Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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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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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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Indonesia repatriates former US policeman over alleged murder
A former Texas policeman arrested for alleged involvement in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend was flown back to the United States from Indonesia Wednesday, an official said.Vontrey Clark, a former Austin policeman, was taken from his cell in Bali and escorted by police to the airport, an immigration official at Bali's international terminal told AFP."The departure went well," Muhammad Saleh, the official, said without elaborating.Clark had been behind bars on the resort island for a month f
World NewsSept. 2, 2015
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China's Xi calls for restart of nuclear talks with N. Korea
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an early resumption of long-stalled multilateral talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, China's foreign ministry said Wednesday, although the North is intent on keeping its nuclear ambitions. Xi made the call during a summit meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye earlier in the day, a statement posted by the Chinese ministry said. China "opposes any actions that may cause tensions" and all relevant parties should make effor
PoliticsSept. 2, 2015
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Trilateral summit among S. Korea, Japan, China draws near
South Korean President Park Geun-hye attends a summit talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, Wednesday. (Yonhap)A key outcome of Wednesday's summit between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, was an agreement to hold a trilateral meeting with their Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, potentially representing a significant step toward improving ties among the regional powers mired in history and territorial disputes.Park and Xi agreed dur
PoliticsSept. 2, 2015
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S. Korea coach hoping to see efficient offense in World Cup qualifier
On the eve of his team's World Cup qualifying match against Laos, South Korea head coach Uli Stielike said Wednesday he hopes to see efficient offense.The 54th-ranked South Korea will take on the 177th-ranked Laos at 8 p.m. Thursday at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium. South Korea have won all three meetings against Laos so far.Stielike predicted that Laos, as the underdog, will try to sit back and play a tight defense on the South Koreans. He called on his players to use their smarts to bre
SoccerSept. 2, 2015
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Sex slavery victims remembered with trees
Of over 200 registered Korean victims of sexual slavery by Japan, just 47 are alive today. One social venture wants to help their stories live on through the trees in a memorial forest in western Seoul.On an 800-square-meter site at the World Cup Peace Park, the Forest for Victims of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan is filled with Siberian apricot trees, bellflowers, Korean starworts and other colorful blossom trees, surrounding benches where people can take the time to sit and contemplate the l
Social AffairsSept. 2, 2015
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Park, Xi voice against provocations
Leaders of South Korea and China on Wednesday took a joint step to press North Korea, stressing that they are opposed to any action that causes tension on the Korean Peninsula, in a landmark summit that highlighted the “best ever” strategic cooperative partnership of the two countries.Presidents Park Geun-hye and Xi Jinping urged resumption of a long-stalled six-way talks to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambition as soon as possible, and agreed to hold a trilateral meeting with Japan “at a convenie
PoliticsSept. 2, 2015
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Seoul sets advisory limit on IVF embryo transfer
South Korea’s Health Ministry is revising its guidelines for in vitro fertilization, discouraging medical professionals from transferring more than three embryos in a single procedure to prevent possible adverse birth outcomes and unwanted multiple births. Until now, the guidelines had stated that transferring as many as five embryos per IVF cycle was encouraged to maximize a patient’s chances of becoming pregnant. However, both overseas and local studies have shown that transferring multiple
Social AffairsSept. 2, 2015
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[Graphic News] Travel deficit hits 7-year high on MERS
Korea’s monthly travel deficit in July soared to a 7-year high, as the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak held back foreign travelers from visiting the country, central bank data showed on Wednesday. According to Bank of Korea’s report on the July balance of payments, the travel account logged a $1.45 billion deficit. This is the largest deficit since July 2008, when the global financial crisis pushed up the travel account deficit to $1.65 billion. An increase in the travel account defici
Sept. 2, 2015
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Seoul Players lines up ‘Rocky Horror’ show
Gearing up for their annual Halloween show, Seoul Players are looking for cast members for a shadow cast production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”The auditions on Saturday will be for shows on Oct. 30 and 31.The shadow cast show involves a screening of the movie, with actors acting out the larger than life characters on a stage in front of the screen.Producer Chris Zaczek said last year’s production was a blast.“Performing in it was wonderful. Last year we had one of the most outrageous, co
Expat LivingSept. 2, 2015
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Busan plays offer ‘Absurdity in the Park’
The stage area at the Dalmaji theater. (Eunju Jung)In Christopher Durang's “The Actor’s Nightmare,” the central character is thrust unknowingly into a play of which he has no knowledge or script, but in a production in Busan this weekend, he may for once not be the most confused person onstage.The play is one of two one-act performances to be put on by the Busan English Theatre Association in the park in Busan ― the other being Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story” ― but if past performances there are
