Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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OECD calls for mental health reform in Korea
Korea needs to overhaul its mental health care system and end its long-accepted practice of isolating the mentally ill in hospitals, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report Thursday. The current system, dominated by hospitals and other long-term facilities and a high proportion of involuntary admissions, requires a thorough investigation of its cost-effectiveness as well as potential for human rights abuses, it added. “As in other OECD countries, Korea should s
Nov. 8, 2012
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Seoul sees rise in number of couples living apart
One in 10 married couples in Seoul City do not live together due mainly to work and the education of their children, according to Seoul’s demographic data from the past 15 years to 2010 unveiled on Thursday.The number of married couples who live separately in the metropolitan city jumped 61 percent to 210,000 households from 1995 to 2010. Such couples accounted for 9.5 percent of all households in 2010, up from 5.8 percent in 1995.Meanwhile, married couple-households fell as a proportion of the
Nov. 8, 2012
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S. Korea falls silent as students sit key exam
Military training was suspended, flights rescheduled and emergency calls reserved for latecomers Thursday as hundreds of thousands of South Korean students sat a crucial college entrance examination.As every year, the focus of the education-obsessed country narrowed for one day to ensuring the smooth running of the exam, seen as a defining moment that can hold the key to everything from future careers to marriage prospects.Police cars and motorbikes in cities across South Korea were on standby,
Nov. 8, 2012
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Over 660,000 students take college entrance exam
More than 660,000 high school students and graduates in South Korea took the state-administered annual college entrance exam on Thursday, the most crucial test seen as a deciding factor in an applicant's choice of college and subsequent career.A total of 668,522 people applied for the day-long standardized College Scholastic Ability Test, of which about three-quarters were high school students, the ministry said, adding this year's number of test takers dropped by about 4 percent from last year.
Nov. 8, 2012
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Forum to discuss sustainable development
More than 80 officials from governments and international organizations will gather in South Korea next week to discuss environment-friendly policies and sustainable development, organizers said Wednesday.The United Nations Office for Sustainable Development said it will hold a three-day international workshop from Nov. 14 in Songdo in Incheon, west of Seoul, with a focus on strengthening planning and implementation capabilities for sustainable development.“The workshop will provide opportunitie
Nov. 7, 2012
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Korean student in Melbourne suffers racist assault
SYDNEY (Yonhap News) ― A South Korean student staying in Melbourne was severely wounded after being assaulted by a group of Australian adolescents there, consular officials said Wednesday.The 33-year-old South Korean man surnamed Chang was attacked on Sep. 27 at a park near his school in the southern Australian city by several local teenagers, who cut off a joint of his little finger and broke his left arm, according to the officials.“When I was sitting in the park with my friend, more than 10 w
Nov. 7, 2012
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Korea ships used military goods to Mongolia
South Korea has shipped used military equipment and personal gears to Mongolia as part of efforts to expand defense cooperation between the two nations, the defense ministry said Wednesday.Seoul officials handed over a total of 1,565 items of personal gear and military vehicles in the Mongolian capital to support U.N. peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan and Sudan, the ministry said in a release. The support came after the defense chiefs of the two countries agreed to expand military cooperation i
Nov. 7, 2012
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School workers to go on strike over pay, status Friday
More than 50,000 short-term contract school workers will go on strike Friday, demanding improvement in pay and employment status, according to the workers’ union.Their unprecedented walkout is expected to cause disruption in school operations, especially in meal services, in which nearly 70 percent of the workers are involved.The alliance of unionized irregular workers at elementary, middle and high schools nationwide announced Wednesday that their members overwhelmingly approved its call for th
Nov. 7, 2012
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Hangeul Day becomes public holiday again
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security on Wednesday released an advanced notice that Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, will be re-designated as a public holiday. The reinstatement was made at the Cabinet meeting 21 years after it was scrapped as a the public holiday due to complaints from businesses that the number of bank holidays was damaging productivity. Hangeul Day was first designated as a public holiday in 1946 honoring the promulgation of the writin
Nov. 7, 2012
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670,000 to take college entry test
undreds of thousands of students will sit the day-long college entrance exam nationwide on Thursday. The College Scholastic Ability Test for the 2013 school year will be taken at 11,191 places from 8:40 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. Applicants must arrive 30 minutes before the test starts, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.The number of applicants dropped some 3 percent from a year earlier to 668,522. The government plans to increase operation of the subway and buses in the morning rush
Nov. 7, 2012
