Most Popular
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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[Herald Interview] Byun Yo-han's 'unlikable' character is result of calculated acting
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US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies
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[KH Explains] Why Korea's so tough on short selling
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[Photo News] Seoul seeks 'best sleeper'
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US expert says N. Korea might ignore Trump if he returns to White House
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Hundreds of local English instructors face layoffs
Hundreds of local non-regular instructors who teach English conversation at primary and secondary schools submitted a petition to the rights watchdog Thursday against massive layoffs, calling on the government to keep its pledge to guarantee their job security.The Association of Non-regular Workers at School said they asked the National Human Rights Commission to step in to prevent the government from terminating the contracts of some 600 irregular English conversation teachers upon their expira
May 16, 2013
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Seoul eyes special training for foreign babysitters
In the wake of continued complaints from local parents about unqualified foreign babysitters, the government plans to push for special training programs for applicants from overseas, Seoul’s civil rights commission said Wednesday.While up to 60,000 foreigners, mostly ethnic Chinese, work as babysitters and housekeepers for Korean households, no job training programs for the role exist, leading to problems caused by cultural differences and misunderstandings.Under the envisioned plan drawn up by
May 15, 2013
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Seoul City wins U.N. prizes for citizen-friendly policies
Seoul City won four United Nations Public Service Awards, which are given to public officers or organizations in recognition of their excellence in public services. The city government said Wednesday that the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the organizer of the annual award competition, notified the city of the achievements in three sectors: Preventing and combating corruption in the public service, fostering participation in public policy decision making through innovative mecha
May 15, 2013
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Prosecutors raid 30 construction firms in river project investigation
Prosecutors raided more than 30 construction firms Wednesday that are suspected of creating slush funds, embezzlement and price-fixing in connection with the four-river refurbishment project under the former Lee Myung-bak administration. Scores of investigators from two teams at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office searched the headquarters and local offices of GS Engineering & Construction, Daewoo E&C, SK E&C, Samsung C&T Corp, and POSCO E&C, in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and South Jeol
May 15, 2013
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Ex-Korean sex slaves to visit Japan for rallies
Elderly South Korean women forced by Japan into sex slavery during World War II plan to visit the neighboring country this week to hold rounds of rallies to let the people know of their predecessors’ wrongdoing, a local organization said Wednesday.Two victims ― 88-year-old Kim Bok-dong and 86-year-old Kil Won-ok ― will head to Japan on Friday to hold street rallies and press conferences to testify about the hardship they were forced to endure, according to the Korean Council for the Women Drafte
May 15, 2013
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Why educational reforms fail easily
In stark contrast with the current problems in math and science classrooms in the U.S., in which students struggle and are unmotivated to work hard, some believe that Korean students’ high achievements in international math competitions have the potential to guide reform efforts in the U.S. This sentiment was well captured in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, in which he lauded South Korea for the active role parents and teachers play in children’s education.The flip side of t
May 15, 2013
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TEE slowly gains foothold in Korea
This is the third and final in a follow-up series to one which was published in the Expat Living section on March 6 and 13 and covered the ongoing native English teacher phaseouts in certain regions. This three-part series further assesses the native English teacher program as well as the Teaching English in English initiative for Korean teachers of English in primary and secondary public schools. ― Ed.Teachers, education observers and policymakers alike cannot agree on what is wrong with Korea’
May 15, 2013
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Learning how to live together
In the middle of Seoul, there is a unique community where people pursue community-focused and eco-friendly ways of living.Located in Mapo, the Sungmisan village was created by education-conscious and environment-minded parents who wished to have a town to co-finance and co-parent their children.The young parents first started with a nursery, and as their children grew up they set up a school covering primary to secondary education.Founded in 2004, the Sungmisan School is now the core part of the
May 15, 2013
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BIS Canada offers quality program
BIS Canada founded in 2008 is the first British Columbia offshore program center in Korea certificated by the BC Ministry of Education. Located in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, the school currently offers the BC curriculum from grades 1 to 11 and looks forward to its first class of grade 12’s graduating in 2014. “BIS Canada’s mission is to offer an outstanding Canadian-based education to Korean national and international students. We encourage our students to strive for high academic achievement w
May 14, 2013
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Seoul Metropolitan Government to test run dog park
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Monday that it would test-run a dog park inside Seoul Children’s Grand Park in July. The area will be created near the park’s Guui entrance, a five-minute walk from the parking lot and an area that has much greenery. The city plans to install a separate toilet area for dogs and maintain its sanitary conditions through frequent cleaning and sterilization.“We chose Children’s Grand Park (as the place to trial the idea) considering various conditions i
