Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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Expatriates band together for creativity, charity, more
Expat societies have been around on the peninsula for almost as long as expats themselves.The oldest surviving club is the Royal Asiatic Society’s Korea Branch, which started in 1900 and according to RASKB president Brother Anthony is the oldest Korean studies group in the world.Some groups are regional, such as Geoje Foreign Residents’ association, which has a club house in Okpo on the South Gyeongsang Province island, professional, such as Korea Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages, or help
March 8, 2013
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Rape victim tortures rapist for 3 days
A 20-year-old rape victim was taken into custody by Busan Police Friday after she tortured her rapist for three days.Busan Seobu police booked the woman and four of her friends without physical detention for allegedly imprisoning and torturing 26-year-old Jeong, who is suspected of raping the woman. Last August, the group lured Jeong to a motel and attacked him, according to police. They are suspected of torturing the man in various ways, including water boarding.“We demanded an apology from him
March 8, 2013
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Man with mental illness arrested in Insa-dong arson
A 52-year-old man has been arrested on the charge of setting fire to a restaurant in Seoul's cultural district of Insa-dong last month, police said Friday.The suspect, only identified by his surname Ahn, is accused of torching the closed restaurant in the dense area of downtown central Seoul on Feb. 17, that ripped through a total of 11 buildings, they said. The blaze caused hundreds of tourists and residents in nearby neighborhoods to be evacuated.Ahn, with a record of mental illness, was found
March 8, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Retired NEC chief leads humble life
A mom-and-pop store is hardly a place where people would expect to see a person who once served in the highest court and headed the national election watchdog. Especially in a nation where high-ranking officials usually chase career paths promising prominent status, influence and hefty financial rewards.Kim Neung-hwan, a former Supreme Court justice and former chairman of the National Election Commission of Korea, who works at a convenience store owned by his wife, has come under the spotlight f
March 7, 2013
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Oil tank explodes in Gumi, no injuries reported
GUMI (Yonhap News) ― A tank at an oil refinery in the southeastern city of Gumi exploded Thursday, with no injuries reported, police and fire officials said.The 200,000-liter tank containing 5,000 liters of bunker C fuel oil at the Kyung Buk Kwang Yu Co. refinery located in Gumi, some 200 kilometers southeast of Seoul, exploded around 8:21 a.m., they said.Around 4,000 liters of oil are suspected to have leaked, they added.Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 30 minutes, they said.The exp
March 7, 2013
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U.N. meet on sustainable development under way
The United Nations Office for Sustainable Development kicked off its Expert Consultation on Building Knowledge and Capacity for Sustainable Development on Wednesday. The three-day session is being attended by 130 prominent experts on sustainability and member state representatives.The goal of the gathering is to understand the specific knowledge and capacity needs members states must satisfy to implement the outcomes of Rio+20, an earlier conference held in June 2012. For this, the consultation
March 7, 2013
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International school faces probe over admission fraud
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Thursday that it will launch a special investigation into Younghoon International Middle School over alleged admission fraud involving conglomerate and elite families.Several civic activist groups also petitioned Wednesday, calling for an investigation into the school officials. They claim the chairman of the school asked for money, reportedly some 20 million won ($18,500) per student, from parents in exchange for enrolling their children.The schoo
March 7, 2013
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Runaway soldier nabbed after sneaking into port to reach China
A fugitive South Korean solider has been detained after attempting to sneak into China aboard a cargo ship through the western port of Incheon, military and port officials said Thursday.The 21-year-old sergeant of special forces, whose identity was withheld, covertly entered the port, located west of Seoul, on Saturday after crossing over barbed wire, they said. He then got on board the vessel that was anchored at the port.After hiding in one of the compartments for more than a day, he was appre
March 7, 2013
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SNU professor steps down amid plagiarism scandal
Seoul National University confirmed Thursday that a professor recently resigned after accusations of plagiarizing his thesis published in 2004.A 48-year-old surnamed Kim recently offered his resignation after admitting that he copied an article from Yale University for his article published by the Korean Association of International Studies.The plagiarism allegation first arose from an email sent to the KAIS alleging that Kim copied a Yale professor’s report written in 1983 and translated it int
March 7, 2013
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Education chief arrested for bribery charge
A provincial education chief was detained Wednesday on a bribery charge, court officials said Thursday.Kim Jong-seong, chief of the South Chungcheong Office of Education, has been under investigation since last month on charges that the 63-year-old ordered government officials to take bribes worth 290 million won ($267,000) from people seeking to become state education advisors, in exchange for qualification test questions. The court said there is substantial evidence supporting his crime, accor
