Most Popular
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AI textbook bubble could burst, expert warns
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Food tycoon Paik Jong-won's Theborn Korea pushes toward IPO
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Samsung tightens its belt amid crisis winds
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North Korean trash balloons cross border day after Seoul military parade
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Prosecution closes 'Dior bag' case amid opposition uproar
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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Court confirms sentence for rapper who attempted to evade national service
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‘Craft that responds to our problems’
Alain de Botton, best known here for his 1993 book “Essays in Love,” continues his relationship with art after his 2013 book ”Art as Therapy,” this time curating a craft exhibition in Korea. The Swiss-born British philosopher and writer has taken up the unusual job of an exhibition curator at the ongoing Cheongju International Craft Biennale to offer fresh ways to view craft. He worked with 15 Korean artists to come up with craftworks and explore their psychological side.“I started to think what
PerformanceOct. 12, 2015
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[Editorial] Repeated folly
There are many silly things in Korean government and politics — silly in the sense that follies and stupidities are being repeated although many know what the problems are. One such thing is the annual parliamentary audit of the executive and judiciary branches. The National Assembly finished this year’s audit last week, and as had been expected, it lived up to its reputation as one of the most ridiculous institutions in the country. For starters, you need to get only a few sets of statistics
EditorialOct. 12, 2015
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[Editorial] War clouds
An intense ideology-packed war looms large between the ruling and opposition parties, with the confrontation certain to worsen the already deep left-right schism in Korean society. The first front of the war is evolving over the government’s plan to supply state-authored Korean history textbooks to middle and high school students. The Education Ministry officially announced the decision Monday. Officials say that some of the current eight textbooks — supplied by private publishers — that were wr
EditorialOct. 12, 2015
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[Jeffrey Frankel] Be open-minded about TPP
CAMBRIDGE — Agreement among negotiators from 12 Pacific Rim countries on the Trans-Pacific Partnership represents a triumph over long odds. Tremendous political obstacles, both domestic and international, had to be overcome to conclude the deal. And now critics of the TPP’s ratification, particularly in the United States, should read the agreement with an open mind. Many of the issues surrounding the TPP have been framed, at least in U.S. political terms, as left versus right. The left’s unremi
ViewpointsOct. 12, 2015
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[David Ignatius] Corralling our objectives in Syria
WASHINGTON -- A favorite Arab proverb goes something like this: A shepherd asks the Prophet: Should I let my camels loose and trust in God? No, answers the Prophet. Tie down your camels and trust in God. The Obama administration has been operating with a loose strategy in Syria and Iraq. Washington said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go, but missed its opportunity to make him leave. The U.S. bet on the ability of a mainly Shiite security force in Iraq to regain territory from the Is
ViewpointsOct. 12, 2015
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Citigroup to choose finalists for Asian digital accelerator
The finalists for the Citi Mobile Challenge Asia Pacific, hosted by Citigroup, will be selected this Wednesday, company officials said.The Citi Mobile Challenge is a digital acceleration program that holds hackathons, and looks for those who can present consumer and business solutions for Citigroup.Programmers from all over the world and Asia Pacific have been invited, including individuals and organizations from Korea.Finalists from Citi Mobile Challenge in Europe, the Middle East and Africa pr
IndustryOct. 12, 2015
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IU to drop 4th EP ‘Chat-Shire’
Singer IU will drop her fourth EP “Chat-Shire” on Oct. 23, the 23-year-old singer revealed via social media. (Loen Entertainment)Her previous album “A Flower Bookmark” was released in May last year. IU, who debuted in 2008, is one of the most visible female solo singers in the local music scene now, with hits “Good Day,” “You&I,” “The Red Shoes” and “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms.”She recently admitted her two-year romantic relationship with Korean singer Chang Ki-ha.By Kim Yu-jin (kimyu
PerformanceOct. 12, 2015
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Koreas meet for joint dictionary project
South and North Korean lexicographers met at a scenic resort on the North's east coast Monday to discuss details over an ongoing project to publish a joint dictionary of their language, the Unification Ministry said. A group of 38 South Korean experts visited Mount Kumgang earlier in the day to hold eight-day talks with their North Korean counterparts over the contents of the dictionary, the ministry said. The joint dictionary project has been pursued in order to preserve Korea's cultural asse
North KoreaOct. 12, 2015
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Two S. Koreans injured in attack in East Timor
Two South Korean construction officials were injured last week after dozens of locals raided a waterway construction site in East Timor, a Foreign Ministry official said Monday. The locals threw stones and assaulted the officials during the attack on the site some 280 kilometers from the capital of Dili last Monday, the official said on condition of anonymity. The injured received medical treatment at a local hospital but are not in a life-threatening condition, the official added. The exact
Social AffairsOct. 12, 2015
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Gov't announces state control over history textbooks
