Most Popular
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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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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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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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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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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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Health insurance criteria for foreigners, overseas Koreans to become stricter in April
Following an amendment to the Health Insurance Act that goes into effect on April 3, foreign nationals and overseas South Koreans must reside in the country for at least six months to receive health insurance coverage as dependents of the actual subscribers. The new measures, however, will allow children under the age of 19 or spouses of foreign workers to be covered by the national health insurance before residing in Korea for six months so that families of diplomats and expatriate employees ca
Jan. 24, 2024
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Extreme cold temperatures to continue until Fri. morning
As a cold continental high pressure extends from northern China, temperatures will remain below freezing nationwide on Wednesday and continue until Friday morning, said the Korea Meteorological Administration. In the central region, eastern parts of North Jeolla Province and inland regions of North Gyeongsang Province where a cold wave warning has been issued, temperatures were recorded to be as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius, while other regions’ temperatures recorded as low as minus 5 C
Jan. 24, 2024
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S. Korean food agency warns against eating … toothpicks, seriously
South Korea's food and drug safety authorities on Wednesday issued a warning not to eat toothpicks -- specifically the green ones made of corn starch. In response to a growing social media trend of cooking and eating the toothpicks, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said the starched toothpicks are supposed to be used only for sanitary purposes. The officials explained that the toothpicks are hygiene items, just like cups and straws, and are not subject to the safety regulations that app
Jan. 24, 2024
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Court sentences 2-year jail term for concert ticket scam
Seoul Eastern District Court on Wednesday sentenced a 29-year-old man to two years in prison for pretending to sell concert tickets and making some 12.4 million won ($9,200) in illegal profit. From April of August of last year, the defendant surnamed Lee posted notices on various websites that he was selling tickets for concerts, amusement parks and gift certificates at a discounted price, scamming 67 people. He lured the victims by saying he was selling tickets that had already sold out, using
Jan. 24, 2024
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Talent agency chief gets suspended term for embezzlement
The head of a local talent agency has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for illegally transferring the profit from the firm to the parent company, also run by him, a local court said Wednesday. Seoul Western District Court recently sentenced the 57-year-old defendant surnamed Ahn to three years in prison, suspended for four years, on charges of embezzlement. Investigation found that Ahn, formerly the chief of the now-defunct K-Stars, used the profit from the agency to operate K Stars
Jan. 24, 2024
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Reality check: How diverse is Korea really? Disabilities and politics (3)
As of 2022, individuals with disabilities make up 5.2 percent of South Korea's population. Using basic arithmetic, this percentage corresponds to approximately 15 seats in the country’s 300-member unicameral parliament. In reality, just four seats are currently occupied by individuals with disabilities, constituting only 1.3 percent. The first person with a disability to win a parliamentary seat as a constituency representative was Lee Chul-yong. In 1988, on the ticket of the libera
Jan. 24, 2024
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Court acquits ex-Yonsei professor who calls comfort women 'prostitutes'
A former Yonsei University professor indicted for making disparaging remarks against Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery was acquitted of defamation charges by a court on Wednesday. The Seoul Western District Court said it found Lew Seok-choon, who previously taught sociology at the prestigious university in Seoul, not guilty of defaming the Korean sexual slavery victims, euphemistically called "comfort women," during a lecture five years ago. Lew, a 69-year-old right
Jan. 24, 2024
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Bail granted to ex-Ssangbangwool head accused of illegal remittance to N. Korea
A local court on Tuesday granted bail to the former chairman of South Korean underwear maker Ssangbangwool who had been arrested for embezzlement and illegal remittance to North Korea. The Suwon District Court allowed former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sung-tae to be released on bail on condition that he pay 100 million won (US$75,000) and carry a real-time location tracking device with him until trials are over. The former chairman is expected to be released late Tuesday evening when the depos
Jan. 23, 2024
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Man gets suspended jail term for assaulting disabled spouse
A 69-year-old man who assaulted his disabled wife and threatened her with a wooden stick was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, a local court said Monday. The defendant surnamed Choi has been charged with physical abuse against a disabled person and "special threat," which Article 284 of the Criminal Act defines as imposing a threat with a weapon and can be punished by up to seven years in prison or a 10 million won ($7,500) fine. Investigators found that Choi
Jan. 23, 2024
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S. Korea mandates permit for 'aggressive' dogs
