Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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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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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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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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Samsung, Hyundai chiefs to accompany Yoon on Singapore trip
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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[Newsmaker] Obama declares climate change ‘toughest’ challenge of our time
President Barack Obama framed climate change as the toughest and most pressing challenge of our time Monday, as he unveiled the first ever limits on U.S. power plant emissions.“No challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future generations than a change in climate,” Obama said, warning: “There is such a thing as being too late.” U.S President Barack Obama speaks at a town hall at the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Mandela Washington Fellowship Presidential Summit in Washington
World NewsAug. 4, 2015
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Seoul citizens grow taller, heavier
In the span of seven decades since liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, citizens in South Korea’s capital have gone through prominent physical changes, while the main causes of death have also become different, a report showed this week.In 1965, the average height of men living in Seoul stood at 163.7 centimeters, weighing in at 54.3 kilograms. Some 50 years later in 2013, the average height has grown to 173.9 cm, and weight to 69.6 kg.Women were also shorter five decades ago at 156.9 cm, and
Social AffairsAug. 4, 2015
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Lotte feels pinch of family feud
Retail giant Lotte Group, caught in a mud-slinging battle between the founder’s two sons, is caught with a buyers’ boycott on one hand and a nose-diving market value on the other. Worse still, the group faces a tax probe on its affiliates.The Financial Consumer Agency on Tuesday declared a boycott of all Lotte affiliates, whose businesses include the sectors of financial, food and beverage, retail, tourism, construction and service.“The Lotte Group feud clearly shows that the conglomerate has no
IndustryAug. 4, 2015
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Rio Games: Greatest sports festival in heart of Brazil
We are still one year away, but the heart of Brazil is already beating faster. The generous Brazilian heart that insists on speeding when two of our biggest passions meet: embracing people from all over the world and competing with energy and fair play, in a magnificent sport spectacle.It was this way for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.And it will be this way, starting from Aug. 5, 2016, when we light the Olympic flame of passion for sports and raise the flag of the five colored circles in our magnific
Foreign AffairsAug. 4, 2015
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Saenuri move adds to NPAD reform dilemma
The ruling Saenuri Party senior lawmaker’s decision to forgo his reelection bid sparked debate on Tuesday among the rival party’s lawmakers, who are struggling to keep afloat its fizzling party reform measures. Following Rep. Kim Tae-ho’s surprise announcement Monday to withdraw his bid for the 2016 general election, lawmakers from the New Politics Alliance for Democracy took a veiled swipe at “privileged” NPAD lawmakers who have served multiple terms in the National Assembly. “We are already l
PoliticsAug. 4, 2015
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Korean youth ranked third in giving up seeking jobs
South Koreans aged between 15 and 29 grabbed a disgraceful third place in the ratio of “neither employed nor in education or training” among the corresponding age groups of 33 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The proportion of the so-called NEET generally points to people who have been unemployed for so long that they have become economically “inactive” and are no longer seeking jobs. (123RF) Those in education include those attending part-time or full-time
Aug. 4, 2015
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Lotte CEOs pledge support for chairman
Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin received a boost in his move to solidify his managerial power as CEOs of the group’s units and Japan-based Lotte Holdings’ CEO pledged their full support for his leadership amid an intensified power struggle with his elder brother. Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin (second from left) visits a Lotte distribution center in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. (Lotte Group)CEOs of 37 Lotte Group units said the current 60-year-old chairman is a “competent chief” to l
IndustryAug. 4, 2015
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[SUPER RICH] Lotte founder no stranger to fraternal feud
Lotte founder and general chairman Shin Kyuk-ho became both the protagonist and antagonist of a soap opera-ish family feud since July 27 when he tried to oust his second son from his business empire but instead was kicked out himself and became powerless. The family secrets and anecdotes revealed by his eldest son Shin Dong-joo in media interviews last week portray the 93-year-old as the “king” of the Lotte empire -- someone who can still slap his 60-year-old son, fire any top executive with th
IndustryAug. 4, 2015
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Wonder Girls back as a sultry retro band
JYP Entertainment’s signature girl group Wonder Girls are back after three years and two months with their long-awaited third studio album “Reboot.” The Wonder Girls pose for the media at Hyundai Card Understage in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Monday. (Yonhap)Newly reorganized into a four-member band, the Wonder Girls now consists of Lim on guitar, Sunmi on bass, Yenny on the keyboard and Yubin on drums.“It feels really strange and new to be back after three years,” said Lim at a press showcase Monday at
PerformanceAug. 4, 2015
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Lotte Group chairman visits distribution center in Osan
Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin pays a visit to a Lotte distribution center in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, in his efforts to ease public concerns of a leadership vacuum. Lotte Group
IndustryAug. 4, 2015
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Ex-first lady’s N.K. visit raises hope for cross-border thaw
Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, will embark on a four-day trip to North Korea on Wednesday, amid high expectations that her visit would set the mood for a thaw in the frosty cross-border relations.The 93-year-old widow of the former leader, noted for his efforts for inter-Korean reconciliation, will fly over the West Sea to Pyongyang via South Korean low-cost carrier Eastar Jet. Lee last visited the North in December 2011 to attend the funeral for former North Korean rule
North KoreaAug. 4, 2015
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Heat stroke cases surge in Korea
The number of sunstroke patients surged last week, with seven deaths reported so far, as a heat wave continues to grip the peninsula, officials said Tuesday. According to the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 610 people suffered from heatstroke this year, with half of them being diagnosed between July 26 and Aug. 1. It showed a 7.3 percentage point jump compared to the week before. Only one related death was reported a year before. A pedestrian keeps out of the sun with a p
Social AffairsAug. 4, 2015
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Splendor and simplicity of Korean art
Rare pieces of Korean traditional art, spanning from the Bronze Age to the 19th-century Joseon era, have been brought together to present the exquisite beauty of Korean art this summer. The Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art showcases national treasures of Korea and valuable Korean artifacts on loan from leading foreign art institutions that highlight lavish features, exquisite details and refined artistry. Crown, 5-6th century, Gaya (Leeum)In contrast to the Leeum exhibition exploring the opulence o
CultureAug. 4, 2015
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New musical film festival to kick off
A new festival combining musicals and movies is to kick off at Chungmuro, a district in Seoul traditionally known for its concentration of filmmakers and performers, Chungmu Art Hall announced Tuesday.Titled the Chungmuro International Musical Film Festival, the event will allow participants to view both musicals and musical films -- including theater staples like “The Phantom of the Opera,” the Broadway hit “Jersey Boys,” and classic '70s and '80s flicks such as “Grease” and “Hair Spray.” Also
PerformanceAug. 4, 2015
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[Editorial] Lax management
The country’s 30 major public corporations were saddled with a combined debt of 429 trillion won ($366 billion) as of the end of last year, according to data submitted by the Finance Ministry to a lawmaker last week. Over the period 2012-2014, however, they paid nearly 3.5 trillion won in bonuses to their employees. It is particularly lamentable that some public corporations paid large bonuses to their workers while posting a net loss every year during the cited period. One such deplorable case
EditorialAug. 4, 2015
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[Editorial] Redrawing constituencies
Members on the parliamentary special committee on political reform have been sitting on their hands over the work to establish guidelines for redrawing electoral districts across the country. Irritated by the snail-paced progress, the head of an independent panel tasked with rezoning constituencies asked the committee last week to suggest concrete guidelines by Aug. 13. Election officials say the deadline should be met if the panel is to submit its rezoning scheme to parliament six months before
EditorialAug. 4, 2015
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External beauty in ‘Beauty Inside?’
The upcoming film “The Beauty Inside,” which depicts a man who transforms into a different person every day, questions what distinct inner qualities make up a person’s identity. At the same time, many of the actors and actresses who play the multifarious main character Woo-jin are those typically revered as “handsome” or “beautiful.”“I understand that many in our cast are very attractive. It’s something that I too realized while editing,” said director Baek Jong-yeol at a press conference Monday
FilmAug. 4, 2015
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[Kim Seong-kon] Korea’s very own ‘Hunger Game’ buried in oblivion
Recently, I watched the film adaptations of Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” trilogy on TV. All three movies, “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay,” were irresistibly mesmerizing with Jennifer Lawrence playing the role of Katniss Everdeen impeccably. Intrigued by the trilogy, I checked out the original novels from the library and finished reading them quickly. The novels were veritable page-turners, as enchanting and gripping as the movies. I felt like a game player myself who had
ViewpointsAug. 4, 2015
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[Robert J. Fouser] Millennial generation and Korea
If years had buzzwords, the one for 2015 in the U.S. would sure be “Millennial.” The news is full of stories about what the Millennial Generation likes and doesn’t like and how they are beginning to make their mark on society as move toward middle age. They are said to prefer urban areas over the suburban areas they grew up in. They are said to prefer sharing and renting over ownership. As the first generation to grow up with the Internet, they are said to prefer online communication over face-t
ViewpointsAug. 4, 2015
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[Graphic News] Online shopping sales reach all-time high
The number of online shoppers in South Korea saw a sharp increase in June, largely as the recent outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome drove people away from visiting large retail outlets.Online shopping volume reached roughly 4.43 trillion won ($3.78 billion) in June, up 26.6 percent over the same period last year, according to Statistics Korea on Monday.Online shopping sales took up 15.1 percent of the country’s total retail sales in June of this year, the highest recorded since off
IndustryAug. 4, 2015