Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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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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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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After 70 years of turbulent transition, South Korea’s democracy faces new challenges
In the chaotic decades that followed the 1945 liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, South Koreans had limited rights to pick their own leaders, express political beliefs, and participate in any form of policymaking. They lived under the constant threat of oppressive, militant rulers who were desperate to remain in power in the name of economic development and fighting communism. It was perhaps the state’s strong power that transformed South Korea into a powerful economy for the years to come,
PoliticsAug. 16, 2015
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Korea’s civil society at a crossroads
When millions of South Koreans flocked to central Seoul to hold a candlelight vigil against a beef import agreement with the United States in 2008, social activist Ha Seung-chang was “inspired” to see how Korean civil society had developed over the years. Ha, the head of nonprofit group Think Cafe, began to engage in civic movement in the early 1980s. He said that he witnessed a new breed of social activism that was open, participatory and peer-driven during the 2008 candlelight vigils. “In 20
Social AffairsAug. 16, 2015
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Following footsteps of pioneers in women’s history
When Chinese-born Oh Hee-ock moved to Korea in 1946, a year after her country was liberated from the Japanese colonial rule, she was determined to continue her education and get a job. Born in 1926 to China-based Korean independence activists in today’s Manchuria, she had studied English and Chinese as well as Korean, while participating in her parents’ fierce military activism starting at age 14.Now 89, Oh is a retired teacher and a recognized independence activist. “My father emphasized the im
Social AffairsAug. 16, 2015
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[Editorial] Proof of defects
The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act had already been a target of public criticism when it passed the National Assembly last March. Some of the criticisms were so well grounded -- to the degree that the Korea Bar Association has petitioned the Constitutional Court to review its constitutionality. Without some defects, the act, commonly called Kim Young-ran Act after its original author, should be hailed as the toughest law ever regarding punishment of public officials accepting bribes. The a
EditorialAug. 16, 2015
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[Editorial] Leaders’ words
Good leaders aren’t necessarily good speakers, but it is important for them to deliver the right message at the right time if they want to rally people behind their leadership. From that aspect, neither President Park Geun-hye nor Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can hardly be called good communicators. We could ascertain this in the past few days as both leaders addressed their countries to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Especially, we had no high expectation of the s
EditorialAug. 16, 2015
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Independence fighter recounts family's struggle for one, liberated Korea
In Oh Hee-ock’s little apartment in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, there hangs a black-and-white photograph of her late mother and sister. The 89-year-old looks at it every day. It’s a reminder of who she is and where she comes from ― a member of a historic family that was behind Korea’s military activism against the Japanese rule.Oh’s family has an unparalleled iconic tale to tell when it comes to Korea’s fight for independence during the colonial rule that lasted from 1910-1945. Three generations o
PoliticsAug. 16, 2015
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Korea’s ascent on culture map
From the cultural staples of Korean folk music and historical soap operas, to love-triangle-plagued TV dramas and the heavily choreographed, modern hodgepodge of K-pop, the nation’s entertainment industry has seen a paradigm shift in its international prominence over the past few decades. Following a number of game-changing TV dramas and musical acts such as KBS’ “Winter Sonata” and first generation K-pop idols BoA and H.O.T., overseas interest in the nation’s entertainment content has shot up,
Aug. 16, 2015
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Education underpins Korea’s rapid growth
South Korea’s education system played a pivotal role in its improbable transformation from one of the poorest countries in the world to the fourth-largest economy in Asia. The country’s series of transformations throughout its history are mirrored in changes witnessed in the education system. In the midst of the country’s rapid development, Koreans sought education as the way to dig their way out of poverty.South Korea is now famous for having one of the fiercest education fevers in the world. A
Social AffairsAug. 16, 2015
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SK chairman prepares for comeback
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, who was released from prison Friday through a presidential pardon, held key meetings at the group’s headquarters in downtown Seoul over the weekend in his efforts to normalize operations and lend a hand in reviving the Korean economy as promised, according to group officials Sunday. Chey took the first steps toward resuming his chairman duties on Saturday, the day after his release, by meeting with SK SUPEX Council chairman Kim Chang-geun and key officials at SK’s
IndustryAug. 16, 2015
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Seoul permanently ousts sex offender teacher
Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday it would permanently ban a male teacher who harassed his student from teaching at a school again -- the first case of its recently announced “one-strike” policy on sex offenders.The teacher at a Seoul-based public school, identified by his surname Kim, inappropriately touched the female student during a remedial physical education class in May, according to the SMOE. He turned himself in a week later, admitting all charges. The case went cold, h
