Most Popular
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Bae Doo-na shares portraying Korean identity in Hollywood's 'Rebel Moon'
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[From the Scene] Monks, Buddhists hail return of remains of Buddhas
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Medical schools granted enrollment quota flexibility for next year
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Yoon offers first one-on-one meeting with opposition leader next week
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France rejects opening Paris flight routes to T'way Air, deals blow to Korean Air merger
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Iran fires air defense batteries in provinces as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan
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Chinese man behind drug scam targeting teens nabbed in Cambodia
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Korea faces new social challenge: isolated people
You Seung-gyu, after finishing high school, isolated himself, staying holed up at home for about five years in his 20s. Fulfilling military duty did not stop his isolation. He didn't look for a job and disconnected himself from society until 2021. It was a rehabilitation program provided by the Seoul branch of Japanese social enterprise K2 International Group that helped him step out of his home. The 30-year-old has been lending a helping hand to other socially isolated individuals here for
Social AffairsApril 24, 2023
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[Hello Hangeul] Inside Vietnam’s Korean learning boom
HANOI, Vietnam – Located a five-hour flight from Seoul is a country where the Korean language's popularity is second only to its homeland of South Korea. Here, kids as young as 8 -- or elementary school third grade -- are learning Korean at school, although not as a compulsory subject. This is the same age when they start learning English. Another indication of the Korean language boom in Vietnam is the number of those who take the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), an exam for
Hello HangeulApril 23, 2023
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[Well-curated] Hop on Swiss train, play gugak instruments and pose with teddy mascot
Hop on Swiss train Imagine a quick train ride to some of the most popular sights and landmarks in Switzerland this weekend without having to leave Korea. At the Gyeongui Line Book Street in Mapo district, western Seoul, an exhibition set up inside a spacious train replica takes visitors on a taster of Switzerland's Grand Train Tour, a panoramic 1,280-kilometer route across the country. The Swiss Spring Street Festival, organized by Switzerland Tourism, showcases scenic tourist spots, from
CultureApril 21, 2023
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[KH Explains] Is EcoPro a ‘meme stock’?
Stock prices of South Korean battery materials firm EcoPro and its affiliates have been skyrocketing over the past few months, backed by a retail investor frenzy. EcoPro was previously a little-known stock listed on the tech-laden Kosdaq. But recently it has been arguably the most talked about stock in the local equity market. The group’s shares -- those of EcoPro, EcoPro BM and EcoPro HN, nicknamed the "three brothers" -- have been on a rapid rise as Korean battery firms are e
MarketApril 20, 2023
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Samsung reclaims No. 1 ranking in global smartphone sales
Samsung Electronics has regained the top spot in the global smartphone market in the first quarter of this year, slightly outpacing its archrival Apple, the No. 1 in the previous quarter, a report showed Wednesday. In the January-March period, Samsung held a market share of 22 percent, followed by Apple with 21 percent, according to the report released by market tracker Canalys. The South Korean tech giant was the “only leading vendor” to achieve a quarterly jump during the first thr
TechnologyApril 19, 2023
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From dream job to no-go: Civil servant jobs lose out
Recent data shows that about half of the Seoul Metropolitan Government employees that quit their jobs last year had worked for less than five years at their posts. And in March, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced that competition for an entry-level civil servant job was its lowest in over 30 years. The two separate studies point to one thing: Civil servant jobs, once highly coveted by young workers, are no longer dream jobs here. The job security and pension are not enough to retain
Social AffairsApril 18, 2023
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Shooting at Alabama birthday party kills 4 people, wounds 28
DADEVILLE, Alabama -- Alabama law enforcement officers Sunday were imploring people to come forward with information about a shooting that killed four people and injured 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party. Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday. The shooting erupted Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville. During two news conferences Sunday, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the A
World NewsApril 17, 2023
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[Hello Hangeul] A closer look at the Korean language learning boom in the Netherlands
AMSTERDAM -- At first it was through a Korean drama that Fauzia Jonas, a 52-year-old Dutch national, got captivated by Korean culture. Then came the K-pop sensation, BTS. Now, it is everything about Korea and Koreans that she wants to learn more about. “It drew me in like a magnet. The attraction (to the Korean culture) keeps getting deeper as I learn more about the culture and interact with Koreans,” she said, adding that she especially appreciates “the softness and warmth&rdq
Hello HangeulApril 16, 2023
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[Weekender] Small but strong: Indie bookstores embrace individuality, diversity and community
Although the reading population of Korean adults is less than half the total -- meaning over half of adults do not read a single book in a year -- unique independent bookstores are enjoying growing popularity. There were 815 independent bookstores nationwide in 2022, according to Dongneseojeom (Bookstores in Neighborhood), an independent bookstore recommendation service. It has been keeping track of the number of bookstores since 2015 in its annual trend report. The number has been steadily incr
BooksApril 15, 2023
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Korea’s pet insurance market lukewarm despite growing pet ownership
