Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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[Weekender] The ‘candle effect’: Why Koreans splurge on small home decor items
The demand for home decor items is growing among Koreans today, in a sensation that has been dubbed the “candle effect.” A spinoff of the “lipstick effect,” which refers to a hike in consumption of cosmetic goods during recession, the newly coined term indicates the increasing popularity of small home decor items such as scented candles, cushions and figurines that are more affordable than furniture but effectively liven up the home ambience.Virtually nonexistent just five years ago, the Korean
March 20, 2015
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Calendar
Theater”Cats“: The international production of the Broadway classic “Cats” is having its Seoul run from April 10 to May 10. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011, is the second longest-running show in Broadway history. It tells the story of the Jellicles, a tribe of cats who assemble for their annual junkyard gathering when one is chosen to be reborn for a new life. One-by-one the kittens take center stage to make their case for rebirth, singing and danci
March 20, 2015
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Korea to adopt common brand for state agencies
Korea plans to adopt common branding for all government departments and agencies, government officials said. According to a blueprint unveiled Tuesday, a new government identity will be developed by October and will be phased in from next March until 2017, replacing the existing brands and symbols of some 750 public institutions. “From development to application, the all-of-government brand is estimated to cost around 23.6 billion won ($20 million),” Won Yong-gi, director at the Ministry of Cult
March 17, 2015
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Quick food delivery favored part of Korean culture
Koreans and foreigners alike consider Korea’s staple culture to be its quick and convenient food delivery service.Now a survey has backed this up. According to an online survey conducted by the Corea Image Communication Institute, a majority of both Korean and foreign respondents, 54.60 percent and 50.87 percent, respectively, agreed that the fast food delivery service was their favorite part of Korean culture.In second place came the late operating hours, with 20.90 percent of Koreans and 22.61
March 17, 2015
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Early education starts from the womb?
“What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave,” says a popular old adage. While it means that habits acquired in youth tend to be hard to break, Korean people have long embraced a more literal interpretation of the saying.Since over 600 years ago, expectant mothers in Korea have been practicing taegyo, a series of prenatal routines aimed at nurturing a healthy, virtuous and skilled child. They try to see and hear only the most pleasant things starting from three months of pregnancy. Mot
March 16, 2015
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[Weekender] Struggles of a sleepless society
Instead of sipping lattes, visitors to one cafe in Gye-dong, central Seoul, get into hammocks and doze off, indulging in a short break from a hectic day in Korea’s busiest city.Nazzzam has attracted a lot of attention since opening last year as the nation’s first “nap cafe.” But its owner, Jeong Ji-eun, claims the place offers more than just shut-eye. “It’s not a sleeping area per se, but a place where people can take a break from their busy lives,” she said. Originally a freelance English teach
March 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Good dreams, bad dreams and baby omens
Lee Jae-in woke up one day from an uneasy dream. The 31-year-old, who rarely dreams, could vividly recall what was disturbing her. “Someone was pulling my teeth out,” she said. Feeling leery, she grabbed her smartphone to search online for clues about what the dream meant. Immediately, a portal site pulled up a long list of dream-interpreting websites and Q&A pages filled with answers. “Everyone said losing teeth was a bad omen,” said Lee. “I don’t trust dream interpretation 100 percent, but the
March 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Prophetic dreams?
