Most Popular
-
1
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
2
Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
-
3
S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
-
4
Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
-
5
Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
-
6
Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
-
7
Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
-
8
Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
-
9
Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
-
10
[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
-
Poet acquitted of charges of infringing national security
Kim Ji-ha, 72, a renowned poet, has been acquitted after 39 years of charges of violating the National Security Act and the presidential emergency rule, and inciting rebellion.Kim was convicted for publishing a poem “Ojeok” or “Five Enemies,” which criticized political and financial elites during the iron-fisted rule of late President Park Chung-hee, President-elect Park Geun-hye’s father, and participating in a students’ democracy movement in 1974. He received the death penalty, but was freed a
Jan. 4, 2013
-
S. Korean police questioned American for alleged sexual harassment
South Korean police have questioned an American for alleged sexual harassment of three flight attendants aboard a flight bound for Incheon from New York, an official said.The American, identified only by his family name Rakowski, allegedly got drunk and hugged three crew members and hit two other crew members, the police official in Incheon said late Thursday.A crew member overpowered the suspect by using a taser gun and later handed him over to South Korean police upon arrival at Incheon Intern
Jan. 4, 2013
-
Court issues 1st chemical castration sentence
A Seoul court on Thursday ordered the forcible “chemical castration” of a repeated rapist of teenage girls in the first such ruling since the measure was introduced in 2011. The Seoul Southern District Court ruled that the 31-year-old should be put under hormonal treatment for three years to curb his libido. The measure was on top of 15 years’ imprisonment, 20 years of electronic monitoring through an ankle bracelet, 200 hours of mandatory rehabilitation and online disclosure of personal informa
Jan. 3, 2013
-
NIS official suspected of online posting over poll
Police have summoned a National Intelligence Service official again to investigate allegations that she vilified opposition candidate Moon Jae-in in online comments during the election period. Suseo Police Station in southern Seoul said its investigators found that the agent reportedly clicked an approval/objection button attached to Internet posts regarding the presidential candidates. “Comments or posts that support a certain presidential candidate have not been found. The police, however, wil
Jan. 3, 2013
-
Migrant worker supply plan confirmed to ease shortage
The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday confirmed a detailed plan to grant E-9 visas to 46,000 migrant workers under the employment permit system.According to the plan, 17,650 workers will be allowed in during the first quarter of this year to ease the acute labor shortage in the manufacturing, farming and fishing sectors. In the second quarter, another 13,350 workers will arrive. The rest will be hired in the third and fourth quarters, the ministry said in a statement. On top of the 46
Jan. 3, 2013
-
Court orders first ‘chemical castration’ of pedophile
In a landmark ruling, a Seoul court on Thursday sentenced a 31-year-old pedophile to 15 years in prison and ordered that he be subject to hormonal treatment that suppresses sexual impulses for three years.It marks the first time that the court has ordered the measure since a bill passed last July that allows hormonal treatment, or “chemical castration,” for convicted child molesters over 19 years of age who are at risk of repeating their crimes against minors under the age of 16.The defendant, o
Jan. 3, 2013
-
Cold snap to reach nadir Thursday
Much of Korea will shiver under the sharpest cold of this winter Thursday, with temperatures in Seoul dropping to minus 16 degrees Celsius and remaining well below zero throughout the day. Morning lows are expected to reach minus 22 degrees Celsius in Cheolwon, minus 20 degrees in Chuncheon, both in the mountainous Gangwon Province and 10 degrees in central cities of Gwangju and Daegu. Midday highs will range between minus 10 to plus 1 degrees, with that of Seoul forecast at minus 8. “It will b
Jan. 2, 2013
-
24 South Koreans killed or injured in Oregon bus crash
A total of 24 South Korean nationals were killed or injured in a deadly bus crash on a rural highway of the U.S. state of Oregon, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.Five Koreans were among the nine people who died after the tour bus carrying 47 people slid off an icy highway and down an embankment Sunday morning in Oregon, the ministry said in a statement, identifying the Korean victims by name.Local news reports said the crash took place as the bus was returning to Vancouver, Canada from L
Jan. 2, 2013
-
Ministry finds unsafe toxin levels at one third of children’s facilities
A third of children’s playgrounds and day care centers built before 2009 were found to have harmful metals at levels exceeding government safety standards, according to the Ministry of Environment. The ministry announced Wednesday the results of its survey of 700 playgrounds and 300 indoor facilities that were established before the government began to regulate environmental safety of new construction more strictly under a 2009 law. Of the 1,000 places, 322 failed to meet the safety standards. I
Jan. 2, 2013
-
Korea’s yawning generation gap
