Most Popular
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Seoul, Tokyo reboot joint maritime resource talks after 40-year freeze
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Host of Miss Korea apologizes for 'inappropriate question' about deepfake
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Korea to face another massive shortfall in tax revenue
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Who's lying? Hybe vs. Min conflict continues to intensify
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[Contribution] Turkmenistan celebrates the 33rd anniversary of its Independence
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[Photo news] Faker Mercedes
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SK hynix outpaces Samsung, Micron with more powerful AI chips
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Power of nostalgia brings K-pop legends back together
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North Korea unveiling uranium enrichment site a US election-conscious move: NIS
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Seoul should engage Kim Jong-un’s elites for change, ex-North Korean diplomat says
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Visit Korea Committee removes Seolhyun’s image
Seolhyun’s image promoting 2016-2018 Visit Korea Year was taken down from Visit Korea Committee’s website and Facebook account. Seolhyun, a member of K-pop girl group AOA, has promoted the Visit Korea Year along with actor Lee Min-ho as honorary ambassadors since last November. The committee’s website and Facebook account previously displayed both Lee and Seolhyun’s images, but only Lee’s image is now shown. Seolhyun of K-pop girl group AOA (Visit Korea Committee) Seolhyun and fellow bandmate Ji
PerformanceMay 23, 2016
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Vin Diesel, Chanel spark cultural backlash in Cuba
HAVANA (AP) -- “Fast and Furious.” U.S. cruise ships. A star-studded private celebration of Chanel. The triple tsunami of global capitalism that pounded socialist Cuba this month has spawned a fierce debate about the downside of detente with the United States.Artists, writers and intellectuals who believe deeply in Cuba’s opening to the world are questioning their government’s management of an onslaught of big-money pop culture. On an island that prides itself on egalitarianism, sovereignty a
CultureMay 23, 2016
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Minority shareholders file suit against CJ HelloVision on delayed merger
Minority shareholders of CJ HelloVision, the nation’s largest cable TV operator, on Monday filed a lawsuit, demanding the company adjust the merger-swap ratio for its planned merger with SK Broadband, the IPTV unit of SK Telecom. A total of 17 shareholders, holding a combined 33,111 shares, sued the company and CEO Kim Jin-seok on Monday. CJ HelloVision CEO Kim Jin-seok (Yonhap)The lawsuit came after the merger plan, including the swap ratio of 0.476123 CJ share for each SK share, was approved b
TechnologyMay 23, 2016
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Loach’s Cannes triumph comes two years after he nearly quit
CANNES, France (AFP) -- Two years ago the veteran British director Ken Loach said he was ready to throw in the towel. But on Sunday, only weeks from his 80th birthday, he won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival. It is the second time that fiercely politically engaged filmmaker has lifted the festival’s top prize. “When you get very old you just get pleased to see the sun rise the next day,” Loach told reporters after winning. “I, Daniel Blake,” his story of a carpenter injured at work and
FilmMay 23, 2016
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Secrets of early Shakespeare theater dug up in London
LONDON (AFP) - British archaeologists raised the curtain Thursday on a 16th century theater that staged William Shakespeare plays like “Romeo and Juliet” and where the bard himself acted in “London's first theatreland”. The Curtain Theatre put on productions between 1577 and 1625 as one of the city’s first two purpose-built theaters, but all traces of it were subsequently lost over time. Its location in Shoreditch, east London -- a vibrant party district dotted with restaurants, bars and clubs -
CultureMay 23, 2016
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China’s Weiwei turns Macedonia tear gas into art
ATHENS (AFP) - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has opened a new show in one of Athens’ top archaeological museums, with Macedonian police tear gas canisters as one of the main exhibits. The “Ai Weiwei at Cycladic” exhibition, which opened at the Museum of Cycladic Art on Friday, features a number of works inspired by Europe’s migrant crisis. One of them, “Tear bottle/tear gas canister” -- a display of canisters alongside antique bottles used to collect the tears of mourners -- refers to an in
PerformanceMay 23, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Britain’s Loach wins Cannes honor
British director Ken Loach won the Palme d’Or top prize at Cannes on Sunday for the second time in a decade with his moving drama “I, Daniel Blake” about the shame of poverty in austerity-hit Europe. The award marked a major upset at the world’s top film festival in favor of the left-wing director, who turns 80 next month and is known for shining a light on the downtrodden. He beat runaway favorites including the rapturously received German comedy “Toni Erdmann” by Maren Ade, one of three female
FilmMay 23, 2016
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Illegal sites selling smuggled duty-free cigarettes on rise
Illegal sites selling smuggled duty-free cigarettes at low prices have been steadily rising as the excise tax increase last year nearly doubled domestic tobacco prices.The Tobacco Business Act outlaws any online transactions of cigarette products, as well as sales by unregistered retailers. These illegal sites operate their informal stores through blogs and other noncommercial channels.Prices on the smuggled cigarettes can be as low as 2,900 won ($2.50) per pack, significantly lower than the 4,5
IndustryMay 23, 2016
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Yuanta Securities offers special cruise deal
Yuanta Securities Korea has partnered with Redcap Tour to offer a financial travel package called “Holiday Dream Travel Fund Wrap,” the company said Monday.In preparation for the golden holiday week -- three consecutive national holidays allowing people to take an entire week off in October 2017 -- the financial travel package offers customers a 15 percent discount for a 10-day cruise to the east Mediterranean and Balkan Peninsula or a nine-day cruise to Japan’s Hokkaido Island and Russia’s Sakh
May 23, 2016
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MBK Partners mulling sale and leaseback of Homeplus stores: reports
