Most Popular
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Bae Doo-na shares portraying Korean identity in Hollywood's 'Rebel Moon'
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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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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Chinese man behind drug scam targeting teens nabbed in Cambodia
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Iran fires air defense batteries in provinces as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan
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Police find more evidence of murder-suicide in Paju hotel death case
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Unification Church's automaking venture chief returns to South
The head of the Unification Church's joint automaking venture said Wednesday that he received North Korea's condolence message over the death of its founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, but did not confirm the North's dispatch of adelegation to the funeral."I received the message of condolence (over the death of Rev. Moon) from North Korea," said Pyeonghwa Motors President Park Sang-kwon, a U.S. national,
Sept. 5, 2012
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Proposed law to ban alcohol on campuses
The sale and consumption of alcohol may be banned on university campuses, while new graphic health warnings may appear on cigarette packages. Also, cigarette labels with “light,” “mild” or “low tar” may be banned, along with any TV advertisements featuring models consuming alcoholic beverages. These are the highlights of a proposed law unveiled by the Health Ministry on Thursday. The agency, unveiling the draft amendment of the National Health Promotion Law, said it aims to toughen the country’s
Sept. 5, 2012
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World moves toward ending death penalty
Debate over capital punishment has been rekindled in Korea in the wake of a series of murders, rapes and other heinous crimes.The country, which has not carried out any executions for the last 15 years, has been defined as “abortionist in practice” by Amnesty International. The number of death row inmates here stands at around 60.The country is in tandem with the global trend toward abolishing capital punishment. According to AI, at least 20 countries were known to have carried out executions in
Sept. 5, 2012
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Conservation forum opens on Jeju
Thousands of environmental activists, policymakers and representatives of the business world are gathering on the southern resort island of Jeju for a meeting on nature conservation. The 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress will open Thursday at Jeju International Convention Center. Under the theme “Resilient Nature,” participants will hold discussions on 176 initiatives that range from climate change, protection of endangered species and a green economy. Over 8,600 people have registered for
Sept. 5, 2012
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Two arrested for selling phones with forged foreigner identities
Police said on Wednesday that they have arrested two men for registering more than 8,000 mobile phones using forged identities of foreigners.The suspects are believed to have sold the mobile phones to a 50-year-old surnamed Lee as well as to other brokers who used them for illegal activities, such as fraud and phone scams. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, a 38-year-old suspect surnamed Ban allegedly signed contracts on more than 4,000 mobile phones between February and July by
Sept. 5, 2012
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Seoul to have just two workers to support one elderly person by 2039
An average of two Seoul citizens would have to work to support one elderly by 2039 amid the falling birth rate and rising life expectancy, statistics showed Wednesday.Statistics data from the Seoul Metropolitan Government predicts that in 27 years, the working-age population between 15 and 64 would drop 26 percent to 5.99 million and senior citizens aged 65 and over are expected to grow 172 percent to 2.95 million. Currently an average of 7.4 working people support each senior citizen.The demogr
Sept. 5, 2012
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Seoul City to create free pass for foreign travelers
Seoul City will introduce a “Free Pass” subway ticket for foreign travelers as early as this month.The city will set up a special ticket service that allows foreigners to travel on the subway for one to three days without having to purchase extra tickets.The city collected ideas from citizens to improve subway services and accepted around 370 out of 850 suggestions.Accepted ideas include the correction of wrong signs and an energy-efficient lighting policy, which will be implemented in September
Sept. 5, 2012
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Teenager gets prison term for bullying classmate until suicide
(123rf)A 15-year-old student received a prison term on Wednesday for habitually bullying a classmate until he jumped to his death.A 15-year-old victim, surnamed Kim, leapt to his death from an apartment building in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in early June after enduring months of beatings and extortion.Shortly before his suicide, the bullied student wrote that he might take his
Sept. 5, 2012
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Thousands of sex offenders roam free as arrest rate falls
The authorities failed to arrest the suspects in more than 9,000 cases of sexual assault between 2007 and 2011, data showed Wednesday.According to National Police Agency data, 81,860 sex crimes including rape were investigated during the five-year period.A protestor demanding tougher measures against sex offenders holds a sign that says “Protect our children” in Seoul. (Yonhap News)However, law en
Sept. 5, 2012
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Subway screen door boosts cancer-causing substance in cars: research
The installation of platform screen doors (PSD) in Seoul’s subway stations resulted in the increased concentration of cancer-causing substance in subway cars, a survey showed Wednesday.According to the research by the Seoul Institute of Health and Environment, the concentration of radon rose by an average of 53 percent in the city’s subway lines No. 2 through 8 after the safety device between the train and the platform was put in place in 2008.The comparable figures were measured in 2008 and 201
