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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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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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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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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[Today’s K-pop] BTS pop-up event to come to Seoul
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[Weekender] Car valet services become essential in downtown Seoul
As a valet driver, Kim Sung-jin, 54, follows two rules that he set for himself -- always smile at his customers and park their cars right. “When you leave your key with me, you expect one thing and one thing only: that you don’t have to drive an extra hundred meters searching for a parking spot,” said Kim, who has worked 11 years for a local Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.“Nothing gets on customers’ nerves more than inadequate spaces for parking,” Kim said. “People can drop
Social AffairsMay 25, 2018
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[Weekender] The war of parking
Ever felt a sense of total devastation? How about trying to push a giant SUV forward so that it can make room for your car to drive out of a parking spot in a triple-park situation -- while running late to work.Such a conundrum is routine for many Seoulites who live in a congested city with limited parking spots at their residences. To make things worse, such conflicts often lead to violent confrontations among neighbors. In South Korea, where cars are viewed as a symbol of socioeconomic status,
MobilityMay 25, 2018
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[Weekender] Parking made easy via smartphone applications
From parking towers to vehicle elevators, South Koreans have found ways to alleviate the chronic parking space shortage. In particular, parking is a nightmare in Seoul, as the city’s nearly 10 million-strong population inhabit just 605 square kilometers of land and many households own more than one car. But with the advent of technologies, the struggle of finding a parking space is becoming less excruciating.Living up to its reputation as the most-wired nation in the world, Korean companies have
TechnologyMay 25, 2018
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[Weekender] College festivals evolve in South Korea
May has long been a month of festivity in South Korea, with special days to celebrate children, parents and teachers, among others. The month is also known for college festivals, where university students celebrate the balmy weather as well as their campus life.The festivals have long been a part of youth culture in Korea, as well as student activism and even sports competition among major universities in Seoul.“I would get very excited for the festivals,” said a Seoulite who attended one of the
Social AffairsMay 18, 2018
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[Weekender] Festival booze ban dampens spirits for some, not all
Group drinking on campus grounds has long been the typical image of college festivals in Korea, but this year, the festivals won’t be the same.According to announcements given by several university student councils near the start of May, the Ministry of Education, following a request from the National Tax Service, advised student bodies on May 1 to restrict the sale of alcohol, which students had commonly done on campus grounds. The reason was that those without a license to sell alcohol could f
Social AffairsMay 18, 2018
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[Weekender] New voices on social issues raised at college festivals
In South Korea, people tend to associate the word “college festival” with performances by high-profile K-pop stars coupled with alcohol at night. This year, thought-provoking campaigns are making their way into many university compounds as a growing number of students step up to project their voices on pressing social issues during the festival period. At Sungkyunkwan University’s festival Eskara held on Monday, booths dealing with current social issues captivated a sizable cluster of college st
Social AffairsMay 18, 2018
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[Weekender] Ticket scalping rampant at campus festivals
Among the biggest -- and most exciting -- events in university life in Korea are the campus festivals that are held annually across the country. Konkuk University’s campus festival posterVarying in format and size from university to university, the festivals usually take place for two to three days in May, frequently featuring K-pop celebrities and artists.The May university festival season also means rampant ticket scalping by students.According to posts on several university online communities
Social AffairsMay 18, 2018
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[Weekender] Carb phobia: healthy diet or excessive frenzy?
“Have you eaten rice?”It’s one of the most frequently used greetings in Korea, where the staple has long been considered a synonym for a meal. Even amid the rise of western food and snacks, rice continued to be appreciated as the prime source of sustenance and a symbol of the country’s traditional food legacy.But recent health trends increasingly consider rice -- and carbohydrates in general -- to be the main culprit of obesity and all sorts of other modern lifestyle dise
EconomyMay 11, 2018
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[Weekender] Diet foods suppress carbs, not appetite
A 28-year-old Oh Hye-jin’s day begins with drinking a 125 milliliter pack of non-sweet soy bean milk, mixed with powdered oats. On a strict diet, she prepares her breakfast after a morning exercise. Her option is normally pancakes made of whole grain, drizzled with date palm syrup. Oh has been cutting back on refined carbohydrates for the past three months. She says white flour is the main culprit behind her love handles.If she has time, she cooks and packs her lunch, but she recently began buyi
IndustryMay 11, 2018
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[Weekender] Reducing carb intake may pose health risk
Kwon Min-jeong, 36, a freelance translator, recently stopped eating carbohydrates believing it‘s the best way to lose weight.“Although I feel dizzy sometimes due to hypoglycemia, I don’t think I will change my diet because I want to stay slim.” Kwon is one of many who don’t eat carbs in Korea, where the nutrient is increasingly being singled-out as a culprit leading to obesity. Books, commercials and news articles are churning out stories claiming carb intake needs to be reduced to stay healthy,