Expat LivingSept. 2, 2015
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Irish folk festival to get feet moving in Seoul
Keen to keep Irish spirits up and feet moving, the Irish Association of Korea will be hosting a festival of traditional Irish music and dance this month.The festival follows on from last year’s Ceilidh, a kind of Celtic dancing event centered on group participation, and helps fill in the gap between the IAK’s St. Patrick’s Day festivals.This year’s festival will be more about showing off Irish traditions than last year’s event.“We are just trying to spread Irish culture and heritage around the w
Expat LivingSept. 2, 2015
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Talk to explore U.S. mining in Joseon Korea
The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch will reopen its lectures after a summer break with a presentation on American gold miners in the Joseon era by Robert Neff.After some background on Korea’s reputation for gold and mineral wealth and early attempts at Western concessions in the 1880s, Neff will talk on the introduction of modern gold mining in 1896 by the Oriental Consolidated Gold Mining. He will talk about the community that formed around the concession and the dangers they faced, includin
Expat LivingSept. 2, 2015
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Hyundai Heavy to join shipbuilding project for Indian Navy
Hyundai Heavy Industries is reportedly joining a project by India’s Defense Ministry to build fleet support ships for the country’s navy with India’s state-run shipyard.India’s Ministry of Defense is planning to place an order this year for one of the five fleet support ships to be built by Hyundai Heavy, a deal valued at about 350 billion won ($297 million). India’s largest state-run Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. will build the other four with technical advice from the Korean shipbuilder, according t
IndustrySept. 2, 2015
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Park’s visit illustrates evolving China ties
The summit Wednesday between Presidents Park Geun-hye and Xi Jinping demonstrated the two countries’ evolving, increasingly multifaceted ties while building momentum for Seoul’s efforts to play a more proactive role in peninsula issues and regional diplomacy. During the meeting, Xi touted the bilateral relationship has developed to its “best-ever” in terms of politics, economy, trade, people-to-people exchanges and other areas, thanks to the two leaders’ cooperation. Park, for her part, expresse
Foreign AffairsSept. 2, 2015
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Border island residents call for pullout of loudspeakers
By Shin Hyon-heeResidents of a border island in the West Sea have turned in a petition calling for the removal of loudspeakers installed there for anti-Pyongyang broadcasts that sparked a recent exchange of fire between the two Koreas, military officials said Wednesday. The appeal was made Monday to the Defense Ministry by about 100 people living on Gyodong Island in Ganghwa County, Incheon, located just south of the Northern Limit Line, the skirmish-prone maritime border with North Korea. “They
North KoreaSept. 2, 2015
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Brand power of Korean goods and services continues to improve
The brand competitiveness of Koreans goods and services continued to improve in 2015 from a year ago, the state-run Korea Productivity Center said in a press release Monday. The National Brand Competitiveness Index, a key indicator for the brand power of Korean goods and services, stood at 72.3 points, up from 70.3 points last year. “Competitiveness of Koreans brands has continued to improve, proven by the fact that the index has shown a significant rise in 2015 from 2004, the year the survey wa
IndustrySept. 2, 2015
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Samsung hospital to invest W100b in post-MERS improvements
Samsung Medical Center, a top hospital known as the largest infection source of the recent Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak, vowed Wednesday to invest 100 billion won ($84.7 million) to revamp its emergency facilities and come up with vaccines for the virus as part of its post-MERS plan. Ninety-one people were reported to have contracted the virus at the hospital in Seoul, accounting for 49 percent of all confirmed cases in the country. Most of the patients were infected at the hospital
Social AffairsSept. 2, 2015
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[Kim Myong-sik] Renewing contacts with more vulnerable North
It is likely that there will be another round of inter-Korean family reunions at the Mt. Geumgangsan resort and high-level political talks in Seoul or Pyongyang next month. But people who have lived through the often deceptive process of South-North relations and outside watchers of the Korean Peninsula must now have a disturbing sense of deja vu, ready for a new cycle of expectation and disappointment. Seoul officials up to President Park Geun-hye appear buoyed after National Security chief Kim
ViewpointsSept. 2, 2015
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[Lee Joo-hee] Pardon our anchor babies
Birth tourism, or “wonjeong chulsan” as it is called in South Korea, literally meaning “birth away from home,” has recently garnered attention following U.S. GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s remarks on Asian “anchor babies.”His comments, aimed apparently to placate Hispanic voters at the sacrifice of the smaller pool of Asian-American voters, naturally stoked vilification against his politically-charged, xenophobic slant.But Bush’s comment reminded Korea -- a source of thousands of anchor b
ViewpointsSept. 2, 2015
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POSCO Art Museum presents beauty of bamboo trees
POSCO Art Museum is holding a solo exhibition for Moon Bong-sun, an ink-and-wash painting master known for his delicate depiction of natural subjects, until Oct. 6. The exhibition presents 42 ink-and-wash paintings of bamboo trees and stones that symbolize integrity and fidelity in traditional Korean painting. Also on view are calligraphy pieces and a video introduction to the works of Moon. “Bamboo in Snow” by Moon Bong-sun (POSCO Art Museum)Highlighted pieces are paintings of bamboo trees in
PerformanceSept. 2, 2015