Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Shinhwa’s concert tickets sold out in 5 minutes
Tickets sold out in just five minutes for pop group Shinhwa’s upcoming concert scheduled for March 16 and 17, according to their agency Shinhwa Company.The upcoming concert has been organized in celebration of the 15th anniversary of their debut. The six-member group, one of the early “idol” bands in the country, debuted in 1998 and enjoyed much popularity along with G.O.D., Fly to the Sky, H.O.T. and S.E.S. Tickets for the concert, about 25,000 of them, were sold out just five minutes after bei
PerformanceFeb. 15, 2013
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Actress recalls being abused, urge action against exploitation
Hollywood actress Thandie Newton revealed on Thursday her personal experience of being sexually abused as a teen, and urged people to take actions against violence against women.Newton, a 40-year-old British native, said in an interview with CNN that as a young actress, she was “objectified to the extremes” through the things she was expected to in auditions.She told of an incident that took place when she was 18. Newton had gone back for a second audition for a part in a movie when the director
FilmFeb. 15, 2013
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Thai couple smooch to a new world record
A kiss lasting nearly two-and-a-half days propelled one determined Thai couple to a new record for the world's longest smooch on Valentine's Day, organizers said Friday.Hospital security guard Ekkachai Tiranarat, 44, and 33-year-old housewife Laksana locked lips for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds, smashing last year's Guinness World Record by more than eight hours.The romance of the clinch may have been marred by competition rules requiring contestants to remain on their feet throughout, sl
PeopleFeb. 15, 2013
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Bilingual babies get good at grammar
Babies as young as 7 months can begin to learn two languages even if they have vastly different grammatical structures, Canadian and French researchers say.A study by the University of British Columbia and Universite Paris Descartes reports infants in bilingual environments use pitch and duration cues to discriminate between languages, such as English and Japanese, even though those languages use opposite word orders.In English, a function word comes before a content word -- the dog, his hat, w
CultureFeb. 15, 2013
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Heart of darkness in interlocking stories
Revenge: Eleven Dark TalesBy Yoko Ogawa(Picador)Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow has some company in Japanese writer Yoko Ogawa, whose “Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales” is a storehouse of creepy and vicious behavior from otherwise normal-seeming people.In her books that have been translated into English so far, Ogawa has shown a propensity for characters in the grip of obsessions, be they the benign mathematical fixation of the brain-injured scholar in “The Professor and the
BooksFeb. 14, 2013
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Writers reveal motivations
Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Writers on How and Why They Do What They DoEdited by Meredith Maran (Plume)Joan Didion had it right. In her 1976 essay “Why I Write,” originally published in the New York Times Book Review, she lays out the template in no uncertain terms: “In many ways writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act. You can disguise its qualifiers and tentative subjun
BooksFeb. 14, 2013
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Lives of the ordinary seen at airport
Today’s Incheon International Airport boasts great size and spacious duty-free shops, but things were quite different just 40-some years ago. Local reporter Lee Hwang’s latest book, “Airport Reportage,” chronicles the history of local airports, from the very first one on Yeouido, Seoul, to the one in Incheon today. Throughout his 40-year career as a journalist, Lee covered events that took place in airports, witnessing countless historic moments. Lee joined local daily Hankook Ilbo in 1970 and
BooksFeb. 14, 2013
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Sungnyemun restored to its original Joseon glory
Sungnyemun, a historic gate in downtown Seoul whose restoration is near completion, was unveiled to the press on Thursday ahead its unveiling to the general public in April. Along with the gate, parts of the Seoul City Wall, of which Sungnyemun was one of its four main gates during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), were also restored to portray the original atmosphere of the gate. The National Treasure No. 1 was severely damaged on Feb. 10, 2008 in an arson attack by a mentally disturbed man in hi
CultureFeb. 14, 2013
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SPO to hike ticket prices
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will raise ticket prices to make ends meet, the newly appointed CEO of the state-subsidized organization said Thursday. “The price was set when SPO was not so popular. After so many years, we need to rationalize our ticket price,” said Park Hyung-jung, who was inaugurated on Feb. 1, at a press meeting on Thursday. Today, the SPO led by Maestro Chung Myung-whun has become arguably the nation’s most popular orchestra with its 2013 season tickets being sold out. Tic
PeopleFeb. 14, 2013
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Syrian official warns of trafficking in antiquities
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ― A Syrian government official warned Wednesday of rampant trafficking in antiquities from his country and appealed for U.N. help in halting the illicit trade that has flourished during the nearly 23-month-long civil war.Syria’s turmoil has increasingly threatened the country’s rich archaeological heritage but the issue of smuggling artifacts has taken a back seat to more dramatic images as some of the most significant sites got caught in the crossfire between regime forces an
CultureFeb. 14, 2013