What do Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler and Yi Seong-gye, the 14th century founder of the Joseon Kingdom, have in common? They all claimed to have seen their future in their dreams ― years and sometimes days before the actual events occurred.Abraham Lincoln told friends a few weeks before he was killed in April 1865 that he had seen his own body lying in state in the White House.“Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments,” Lincoln allegedly said about his dr
March 13, 2015
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‘Study death to live well’
In Ancient Rome, when triumphant generals marched in victory parades, they would hear the words “memento mori,” meaning “remember that you will die,” from a slave whose sole responsibility was to remind them of their mortality. The story of slaves reminding glorious generals of their human limitations may be apocryphal, but it delves into humans’ mortal nature. Death is inevitable, but people rarely bring it up in casual conversation. It’s almost taboo to do so in many countries, including Korea
March 13, 2015
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S. Korean violinist wins Italian concours
A rising South Korean violinist has won the first prize of the Paganini international competition, a local culture foundation sponsoring the artist said Tuesday.Yang In-mo received the top prize along with three special awards at the 54th Premio Paganini international violin competition that closed in Genova, Italy, on Sunday, the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation said.This marks the first time that a Korean has secured the first prize in the competition.The prize entitles him to a one-year spons
March 10, 2015
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Korean musical creators aim big
Buoyed by success at home and hungry for recognition overseas, Korean producers and creators of musicals have for years harbored ambitions for their own shows.Many of their works will unveil in the coming months in what many observers see as a test of their creativity, musicality and a knack for appeasing the audience. Like in previous years, the Korean market is set for an ample supply of foreign imports, namely from Broadway or West End, potentially making their box-office battle a pretty hard
March 8, 2015
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New journal explores Korea’s modern history
The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History has launched a new English-language academic journal to spotlight research and foster the exchange of ideas on contemporary Korean history. The biannual Journal of Contemporary Korean Studies features articles not only on Korean politics and economy but also on contemporary Korean social affairs, culture and the arts. It includes an essay section where contributors offer reflections on their personal experiences of Korean contemporary history, a
March 5, 2015
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Brecht epic to be told through ‘pansori’
“The Caucasian Chalk Circle,” a play written by German playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), will be told through the soul-piercing sounds of “pansori” in an upcoming theatrical production in Seoul. Korean-Japanese playwright and stage director Jung Eui-shin speaks at a news conference at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Monday. (National Theater of Korea)A National Changgeuk Company of Korea production, the experimental work will be directed by Korean-Japanese playwright and stage dir
March 3, 2015
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Around the hotels
Hong Kong cuisine at Sheraton Incheon HotelSheraton Incheon Hotel’s traditional Chinese restaurant YUE is presenting authentic Hong Kong cuisine from March 13 to 22. Two chefs have been invited from Jockey Club, one of the most prestigious social clubs in Hong Kong, for this special promotion. Chef Lap Sun Chan is currently associated with Cook-Po Chun Kitchen and won the silver award in the vegetable category of the 2011 Best of the Best Culinary Awards. Chef Kam Ho Lee is a highly renowned mas
Feb. 27, 2015
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Yeol to offer English lectures on Korean art, culture, history
The Korean Heritage Preservation Society, Yeol, will be presenting an English-language lecture series this year, delving into Korean art, culture and history. The series will deal with subjects ranging from traditional music to K-pop, the Korean War, North Korean films, folktales and Buddhist sculpture. They will feature distinguished scholars and experts in the relevant fields. The next lecture will be given at 11:30 a.m. on March 9 by Bak Sang-mee, professor of cultural anthropology at Hankuk
Feb. 25, 2015
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Remote villages visited by Hangeul creator revamped
Four remote villages where King Sejong, the creator of the Korean alphabet, went to cure an eye infection and put the finishing touches on his unique writing system, have been renovated to attract modern visitors, officials in the central city said Wednesday. Housed within this city, some 137 kilometers south of Seoul, the villages -- Jeogok, Usan, Sangdangsanseong and Hyeongdong -- are part of the Sejong 100 project being pushed by the municipal government. Hangeul, one of the world's simple
Feb. 25, 2015
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Chojeong Mineral Spring that helped King Sejong's creation of Hangeul
A mineral spring in the central region is well known as a place where King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the inventor of the Korean alphabet, stayed for months to treat his eye infection at the last stage of the creation. Located approximately 16 kilometers northeast of Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province, the Chojeong Mineral Spring is known to have provided a perfect environment for the king to refresh his heart and mind and devote himself to the invention of Hangeul with its b
Feb. 24, 2015
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Highbrow arts take to the screen
Great news for local Benedict Cumberbatch fans: The 2011 British National Theatre production of “Frankenstein,” in which the “Sherlock Holmes” star played the titular role of a hideous creature, is currently playing here. The original production never came to Korea, but instead will appear on the silver screen. As part of National Theater Live series, The National Theater of Korea is screening the award-winning play ― written by British playwright Nick Dear and produced by Academy Award-winning
Feb. 17, 2015
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Kim Seong-kon gets 2nd term as LTI Korea head
Kim Seong-kon, the incumbent president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, has been tapped to serve a second term at the state-run institution, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday. The ministry endorsed Kim, 66, for his efforts to spread Korean literature abroad through publishing Korean literature in translation in many countries and expanding the curriculum at LTI Korea Translation Academy to nurture native-speaker translators. “I hope Kim will spearhead the
Feb. 17, 2015
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Park Hyo-shin to star as Phantom
Singer Park Hyo-shin will star as the Phantom, a mysterious, disfigured musical genius living in the dark cellars of a Paris opera house, in an upcoming production of a musical based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel “Phantom of the Opera.” A Seoul-based EMK Musical Company production, the American musical “Phantom” will premiere in Korea on April 28, with Park sharing the lead role with veteran musical actor Ryu Jung-han and pop-opera singer and musical actor KAI. Park became one of the most sought
Feb. 16, 2015