IndustryMay 11, 2018
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[Weekender] Children’s Day: A celebration of childhood
“May is green, we are growing. Today is the Children’s Day, It is our world” -- so goes a song celebrating the occasion. Children’s Day was first introduced here in 1923 by independence and children’s rights activist Bang Jeong-hwan, and has been celebrated on May 5 since 1945.The day was given legal status with the legislation of the Child Welfare Act in 1961, and designated a public holiday in 1975. The act, which also designates May 1 to 7 as “Children’s Week,” states that Children’s Day is d
Social AffairsMay 4, 2018
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[Weekender] Unwed single mothers battle against harsh reality
When Park Song became pregnant some five years ago, the father of her child changed his number and stopped responding to her messages. The 32-year-old was unmarried. Her mother had passed away, and her father was ill. She had nowhere to turn for support.“All of the mother-and-baby shelters in Seoul were full at the time,” the 32-year-old told The Korea Herald. “I had to go to a pastor’s house in Busan, and later moved into a shelter in the same city.”When her son, Si-hoo, was born, she managed t
Social AffairsMay 4, 2018
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[Weekender] Singing for diversity in one voice
Krishjun Banavali, 11, has faced racial discrimination here just because his skin is darker than others. His mother Lee Sang-hee is a Korean who married an Indian national. Their son speaks both Korean and English fluently and attends a local elementary school. “There are so many prejudices against multicultural families that we must be helped and cared for. The word ‘multicultural’ itself may be full of prejudices,” said Lee. The hurtful words about his skin color affected Krishjun, but after 2
Social AffairsMay 4, 2018
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[Weekender] Pyongyang vs. Hamhung: Naengmyeons of Korea
Naengmeyon -- icy cold noodles typically served in a broth made of beef, or marinated in a sweet-spicy sauce -- is a popular traditional dish in Korea, with demand particularly peaking in the summer. The cold noodles are sometimes eaten as a standalone dish at restaurants specializing in naengmyeon, or consumed as a refreshing food to finish off a meal of grilled meat. Typically, naengmyeon is divided into two types: mul-naengmyeon, cold noodles served in a clear broth that typically combines be
FoodApril 20, 2018
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[Weekender] Slurping cold bowl of nostalgia
Many Asian countries have long been home to cold noodle dishes, and in contemporary times, they have become a popular way to fight the heat during summer. And in Korea, naengmyeon is the cold noodle dish of choice to fight the humid summer. Long lines of people brave the heat outside for at least 30 minutes to get into Seoul’s top restaurants for cold noodles -- their decades of history keeping them popular despite their unfashionable locations in run-down inner-city areas. A typical bowl of na
CultureApril 20, 2018
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[Weekender] Why more Koreans are working out at home
Working out at home, often referred to as “home training” in Korea, is rising as a trend among busy modern consumers. Without leaving the comforts of the home, people are able to carry out an extensive workout, proponents say. A wealth of home training videos available online allow those pressed for both money and time to stay fit with less hassle.Along with the fad, there has been a rise in sales of exercise equipment for those opting to break a sweat at home. In January, sales of yoga mats ros
CultureApril 13, 2018
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[Weekender] No time for gym? Try ‘home training’
Park Seu-mi, a mother of two sons, once suffered from a crippling lack of self-esteem. The extra weight she had gained from having kids never melted away. The busy mom battling two children at home had no time to spare for going to a gym. The frustration drove Park to make an exercise routine on her own, focusing on moves that could be easily done inside the house.“I started to exercise alone at home after putting my sons to bed every night,” Park said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “I’v
CultureApril 13, 2018
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[Weekender] Crushing stereotypes, Pilates not ‘for girls only’
Ed Sheeran’s chart-topping “Shape of You” blasted throughout King Fit, a private gym in Apgujeong-dong in southern Seoul. With summer just two months away, the treadmills were occupied with exercisers trying to shed the extra pounds no longer to be hidden beneath winter’s trendy long, padded jackets. Moving further to the back of the gym, Pilates head Instructor Lee Su-yeol, 39, opened the door to his small, private studio, where he holds his one-on-one Pilates class. In contrast to the upbeat a
CultureApril 13, 2018
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[Weekender] ‘Gramming’ your way to fitness
In the age of social media, workout routines and diet plans are easily coupled with the desire to share these efforts with friends and followers online.At the last count, more than 1 million posts each under hashtags “dietgram” and “dietmeal” in Korean have been shared on Instagram, a social platform that is quickly expanding its user base here. The word “diet” in Korean implies a wide range of activities that one does to lose weight or remain fit, from eating less to exercising regularly at the
TechnologyApril 13, 2018
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[Weekender] Where styles are made
It does not take long to realize that Koreans care a lot about looking good. Just take to the streets of Gangnam, Hongdae or Itaewon to find a parade of the fashionably -- and sometimes scantily -- dressed.Perfectly maintained hair plays a crucial part in style too, to which Koreans have turned to beauty salons, beauty parlors or beauty shops for help.The inside view of Uncle Booth located in Yeongdeungpo(Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Prior to the 20th century, the Confucianism that dominated t
CultureApril 6, 2018