Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Democratic Party of Korea forms US election task force
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Seoul seeks to improve foreign nanny program after two abscond
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NewJeans has few options after Ador rejects group's request to reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO
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[Grace Kao] NewJeans fights Hybe for their survival
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Samsung, top banks to create W2tr green growth fund for SMEs
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Malnutrition cases nearly triple in last 5 years
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An increasing number of K-pop idols are breaking free from big agencies. Why?
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KFA Chair denies unfair hiring of national coach
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Couple welcoming quintuplets to receive over W170m in childbirth grants
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Korean automakers pressured to diversify supply chains as US bans Chinese tech
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Blueberry prices drop in Korea
Blueberry prices are going down in Korea due to increased supply on constant demand, according to reports made by the agriculture-heavy South Jeolla Province on Wednesday. The fruit was once a high-yield crop due to its nutritional benefits to the eyes. (123RF)However, with more farmers joining the bandwagon and free trade agreements propelling blueberry imports, the increasing supply against steady demand is pushing down the produce price overall. Park Gwang-sun, a blueberry farmer by 10 years
June 22, 2016
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[From the scene] Part-timers fast in fight for minimum wage hike
On Tuesday afternoon, some 15 part-timers were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the pavement behind a poster reading “Fight for 10,000 won minimum wage” at the entrance of the National Assembly in western Seoul. Among the 20-something workers chattering and giggling were members of the nation’s Part-Time Workers’ Union who have been on a hunger strike since June 16 to demand next year’s minimum wage be raised to 10,000 won ($8.67). This year’s minimum wage per hour stands at 6,030 won, up 8.1 per
Social AffairsJune 22, 2016
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More Koreans agree with relocating Cheong Wa Dae, Assembly to Sejong
A recent survey showed that slightly over half of South Koreans supported relocating Cheong Wa Dae and the National Assembly to the de facto administrative capital of Sejong City.The survey conducted by Realmeter showed Wednesday that 73.5 percent of the 1,006 respondents agreed that not enough measures were being carried out to ease the current overpopulation and centralization of Seoul that damages balanced national and regional development. Of the respondents, 50.1 percent said that they agre
PoliticsJune 22, 2016
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Gaeseong firms pressure gov't to approve N.K. visit
South Korean firms suffering snowballing financial damage from the shutdown of an inter-Korean industrial complex four months ago urged the government on Wednesday to allow them to visit North Korea to check their remaining assets before the rainy season. Seoul shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North's border city on Feb. 10 in response to Pyongyang's January nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in February.With the Gaeseong investors' losses mounting, the government last mon
North KoreaJune 22, 2016
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Pantech returns with low-cost smartphone
Korean smartphone maker Pantech on Wednesday unveiled a new model – the first in 20 months -- targeting mid-tier customers with upgraded audio, display and battery-charging features.Named “Sky IM-100,” the new smartphone sports a 5.1-inch display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 processor and the Google Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, the company said. Two promotion supporters show Sky IM-100 at a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)The product is the first that the company has rel
IndustryJune 22, 2016
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Remaining Saenuri defectors return to party
The two remaining defectors of the ruling Saenuri Party completed the process of returning to the party on Wednesday, raising its seats in the National Assembly to 129.The party has therefore regained No. 1 parliamentary group status, although it still falls short of the majority in the 300-member Assembly. Rep. Joo Ho-young (Yonhap)Reps. Joo Ho-young and Lee Chul-gyu, who represent the constituencies in Daegu and Gangwon respectively, applied for the party’s membership, a week after its leaders
PoliticsJune 22, 2016
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Ahn urges action on social disparity
The third-biggest People’s Party leader Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo on Wednesday urged the legislative body to come up with a comprehensive plan for reducing gaps in society, blaming the business and political elites for worsening socioeconomic inequalitiesDuring his debut speech as a party leader at the National Assembly, the entrepreneur-turned-politician also suggested that the political parties should set up a parliamentary committee to create more jobs in the future industry. People’s Party chairman
PoliticsJune 22, 2016
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LG eyeing STX Namsan Tower
[THE INVESTOR] LG Group is in talks with KORAMCO REITs Management and Trust over purchasing STX Namsan Tower near Seoul Station. According to industry sources, KORAMCO is negotiating the sale of the 23-story building to LG Group. Details about the negotiations remain unknown, but the property is estimated to fetch about 300 billion won (US$260 million) for KORAMCO. KORAMCO had selected Korea Investment Management as the preferred bidder in September, but the deal fell through when the latter fai
IndustryJune 22, 2016
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Artday to hold June auction
Herald Artday, a subsidiary of Herald Corp., is holding an online auction from June 24-28, presenting major artworks of modern and contemporary Korean artists. The art auction features some 190 artworks of renowned Korean artists, including Young-woo, Kim Jong-hak, Ha Dong-cheol, Oh Chi-gyun, Ahn Chang-hong and Moon Hyeong-tae. Highlights of the auction include an abstract painting made in the early 1970s by the late Kwon Young-woo, who recently emerged as a Dansaekhwa artist, and the snow lands
PerformanceJune 22, 2016
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Rolling Stones bringing 'Exhibitionism' to NYC
