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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US expert says N. Korea might ignore Trump if he returns to White House
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[Photo News] Seoul seeks 'best sleeper'
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Yoon vows to advance freedom, welfare to uphold spirit of 1980 pro-democracy uprising
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[Weekender] Best places for winter bird-watching
Migratory birds visit South Korea from around October as the air begins to grow cool, heralding the change in season. These winged guests come annually from Russia, China and Mongolia, flying without rest for 15 hours per day to spend a “warmer” winter on the peninsula and nurture new life.Their arrival here makes winter prime time for bird-watching, with several spots that are especially popular. These sites are usually near river basins and deltas, where rivers meet the sea. A flock of migrat
Nov. 18, 2016
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[Weekender] Arrival of winter guests
CHEORWON, Gangwon Province -- From October, hundreds of winged guests arrive at Cheorwon, a rural town near the northern border. On a long, arduous journey to southern wintering grounds, about 800 cranes make a stopover at Cheorwon for its some 10,500 hectares of rice fields, which provide abundant food and resting places for them. Kim Su-ho, a local vet for wild birds with over 20 years of experience, says he is able to tell the difference between cranes that have been there before and those vi
Nov. 18, 2016
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Local craftsmen hit by nation brand project
A state-run body for local craftsmen ended up taking away space originally designed for artists in the name of helping push a national project, according to sources with knowledge of the industry. The Korea Craft and Design Foundation, a state-run organization located in Insa-dong, Seoul, had initially provided office and research space to craftsmen for a fee. Designed to help individual craftsmen and the industry, the foundation has exhibited traditional crafts like fans, wooden masks and folk
Nov. 17, 2016
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Questioning of Park unlikely to come soon
President Park Geun-hye will face prosecutors next week, her lawyer said Thursday, effectively forcing them to indict her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of an influence-peddling and corruption scandal, without the president’s testimony.Investigators have been looking to question Park directly over her alleged involvement in a scandal involving her civilian friend Choi. It concerns evidence that Choi was allowed to meddle in state affairs and misappropriate public funds. “If it ca
Nov. 17, 2016
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Controversy persists over HIV test for English teachers
To teach English in Korea, Christina had to prove she was not HIV-positive. The US citizen was reluctant, but complied with the rule, undergoing a blood test for HIV and submitting the results to local authorities in order to get a job at a public school. When she found out that Korean and Korean-American teachers at the school were exempted from the test despite doing the same job, she was offended. “It perpetuates perceptions of foreigners as dirty, dangerous and impure. I think it
Nov. 17, 2016
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Ex-presidential aide questioned over allegations of pressuring CJ Group
Prosecutors on Thursday grilled former presidential secretary over allegations he pressured local food and entertainment giant CJ Group to fire its vice chairwoman.The prosecution team, looking into the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's close friend, called in Cho Won-dong to appear as a suspect before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to answer questions about the suspicions raised."I will tell everything to the prosecution," he told reporters before entering the prosecut
Nov. 17, 2016
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Prosecutors indict man who shot, killed police officer
Prosecutors said Thursday they have indicted a 45-year-old South Korean man suspected of killing an on-duty police officer with a homemade gun last month.The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office said it indicted Seong Byeong-dae on Wednesday on charges of murder and attempted murder for shooting and killing officer Kim Chang-ho, 54, when he was responding to a report of Seong's violence in northern Seoul on Oct. 19. The suspect is also accused of injuring two people in the process. This
Nov. 17, 2016
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606,000 students take college entrance exam
Some 606,000 high school seniors and graduates in South Korea took the state-administered annual college entrance exam Thursday, as the government implemented various traffic control and anti-noise measures near nationwide testing sites.A total of 605,987 students, down about 25,200 from last year, registered to take the standardized College Scholastic Ability Test that was administered at 1,183 testing sites, according to the Ministry of Education. Emotional support for the test-takers (Yonhap
Nov. 17, 2016
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Korea to expand use of drones to delivery, life-saving missions
South Korean firefighters may soon start using drones in their search and rescue missions, while remote controlled drones may also help save lives by airlifting much needed medicine and other emergency supplies to people in areas often stranded by seasonal floods or heavy snowfall, the government said Thursday.One such area is Yeongwol, a vast county of about 40,000 people located 204 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province.Situated along the Taebaek Mountain Range, Yeongwol is one of the m
Nov. 17, 2016
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Saenuri chief reaffirms commitment to Park
Ever since the scandal tied to President Park Geun-hye erupted, her most loyal ally in the parliament, Saenuri Party Chairman Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, has been facing a backlash from party members.A growing number of Saenuri members are demanding a complete overhaul of the party leadership which is chaired by Lee and dominated by his fellow Park loyalists. Some members are even fasting while calling for Lee to step down immediately. Yet, the three-term lawmaker is refusing to budge. Saenuri Party le
