Most Popular
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Yoon sorry for shortcomings but insists policies were right
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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Korean won weakens amid heightened uncertainty
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Sewol victims commemorated on tragedy's 10th anniversary
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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Chanel, Louis Vuitton see muted growth in Korea
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Conservative bloc divided over Han’s role in election defeat
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[Weekender] Awake for too long
The white-crowned sparrow, a tiny North American bird, is able to stay awake for seven straight days during migration.The bird’s remarkable ability has been the subject of research at the Pentagon for the past six years, to find a way to keep their pilots and soldiers awake for as long as possible. In his book “24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep” published last year, Columbia University professor Jonathan Crary argues that any discoveries about the bird’s special traits will affect not
Social AffairsMarch 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Sleep-deprived Koreans vulnerable to health threats
Last year, South Korea’s national health insurance agency formed a special task force to combat obesity, as the number of obese Koreans has increased dramatically in the past decade.As of 2013, 32.4 percent of all adult Koreans were obese, and so were 25 percent of all boys. The number of obese Korean men had doubled since 2003, while the number of Korean women with the condition increased by 30 percent in the same period.While the Health Ministry says higher consumption of fast food and physica
Social AffairsMarch 13, 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
CultureMarch 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
CultureMarch 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
CultureMarch 13, 2015
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[Weekender] The ‘Samsung Man’
One out of 100 salaried workers in Korea works at Samsung Group ― the nation’s largest conglomerate with 30 affiliates. There are around 490,000 Samsung employees, with half of them working outside Korea. Most Koreans have respect for big family-run businesses that have contributed to laying the foundation for today’s economic prosperity over the past decades. Working at Samsung, among others, has long been considered a social status symbol. The so-called “Samsung Man” refers to the most talente
TechnologyMarch 6, 2015
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[Weekender] Shifting corporate culture
Samsung Group, the largest conglomerate in South Korea, was founded as a small trade firm by the late founder Lee Byung-chull in Daegu in 1938 that shipped dried fish to China. Now managing the world’s largest electronics firm under its wings along with many other businesses, Samsung has become the most coveted workplace here.Its flagship unit Samsung Electronics topped the list of the most desired employers in Korea for six consecutive years, according to a 2014 survey by Saramin, a job portal.
TechnologyMarch 6, 2015
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[Weekender] ‘Samsung Man’ not just a job
Kim, 45, vividly remembers when Samsung Group divested all shares in its discount store retail chain to U.K.-based retailer Tesco in 2011. His company was subsequently renamed from Homeplus Samsung Tesco to Homeplus, which meant it was time for him to give up the pride of being a “Samsung Man.”Kim says he felt like being deprived of his social status and respect from his family and friends. Now, some 7,500 Samsung workers whose companies were sold to Hanwha last year are going through the same a
TechnologyMarch 6, 2015
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[Weekender] The embattled state of satire
From Aristophanes of ancient Greece to the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo, satirists and their trade have been an influential part of society throughout history.The genre has existed even before literacy was a factor in our lives. In the words of British actor and comedian David Walliams, “Social satire has been around since people have been around.”U.S. journalist Molly Ivins described satire as “the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.”As such, the “powerless” across the globe in al
Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2015
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[Weekender] Political satire under threat
Only a month ago, the terror attack in Paris against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that claimed more than a dozen lives sent the world into shock. What was rather shocking for university professor Lee Dong-yeon, however, was the level of political satire allowed in French society.“France has respected political satire, viewing it as a right for free speech,” said Lee, who teaches Korean traditional art at Korea National University of Arts. “In Korea, however, there are certain subjects that c
Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2015
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[Weekender] A sword that cuts both ways
