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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[Newsmaker] Google turns a page with Alphabet
The surprise reorganization of Google under newly formed parent Alphabet gives the tech giant the ability to focus on its core business, while offering startup-like flexibility to its other projects.The announcement Monday of the new corporate structure was generally welcomed in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street, where Google shares shot up some 3.6 percent in early trade on the news.The plan calls for Alphabet to be the corporate parent, with an operating unit for Google and its related search
World BusinessAug. 12, 2015
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[Start-up Seoul] Between chooses traction over profit
With KakaoTalk dominating Korea’s mobile messenger market, Between has been cementing its foothold in the couples messenger niche. Now with half its users coming from abroad, the mobile app is braving ground in Southeast Asia.“We’re trying to expand our product to the global market,” Jake Park, CEO of the app’s developer VCNC, told The Korea Herald in an interview Friday. “Very fortunately we are not directly competing with big messaging apps … so we can get into the niche market (and) bring a v
TechnologyAug. 12, 2015
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Start-up demo session to be held in Seoul
The Seoul Global Center is planning a start-up demonstration event next month to allow expat entrepreneurs to show off their ideas in tech-related fields.At the event, run jointly with Kookmin University, teams will be invited to show off their ideas in information and communications technology-related manufacturing or services at the Seoul Global Center on Sept. 16. A panel of professionals invited by the organizers will select 10 teams to present at the event and pick two winners from among th
Expat LivingAug. 12, 2015
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Bracket art magazine reopens in Daegu
Daegu-based art magazine Bracket has reopened six months after stopping production after acquiring a new editor and new funding.The first edition of the relaunched magazine came out in July, featuring work in various genres and media from Anton Maxwell, Mesh Printing, Lee Gyu-ri, Jung So-hyun, Lee Sang-bong and Martyn Thompson.The staff of the magazine, which was started in 2012 by expats Jess Hinshaw and Chris Cote, will remain largely similar, but will be led this time by new editor-in-chief C
Expat LivingAug. 12, 2015
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Gwangju center runs tour to beach island
The Gwangju International Center will run a beach tour to Imjado Island, part of the Sinan County archipelago off the southwestern coast. The tour will visit the Muan Ecological Tidal Flat Center on the way to step out onto the mud flats and learn about the animals that inhabit them. Also at the center, each participant will have the chance to cook skewers of octopus caught nearby for a snack before moving on to Sinan County itself.Before catching the ferry to Imjado Island there will be a stop
Expat LivingAug. 12, 2015
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Free tax advice offered in Gangnam
Tax counselors from Yeoksam District Tax Office in southern Seoul will visit Yeoksam Global Village Center on Tuesday to provide free one-on-one advice for foreign residents who have tax issues.The sessions will run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the center building near Gangnam Station.To apply for an appointment, email yeoksam@sba.seoul.kr with your basic personal information and preferred time or call (02) 3453-9038~9.For more information and directions to the center, visit global.seoul.go.k
Expat LivingAug. 12, 2015
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Yongsan center to host Filipino cultural event
Yongsan Global Village Center will be hosting a Filipino culture event next week, run by Filipino women’s organization 601 Habit.Participants at the event will get to partake in games, dancing and food to experience Filipino culture Scheduled to coincide with Filipino Language Month, the event will be in English but the group will introduce some Filipino words.The 601 Habit is a group of Filipino women in Korea involved in cultural and charitable projects, most notably the Life Boat Project, a c
Expat LivingAug. 12, 2015
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Banks turn to SME loans for interest profits
Amid a record-low key interest rate, banks are increasingly expanding loans to small businesses and self-employed businesspeople, offering a relatively higher interest rate than private loans.During the first half of the year, the nation’s major banks saw a steep increase in the ratio of their small business loans as opposed to the total loan amount.Korea Exchange Bank had disbursed small and mid-sized enterprise loans worth 21.4 trillion won ($18.1 billion) from the beginning of the year throug
Aug. 12, 2015
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Korea pushes harder for wage peak system
The government is increasing its pressure on the public sector to adopt the wage peak system within the year, hoping it would help create thousands of new jobs for young people.State-run organizations and public companies that take up the compromising wage system may receive extra credits in their performance evaluation and incentives when negotiating annual wage hikes, officials said Wednesday. They also warned that organizations that do not abide could face a near-zero salary increase, as well
Aug. 12, 2015
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Seoul to expand border broadcasts across DMZ
Defense Minister Han Min-koo vowed Wednesday to scale up loudspeaker broadcasts in the Demilitarized Zone area and bolster psychological warfare against North Korea in retaliation for its suspected planting of land mines that inflicted serious injuries on South Korean troops last week. The South Korean military resumed its propaganda program after more than 11 years on Monday, after the Joint Chiefs of Staff determined that North Korean soldiers had crossed the border and buried the three land m
