Most Popular
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Chuseok still is a headache for couples
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N. Korea launches trash balloons toward S. Korea for 2nd day: JCS
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Heat wave watch issued for Seoul; latest on record
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Students suffer sleep deprivation, fatigue, suicidal thoughts
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Nearly 2,000 aging separated family members die in first 8 months of year: gov't data
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Popular tourist destinations beckon Chuseok holidaymakers
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Yoon's approval rating hits new low: poll
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On the road for Chuseok? Popular rest stop foods await
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Only 12 pct of unsafe food imports taken off market for disposal: report
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Naver Map starts providing natural disaster information
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LG to discuss business cooperation with BMW
MUNICH, Germany ― LG Group executives including LG Electronics' chief Koo Bon-joon are planning to meet BMW officials on the carmaker’s home turf in Munich, sources said. Flanked by the heads of LG’s European offices, this group of top LG officials will reportedly sit down for a face-to-face with executives from BMW headquarters on Thursday in a bid to supply LG’s automobile-related parts to the premium German carmaker. The situation recalls when Samsung Group’s heir apparent Lee Jay-yong previo
IndustryJuly 2, 2013
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Civic groups call for end of U.S. troops cost-sharing
Several South Korean civic groups called on the government Tuesday to terminate an agreement with the United States on sharing the cost of stationing American troops here.The call came as the two allies began talks in Washington Tuesday on the renewal of the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) due to expire this year. Under the agreement, Seoul paid Washington 836 billion won (US$737.4 million) last year to support about 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea.The civic groups, including the Korea Confed
North KoreaJuly 2, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Beijing blames Syrians for Xinjiang carnage
Uneasy calm settled on the streets of the provincial capital city of Urumqi in the western Chinese territory of Xinjiang as paramilitary police and dozens of armored vehicles entered the region Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping ramped up rhetoric against separatists among Xinjiang’s Muslim Uighur minority and ordered tighter security, following at least two outbreaks of violence that claimed the lives of 35 people.Perpetrated by knife-wielding motorcycle gangs, several bloody incidents occu
PoliticsJuly 2, 2013
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Hopes building for repatriation of China’s Korean War dead
Just a few kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, there is a lone graveyard where 1,000 North Korean and Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War are buried.Unlike Korea’s burial tradition, the graves at the enemy cemetery are pointed to the North ― demonstrating the last wish to return home.Officially known as “Cemetery for North Korean and Chinese Soldiers,” the graveyard in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, opened in 1996 under an international convention that urged
Social AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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[Graphic News] Korea’s trade balance in H1
Korea’s exports dropped for the first time in four months in June, indicating that the nation still faces external economic uncertainty amid the global slowdown. (Source: The Trade Ministry)
July 2, 2013
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NIS, NLL fiasco eclipses Park’s policy drive
As President Park Geun-hye approaches six months in office, the high drama over the National Intelligence Service’s political interference and the Roh Moo-hyun administration’s controversial stance on the sea border with North Korea threatens to overshadow her economic policy drive.Fierce political rough-and-tumble is expected this month with the launch of a special probe into the NIS’ online smear campaign, and the disclosure of the original transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit talks.Whil
PoliticsJuly 2, 2013
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Fewer SAT tests to be held in Korea
The operator of the main U.S. college admission test has decided to cut the number of its tests administered in South Korea after a recent revelation of pervasive cheating surfaced, its website showed Tuesday.The number of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) dates offered in the country will be cut from six to four for the 2013-2014 academic year, while the SAT Subject Tests, the U.S. national admissions tests, are planned to be administered twice, according to the College Board.The SAT is held seven
Social AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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Teaching visa rule to guarantee minimum pay
The Justice Ministry has tightened visa regulations for foreign language teachers to ensure they are paid at least 1.5 million won ($1,324) per month. The ministry said the new guideline was designed to improve their working conditions and the quality of language education. Under the rule, effective as of Monday, the E-2 teaching visa will be issued only if employers guarantee foreign teachers the minimum monthly rate. Its survey in March found that some lecturers are paid less than 1 million wo
Social AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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N.K. nuclear envoy heads to Russia
Kim Kye-gwan, North Korea’s point man on nuclear issues, departed for Russia on Tuesday, the country’s state news agency said, in what appears to be its efforts to resume dialogue with neighboring countries over the nuclear standoff.Kim, the first foreign affairs vice-minister, and his party left to visit Russia, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a brief dispatch in English.“They were seen off at the airport by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kung Sok-ung, the Russian Ambass
Foreign AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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Park discusses closer ties with India
