Most Popular
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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[Weekender] Pet food makers bet big on ‘recession-free’ pet food market
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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N. Korea says to deploy new multiple rocket launcher starting this year
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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[Drama Tour] Romantic trip to ‘Queen of Tears’ filming spots
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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[Graphic News] Mobile shopping on the rise
South Korea is witnessing a surge of mobile shoppers on the strength of the solid broadband network and consumers’ preference for faster and easier shopping experiences on the go. The ratio of consumers who use their smartphones to shop online rose to nearly 60 percent this year, sharply up from 24 percent in 2012. The increase in mobile shopping is largely attributed to the growing number of smartphone users in the country. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said the number of Kor
TechnologyDec. 14, 2014
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[Graphic News] FTA to boost Korea-Vietnam trade
South Korea and Vietnam announced Wednesday that they had substantially concluded a free trade deal meant to boost bilateral trade by removing barriers in Busan ahead of a special summit to be hosted by Park for leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.The agreement covers 17 areas, including products, services and investment, but the two sides agreed to exclude rice, a key staple food for Koreans, according to Park’s office.Vietnam is South Korea’s ninth-largest trading p
Dec. 11, 2014
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[Graphic News] Birthrate declines for first time in four years
South Korea’s birthrate last year declined for the first time in four years, according to data released by the Health Ministry.The country’s fertility rate fell to 1.19 children per woman last year, which is equivalent to that in 2008. The rate fell even lower in 2009, which was 1.15. However, the number rose from 2010 to 2012, from 1.23 to 1.24 to 1.30. It fell back to 1.19 last year. The ministry said the nation’s fertility rate last year falls short of the replacement level ― 2.1 children per
Social AffairsDec. 10, 2014
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[Graphic News] International aid to North Korea falls
Humanitarian aid to North Korea fell sharply over the past decade as nuclear saber rattling and consequent sanctions worsened the international perception of the country, a report by a state-run think tank said Tuesday.In the first 11 months of this year, the amount of aid reaching the communist country stood at $28.3 million, a tenth of the more than $301 million that flowed into the North in the early 2000s, the Korea Development Institute’s monthly North Korean report showed. The report is ba
North KoreaDec. 9, 2014
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[Graphic News] Number of elderly households in poverty doubles in seven years
The number of elderly households suffering from poverty has doubled in the last seven years, the Korea Economic Research Institute said Monday.An elderly household refers to a household comprised only of those aged 65 and above.The number of elderly, mother-and-son and single-person households accounted for 69.1 percent of the entire poverty population in 2013, up from 50 percent in 2006.According to the KERI, the number of elderly households whose living costs are funded by the government stood
Social AffairsDec. 8, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korean students studying abroad decrease
The number of South Korean students studying in higher education institutes outside the country has decreased for the third straight year, the Ministry of Education said Sunday.As of 2014, a total of 219,543 college and post-graduate students were studying overseas, marking a 3.3 percent drop from 227,126 in 2013. United States, China and the United Kingdom were the three countries with the most Korean students.Australia was among the countries that saw the most drastic decrease in Korean studen
Social AffairsDec. 7, 2014
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[Graphic News] Gasoline prices drop below 1,700 won per liter
Average petrol prices in South Korea have dropped to a little below 1,700 won ($1.53) per liter, according to data by Opinet, an online service provider of oil prices run by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp.Opinet said Thursday that this was the first time in four years that the nation’s average gas prices have dropped below 1,700 won. The agency attributed the latest fall to a decline in international oil prices triggered by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ unwillingn
Dec. 4, 2014
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[Graphic News] 5.5% budget increase to boost economy
The National Assembly passed the government’s 2015 budget bill Tuesday, meeting the legal deadline for the first time in 12 years.The bill calls for increasing the government budget by 5.51 percent to 375.4 trillion won ($338 billion) next year from 355.8 trillion won this year.It is hoped that the increase will stimulate the economy, government officials said.The three sectors with the biggest budget increase were welfare, including health and job creation; general and local administration; and
Dec. 3, 2014
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[Graphic News] Corporate-owned real estate doubles in size, value
The real estate area owned by the top 1 percent of Korean corporations more than doubled during the five years under the Lee Myung-bak government, according to data released by the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy on Monday.In 2012, the area measured 5,724.84 square kilometers, up from 2,658 square kilometers in 2007; reflecting a 115.3 percent increase, the report showed.The current figure is slightly more than five times the entire area of Seoul City, which measures 605.2 square
Dec. 2, 2014