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Korean director frustrated with Hollywood system
It seems that his first foray into Hollywood wasn’t so easy for famed director Kim Jee-woon.“Hollywood may not be so great for (Korean) filmmakers,” said the director, after the press premiere of his Hollywood debut “The Last Stand” in Seoul on Wednesday.Kim, best known for his 2003 horror “A Tale of Two Sisters” and 2010 thriller “I Saw the Devil,” is back with a $30-million English-language film featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead. Directing the action flick in the U.S. was “lonely” a
FilmFeb. 14, 2013
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Best Actress winners to present at Oscars
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Best Actress Oscar winners Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon will be among the presenters at next week’s 85th Academy Awards, organizers said Wednesday. The four are the latest addition to the presenting cast at the February 24 show, which already includes former honorees Meryl Streep and Catherine Zeta-Jones.Berry won the award for her performance in “Monster’s Ball” (2001), Bullock for 2009’s “The Blind Side,” Kidman for “The Hours” (2002) and
FilmFeb. 14, 2013
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‘Legend of 2PM’ shoots to top of Oricon Chart
2PM’s second Japanese album, “Legend of 2PM” ranked first place on the Oricon Charts. “Legend of 2PM has sold six times more copies than the album in second place on the Oricon Chart. The sales numbers prove their popularity,” said a representative from JYP, the group’s agency.The second album contains 13 tracks in all with nine new tracks and four from their previously released singles including “Masquerade,” “Beautiful,” “If You are Here,” and “Forever.”Last year was a breakthrough year for 2P
PerformanceFeb. 14, 2013
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Twenty One Pilots to unleash ‘schizoid pop’ live in Seoul
From self-releasing albums to being named one of the “2013 Artists to Watch” by MTV, the two members of the alternative pop rock band Twenty One Pilots are making a name for themselves as a dynamic music force to be reckoned with this year. Tyler Joseph formed the band Twenty One Pilots in 2009 with a couple of his college buddies, putting out two self-released albums. Joseph later met drummer Josh Dun through a mutual friend and the two ended up forming a duo. “The first time we hung out, we st
PerformanceFeb. 14, 2013
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Psy to be on postage stamps
A set of postage stamps featuring Psy, the singer of the global hit “Gangnam Style,” will be released next week, the performer’s local management agency said Thursday.The stamps will hit shelves Monday to “commemorate the global success of ‘Gangnam Style,’” YG Entertainment said.The video for the song became the most-viewed YouTube clip in December, topping 1 billion hits, and broke the 1.3 billion mark early this week.The stamp series includes six stamps on three artistic cards, both featuring
PeopleFeb. 14, 2013
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ACRC chairman elected Asian director
Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission chairman Lee Sung-bo has been elected as one of three Asian directors of the International Ombudsman Institute, the commission said Thursday.The institute was established by 147 ombudsman institutions from around 100 countries in Vienna, Austria in 1978 to share their experiences of promoting civil rights.Six candidates, including Lee, ran for Asian director in an electronic vote held Wednesday. Three contestants ― Lee, Panit Nitithanprapas, chief ombuds
PeopleFeb. 14, 2013
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Actress models in NYT bibimbap ad
Hallyu actress Lee Young-ae appeared in the Feb. 13 edition of the New York Times as a model advertising bibimbap. The advert in the U.S. daily newspaper was taken out by professor Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, who has promoted Korea overseas.The advertisement shows Lee in hanbok, smiling under the large headline “Bibimbap?” It also introduces her as an actress who shot to hallyu fame after playing a historical cook-turned-royal physician in the Joseon Era in a Korean T
PeopleFeb. 14, 2013
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Teens ‘sleep texting’ and don‘t remember
Some teens and adults are so connected with their smartphones they answer the buzz in their sleep and don‘t know they’re “sleep texting,” a U.S. expert says.Elizabeth Dowdell, a nursing professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, said her research involves Internet safety and many have told her about texts other people tell them they made but don‘t remember making.“Many parents tell me, ’My child is so connected they never leave their cellphone and they have it on their nightstand and the
CultureFeb. 14, 2013
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Profiles of minister-nominees: Yoo Jin-ryong, Culture, sports and tourism
Yoo, a former vice culture minister and the current dean of Hallyu Graduate School at the Catholic University of Korea, has been named as the new culture minister. He received his bachelor’s degree in commerce and trade from Seoul National University, and a Ph.D in public administration from Hanyang University. Yoo became a public official in 1978 and served a number of positions in the nation’s cultural sector, including the secretary-general of Korea National University of Arts, and deputy sec
CultureFeb. 13, 2013
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Salt of the earth in Sinan, Yeonggwang
In the far southern villages of Sinan and Yeonggwang in South Jeolla Province, there are endless salt farms glaring with white crystalline under the sizzling sun. They are the so-called salterns, and appear on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List. “Salterns are the result of human interaction with the environment and are also an outstanding example of sea water usage. They show the continuity of a living culture in which people have long employed the natural environment to produce items
CultureFeb. 13, 2013