March 7, 2013
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Match-fixing scandal hits basketball
The Korean Basketball League is bruised following a match-fixing scandal, requiring bold remedies. Kang Dong-hee, 47, head coach of Wonju Dongbu Promy, has been summoned by the prosecution over his alleged acceptance of money in exchange for fixing matches. Kang strongly denies the allegations but the prosecution has already arrested a broker who claims to have delivered money to him. The investigation may expand to other teams. Fixing matches is hardly news in local professional sports. The KBL
March 6, 2013
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Officials to conduct safety checks on chemical firms
In the wake of a series of toxic gas leakage cases, the government will launch extensive inspections of firms that deal with chemical substances, the Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday.There have been growing calls for thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of toxic chemical leakage accidents after the country saw a string of such cases over the past several months.On Tuesday, about 1 liter of liquefied chlorine gas was leaked at a factory run by the chemical company Gumi Chemical, lead
March 6, 2013
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Cab drivers booked for ripping off foreign tourists
A total of 20 cab drivers have been booked for investigation on charges of ripping off foreign tourists ― sometimes for hundreds of thousands of won ― at popular tourist districts in Seoul, police said Wednesday.The suspects, including a 45-year-old driver surnamed Baek, are accused of driving unregistered “call vans” and overcharging the foreign riders up to 10 times more than the normal fare from July to until recently, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.Police officers said the
March 6, 2013
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KOICA to build water resource center in Pakistan
The Korea International Cooperation Agency said Wednesday that it would build a water resources management center in Pakistan to help fight water shortages. The government agency for international aid agreed to the $3 million project following preliminary research and structure designs in 2012. Following the construction, KOICA will carry out the water management project in conjunction with the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources. Pakistan is one of KOICA’s 26 priority partner countr
March 6, 2013
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Anti-communist NGO under embezzlement probe
Police said Wednesday they launched an investigation into allegations that some officials in the Korea Freedom Federation, the nation’s largest anti-communist civic organization, misappropriated government subsidies and donations for personal use and other purposes. A report said Wednesday that around 470 million won ($434,000) of 1.4 billion won provided by the government was not spent as intended in 2011.For example, 57 million won of a 100 million won budget for a KFF project was used instea
March 6, 2013
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Growing number of students suffer from reading disorder
When he reads a sentence, his eyes move from word to word in order, but his brain is still fixated on the first one. No matter how many times he reads the same sentence, he can only remember a few words in it, let alone grasp the whole meaning.Despite his normal intelligence, he struggled with school life and had to give up going to university. Even more frustrating for him is society’s ignorance of the disability and prejudices against people suffering from it. “When I tell people about my prob
March 6, 2013
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ETS to provide TOEFL scholarship
The Educational Testing Service, the U.S.-based firm that administers TOEFL and TOEIC tests, announced Wednesday that it will award $72,000 to students in Korea through its annual TOEFL Scholarship program.ETS will recognize and award 24 qualified students each with a $3,000 scholarship to fund their undergraduate or graduate study in Korea or overseas. Candidates must submit their TOEFL test score to demonstrate their English proficiency. Additionally, undergraduate students must have a grade p
March 6, 2013
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Students share artistic talents in Cambodia
My team from Korea National University of Arts traveled to Cambodia on a two-week volunteer trip last month.The trip was sponsored by my school’s K-Arts Sharing program, which encourages students to use their artistic talents to serve society. The volunteer program began in 2010, and we were the sixth team to go abroad to volunteer. In order to go on the volunteer trip, I applied for the Community Arts class, which the school provides as part of the program so that students can better coordinate
March 6, 2013
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Private education cost growth hits 5-year high in Feb.
Prices of private education and other extracurricular activities grew at the fastest pace in about five years in February, data showed Wednesday, indicating the heavier burden that parents have to shoulder in educating their children.According to the data provided by Statistics Korea, prices of private institutes and supplementary education services across the country jumped 5.3 percent last month from a year earlier. This marked the fastest gain since January 2008 when it rose 5.8 percent on-ye
March 6, 2013
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U.S. soldiers involved in BB gun shooting spree give conflicting testimonies
Two American soldiers who are accused of shooting a BB gun into crowds and fleeing in a car gave different accounts Wednesday over who drove the car at high speeds and tried to hit a police officer chasing them.Three soldiers from the 8th U.S. Army are under investigation by South Korean police after they shot a BB gun at pedestrians in the multicultural Itaewon district late Saturday night and fled in a car, leading to the police pursuit. A police officer who chased the soldiers shot at the car
March 6, 2013