DefenseAug. 12, 2015
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Hotel Lotte likely to become holding firm
Lotte chairman Shin Dong-bin / YonhapThe soon-to-be listed Hotel Lotte is likely to become a 20 trillion won ($19 billion) holding company for Lotte Group in Korea, going solo from its Japanese sister companies. The company is also likely to merge with Lotte’s flagship retail arms in order to reinforce the domestic governance structure, market watchers suggested Wednesday, a day after Lotte chairman Shin Dong-bin announced the yet-unscheduled initial public offering of Hotel Lotte.“Once listed,
IndustryAug. 12, 2015
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Iran deal to deepen N.K.’s isolation: U.K. minister
The recently clinched Iranian nuclear deal would further deepen Pyongyang’s isolation and add pressure on the communist regime to renounce its nuclear ambitions, Britain’s top diplomat said, noting that the landmark deal would be “useful” in addressing Korea’s security issues.During an interview with The Korea Herald and other media outlets here on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond pointed out that consistently applying punitive pressures as done to Iran could help curb “illegal
Foreign AffairsAug. 12, 2015
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[REPORTER'S COLUMN] More soul-searching needed in wake of DMZ mine blasts
South Korea would be acting the way North Korea would have intended by directly taking staunch retaliation against last week’s land mine incident, Staff Sgt. Kim Jeong-won, one of the two bedridden frontline soldiers injured in the blast, said in a media interview earlier this week.An army soldier engages in a mission to detect minds near the inter-Korean border on Wednesday. (Yonhap)Indeed, what Seoul’s defense authorities have shown to the public in the wake of the Aug. 4 incident is a flurry
DefenseAug. 12, 2015
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What they don't teach you at school
On Monday, local rights groups the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center and Korean Women’s Hotline jointly made a statement condemning the Education Ministry’s guidelines on sexual education, pointing out that the guidelines spread faulty information and reinforce discrimination against sexual minorities.The groups particularly took issue with a statement that men have sudden spikes of sexual urge anywhere, anytime. The guidelines also completely ignored sexual minorities, saying sexual abuse can
Social AffairsAug. 12, 2015
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LG to offer W1b to soldiers injured in N.K. mine blast
LG Group said Wednesday it would offer 500 million won ($420,000) each to two soldiers who were injured last week in a North Korean mine blast at the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. “The donation is part of LG’s ongoing efforts to honor people who make sacrifices for the nation and people. All employees, including chairman Koo Bon-moo, have joined the efforts,” said an LG official. The explosions occurred on Aug. 4 as two sergeants were carrying out an inspection mission. The firs
TechnologyAug. 12, 2015
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OLED TV meets art
TechnologyAug. 12, 2015
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Tension escalates over Gangnam development plan
The dispute between Seoul City and southern Gangnam-gu Office escalated Wednesday over the use of the public contribution fee offered by a conglomerate that purchased a large chunk of public land located in the heart of the district.In a rare battle between the municipality and its subordinated district, Gangnam-gu Mayor Shin Yeon-hee held a press conference and warned of a legal battle against Seoul City, claiming that the city’s construction plan violated relevant administrative rules.“The con
Social AffairsAug. 12, 2015
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[Editorial] After apology
It is usual for Korean politicians and business tycoons to offer apologies when they are embroiled in big scandals. In most cases, they hope their public apologies will end the furor and return things to normal. But for Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin, such hopes are slim. To be fair, the public apology he made Tuesday over the recent leadership feud in his family and the consequent turmoil in the retail giant should be the start of many things he, his family and the conglomerate will do in t
EditorialAug. 12, 2015
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[Editorial] No complacency
The recently published white paper on illegal drugs should ring alarm bells for Korean society, which has been relatively safe from the globally widespread problem. The white paper, compiled by the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, shows that a total of 5,130 people were caught in illegal drug cases in the first six months of this year. This is an 11.8 percent increase from 4,590 in the same period last year. The number of drug offenders -- traffickers and users -- exceeded 10,000 for the first time
EditorialAug. 12, 2015
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[Herald Interview] 'Memories of the Sword' a welcome challenge for Jeon Do-yeon
In Park Heung-sik‘s martial arts epic “Memories of the Sword,” the most notable element of Cannes-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon’s performance is not her poignant emotion, nor her impressive sword action. It is her ability to do portray both while also playing a blind character -- without ever blinking or focusing her eyes. According to Jeon, it was an obstacle she had failed to foresee. Actress Jeon Do-yeon (Lotte Entertainment)“I actually asked (Park) if we could change the story to let her (Jeo
FilmAug. 12, 2015