Park Ji-soo vividly remembers the subway ride to her university on the morning of Dec. 20, 2012, the day after Korea elected Park Geun-hye president.“I looked around. More than half of the passengers looked over 50 years old. I thought to myself that these are the people who chose a dictator’s daughter to be president over a human rights fighter who happened to be smarter and better versed in all areas,” the 25-year-old graduate student in Seoul said, her voice still tinged with bitterness. Like
Jan. 1, 2013
-
5060s power Korea’s high growth
Koreans in their 50s and 60s, many of them belonging to the Korean “baby boomer generation,” were the driving force behind the country’s breakneck rise from being one of the poorest countries to one of the world’s wealthiest. Believing that hard work and persistence would lead to success, they sacrificed weekends, holidays and much of their personal time to work, making possible the “Miracle on the Han River.”On the political front, they were witness to the country’s turbulent journey to democra
Jan. 1, 2013
-
2030s face gloomy outlook
If the defining phrase of the 5060 generation is the “baby boomer generation,” then that of the 2030 generation is the “880,000 won ($820) generation.” First coined in 2007 by an economist and a civic activist as the title of a book about the crisis facing the young generation, the phrase refers to the average monthly income a typical member of the 2030 generation working at a temporary job can expect to take home. The amount is calculated by multiplying the average monthly wage of temporary wor
Jan. 1, 2013
-
Seoul confirms deaths of 5 S. Koreans in Oregon bus crash
Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed on Tuesday the deaths of five South Koreans in a recent tour bus crash in the U.S. state of Oregon that reportedly killed four others and injured a dozen others. "Five of the nine killed in the charter bus in Oregon were Korean nationals and the other four held U.S. citizenship," the ministry said in a statement. Most of the nine victims were U.S. residents, it said. Local news reports said that the charter bus was carrying about 40 people
Jan. 1, 2013
-
Free child care for all kids aged 5 and under
Free child care is likely to be expanded to all children aged 5 and under starting from 2013, as the ruling camp seeks to implement President-elect Park Geun-hye’s welfare pledges. To fund it and other welfare expansion plans, the ruling Saenuri Party is also moving to increase tax revenues by drastically lowering the ceiling for a comprehensive financial income tax. Currently, about 50,000 Koreans who earn more than 40 million won a year in financial gains such as interest and dividends are sub
Dec. 30, 2012
-
13 colleges barred from accepting foreign students
The government has placed a year-long ban on 13 colleges from accepting new students from overseas for poor management and illegality in admissions.The schools ― four two-year colleges and nine universities including Seoul Women’s University, the University of Suwon and Hansei University in Gyeonggi Province ― will be barred from issuing student visas from the second semester of this year, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced on Sunday.The restriction does not apply to exc
Dec. 30, 2012
-
It’s the little changes that keep us going
It can be said that most people want to live a life that gives them some precious meaning. Even from their sorrows, they learn a lesson and find happiness. However, when we feel that we live every day losing something important in life, there seems to be almost nothing to help us realize the value of life. For the entire last year, I experienced exactly the same feeling, and I couldn’t find anything to tell me why I have to live. Then I found this book by chance at my aunt’s home, and I began to
Dec. 30, 2012
-
Pagoda Group looks beyond successful English hagwon
The name Pagoda may not ring a bell to those outside English education, but among English hagwon, it has made its name as a prestigious institution.Founded in 1969 in front of the Pagoda park in Jongno, the Pagoda Academy has evolved from one of the first English tutoring institutions to one of the biggest private education companies in this country.Pagoda currently runs 14 branches with more than 1,000 employees, and its foreign language courses now include English, Chinese and Japanese for pre
Dec. 30, 2012
-
Understanding Korean education based on international study
An international assessment of mathematics and science for the fourth and eighth grades, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, has been conducted every four years since 1995. According to the analysis of the TIMSS from 2011, Korea is placed in the top tier of participating countries. Korea’s fourth-grade mathematics and science achievements are respectively ranked second and first place, and eighth-grade scores respectively ranked first and third place. The results ind
Dec. 30, 2012
-
Retired high-ranking civil officer to serve in Uzbekistan
Kim Nam-seok, former vice minister of public administration and security, is expected to be appointed as a high-ranking public officer in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said last Friday that it and the Uzbekistan government are considering naming Kim as the vice chairman of the Central Asian nation’s Committee on Information and Communication Technologies. When the nomination is finally approved by the Uzbek government, Kim will be the first Korean
Dec. 30, 2012
-
‘Smile therapy’ professor Hwang Soo-kwan dies
Hwang Soo-kwan, 67, a medical professor who was widely known as “Shinbaram (excitement) Professor,” died of blood poisoning Sunday. After having breathing difficulties, Hwang had had heart surgery on Dec. 12 at Gangnam Severance Hospital in southern Seoul.The medical school professor at Yonsei University in Seoul gained popularity for his positive character as he promoted “smile therapy” on several TV programs in the late 1990s.He also worked as a senior advisor for the ruling Saenuri Party in 2
Dec. 30, 2012