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Rolling Stones are bringing an exhibit of more than 500 recording and artifacts from the band’s archive to New York City in November. “Exhibitionism” was launched in London in April. November will mark the exhibit’s North American debut at the Industria Superstudio in the West Village, it was announced Tuesday. An image of Mick Jagger forms the backdrop of a re-created music studio as part of “Exhibitionism,” the interactive multimedia exhibition of the Rolling Stones’ ca
PerformanceJune 22, 2016
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Cheong Wa Dae defends airport decision
Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday denied that it broke a presidential pledge by scrapping plans to build a new southeastern airport, amid growing backlash from disgruntled constituents.Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Jung Youn-kuk (Yonhap)“Expanding Gimhae International Airport is actually (equivalent to) building a new airport,” presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told the press. “It is not a break of the pledge.”The government on Tuesday announced that it would not pursue a plan to build a new airport in th
PoliticsJune 22, 2016
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Mamamoo to hold first solo concert
K-pop quartet Mamamoo is set to hold its first solo concerts from Aug. 13-14, two years after its debut, announced the group’s agency Rainbow Bridge World. Titled “2016 Mamamoo Concert-moosical,” the concerts will take place at the Olympic Park Olympic Hall in Seoul. The venue is expected to accommodate more than 3,000 concertgoers. Poster for K-pop quartet Mamamoo’s first solo concert “2016 Mamamoo Concert-moosical” (Rainbow Bridge World) The quartet debuted in June 2014 with “Mr. Ambiguous,” a
PerformanceJune 22, 2016
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Wonder Girls gear up for comeback
K-pop girl group Wonder Girls are set to release a new album “Why So Lonely” at midnight on July 4, announced the group’s agency JYP Entertainment. At midnight on Tuesday, the group unveiled the release plan for the upcoming album via the official website wondergirls.jype.com. Wonder Girls’ release plan for their upcoming album (JYP Entertainment) It marks the first lead song written and composed by the band and not singer-songwriter and CEO of the agency Park Jin-young. All the Wonder Girls ha
PerformanceJune 22, 2016
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Willem Dafoe to get top prize at Czech film festival
PRAGUE (AFP) -- American actor Willem Dafoe will get the top prize at the Czech Republic's Karlovy Vary film festival next month, organizers said on Tuesday.“The Crystal Globe for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema ... will be presented to leading film and theatre actor and two-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe,” the festival said in a statement.The 60-year-old has notably starred in “Platoon,” “Shadow of the Vampire” and “The Last Temptation of Christ.”The 51st edition of the festival, whic
FilmJune 22, 2016
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Korea’s top firms blocking economic recovery: study
[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s economic recovery is being delayed as local companies are fast losing vitality, a study conducted by LG Economic Research Institute showed. Korea’s equity market that is in the doldrums reflects the downtick in business activities here, Lee Han-deuk, senior researcher at the think tank said in his report published on June 20. The study notes that the compound annual growth rate of Korean firms’ market capitalization slowed to 3.2 percent between 2011 and 2015, compared to
June 22, 2016
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How France fell for Chirac's indigenous art museum
PARIS (AFP) - It opened late and millions over budget amid sneering that it was an “ill-judged disaster” that bordered on being racist.And the man who drove the project -- former president Jacques Chirac -- was widely written off by detractors as lowbrow, more interested in beer and sumo wrestling than the intellect.But a decade on, the Musee du quai Branly, the Paris museum dedicated to the indigenous art and cultures of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas, is being hailed as a massive popul
PerformanceJune 22, 2016
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Depression linked to negative body image in women
Young South Korean women who have a negative body image -- those who feel unsatisfied with their physical appearance and body weight -- are more prone to mental conditions such as depression, a study showed Wednesday.The study, organized by Gangnam Severance Hospital in Seoul, analyzed government data of a total of 717 young Korean women who belong to the normal weight range -- meaning their body mass index was from 18.5 to 22.9. Among the participants, 40 percent of them inaccurately perceived
Social AffairsJune 22, 2016
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Jury gets peek at making of Led Zeppelin's epic 'Stairway'
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Rock 'n' roll history played out Tuesday in a Los Angeles courtroom as original recordings of Led Zeppelin working through the song that became the epic “Stairway to Heaven” were played for jurors and the songwriters discussed failures and successes in the making of the hit.Jimmy Page testified about his ambitions to write a song that would accelerate and build to a crescendo and how he shared the introduction with keyboardist and bassist John Paul Jones to get an ally in his
PerformanceJune 22, 2016
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ASEM culture ministers' meeting kicks off in Gwangju
High-level cultural officials from the Asia-Europe Meeting member countries gathered in the Korean city of Gwangju Wednesday to share their experiences in cultivating creative industries.Some 200 delegates from 51 ASEM member countries, including eight culture ministers and 11 deputy ministers, will attend the 7th Asia-Europe Culture Ministers' Meeting, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.The event will take place at the Asia Culture Center, a state-run arts and concert venue in Gwa
Social AffairsJune 22, 2016
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'Our Young Man' defies trope of gay male model life
“Our Young Man” By Edmund White Bloomsbury USA (304 pages, $26) Esteemed novelist and memoirist Edmund White’s latest book, “Our Young Man,” centers on the aptly named Guy, a gay French model living in New York City. The novel follows Guy’s life in the modeling industry from France to Manhattan, through hedonist parties and relationships with older, and then younger, men. Guy is blessed with almost unnatural good looks. Even when he ceases to be a young man, Guy remains exquisitely handsome, ab
Life&CultureJune 22, 2016