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[Graphic News] Half of Koreans lack balanced nutrition: report
One in 2 Koreans either has poor nutrition or eats too much, the state-run disease control center said Monday. According to the report released by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48.9 percent of men and 50.5 percent of women in Korea did not have a balanced diet in 2012.Of those surveyed, 26.2 percent of men and 35.5 percent of women were eating too little (below 75 percent of the estimated intake required), while 22.7 percent of men and 15 percent of women were consuming too m
Social AffairsDec. 1, 2014
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[Graphic News] OPEC oil output rises in November
OPEC’s oil supply rose in November to its highest level this year, boosted by increased output from Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, a Reuters survey showed Sunday.Supply from the 11 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries bounded by output targets ― all except Iraq ― rose to 26.52 million barrels per day from a revised 26.43 million bpd in October, according to the survey of oil firms, OPEC officials and analysts.Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s top producer, nud
World NewsNov. 30, 2014
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[Graphic News] Applications for individual workout program to reach record-high
The number of people applying for the individual debtor rehabilitation program is expected to reach a record high in 2014, according to financial authorities and a monthly report by the Supreme Court of Korea. Individual debtors with regular income can apply for the program. The authorities said the number of applications, which has been on the rise every year, has come to more than 93,000 from January to October this year, an increase of 7.6 percent on-year.At this rate, the total number is exp
Nov. 27, 2014
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[Graphic News] Shipbuilding, chips to lead growth
South Korea’s economy is likely to grow 3.7 percent as the world economy gradually recovers, according to a report announced by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade on Tuesday.The institute also forecast that the shipbuilding and semiconductor industries will lead the nation’s economy next year.
Nov. 26, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korea to become aged society in 2017
South Korea appears to be on its way to becoming an aged society by 2017 and eventually becoming a so-called super-aged society in 2026, when slightly more than 20 percent of its people are expected to be 65 or older, according to figures from Statistics Korea.This means that more than 10 million people will be in that age bracket, the data showed. As a result, the country’s working-age population -- those between 25 and 49 years of age -- was forecast to peak at 37.04 million in 2016 before it
Nov. 25, 2014
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[Graphic News] K-dramas’ viewership in U.S. broader than thought
Korean TV dramas, one of the two main pillars of hallyu along with K-pop, draw an ethnically diverse audience in the U.S., a recent survey by the U.S. office of Korea Creative Content Agency finds.Asians make up 29 percent of the U.S. viewership, followed by whites (24%), Hispanics/Latin Americans (18.9%) and blacks (9%). Viewers of Korean descent took up a 4.4 percent share.Over 85 percent of the viewers said they have been watching Korean TV dramas for more than a year now. Eighty-seven percen
TelevisionNov. 24, 2014
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[Graphic News] Household income, spending grow 3% on-year in Q3
Household income in South Korea grew 3 percent during the third quarter from the same period last year as a hike in employment led to more earnings, a government report said Friday. When adjusted for inflation, however, household income grew 1.6 percent, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The income of households consisting of two members or more averaged 4.39 million won ($3,948) per month during the July-September period, up from 4.26 million won a year earlier.The agency data showed
Nov. 23, 2014
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[Graphic News] Record number of bills languishing
The current 19th National Assembly has written 11,942 draft bills since its induction in May 2012, according to parliamentary statistics.But the percentage of bills fully reviewed by lawmakers has fallen to a record low, with only about 11.4 percent of prospective legislation being written into law.Critics cited the recent political deadlocks that paralyzed the parliament. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s boycott in August played a role, while the governing Saenuri Party
PoliticsNov. 20, 2014
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[Graphic News] Seoul sees 189 couples marry, 55 divorce every day
An average of 189 couples got married every day in South Korea’s capital Seoul last year while 55 couples got divorced, data showed Wednesday.According to 2013 data for Seoul spanning 20 sectors including population and the economy, the marriage rate inched down from the previous year, with the divorce rate staying flat.The capital saw a daily average of 230 childbirths last year while an average of 115 Seoulites died each day.The total population reached 10.4 million as of last year, a 4.3-fold
Social AffairsNov. 19, 2014
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[Graphic News] Sewol sinking in numbers
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2014
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[Graphic News] Mobile stock trading on rise in Korea
Stock transactions via mobile gadgets have grown in number in the South Korean market as a rising number of retail investors have opted to use smartphones and tablets for trading, the bourse operator said Monday. Mobile devices accounted for 10.40 percent of total transactions in the main KOSPI market as of Nov. 10, up from 9.28 percent last year, the Korea Exchange said. The ratio of mobile trading in the tech-laden KOSDAQ market also jumped from 17.52 percent to 20.95 percent during the same p
World NewsNov. 17, 2014