai following one in New York as part of efforts to expand education about Dok
Dec. 22, 2015
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Moderate earthquake hits southwestern Korea
A magnitude-3.5 quake jolted South Korea's southwest on Tuesday, officials said, but there were no immediate reports of damage.The predawn quake hit Iksan, some 250 kilometers south of Seoul, and was also felt in Seoul and the second-largest city of Busan, according to the Gwangju Regional Meteorological Administration."The house windows shook hard for seven to 10 seconds and I heard banging sounds," a 58-year-old resident in Iksan told Yonhap News Agency, requesting not to be named.It was the s
Dec. 22, 2015
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[Profile] Kang Eun-hee, Gender Equality and Family Ministry
Rep. Kang Eun-hee of the ruling Saenuri Party, a former IT businesswoman, has been appointed as the new Gender Equality and Family Minister.A graduate of Kyungpook University’s physics education program, Kang worked as a school teacher before founding her IT venture Winitech in Daegu in 2000. Prior to winning a National Assembly seat in 2012 as a proportional representative, the 51-year-old served as the chairwoman of the Korea IT Business Women’s Association and deputy floor leader for the Saen
Dec. 21, 2015
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Postnatal care center sued for TB infection in South Korea
Choi Young-doo, a father of two children, received an abrupt phone call from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August. He was told that his second child, born in June, may have been exposed to tuberculosis while staying at a Seoul-based postpartum center for the first two weeks of his life. “It was just really absurd,” Choi told The Korea Herald. “I thought no one ever got TB in our country anymore.” Choi is one of 150 parents whose newborns were exposed to the virus by a n
Dec. 21, 2015