South Korea recently implemented a system mandating owners or would-be owners of particularly aggressive dogs to have their pet ownership permitted by their regional government, as part of the measure to prevent accidents involving pets. The two-part measure for "maenggyeons," or aggressive dogs, will be effective starting in April 27. Those wishing to own any of five breeds of dogs categorized as "aggressive" by the ordinance of the Animal Protection Act must receive a permi
Jan. 23, 2024
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Nearly 140,000 register as organ donors in 2023, up 18% on-year
Nearly 140,000 South Koreans expressed their intention to donate their body parts and organs after death last year, up 18 percent from the previous year, according to government data released Tuesday. Data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that new registrations for the donations of organs, tissue and eyes reached 139,090 in 2023. New donor registrations recorded 115,517 in 2020, 158,940 in 2021 and 117,584 in 2022. In South Korea, the procurement of organs and tissues is restrict
Jan. 23, 2024
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Cold wave halts airplanes, freezes water meters
With a heavy snow advisory in effect centered on the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, frozen water meters, canceled flights and restricted ship operations have been reported across the country. No human lives have been lost due to the cold wave and snowfall, but there were damages to facilities across the country as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. There were 58 cases of damage related to water facilities, including water me
Jan. 23, 2024
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Free condoms at Youth Olympics spark protest
The Gangwon 2024 Organizing Committee’s decision to make 3,000 condoms freely available to some 1,800 athletes aged between 13 and 18 participating in this year’s Youth Olympics has sparked debate, with some arguing that it encourages teenagers to have sex, while others say it is an effective part of safe sex education. The committee said Tuesday that it had distributed 2,500 condoms to the Gangneung-Wonju National University athletes village, while the remaining 500 were sent to the
Jan. 23, 2024
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Police, media raided for possible leaks involving Lee Sun-kyun case
South Korean police on Tuesday raided the Incheon police agency over allegations of leaks related to the drug investigation into actor Lee Sun-kyun, whose death in December sparked criticism of how the case was handled. A media outlet that revealed detailed information about the Lee case also being investigated, reports said, with the focus on whether the police had given them the information. Investigators from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency on Monday procured evidence from the Inc
Jan. 23, 2024
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227 shops damaged in fire at traditional market
A fire that broke out late Monday at a traditional market in South Chungcheong Province left 227 shops damaged with no casualty reported, South Korean fire authorities said Tuesday. Officials believe the flames broke out at around 11:08 p.m. in the seafood section of a market in Seocheon-gun, a town on the western coast of the peninsula which is some 165 kilometers south of Seoul. It took some 361 firemen a little over two hours to extinguish the fire that triggered a level 2 emergency response
Jan. 23, 2024
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Seoul doubles personnel to protect vulnerable amid cold
In response to the severe cold, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has doubled its personnel to protect the safety of vulnerable groups, its officials said Tuesday. Since the cold wave warning was issued at 9 p.m. Sunday, a total of 124 city workers, up from the usual 50, have been dispatched to carry out emergency response and relief tasks, with a particular focus on people without homes, who are highly susceptible to harsh weather conditions. The daily low in Seoul plunged to minus 14 degrees
Jan. 23, 2024
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Reality check: How diverse is Korea really? Age and politics (2)
Across cultures and political systems, a common trait is that those in decision-making roles, particularly in politics and state governance, are often older than the average voter. This observation holds true in the context of South Korea’s unicameral parliament and central government, where the decision-making process is predominantly controlled by people in their 50s and 60s. Before delving into age representations in the parliament and government, here's a quick overview of Korea
Jan. 23, 2024
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2 police officers indicted over deadly Itaewon crowd crush
Prosecutors have indicted two police officers over the bungled response to the deadly 2022 crowd crush in the district of Itaewon, officials said Monday. The indictment of the two officers who were overseeing patrol duties at a precinct station in Itaewon came a year and three months after the crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, which killed 159 people on a Halloween weekend in the district's entertainment neighborhood. The Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office has charged them with professio
Jan. 22, 2024
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[Campus Now] Seoul vs. the rest: University pyramid crumbling at the bottom
“I would rather give up another year of my youth studying and trying again if I don’t make it ‘in-Seoul.'” Kim Tae-yoo, is set to graduate high school in just a month, but he says he would rather endure another year of studying if he is not accepted to a Seoul university. Koreans divide the country's 335 colleges in two: those "in-Seoul," and the rest. “Going to university outside of Seoul has never been an option. Even if the schools in other pr
Jan. 22, 2024
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Asking about applicant's disability during hiring process discriminatory: Supreme Court
South Korea's Supreme Court on Monday confirmed a lower court ruling that asking person with a disability if that disability made them "extra sleepy" is an act of discrimination. In a recently-confirmed ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the plaintiff had been discriminated against by the Hwaseong city government by being asked if his mental disability, or the medication he takes because of it, makes him particularly prone to sleepiness. The plaintiff applied in 2020 for a grad
Jan. 22, 2024