Most Popular
-
1
Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
-
2
What's next for the government's push in quota hike?
-
3
Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
-
4
Woman falls to death from acquaintance's home after exhibiting ‘unexplained' behaviors
-
5
N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-US military drills, warns of 'catastrophic aftermath'
-
6
‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
-
7
[Robert J. Fouser] Social attitudes toward language proficiency
-
8
N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
-
9
[Graphic News] How much do Korean adults read?
-
10
N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
-
Anti-graft law causes confusion ahead of Teachers’ Day
The age-old tradition of giving gifts to teachers on Teachers Day on May 15 is now against the law in South Korea, but many parents still have no clue as to what extent the laws goes. A series of questions bombarded the anti-graft watchdog’s official website Friday, asking whether giving a handmade carnation flower or a small gift valued at less than 50,000 won ($44.50) would be illegal under the anti-graft law.The Kim Young-ran Act, named after the former Supreme Court justice who first drafted
May 14, 2017
-
Menstrual cups to be authorized for sale
Feminine hygiene menstrual cups will be available soon in South Korea, government officials said Sunday.According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, menstrual cups will officially be imported to the local market as early as July, when an import license is issued.An image of menstrual cups (123RF)The ministry said it is in the process of reviewing data submitted from a number of companies willing to produce or import menstrual cups, mainly examining the safety of the products. It will issue
May 14, 2017
-
More remains found in Sewol
Another human bone fragment was discovered inside the Sewol ferry on Sunday, possibly from a victim of the disaster, raising expectations on recovering more remains.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Sunday the search team had found a human bone fragment as they searched through fourth-floor bedrooms at 9 a.m. Sunday.The fourth-floor bedrooms are where most of the Danwon High school students stayed on the day of the sinking. The ministry said the nine missing bodies are believed to be in
May 14, 2017
-
Moon Jae-in’s civil servant pledge draws mixed reaction among aspirants
President Moon Jae-in’s pledge to create 12,000 new jobs in the public sector, including the recruitment of firefighters, police officers and teachers, has been receiving mixed reactions from job seekers aspiring to be civil servants. In the recent presidential campaign, liberal candidate Moon’s camp envisioned a 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion) supplementary budget to bankroll the jobs policy. The scheme features hiring 1,500 more firefighters and equal numbers of police officers and social worke
May 14, 2017
-
Koreans' medical expenditures before death soar: data
South Koreans' medical expenditures spent a year before death jumped more than threefold over the past decade, data showed Sunday, reflecting the rising need to beef up the country's hospice facilities and services.According to the National Health Insurance Service, South Koreans aged 40 and above on average spent 15.9 million won ($14,127) over the one-year period before death in 2015, soaring from 4.7 million won posted in 2005. (Yonhap)The organization said while the increase came as hospital
May 14, 2017
-
Irregular workers account for 33.6% of public sector employees: data
Around a third of workers at South Korea's public organizations are irregular employees, data showed Sunday, with President Moon Jae-in vowing to turn them into full-time positions within his five-year term. President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)According to the government's All Public Information in One information portal, irregular employees numbered 144,205, 33.6 percent of the 429,402 workers at 335 public organizations under the government as of end-March. In 89 organizations, irregulars took up mo
May 14, 2017
-
Search team identifies missing student's remains in Sewol ferry
South Korea's search team investigating the Sewol ferry, which was salvaged three years after it sank in the country's worst maritime disaster, said Saturday it has identified the remains of a missing high school student.The team said the victim's family identified the remains of a female student named Cho Eun-hwa, by reviewing parts of discovered teeth. The remains were found on the fourth deck close to the stern of the ship.(Yonhap)According to workers, the remains of another female student mi
May 13, 2017
-
Number of new child adoptees in Korea falls to record low in 2016
The number of new child adoptees in South Korea reached a record low last year, data showed Saturday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of new child adoptees stood at 880 in 2016, falling 17 percent on-year. (Yonhap)Among the new adoptees, 334 were adopted by overseas families.Of those, 67 percent were sent to the United States. Other destinations included Sweden, Canada and Norway. A whopping 98 percent of the children adopted by overseas households
May 13, 2017
-
Gwanghwamun rises as center of democracy
South Korea is a country of many contrasts and Gwanghwamun, the widest street at the very heart of its capital Seoul, is where they all collide. History mingles with a bustling metropolis here. Society’s top elites share the space with protests of all kinds and tourists. It is also here that South Koreans witnessed the massive grassroots movement that unseated former President Park Geun-hye and brought in a new leader, President Moon Jae-in, this week. An aerial view of Gwanghwamun Square in Se
May 12, 2017
-
[Eye Interview] A bank for modern-day Jean Valjeans