May 14, 2013
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Korean drug dealer suspect sentenced to death in Chinese court
A Korean man charged with manufacturing and transporting narcotics was sentenced to death by a Chinese higher court and is awaiting a final ruling from the top court, sources here said Monday.The suspect, whose identity was withheld except for his surname, Lee, is a resident of Japan but holds Korean nationality, according to the sources. Though he was given the death sentence by the lower court in April last year and the sentence was upheld by the higher court in December, this information was
May 13, 2013
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Social media exposure of alleged sexual assault victim stirs controversy
Concerns are spreading over the reckless online and social media exposure of a woman claimed to be the alleged Korean-American victim of groping by sacked presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung.The alleged victim’s name, Facebook address and pictures have been quickly distributed through social media and some portal sites.The 21-year-old Korean-American intern assisted the former presidential secretary while he was accompanying President Park Geun-hye in Washington. Yoon is suspected of groping
May 13, 2013
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German diplomat probed over alleged assault during dog-bite row
A German Embassy official in Seoul has been questioned over an alleged assault against a conglomerate owner’s wife and son, the police said on Monday.The official allegedly pushed and kicked the son during an argument after the diplomat’s dog bit the woman in a park last Thursday, according to the police in Yongsan.The police said the diplomat was strolling around Namsan Park in central Seoul with his dog at the time.The 72-year-old victim was identified as the wife of the head of one of Korea’s
May 13, 2013
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Two arrested on stock price manipulation charges
Two former senior officials of a now-delisted local display panel manufacturer have been indicted on charges of making millions of dollars in illegal profits through stock manipulation, prosecutors said Monday. This is the first arrest by the government’s joint investigation team on security crimes, which was launched earlier this month as part of efforts to swiftly investigate price-rigging activities. The team involves dozens of officials from the prosecution, the Financial Services Commission
May 13, 2013
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Happiness of female citizens in Seoul rated 2.67 out of 5: report
Women in Seoul gave an average 2.67 on a scale of one to five in grading their level of happiness, according to a report released Sunday by the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, a city-affiliated policy developer and evaluator. Among the total of nine categories covered in the report, personal satisfaction in city life (3.23) and safety (3.07) received the highest scores while co-prosperity (2.29) and care (2.36) were among the lowest rated categories. The participants also rated sub-categor
May 12, 2013
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Dolphin to be released back into wild
A 13-year-old dolphin was Saturday being transported to an ocean pen off a South Korean island for training to prepare it for release back into the wild after four years in a Seoul zoo, officials said.The female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, which had been at Seoul Grand Park Zoo since 2009, was flown by a special charter jet to the southern island of Jeju accompanied by an 11-member team of veterinarians and zookeepers.“It is not only a matter of one dolphin going home but a matter of the re
May 12, 2013
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Taehwa International School teaches all subjects in English to foster elites
International schools are booming in Korea as more parents and students seek education in English to face the competitive global environment.Located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the Taehwa International School is one of the leading schools that is attracting a growing number of students with its strong English-learning environment.The school announced in particular that this year all eight seniors had been admitted to universities in the U.S., including the University of California, and the Uni
May 12, 2013
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Government to discuss duty free shops at arrival gates
The government will discuss this week whether to open duty free shops at airport arrival gates as part of efforts to boost consumption, according to government sources on Sunday. Discussions on opening duty free shops in the arrivals zone at Incheon International Airport will be one of the key agenda items for a meeting between Cheong Wa Dae and financial authorities on Tuesday, the sources said. The talks on the issue started in 2001 when the airport opened, but policymakers failed to reach an
May 12, 2013
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Over half of married S. Korean women say having child not a must
More than half of married South Korean women said that having a child is not a must in their married lives, a survey showed Sunday, an indication that theimportance of children in marriage is fading in South Korean society. The survey, released in a report by a researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, showed that 53.5 percent of some 4,500 married women responded that havinga child is not a must, though it's better to have one, while 46.3 percent think otherwi
May 12, 2013
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New state English test makes debut Saturday
The National English Ability Test, a state-administered English proficiency exam, is taking place for the first time on Saturday.The Ministry of Education said the NEAT Level 1 test is taking place on Saturday at 28 venues around the country.The NEAT is designed to test four skills, reading, listening, speaking and writing, through an Internet-based test, divided into three levels―Level 2 test for academic English and Level 3 for general English for students and an additional Level 1 test for ad
May 10, 2013