Most Popular
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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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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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Panel decision put prosecution in dilemma over Dior bag case
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Korea to face another massive shortfall in tax revenue
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2025 Trend Forecast: Small details, new happiness trend amid sluggish economy
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Global drama stars gather for 2024 Seoul International Drama Awards
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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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[Christopher Balding] One Chinese city has figured out the future
China‘s Xi Jinping recently declared that he wants China to rank as one of the world’s most innovative countries by 2020 and to top the list by mid-century. Going by past practice, this probably means a lot more money being poured into dodgy start-ups and ill-conceived high-tech schemes. There’s a better model to be found, however, one that’s surprisingly close to home: the southern boomtown of Shenzhen. The city‘s Nanshan district, home to a huge High-Tech Industrial Park, is now China’s riches
ViewpointsJune 13, 2016
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[Shashi Tharoor] India’s deadly university entrance exams
In late April, a 17-year-old girl named Kriti Tripathi leaped to her death in Kota, India, shortly after passing the country’s examination for admission to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. A week later, another Kota student, Preeti Singh, hanged herself, succumbing to her injuries after a few days. Singh’s was the ninth suicide by a student in Kota this year alone, and the 56th in the last five. All attended Kota’s “coaching institutes,” whose sole purpose is to prepare high scho
ViewpointsJune 13, 2016
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Prosecutors raid lobby group of foreign drug firms in rebate probe
Prosecutors recently raided the Seoul office of an industry lobby group for multinational pharmaceuticals firms, as part of their ongoing investigation into rebates, an illegal business practice blamed for driving up medical costs for patients, industry sources said Monday.The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office probing the case obtained relevant documents from the office of the Korea Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association (KRPIA), the lobby group for 35 foreign drug companies
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Korea to hold cyber security consultations with European countries
A senior foreign ministry official will leave for Europe this week to hold back-to-back policy consultation meetings to discuss global cooperation against the growing threat in cyberspace, the ministry said Monday. Shin Maeng-ho, the ambassador for international security affairs, will have meetings with his counterparts from the Czech Republic, the European Union and Germany, according to the ministry. The meeting with the Czech Republic will be held in Prague on Wednesday, followed by ones with
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Sistar to roll out new EP next week
South Korean girl group Sistar is set to release a new summer EP, the band's agency said on Monday.The four-member act will release its fourth EP, tentatively titled "Mol-a-ae," or blinding love, on June 21, Starship Entertainment said in a press release.The album showcase will be broadcast live simultaneously at home and overseas, according to the agency.The girl group released their previous album "Shake It" one year ago, earning them the nickname "seasonal best."In the final sprint to the EP
PerformanceJune 13, 2016
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Regulator hints at possible merger of two major Korean shippers
South Korea's financial regulator said Monday that creditors may consider a possible merger between Hanjin Shipping Co. and Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. upon completion of their separate restructuring programs. Under the guidance of their creditor banks, the country's two biggest shipping lines have cut jobs and sold non-core assets in recent years to get their businesses back on track. They have inked heavy losses since the 2008 global economic crisis due to a glut of vessels and low freight rat
IndustryJune 13, 2016
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Issue of constitutional revision resurfaces
The issue of constitutional revision resurfaced on Monday as National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun publicly raised the need for it, calling it a task "someone must tackle" at some point.The issue has long been pushed on the back burner as many fear that it would undermine the long-held constitutional order and efforts to focus on more urgent issues such as revitalizing the economy. "Constitutional amendment is something that someone must tackle," Chung said during his speech marking the openi
PoliticsJune 13, 2016
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Korean resident strives to rid Japan of hate speech
A Korean resident of Japan spearheading a campaign to ease anti-Korean emotions there on Monday stressed that discrimination against minorities should not take place in society."It should not be tolerated either in South Korea or Japan,” freelance writer Lee Shin-hye said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.Lee, 45, has focused on such discrimination issues as hate speech in Japan and the country's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, Some of these hate speech incidents in
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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[Joshua J. Whitfield] There is a growing humorlessness in the U.S.
“Genuine humor is replete with wisdom,” Mark Twain said. Yet it is wisdom I’m afraid we’ve largely lost, a sense of humor gone with little trace.Not that we don’t laugh anymore. We laugh a lot. It’s easy to find something funny, some comedian to make us giggle. Cheap jokes are still cheap and easy to come by; juvenile laughter has always been and will always be easy to produce. But many comedians today are just that: cheap.There are of course a few great ones still, those who carry the great Ame
ViewpointsJune 13, 2016
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[Peter Singer] Should the world go to Rio?
When Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games, the Zika virus had yet to reach Brazil. Now, after billions of dollars have been invested in preparing for the Games, Rio de Janeiro state has the second highest number of suspected Zika virus infections. Should the 2016 Summer Olympic Games be postponed or moved elsewhere? This is a difficult decision, and the facts are still not clear enough. That’s why, last month, I joined 223 scientists, bioethicists, and public health experts in sign
ViewpointsJune 13, 2016
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Britain’s great EU debate has not been so great
Opinion polls say Britain’s vote on June 23 on whether to leave the European Union will be close. That’s disturbing: Voting to stay is the safer, wiser choice. The referendum debate should have promoted consensus on the point -- but it hasn’t, partly because the quality of discussion has been a letdown. Campaigners on both sides of the debate have claimed that a complex issue is really pretty simple. The government-led Remain campaign says “Brexit” would be a catastrophe; the Leave campaign says
ViewpointsJune 13, 2016
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National Assembly completes lineup of 18 committee chiefs
The National Assembly on Monday completed the lineup of parliamentary committee chiefs after days of intraparty wrangling, enabling the newly elected legislature to set the ball rolling in earnest.The lineup for 18 committees was finalized at a plenary session of the 20th assembly, which began its four-year term on May 30.Ruling Saenuri Party Reps. Cho Kyoung-tae, Lee Jin-bok, Yoo Jae-jung and Kwon Seong-dong were elected to lead the finance, national policy, public administration and legislatio
PoliticsJune 13, 2016
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N. Korean workers in China do not wear badge of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il: report
Some of the North Korean workers in China have been seen not wearing a mandatory badge bearing the images of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, a U.S.-based media report said Monday.An ethnic Korean source in China told the Radio Free Asia (RFA) that North Korean employees dispatched to the Hongju International Hotel in Hunchun, China's northeastern city in Jilin Province, are working without wearing the so-called loyalty badge these days."It appears that there were some inst
North KoreaJune 13, 2016
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Bangtan Boys just ahead of first million sell since debut
South Korean boy group Bangtan Boys, also known by the abbreviated name BTS, is about to reach 1 million albums sold for the first time since its debut, the band's management said on Monday.The seven-member act has sold a total of 936,007 copies of its three-volume album "Hwayangyeonhwa," meaning "the most beautiful moments of life," according to data compiled by Big Hit Entertainment.The number is a combined tally of 274,351 copies from "Hwayangyeonhwa Part 1," 351,413 copies from "Hwayangyeonh
PerformanceJune 13, 2016
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Crackdown on domestic violence builds
The number of South Koreans booked on charges of domestic violence soared dramatically on-year, due in part to the creation of special police teams investigating cases involving women and juveniles, police said Monday. According to the National Police Agency, the number of domestic violence cases caught by police nationwide stood at 40,022 in 2015, a 132 percent increase from 17,258 in 2014.By region, South Gyeongsang Province saw the biggest rise in the number of domestic violence cases, surgin
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Operation begins to lift sunken Sewol ferry
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Sunday that it has launched the salvage operation of the sunken Sewol ferry, which has remained underwater off Jindo Island in South Jeolla Province the past two years and three months.The ministry said it aims to complete the operation of lifting the bow of the ferry by Wednesday. The operation was previously postponed in May due to technical problems. The lifting of the bow section is considered the most challenging part of the operation. If the liftin
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Rural day care centers face recruitment challege
Day care centers and kindergartens in South Korea’s relatively remote villages are understaffed, have trouble recruiting teachers, and receive a higher number of children raised by their grandparents or immigrant mothers compared to those in urban areas, a study showed Monday.The study, organized by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, found that 44 percent of all kindergartens in the nations’ farming and fishing towns had trouble hiring teachers, while 38.2 percent of the institutio
Social AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Korea suspects N.K.’s illegal fishing rights sale to Chinese
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Monday that North Korea may have sold fishing rights to Chinese boats illegally operating in the neutral waters near the inter-Korea border. The North, meanwhile, has remained mum on Seoul’s recent crackdown in the area for the fourth straight day. Seoul and the U.N. Command launched a military police team to root out the illegal fishing in neutral waters around the Hangang River estuary on Friday. The military has been keeping a keen eye on the North, over co
DefenseJune 13, 2016
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Myanmar emulates Korea's rural development model
NAYPYIDAW -- More than a dozen villagers began to dig in the ground and make a stream in the small town of Kyauncone near the capital of Myanmar, as the signature song of the Saemaul Undong resonated, with the lyrics in Korean calling for diligence and cooperation in refurbishing the rural community. Their task was to open drainage ditches and pave the road that has long prohibited the passage of vehicles in rainy seasons. It was intended to take a page from the Saemaul Undong (New Village Movem
Foreign AffairsJune 13, 2016
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Assembly elects standing committee chairs
The 20th National Assembly elected the leaders of the parliamentary standing committees on Monday, finishing the work of forming the legislative body after two weeks of wrangling, but earlier than previous parliaments.The lawmakers officially began their four-year term on May 30. It was the shortest period to form the Assembly since the lawmakers set a legal deadline in 1994. The rival parties last week had reached a consensus on how to distribute key parliamentary positions, considered key in c
PoliticsJune 13, 2016