In “Les Miserables,” Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic set in the French Revolution, the main protagonist Jean Valjean ends up spending 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving children. In South Korea in 2015, a bank opened to help modern-day Jean Valjeans, poor petty offenders who go to jail because they can’t afford to pay a few million won in fines and penalties. “As long as their offenses are not grave, we consider lending,” Oh Chang-ik, head of the Jean Valjea
May 12, 2017
-
Moon Jae-in orders scrapping of state textbooks
President Moon Jae-in ordered the scrapping of the controversial state-published history textbooks, a signature project of impeached former President Park Geun-hye, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. The newly elected president has also issued a directive to allow a song, banned under the previous conservative administrations, to be sung at the upcoming event that marks the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju. With the presidential order, “March for the Beloved” will likely be sung for the first tim
May 12, 2017
-
Most Koreans expect Moon to do good job: survey
More than 80 percent of South Koreans expect new President Moon Jae-in to skillfully manage state affairs, a survey showed Thursday.In the poll conducted Wednesday, 83.8 percent of respondents said they think the new president will be "very good" (35.3 percent) or "quite good" (48.5 percent) at running the government, the Korea Society Opinion Institute said.The survey was conducted on 1,044 adults the day after Moon was elected to replace Park Geun-hye, the former president impeached over a cor
May 11, 2017
-
Ex-President Park's records transferred to state archives
Former President Park Geun-hye's official documents have all been transferred to the state archives, officials said Thursday. The transfer of 11.06 million records created at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and other agencies was completed as of Tuesday, according to the Presidential Archives under the National Archives of Korea.It said 9.34 million files were electronic and the other 1.72 million were hard copies. This combined image, provided by the National Archives of Korea on May 11,
May 11, 2017
-
Intensive search and rescue efforts end for missing ship
Intensive search and rescue efforts for a missing South Korean cargo ship and its crew have come to an end more than a month after they sank in the South Atlantic, a government official said Thursday. The Stella Daisy carrying iron ore with 24 crew members including eight South Koreans on board went missing in waters near Uruguay after sending a distress call saying the ship was sinking on March 31. Two of the Philippine crew members were later found alive. Stellar Daisy, a South Korean cargo s
May 11, 2017
-
Korea asks for Chinese gov't help with deadly bus accident
Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam has asked for the Chinese government's assistance in handling the aftermath of a deadly car accident in China which killed 10 Korean children, the foreign ministry here said Thursday. (Yonhap)A school bus caught fire in a car accident inside the Taojiakuang Tunnel in Weihai, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong on Tuesday, killing 10 South Korean kindergarteners and two Chinese people aboard the vehicle. In a meeting with Amb. Qiu Guohong on Wedn
May 11, 2017
-
Seoul sends 58 Korean teachers to Thailand this year
About 60 South Korean teachers have been sent to Thailand this year to teach Korean to young students there, the Ministry of Education said Thursday, as demand for Korean language learning is rapidly growing in the Southeast Asian country.The ministry said a total of 58 Korean teachers went to Thailand this year to teach Korean at as many middle and high schools across Thailand until March next year.South Korean teachers pose for the camera before leaving for Thailand. (Ministry of Education)Min
May 11, 2017
-
Prosecutor general offers to step down
Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam offered to step down from office Thursday, apparently clearing the way for President Moon Jae-in to push for reform, one of the new leader’s key campaign pledges. “The investigation of former President Park Geun-hye has been concluded, the presidential election is over and the new president has been sworn in. I see no more tasks left for me,” Kim said via his office. It was not immediately clear whether Moon will accept the resignation.Prosecutor-General Kim Soo-na
May 11, 2017
-
Seoul Zoo eager to restore Korean leopards
Seoul Zoo said Thursday it is pushing to introduce Amur leopards in an effort to restore Korean leopards, which died out in the region during Japanese colonial rule in the early 20th century. To that end, the zoo will hold a seminar on the conservation of Amur leopards by inviting renowned zoologist Jo Cook, the head of the London-based Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance on Friday, Seoul Zoo head Lee Ki-seop said. Cook is also the chief manager of a program to breed and manage Amur leopards at the
May 11, 2017
-
Korea sees steady rise in constipated patients
The number of South Koreans suffering from constipation has been on a steady rise in recent years with sexagenarians and older people taking up some 40 percent of the total, data showed Thursday.Constipation sufferers in the country numbered 655,000 people in 2016, up from 616,000 the previous year and 595,000 two years earlier, according to the data by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. (Yonhap)Those in their 60s and older people accounted for 39 percent of the total, followed by
May 11, 2017
-
Electorate expected to shrink, become older from low birthrate
The number of eligible voters will peak in the 2032 presidential election, after which the electorate will shrink and become much older as the low birthrate begins to take its toll, population statistics indicated Thursday.Assuming that the presidential race is held every five years with the voting age set at 19, the number of eligible voters in 2032, three elections from now, will hit its peak at 45,198,147 people, according to Statistics Korea. This is 6.4 percent more than the 42,479,710 in T
May 11, 2017