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S. Korean student in Melbourne suffers racist assault
A South Korean student staying in Melbourne was severely wounded after being assaulted by a group of Australian adolescents there, consular officials said Wednesday.The 33-year-old South Korean man surnamed Chang was attacked on Sep. 27 at a park near his school in the southern Australian city by several local teenagers, who cut off a joint of his little finger and broke his left arm, according to the officials."When I was sitting in the park with my friend, more than 10 white teenagers came to
Nov. 7, 2012
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Lee: Keep N. Korea from affecting Dec. election
President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet on Tuesday to ensure South Korea is thoroughly prepared not only for armed provocations by North Korea, but also any attempts by Pyongyang to affect next month’s presidential election.North Korea is one of the most divisive issues in South Korean society, with liberals calling for greater reconciliation efforts and conservatives calling for stands on principle, and Pyongyang often attempts to influence elections in the South by criticizing or praisi
Nov. 6, 2012
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Special prosecutor says first lady questioning to be voluntary
The special counsel team investigating President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home scandal said Tuesday that they do not intend to follow through with a plan to question first lady Kim Yoon-ok if she refuses to cooperate. “The first lady, as she is just a witness in this case, may choose not to respond to our request for an interview. In that case, we have no means, and no intention, to force her,” assistant special counsel Lee Chang-hoon said in a press briefing. A day earlier, Lee had told repor
Nov. 6, 2012
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47 parents indicted in foreign school admissions scam
Prosecutors said on Tuesday they had indicted 47 parents on charges of forgery as part of an ongoing investigation into a massive admission fraud case involving several international schools here.Prosecutors said they took a 36-year-old, surnamed Kwon, into custody and indicted another 46 parents without physical detention for forging passports to help their children gain admission to international schools in Seoul and Incheon. Under the current law, only children with a parent with foreign citi
Nov. 6, 2012
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Korea's elderly suicides highest among OECD members
South Korea's elderly suicide rate was the highest among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Tuesday, prompting the country to come up with measures to counter the rise of suicides among economically strapped senior citizens.According to the data compiled by the OECD, 81.8 per 100,000 South Korean elderly citizens under 74 years of age committed suicide in 2010, while 160 out of 100,000 people took their own lives among those aged 7
Nov. 6, 2012
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Controversial welfare law for artists to go into effect this month
The government will push for various policies to promote welfare of artists normally struggling to make ends meet as related laws are set to come into force this month, the culture ministry said Tuesday.A controversial law aimed at protecting occupational rights of artists and promoting their creative activities will go into effect on Nov. 18 along with two enforcement ordinances that passed the Cabinet Tuesday, the ministry said.Under the laws, the government has earmarked 7 billion won ($6.4 m
Nov. 6, 2012
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3-yr prison term sought for lawmaker for money-for-nomination
Prosecutors on Monday demanded three years in prison for independent lawmaker Hyun Young-hee for bribing a former ruling party official in return for her nomination ahead of the April general elections.Hyun was indicted in September on suspicion of giving 50 million won ($45,766) to Cho Ki-moon, who worked at Saenuri Party's branch office in the southern port city of Busan, in return for securing her a spot on the proportional representation ticket ahead of the elections, according to the prosec
Nov. 5, 2012
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Moon pledges to curb education costs
Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in pledged Monday to introduce a package of reforms to curb soaring private education costs and competition.“In recent years, the competition for private education has expanded from middle and elementary schools to kindergartens,” Moon told reporters.The presidential candidate said that so-called prestigious high schools in the nation have “significantly” contributed to the rising cost of private education. He suggested Monday a ban on univ
Nov. 5, 2012
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Prosecutors to question reporter over Jeongsu foundation report
Prosecutors have summoned a reporter who revealed a recorded conversation by the chairman of a private scholarship foundation linked to Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye. The journalist, Choi Sung-jin, working for the Hankyoreh newspaper, is accused of illegally eavesdropping on the talks between Choi Phil-lip, chairman of the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, and senior officials from MBC. He reported on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 that they met at the foundation chairman’s office in cen
Nov. 5, 2012
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Education is now a global issue
There is an exclusive set of issues that is regarded as “global.” War, humanitarian disasters, international development and economics are issues where people think, act and care beyond the borders of their own state. In a few weeks’ time, at the Qatar National Conference Center in Doha, innovators from a wide variety of sectors around the world will come together to add another issue to this exclusive set: education. That is education ― not as a bolt-on to international development programs, wo
Nov. 5, 2012