The government Monday announced its plan to reintroduce a single state history textbook for secondary school students to address what it calls the predominantly left-leaning contents in current books. Unveiling an administrative measure, the Ministry of Education said history textbooks for middle and high schoolers nationwide will be authored by the government starting in the 2017 school year. The government published state school history textbooks under the authoritarian Park Chung-hee gover
Social AffairsOct. 12, 2015
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Ministry unveils plan for history textbook publication system
South Korea's education ministry on Monday unveiled an administrative measure to introduce state-designated history textbooks for secondary school students. According to the measure, history books for middle and high schoolers will be authored by the government for the 2017 school year. Currently, eight private publishing companies print history textbooks after winning approval from the government for use in middle and high schools. Schools choose from any of the eight textbooks while primary
Social AffairsOct. 12, 2015
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Lawmaker resigns over alleged sexual assault
A lawmaker formerly affiliated with the ruling party resigned from his post Monday over allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman. Rep. Sim Hag-bong, who left the ruling Saenuri Party in August, submitted his resignation just hours before the National Assembly was scheduled to vote on a motion to expel him. Sim is being investigated by prosecutors on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman in her 40s at a hotel in Daegu on July 13. It would have been the first time for a sitting lawma
PoliticsOct. 12, 2015
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Pyongyang uses military parade to boost solidarity, improve image: Seoul
North Korea appeared to use its recent massive military parade to strengthen solidarity for its leader, Kim Jong-un, and dispel its negative image, the Unification Ministry said Monday. The North's leader did not mention nuclear weapons during his rare public speech on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party. But a torchlight parade held on late Saturday expressed key words -- nukes and the economy -- of Kim's dual policy of developing nuclear weapons
North KoreaOct. 12, 2015
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S. Korea's R&D growth doesn't lead to higher productivity: data
Outward expansion of South Korea's research and development has not led to meaningful improvements in productivity, raising the need to boost the effectiveness of related investments, official data showed Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy ranked No. 6 in R&D investment in 2013, but it still suffered from a chronic deficit in the technology trade, with the quality of materials being produced lagging behind those of its rivals, according to the National Assembly Research Service, state data a
Oct. 12, 2015
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Multicultural families on the rise: lawmaker
The number of marriage immigrants and people in multicultural families in South Korea have both doubled in the past eight years, an opposition lawmaker said Monday, citing government data. More than 147,000 immigrants are or have been married to a South Korean national without claiming South Korean citizenship as of 2015, Rep. Jin Sun-mee of New Politics Alliance for Democracy said, citing data from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. More than 92,000 foreigners became naturalized afte
Social AffairsOct. 12, 2015
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PM calls for efforts to resolve separated families issue
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn called for efforts Monday to support the reunions of hundreds of thousands of families separated for decades across the Korean Peninsula by the 1950-53 Korean War. "The confirmation of life and death of all the members of the families, as well as exchanges of letters, regular meetings and hometown visits, should be made," Hwang told a ceremony commemorating the registration of a decades-old local TV program, which sought to reunite those families, to UNESCO's docume
North KoreaOct. 12, 2015
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MIKTA condemns terrorist bombings in Turkey
South Korea and three other nations Monday condemned the terrorist bombings in Turkey that killed at least 97 people over the weekend. The foreign ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia, which together form the middle-power MIKTA group with Turkey, issued a statement condemning the attacks launched on a peaceful rally in Ankara on Saturday. "We extend our sincere condolences to the victims and families of those involved and wish those injured a speedy recovery," the statemen
InternationalOct. 12, 2015
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Gwangju Design Biennale to open this week
Preparations for the Gwangju Design Biennale 2015 were fully under way as of Monday with the opening only a few days ahead. This year's design expo will be held from Oct. 15 through Nov. 13 showcasing some 3,000 items from 100 different countries around the world. It will take place at Biennale exhibition halls and the national Asia Culture Center in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, under the theme "Shinmyeong (Conviviality) with Design." The theme carries a message that a good design
CultureOct. 12, 2015
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U.S. Pacific commander says North Korea 'greatest threat'
The U.S. Pacific commander has said North Korea and its unpredictable leader Kim Jong-un are his command's biggest worries as the communist nation is pursuing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. "The greatest threat that I face on a day-to-day basis is the threat from North Korea because you have an unpredictable leader who is in complete command of his country and his military," Adm. Harry Harris Jr. said in a meeting with the Military Reporters and Editors Association. The North's
North KoreaOct. 12, 2015
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Pyongyang, Beijing to discuss new tour projects during expo
New tourism projects between North Korea and China will be on the agenda as the two nations are set to kick off their annual trade fair later this week, according to China's state-run media on Monday. North Korea and China have jointly held the trade fair in October since 2012 in the Chinese border city of Dandong, and this year's fair will be held from Thursday for four days. Citing organizers of the expo, China's Xinhua news agency reported that North Korea will send a 400-strong delegati
North KoreaOct. 12, 2015