Social AffairsAug. 16, 2015
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Korea-Japan rivalry deepens in global markets
For decades, the Korea-Japan rivalry has favored Korean firms and helped them secure a firm footing in global markets. In the past, they were desperate to mimic the success of big Japanese names such as Sony and Toyota. But over time, companies like Samsung and Hyundai appealed with quality products at cheaper prices, gobbling up their Japanese rivals’ market shares. Today Korean and Japanese firms compete head-on across almost all industries. And when it comes to information technology, Koreans
IndustryAug. 16, 2015
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Labor to decide on returning to 3-way talks on market reforms
Workers are expected to decide Tuesday whether to return to the trilateral negotiations on labor market reforms, with the government offering to mediate the long-stalled talks. The three-way talks among labor, management and government had stalled, with the nation’s biggest trade union strongly protesting the plans to curb regulations to lay off underperforming regular workers and give employers more discretion to change recruitment guidelines without labor unions’ approval. (Yonhap)The govern
Social AffairsAug. 16, 2015
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Korea’s meandering path to market economy
Seventy years has been more than enough for South Korea to pull itself up from postwar wrecks to become the world’s 13th-largest economy.Since its liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, the country’s gross domestic product surged by over 30,000 times and its per capita income by over 400 times -- a record which, to this day, stands unrivaled in the world’s economic history.This striking growth, dubbed “The Miracle on the Han,” is attributed to a number of reasons, including the competit
Aug. 16, 2015
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Seoul, Tokyo remain 'distant neighbors'
Seventy years after Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, the two countries are often described as “distant neighbors,” an expression underscoring the psychological distance that remains unbridgeable due to their historical and territorial feuds. South Korean President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with U.S. President Barack Obama observing at a trilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, in Marc
Foreign AffairsAug. 16, 2015
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IT industry rises as major pillar of Korean economy
Along with the steel, automotive and shipbuilding sectors, the IT industry has served as a locomotive that has driven South Korea’s economy for decades.At the forefront of South Korea’s IT scene were electronics businesses run by conglomerates including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Daewoo Electronics (now Dongbu Daewoo Electronics owned by Dongbu Group).Having produced the nation’s first transistor radio in 1959, LG, then called Goldstar, was a pioneer in the domestic home appliance m
TechnologyAug. 16, 2015
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Seoul's Foreign Minister urges 'concrete actions' from Tokyo
Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se called for Tokyo’s “concrete actions” to prove its vows to uphold past apologies for its wartime misdeeds, noting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech to mark the 70 anniversary of the end of World War II “fell short of Koreans’ expectations.” Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se Ministry of Foreign AffairsIn a written interview with The Korea Herald last week, Yun also noted “meaningful, considerable progress” in Seoul’s ongoing negotiations with Tokyo over
Foreign AffairsAug. 16, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Park likely to improve ties with Japan
President Park Geun-hye on Saturday made a moderate response to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, signaling her intention to enhance relations with Tokyo.President Park Geun-hye delivers a speech to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea`s liberation from Japan`s colonial rule on Saturday in Seoul. (Yonhap)In her Liberation Day speech, she said the much-anticipated statement “did not quite live up to Koreans’ expectations.
PoliticsAug. 16, 2015
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[Shashi Tharoor] Hanging sparks debate on death penalty in India
On July 30, Yakub Memon, a chartered accountant and the brother of a notorious gangster now living in self-imposed exile, was hanged for complicity in the planning and execution of serial bomb blasts that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993. The hanging, India’s first in three years, has prompted reactions ranging from dismay to scarcely concealed bloodlust. And it has intensified the domestic debate over the death penalty.To be sure, no one suggests that India’s judicial system did not function
ViewpointsAug. 16, 2015
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[David Ignatius] Big battle behind China’s turmoil
One way to think about the recent financial turmoil in China is as a parenting dispute between “Xi Dada” and “Yang Ma” -- meaning “Big Daddy Xi” (the nickname for President Xi Jinping) and “Big Mama” (a popular moniker for the People’s Bank of China).Dada and Ma are the two centers of power, political and economic, in a China that is coping with a painful new period of slower economic growth. They work in surprising harmony most of the time, but you could see the strain this summer as China stru
ViewpointsAug. 16, 2015
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Korea Herald brings K-pop to world fans
In less than a year, K-pop Herald (www.kpopherald.com) has established itself as the go-to website for people who want to keep up with up-to-date news and information on Korea’s pop culture trends and entertainment scene in English. Operated by the nation’s No. 1 English news outlet, The Korea Herald, the K-pop Herald launched on Sept. 24 with two things in mind: creating the most credible K-pop news in Korea and delivering rich Korean cultural contents across the globe. “There were many media
CultureAug. 16, 2015