The South Korean pet insurance market has been expected to gain traction amid a growing pet population in the country. However, it will take more time for the market to mature, according to industry sources. According to the Korea Credit Information Service, the number of pet owners who have pet insurance plans reached around 55,000 as of October last year, accounting for only 0.8 percent of 7.2 million pet owners in the country. The figure is much lower than other foreign countries such as Swed
IndustryApril 14, 2023
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[K-Food] Sempio spicing up global dishes with K-sauces
This is the sixth installment of a series of interviews with global business chiefs of South Korean food companies that are expanding aggressively in overseas markets. -- Ed. Sauces embody a tradition -- they are a compilation of decades of locals’ know-how for spicing up native cuisine. As such, matching traditional sauces with foreign dishes is rare. However, Korea's largest sauce maker Sempio said it is currently at the vanguard of savory Korean sauces imbuing diverse menu items
ConsumerApril 13, 2023
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How Samsung, Hyundai tackle the China dilemma
Amid the escalating US-China rivalry in recent years, South Korea’s conglomerates have struggled to strike a balance in their Chinese business. Even though no immediate breakthrough is seen in geopolitical tensions, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group -- the nation’s top makers of smartphones and cars -- are seeking a turnaround in their reduced market shares in China, an all-important market that is too big to ditch. Samsung In its earnings guidance last week, Samsung pred
IndustryApril 12, 2023
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[KH Explains] Samsung Pay safe 'for now' as Apple Pay enters Korea
Following the initial buzz surrounding Apple Pay's launch in Korea, users have began to discuss the service's limitations. "Why bother launching a service that customers can't use? I only find it (Apple Pay) useful for paying at convenience stores," said a comment on Asamo, a Naver blog for Apple enthusiasts. On the blog, another commenter even derisively dubbed Apple Pay "convenience store pay." Korea was never expected to be an easy market for Apple Pay, part
IndustryApril 11, 2023
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‘Mr. Sunshine’ returns home after century-long wait
The remains of the Korean independence fighter who inspired the hit South Korean TV series “Mr. Sunshine,” have returned home and been laid to rest at a national cemetery in South Korea after a century-long wait. Hwang Ki-hwan had been buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in New York after dying alone in 1923. A century after his death, his remains arrived at Incheon Airport early on Monday morning after a 15-hour flight. Honor guards carried Hwang’s casket, which was covered with a
DefenseApril 10, 2023
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[Hello Hangeul] A case study: The Solomon Islands project 10 years ago
Javin Rukia, a 49-year-old English teacher at a middle school in the Solomon Islands, used to teach Hangeul, the writing system for the Korean language, about a decade ago. It was when two provinces in the island country -- Guadalcanal and Malaita -- chose Hangeul as their official alphabet for transcribing their indigenous languages which had been passed down orally but did not have a writing system. The southwestern Pacific archipelago, made up of 992 islands, is one of the most linguistically
Hello HangeulApril 9, 2023
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High-profile lawyer goes AWOL, after losing school bullying case due to no-shows
High-profile lawyer Kwon Gyeong-ae, whose repeated failures to show up to hearings led to her losing a yearslong legal battle over a teen’s death from school bullying, appears to have gone into hiding after promising financial compensation for her blunders to the bereaved family. According to lawyer Yang Seung-cheol, currently representing the bereaved family, it has not been possible to contact 58-year-old Kwon since their phone conversation on Monday. He also said that Kwon gave a writte
Social AffairsApril 7, 2023
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[Herald Interview] 'Music is everything to me,' Gong Min-bae, violinist with autism, says
The story of 18-year-old violinist Gong Min-bae, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at the age of 5, is one of overcoming adversity, as he has managed to turn his diagnosis into an opportunity to excel in music. “Music is everything to me,” Gong told reporters during a press conference held Thursday. "I feel good and comfortable (when playing the violin)," he said, adding that he finds nothing difficult when he is playing his instrument. He spends four to five
PerformanceApril 6, 2023
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NK journalists summoned to Pyongyang, urged to become ‘loyal spokespersons’
North Korea held a rare conference of the national union of journalists earlier this week for the first time in 22 years to discuss ways to strengthen state-controlled media’s role as a propaganda tool to “maximize the effectiveness of indoctrination and ideological penetration,” state media reported Wednesday. The purpose of the Kim Jong-un regime summoning its journalists to Pyongyang was clear. Journalists in the country with the worst press freedom in the world were urged t
North KoreaApril 5, 2023
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Why school bullying hits a raw nerve
In South Korea today, school bullies are public enemy No. 1. On TV screens nationwide, viewers are enthralled by the meticulously plotted revenge of a high school bullying victim. In real-life politics, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s initial pick for the head of the National Office of Investigation, former senior prosecutor Chung Sun-sin, has been under scrutiny for weeks following revelations his son verbally abused a classmate years ago. It has been some time already since the TV and sports i
Social AffairsApril 4, 2023
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Koreans unite in support of Busan's World Expo 2030 bid
Kim Young-man, in his 80s, remembers when he visited Yeosu Expo in 2012 with his son, and hopes to be in good health for another trip to Busan to see the World Expo 2030. It could be one last international event to attend in his lifetime, he said. “I do believe Busan will win the bid for the World Expo,” he said as he was visiting a festival at Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul. "Southern port cities of Korea, including both Yeosu and Busan, are nice tourist attractions with su
Social AffairsApril 3, 2023