Most Popular
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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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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Today’s K-pop] BTS pop-up event to come to Seoul
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1 in 5 teens have faced online abuse: survey
About 1 in 5 teenagers in South Korea have been subject to online abuse, a recent survey by state-run think-tank found Sunday. The National Youth Policy Institute conducted the study in November on 1,038 teens here, comprising of 508 middle school students, 507 high school students and 23 teens not attending schools. Some 20.1 percent of the respondents said they had been insulted, generally hurt online in the past six months, while 3 percent said they have been subject to cyberbullying over 10
March 10, 2024
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Institutes launch 'office workers' class' for doctor-wannabes, amid med school craze
Private education institutes across South Korea have been expanding the number of classes for students preparing for medical school, with some promoting night classes for office workers wishing to become doctors. Mega Study, a major private education institute, held an information session earlier this week about a night class for medical school hopefuls which will open on March 18. According to the institute, the majority of the inquiries were made by those in their early to mid-30s who were gra
March 9, 2024
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Many men fear paternity leave would lead to disadvantages at work: survey
The majority of men who have taken parental leave think taking a leave of absence for childcare is still difficult in South Korean society, with their leading concern being parental leave putting them at a disadvantage for promotion, a recent survey by a think-tank indicated. The KCTU Research Center, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, surveyed 1,720 of its members who took paternity leave at least once to find how they felt about the system. In the survey conducted throug
March 9, 2024
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Govt. set to complete sending 1st suspension notice to striking doctors
The South Korean government is expected to wrap up sending out the first notice of its plan to suspend the medical licenses of striking trainee doctors next week as part of its disciplinary action against them, sources said Saturday. About 90 percent of 13,000 medical interns and residents have remained off their jobs through mass resignations for nearly three weeks in protest of the government's decision to increase medical school enrollment. The government earlier ordered the striking d
March 9, 2024
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Fishing boat capsizes, leaving 4 dead, 5 missing
Rescue operations were under way after a fishing boat with nine crew members on board capsized off the southern coastal city of Tongyeong, leaving four dead and five others missing, according to the Coast Guard on Sunday. Two South Koreans and seven Indonesians were aboard the 20-ton vessel when it overturned in waters 68 kilometers south of an island in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Saturday morning, according to officials. About 20 ships and four airplanes were mobilized for an unde
March 9, 2024
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Japanese candy tests positive for radioactive material before being imported to S. Korea
A small amount of cesium, a type of radioactive material, was detected in a Japanese confectionery product slated for import to South Korea, prompting the importer to cancel its plans, the food safety agency here said Friday. During radiation inspections for imported products, 1 bequerel (Bq) per kilogram of cesium was detected in a candy manufactured in Shizuoka prefecture in Japan, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The company intending to import 122 kg of the affected product
March 8, 2024
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Govt. to set up reporting center to ensure trainee doctors’ safe return to hospitals
The South Korean government said Friday it would set up a reporting center within the Ministry of Health and Welfare dedicated to ensuring trainee doctors’ safe return to hospitals as their protest against the expansion plan entered its third week. The center aims to prevent the direct and indirect harm that junior doctors who wish to return to their positions may suffer, as an list of returning doctors was posted online recently. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during Friday
March 8, 2024
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Travel ban lifted for ex-defense chief appointed as ambassador
South Korea's Justice Ministry on Friday lifted the ban on leaving the country placed on former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, who has been named ambassador to Australia, amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the appointment. The Justice Ministry announced that its travel ban review committee has determined that Lee's formal complaint against his travel restriction was justified. The ministry elaborated that the ban on him leaving the country had been repeatedly extended without any o
March 8, 2024
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Police pledge action as list of returning doctors goes viral online
A circulated online list containing the names of doctors who did not participate in the prolonged walkout and instead remained or returned to their positions has prompted the police to pledge action against the individual responsible for its distribution. The National Police Agency released an official statement, stating that it will “strictly handle any acts that interfere with normal medical procedures.” “Posting full names of trainee doctors returning to work and writing thr
March 8, 2024
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Tragic death of city official shows growing prevalence of doxing in Korea
The suicide of a Gimpo city official, who became the target of malicious complaints after their personal information was leaked online, has sparked controversy in Korean society. In response, some netizens are pledging to reveal the identity of cyberbullies, shedding light on the concerning prevalence of doxing in South Korea. As of Friday, the personal information of the user who revealed the late official’s name, department and phone number has been posted to many online communities. &ld