Satire, which was pushed to the fore following the Charlie Hebdo affair in January, is an irreverent art form that intends to shock, provoke and offend, aiming to elicit a change in perspective through sometimes taboo representations.But the shock and grief in the wake of the Jan. 7 Paris shootings was accompanied by considerable anger by more moderate Muslims. Their reaction to the cartoons showed that satire is a double-edged sword that can be used against marginalized people, and should there
Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2015
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[Weekender] ‘Spirit of March 1 movement lives on’
This Sunday, South Korea marks the 96th anniversary of the March 1 independence movement in which millions of people across the peninsula waved their national flag and bravely rose up against Japan’s colonial rule in 1919.Though nearly a century has passed since the campaign pushed for the noble causes of self-determination, liberty and humanity, its sprit still lives on and can help address today’s conflicts on the peninsula and beyond, according to Kim Hak-joon, president of the state-funded N
Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2015
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[Weekender] Get in the mood for Seollal
Seollal, or the Lunar New Year, is one of the few times in Korea when tradition comes out from behind its ultramodern facade and to the fore. During the holiday, which this year falls on Feb. 18-20, most Koreans rekindle with distant family members and pay respects to one’s ancestors through “charye,” offering up a table full of food on the first morning of the New Year. Koreans and foreigners exchange Lunar New Year greetings. (The Korea Herald)Aside from the ancestral rite, one of the most com
CultureFeb. 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Lunar New Year entertainment guide
After eating a bowl of tteokguk (rice-cake soup) and giving older family members a big bow on Seollal, chances are you will consider seeing a movie, a TV show or both, during the five-day holiday.From local family-friendly flicks to beloved animations and star-studded variety shows, here’s the handy guide to this year’s Seollal holiday entertainment on the small and silver screens.Movies For those searching for local films to watch with their family, the comedy flick “Detective K: Secret of the
FilmFeb. 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Celebrating holiday with tradition
The Lunar New Year holiday is a great opportunity for locals and expats to experience traditional Korean activities. For those who are at a loss for how to spend these five days off, we suggest you take advantage of the various holiday promotions being offered at cultural sites around Korea. The National Gugak Center’s folk music group giving a “pangut” percussion performance (National Gugak Center)Palaces, tombs and games On Feb. 19, Lunar New Year’s Day, the Cultural Heritage Administration wi
CultureFeb. 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Record number of Chinese tourists to visit Korea
As Koreans empty the usually bustling streets of Seoul, spending the Lunar New Year holiday with parents and relatives, their travel-loving neighbors from China will surge in.This year, an unprecedented number of Chinese tourists are expected to arrive. The country hopes to greet some 126,000 Chinese visitors for the Lunar New Year holiday starting next week, up by 30 percent from the previous year, according to the state-run Korea Tourism Organization. A Lotte duty-free shop in Seoul is crowded
TravelFeb. 13, 2015
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[Weekender] Abe shamed by attempt to whitewash atrocities
International criticism is escalating over Tokyo’s apparent attempts to whitewash its wartime wrongdoings as a group of U.S. historians issued a strong protest against the moves, arguing no government has the right to “censor history.”In a joint statement, a group of 19 American scholars decried Tokyo’s recent request for a U.S. publisher to change the description of the issue of the “comfort women” ― a euphemistic term referring to Asians forced into sexual servitude by Japan during World War I
Foreign AffairsFeb. 6, 2015
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[Weekender] The changing landscape of Korea’s housing market
Owning a house or an apartment used to be a symbol of not only wealth, but also pride and security for an average salaried worker. A couple of decades ago, to buy and live in a dream house of four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a veranda, an ordinary income earner was able to come up with the money in five to seven years.South Korea’s unique real estate financing system called jeonse made this possible especially in the double-digit interest rate era until the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.Jeonse lea
Feb. 6, 2015
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[Weekender] Jeonse, a keystone of Korea’s economic history
Jeonse, a system that allows people to rent houses with a lump-sum deposit and no monthly payments, is a real estate system unique to South Korea.The system arose due to the lack of mortgage availability in Korea, which pushed people to turn to jeonse as a form of private financing, and spurred by the general expectation for rising real estate prices, which allows property owners to profit without charging interest.But some claim that the history of jeonse dates back to before industrialization
Feb. 6, 2015