President Park Geun-hye met with India’s national security adviser Tuesday and discussed ways to expand economic and security ties between the two countries, her office said. The national security adviser, Shivshankar Menon, was in Seoul as a special envoy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, marking the 40th anniversary this year of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.Menon delivered a letter from Singh to Park during the meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa
Foreign AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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Women leave jobs for average 4.5 years
Women in Seoul take an average of 4.5 years away from their career mostly due to childbirth and rearing, research showed Tuesday.The Seoul Women’s Resources Development Institute released its survey of 1,969 women who registered at job-training and career-building agencies for women in the city.Half of them said they had once worked, but found they had to quit after an average of 8.4 years. They were out of work for 4.5 years on average. About 46 percent of them cited childcare as the reason for
Social AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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Number of foreign residents nears 1.45 million
The number of foreigners living in South Korea has been on the rise over the past few years, with a sharp increase in the number of children born to non-Korean families, government data showed Tuesday.According to the data by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, foreign residents numbered 1.45 million as of Jan. 1, 2013, accounting for 2.8 percent of the country’s total population.The 2013 figure is up 2.6 percent from a year earlier and marks the seventh consecutive on-year rise
Social AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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Korea asks U.S. to check on spying claims
South Korea has asked the United States to check on recent allegations that its intelligence agency bugged the South Korean mission there, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.The South Korean Embassy in the U.S., along with European Union missions and 37 other diplomatic missions, was allegedly targeted by the U.S. National Security Agency, which tapped their phone calls and e-mails, according to media reports based upon documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.“(The South Kore
Foreign AffairsJuly 2, 2013
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Korean musicals venture overseas
Hallyu has mostly revolved around K-pop, Korean dramas and Korean cinema, but its influence is expanding to the performing arts in Korea’s neighboring countries. Among many theater genres, the country’s local musicals are beginning to enjoy popularity in Japan and China ― becoming the latest hallyu trend in Asia. Last year, major Korean entertainment company CJ E&M announced that a total of eight Korean musicals would be performed in Tokyo’s affluent Roppongi district. Collaborating with promine
PerformanceJuly 2, 2013
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Series of celebrity hospitalizations arouse concerns
June was a tough month for a number of entertainers who had to postpone their activities due to injuries and illness. Comedian and presenter Park Mi-sun sustained injuries to both her ankles while filming MBC’s “Blind Test 180” on June 26. The accident occurred as she was trying a “flying chair,” in which participants are thrown into the air before landing in a swimming pool. It was revealed that Park might need surgery and it would take up to three months for her ankles to heal. Meanwhile, acto
July 2, 2013
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CNBLUE, Crying Nut copyright spat gets nasty
Pop band CNBLUE countercharged punk band Crying Nut on June 27 with spreading false information following Crying Nut’s earlier suit against CNBLUE for copyright infringement.CNBLUE also filed for an injunction against Crying Nut’s online criticism. The copyright dispute arose on Feb. 12 when Crying Nut filed a suit against CNBLUE and their agency FNC Entertainment for unauthorized use of their song “Pilsal Off-Side” on Mnet’s “M Countdown” in 2010. Crying Nut also charged that CNBLUE had release
July 2, 2013
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GIC offers excursion to Byeonsanbando Peninsula
Gwangju International Center will run a tour to Byeonsanbando Peninsula National Park on July 20.The tour will start at Naesosa Temple, home to the country’s largest Buddhist mural, where the participants will try mulberry tea.The tour will then walk up the national park’s main valley, through an old temple site, and end at a waterfall, where the group will have a picnic.The group will then spend the afternoon at Gosapo Beach on the Yellow Sea. The tour starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m., and c
Expat LivingJuly 2, 2013
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Gangnam center to run e-commerce course
Gangnam Global Business Center will hold a free course on starting up an e-commerce business from July 15-18.The course will explain the start-up procedure for online businesses and discuss online business opportunities. It will also cover sales approaches to Korean and international markets, and marketing strategies for different online sales outlets.The course takes place on each of the four days from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Gangnam Global Business Center in the COEX building.Those wishing to at
Expat LivingJuly 2, 2013
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Auditions open for 10 Minute Play Festival
Seoul Players is holding auditions Saturday and Sunday for its 10 Minute Play Festival, which will take place in late September.Sixteen plays have been chosen for the festival from submissions by writers here and overseas. The plays cover a wide variety of genres, and actors of all backgrounds and levels of experience are invited to attend.Auditions will be held in three 45-minute sessions each day starting at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Bar Carmen in the Gyeongnidan area of Itaewon. There is a
Expat LivingJuly 2, 2013
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‘Top Talent’ audition event enters final stage
Talent contest “Top Talent” has whittled its scores of contestants down to the last 12 for the final Saturday show. The 12 finalists vary from singers and bands to jugglers and beat boxers.The show starts at 5 p.m. at Yongsan Art Hall, in the basement of Yongsan District Office, and will be entirely in English.Tickets are 10,000 won in advance and 15,000 won at the door. Visit www.toptalentkorea.com for details on how to preorder tickets and a full list of performers.(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)
Expat LivingJuly 2, 2013