March 8, 2024
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Police launch investigation into attack on ex-soccer player in election campaign
The police on Friday launched a probe into the alleged assault on former soccer player Lee Chun-soo while he was participating in former Land Minister and ruling party candidate Won Hee-ryong’s street campaign ahead of the April 10 general election. The Incheon Gyeyang Police Station received a report from Won’s office at 10 p.m. on Thursday claiming that Lee, who recently endorsed the former land minister for the upcoming election, was “physically assaulted.” Lee was att
March 8, 2024
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Korea ranks last in OECD for women’s working environment 12 years in row
South Korea ranked last, at 29th out of 29 OECD countries, in the working environment for women for 12 consecutive years, according to UK-based The Economist on Thursday. Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, The Economist released the glass-ceiling index. This UK media outlet has published the index annually since 2013 for OECD member nations, assessing factors such as women’s labor participation rate, gender income disparity, the proportion of women in high-ranking posit
March 8, 2024
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Medical professors quit in droves over expansion plan
Medical professors are quitting in droves in a show of protest against the Korean government’s planned hike in the medical school enrollment quota, as they join trainee doctors in taking collective action. The dean’s group at Kyungpook National University School of Medicine issued a statement late Thursday that they would resign collectively “to take full responsibility for the situation,” according to the Daegu Medical Association on Friday. “We’ve openly exp
March 8, 2024
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Abortion in S. Korea: neither illegal nor legal
Kim, a 33-year-old woman living in Seoul, was taken by surprise when she found out she was pregnant late last year. With no intention of getting married or having a child of her own, she began searching for hospitals that would terminate the pregnancy for her. While searching online, Kim encountered numerous advertisements and blogs listing prices for abortions by vacuum aspiration. The prices varied according to the stage of pregnancy: 600,000 won ($450) before week 7 and 900,000 won before wee
March 7, 2024
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Products recalled overseas being sold in S. Korea: report
South Korea's consumer rights watchdog said Thursday that it found 473 faulty products which had been recalled from overseas markets were being sold here in 2023. The Korea Consumer Agency, affiliate of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, said it has pulled the faulty products from the distribution. Nearly a quarter of the products, 113, were food and beverages, 106 were electronic devices, 70 were products for children, while 61 were sports-related items. Some 69.9 percent of the recalls for
March 7, 2024
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Korea saw historically wet winter: weather agency
South Korea dealt with the wettest winter in about half a century, seeing a historic amount of 236.7 millimeters of rain drenching the nation in recent months, the weather agency said Thursday. From Dec. 1 through the end of February, up to 236.7 mm of rain was observed here, marking the highest amount of precipitation to be recorded in the cited period since 1973, when the Korea Meteorological Administration started collecting the related data. The latest precipitation level was 2.7 times highe
March 7, 2024
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S. Korea to inject W188b to fill in medical void amid doctors’ protest
The South Korean government announced Thursday that it would spend 188.2 billion won ($141 million) from the state health insurance fund for a month to address the medical care gap left by trainee doctors’ collective walkouts that started three weeks ago. The provision of the funds will start Monday, and the same amount will be spent in the following month if the medical crisis continues. Jun Byung-wang, a policy chief at the Health Ministry, said during Thursday’s briefing that the
March 7, 2024
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Myeong-dong dethroned as Korea's priciest retail destination: Meet new leader
Long recognized as South Korea's most expensive retail area, Myeong-dong in central Seoul has lost its crown. Recent surveys show that last year, this tourist-favored shopping district was surpassed by an unexpected contender in terms of store rent: Bukchang-dong. Bukchang-dong’s commercial strip is located between the Bank of Korea building, City Hall Station and Hoehyeon Station, and it topped the annual retail market analysis conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government with an
March 7, 2024
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Seoul to build, refurbish over 1,000 gardens by 2026
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will build up to 1,007 gardens across the city by 2026, starting with 150 new gardens by the first half of 2024, the city government said Thursday. The city government will spend 265.9 billion won ($199.8 million) to install gardens and green areas in various places around the city, specifically for groups such as children, older citizens and people with disabilities. The installation of the new gardens aims to lessen the stress and anxiety levels felt by Seoul
March 7, 2024
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Prison term sought for former day care center chief
South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday asked the court to hand down a one-year prison term to the former head of a state-run day care center who is accused of illegally acquiring the content of conversations among teachers at the center last year. The defendant, surnamed Kim, formerly head of the day care center in Sejong City, became the subject of nationwide criticism last year when the center's teachers resigned en mass after raising corruption allegations over textbooks and meals. This i
March 7, 2024