Nov. 16, 2016
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Prosecution vows to question Park by Friday
The prosecution said Wednesday that questioning President Park Geun-hye must take place by Friday, reiterating that she is an essential witness in the investigation into the scandal involving her confidante Choi Soon-sil.A questioning session with Park was slated for Wednesday, but was postponed after her lawyer said it was “physically impossible” for her client to comply at a press conference Tuesday. “An investigation tomorrow doesn’t seem plausible at this point. We (prosecutors) said it was
Nov. 16, 2016
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Exam takers to join anti-Park rally
About 600,000 high school students will take the national college entrance exam Thursday and some of them plan to express their anger at the Choi Soon-sil scandal at a rally later in the evening. High school seniors from a teen organization have registered to hold a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. on Thursday in front of the Bosingak Bell next to Jonggak Station in Seoul. “Many high school seniors wanted to join last Saturday’s rally, but they could not because the exam was so close,” Choi Seo-hyun,
Nov. 16, 2016
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Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway to be extended
Some 100 meters of walkway by the famous stone wall surrounding Deoksugung in Seoul will be opened to the public next August. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said earlier this week that it has begun work on the section of the walkway that is currently on the property of the British Embassy, following an agreement between Seoul City and the embassy last year.A 170-meter section of the 1.1-kilometer wall is currently off limits to pedestrians, as it is part of the British Embassy compound. After
Nov. 16, 2016
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New city tour bus debuts in Seoul
A new Seoul City Tour Bus debuted this week with a single deck and half open top. This adds to the existing three types of sightseeing buses operated for tours of the capital city: a fully open top double-decker bus, a normal single-decker bus and a trolley bus.Seoul City Tour BusHalf of the back portion of the new vehicle is equipped with windows that can be removed and a foldable top, so that it can flexibly respond to weather conditions, explained the city tour bus operator Honeymoon Travel.
Nov. 16, 2016
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Multicultural marriages decrease 7.9% in 2015
The number of multicultural marriages, a marital union between a South Korean national and a foreigner, continued to decrease last year from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday.Multicultural marriages fell 7.9 percent on-year to 22,462 in 2015, accounting for 7.4 percent of the country's total of 303,000 in the year, according to the data released by Statistics Korea.The number of cross-cultural marriages has been on a steady decline since 2011, when it sank 12.5 percent on-year to
Nov. 16, 2016
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Presidential office denies allegations of Choi boarding Park's flight in May
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday denied a report that President Park Geun-hye's confidante at the center of an influence-peddling scandal boarded the presidential flight on a trip to Iran in May.Citing an unnamed source, a local media outlet reported Tuesday that Choi Soon-sil boarded the flight to accompany Park during her three-day state visit to Tehran. The trip was aimed at enhancing bilateral ties with the Islamic republic following its landmark nuclear deal with the West
Nov. 16, 2016
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Former vice culture minister quizzed over influence-peddling scandal
A former vice culture minister was questioned by prosecutors Wednesday over his alleged involvement in the influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's close friend that has been rocking the country.Kim Chong appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as a suspect to undergo questioning over allegations that he gave business favors to Choi Soon-sil, suspected of having been a behind-the-scenes power broker in the current administration. In return, he is ac
Nov. 16, 2016
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All flights to be banned from taking-off, landing during college entrance exam
A temporary noise ban will prevent all aircraft from landing or taking off during a short listening session of the annual college entrance exam to be held this week, the government said Wednesday.The ban will be enforced between 1:05 p.m. and 1:40 p.m. Thursday when some 600,000 students and college applicants will take the English listening part of the college scholastic ability test, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.All except emergency aircraft will be banned from takin
Nov. 16, 2016
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Seoul Mayor receives award for sustainable development
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has been awarded the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development for his efforts to develop Seoul as a “Sharing City.” Park, who worked as a civil rights lawyer and activist before becoming mayor, is recognized for having integrated social issues into “sharing economy” projects, as well as raising public awareness and supporting initiatives in the sharing of information and assets, the award organizer said in a statement. Park is the first Korean, and the second in Asi
Nov. 16, 2016
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Court recognizes damage suffered by victims of humidifier disinfectant
A Seoul court ruled Tuesday that a local manufacturer of humidifier disinfectants should compensate victims who died of lung disease allegedly due to toxic substances in its products.This marks the first time that a local court has recognized damage in the “killer disinfectant” debacle, four years after the authorities pinpointed chemicals used in disinfectants as the likely reason behind what was then perceived as a mysterious lung disease mostly affecting pregnant women. So far, 189 deaths --
Nov. 15, 2016