Korea’s largest private equity MBK Partners is mulling to sell five outlets of Homeplus and lease them back to help repay loans that funded the acquisition of the retailer last year, local news reports said.In October last year, MBK acquired 100 percent stake in Homeplus from British giant retailer Tesco for 7.2 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in a consortium with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Public Service Pension Plan of Canada, and Temasek Holdings. To fund the acquisition, MBK borro
May 23, 2016
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Reporter indicted over defaming ruling party lawmaker
Prosecutors said Monday they have indicted a local journalist on charges of defaming a ruling party lawmaker by filing a "false" report that her daughter received a favor in the college entrance process.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the journalist, identified only by his surname Hwang, is accused of reporting that Sungshin Women's University overlooked irregularities related to Rep. Na Kyung-won's daughter in return for favors. The lawmakers is a member of the Saenuri Party
Social AffairsMay 23, 2016
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Korea unveil squad for friendlies vs. Spain, Czech Republic
Korea on Monday unveiled their 20-man squad for upcoming friendly matches against Spain and the Czech Republic, as some players who have been struggling with their European clubs were left out. Korea, 54th in FIFA world rankings, will take on No. 6 Spain on June 1 in Salzburg, Austria, and face the No. 29 Czech Republic on June 5 in Prague. They will be Korea's first matches against European nations since Uli Stielike became head coach in September 2014. They're also designed to help Korea prepa
SoccerMay 23, 2016
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Endangered stork breeding attempt succeeds in central Korea
A released stork has hatched two chicks in the wild in the country's central region, marking the species' first natural breeding in the country, the Yesan municipal government said Monday, quoting a research center tasked with restoring the endangered bird.The Oriental White Stork Park in Yesan, a town in South Korea's central province of South Chungcheong, said its researchers confirmed the chicks in a nest of a female stork named Minhwang and a male stork named Manhwang on Sunday. The two are
TechnologyMay 23, 2016
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Poll cites 'China slowdown', household debt as major threats
Slowing economic growth in China and growing household debt in South Korea are two major risks facing the country's financial system, the outcome of a recent survey showed Monday.In a poll conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK), 73 percent of respondents cited China's slowing growth as a potential threat that could cause havoc in South Korea's financial market. Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)The semiannual survey was conducted April 6-20 on 78 economists that included bank officials and foreig
May 23, 2016
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Korean roster set for Olympic football prep tourney
Korea on Monday announced their under-23 men's football roster for an Olympic prep tournament.Salzburg striker Hwang Hee-chan was one of 23 players named to the squad, as Korea are readying to host Nigeria, Honduras and Denmark early next month.Korea will be making their eighth straight Olympic appearance in Rio de Janeiro in August. Korea beat rival Japan to take the bronze medal at the previous Summer Games in London, the country's first Olympic medal in football.Hwang, who played an integral
SoccerMay 23, 2016
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Cheong Wa Dae says no decision has been made yet over hearings bill
Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Monday that no decision has been made yet over whether President Park Geun-hye will veto a controversial bill that will enable parliament to open hearings more frequently.After the revision to the National Assembly Act was passed Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae called for an "immediate" amendment to it, arguing that it would paralyze government affairs and give inordinate power to the legislature.The bill has emerged as yet another point of conflict between
PoliticsMay 23, 2016
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Seoul aims to get back on MSCI's review list of developed market indexes
Korea is seeking to get its main stock market back on the global index provider MSCI's review list of developed market index candidates next month, government officials said Monday.From 2008 and 2014, Korea advanced to the review list stage each year but failed to obtain development market status. The failures were due to the country's inability to satisfy a series of requirements made by the MSCI. The MSCI has long cited Korea's identification-related regulations for foreign investors as a majo
May 23, 2016
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Korea, Japan set for ICT business meeting
Korea said Monday it will hold a government-civilian meeting this week intended to explore business partnerships with Japan on information, communication and technology (ICT).The Korea-Japan ICT Plaza is scheduled to be held in Tokyo and Osaka from Tuesday through Friday, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.It would involve 40 Korean firms, mostly small and medium-sized ones, and more than 100 Japanese companies including Sony Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp., said the
IndustryMay 23, 2016
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Seoul calls on N.K. to explain its stance on denuclearization
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Monday it has responded to North Korea’s latest offer for military talks by calling on Pyongyang to make its stance on denuclearization clear. The government also said denuclearization steps should be a top priority in any inter-Korean dialogue.Seoul earlier referred to Pyongyang’s calls to hold a working-level meeting with South Korea in late May or early June in preparation for military talks as a proposal without sincerity and a propaganda ploy.“We expresse
North KoreaMay 23, 2016
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Korea's drug exports set new record at $2.3 billion
Korea's medicine exports hit an all-time high of $2.3 billion last year despite a continued drop in the nation's overall outbound shipments of goods, data showed Monday.The amount marks a 28.5-percent increase from a year earlier, according to a report by the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. (123RF)Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered an 8-percent fall in its total exports in 2015.Imports of medicine also shrank 1.8 percent on-year to $5.1 billion last year, helping improve the
IndustryMay 23, 2016