Sept. 5, 2012
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Crimes rekindle debate over capital punishment
Saenuri nominee Park supports maintaining death penaltyA recent spate of heinous crimes against children and women has ignited calls for the execution of the offenders, which Korea has shied away from for the past 15 years.The brutal incidents, including the rape last week of a 7-year-old girl, have shocked the entire country and forced the government to strengthen related measures, including a wider use of chemical castration and a stepped-up clampdown on child pornography.The Justice Ministry
Sept. 4, 2012
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‘Lee’s visit to Dokdo makes landing drill unnecessary’
South Korea decided to exclude landing maneuvers on the country’s easternmost islets of Dokdo from upcoming defense drills as the main purpose of such exercises has already been fulfilled through President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to the islets, a senior official said Tuesday.The Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard are scheduled to kick off biannual Dokdo defense exercises on Friday. The drills previously involved Marine Corps landing on the East Sea islets, but the government decided to exclude
Sept. 4, 2012
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Drivers face heavier fines for tossing cigarette butts
The home affairs ministry said Tuesday the government will toughen the punishment for motorists throwing cigarette butts out of car windows as part of efforts to boost public safety.Under the revised bill approved by the Cabinet in the day, those who throw such objects deemed dangerous as cigarette butts and pieces of glass out of car windows will face a fine of 50,000 won ($44), up from the current amount of 30,000 won.The revised rule will take effect starting Sept. 12, according to the Minist
Sept. 4, 2012
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State ordered to compensate fisherman in forged spy case
A Seoul court has ordered the state to compensate a South Korean fisherman who was falsely accused of spying for North Korea and spent 15 years behind bars in the 1980s and 1990s, court officials said Tuesday.The fisherman, identified only by his surname Cheong, was abducted in 1965 by the communist state along with 109 other fishermen while fishing in the Yellow Sea and released one month later.In 1982, Cheong was taken into custody by Seoul’s intelligence agency without an arrest warrant and t
Sept. 4, 2012
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Hepatitis C mechanism identified
A group of South Korean scientists claimed Tuesday they have identified how hepatitis C damages the liver for the first time in the world, opening the way for the development of cures without serious side effects.Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by a virus that primarily affects the liver. There already exists treatment for the disease, but the existing medication comes with serious side effects that include damage to the liver, according to the research team from the Korea Advanced I
Sept. 4, 2012
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Two arrested for espionage for N. Korea
A man and woman have recently been arrested for delivering classified military information to North Korea, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday. The man identified only by his surname Jang, 58, went to China to meet a North Korean agent operating missions there. He told the agent that he had been running a business to unify the two Koreas, according to prosecutors. With a 57-year-old woman surnamed Yu, he visited China 30 times since 2008 and both underwent training. In return the
Sept. 4, 2012
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Delayed TOEFL results leave test takers fuming
An unexpected delay in the release of results for the Test of English as a Foreign Language has baffled and upset its Korean takers, many of whom are college applicants.The Educational Testing Service, a U.S.-based developer of one of the most popular English tests, notified participants through email and its website on Aug. 28 that the release of results for the Aug. 19 test, scheduled for that day, would be postponed. The ETS did not reveal the reasons, but said that it sincerely apologizes to
Sept. 4, 2012
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2 out of 5 students want to quit school: survey
More than 40 percent of students in Korea feel like quitting school due to stress over school records and boredom with school life, a government survey showed Tuesday.In an online poll of 31,364 elementary, middle and high school students conducted in July, some 40.3 percent said they wished to leave school.As the main reason, 41.8 percent cited stress over their school records, followed by boredom with 22.1 percent, relationship with peers with 13.5 percent, and problems with teachers with 6.1
Sept. 4, 2012
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Diversity and sense of community in schools
Education in South Korea is attracting increasing attention worldwide. South Korean students’ excellent performance on the Program for International Students Assessment is often taken as an indicator of the achievement of South Korean education. President Barack Obama of the United States likes to point to Korea as an example that American schools should emulate in order to solve the pressing problems facing their educational system. The astonishing pace at which the Korean school system grew mi
Sept. 4, 2012
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Sungkyunkwan rises in business, high tech fields
Reforms, international programs drive success of Korea’s oldest schoolArchaic buildings and tranquil gardens greet visitors to Sungkyunkwan University to the side of the entrance. Founded in 1398, it was the place of study and repose for king’s scholars of Joseon Dynasty. Confucianism is still the guiding principle of the longest-running higher education institute in Korea nestled beside a royal court of the medieval dynasty in central Seoul.Surviving over 600 years of checkered history includi
Sept. 4, 2012