Most Popular
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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Govt. applauds own ‘superb’ COVID-19 response 1 year on
A year on since the official introduction of the novel coronavirus into South Korea, the government says the country has responded to the pandemic “superbly,” especially compared to other countries. “Korea has managed to dodge the kind of chaotic situation seen overseas without having to lock down or close borders,” Yoon Tae-ho of the Ministry of Health and Welfare told a news briefing Wednesday, in an assessment of the past year. On Jan. 20 last year, the Korea Cent
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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Veggie restaurant guide released on Seoul City website
The Seoul city government released a list of restaurants, cafes and bakeries in the country’s capital offering vegetarian or vegan options, making it easy for users to search for one in their own neighborhood. A total of 948 restaurants -- 368 independent restaurants and 580 franchise chains -- were introduced, including vegetarian-only restaurants as well as others with vegetarian options. A click on a district on the map of Seoul will bring up a list of places in the district serving
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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Moon’s security adviser tapped as top diplomat amid stalled peace talks
President Moon Jae-in’s longtime aide who has served as his top security adviser since the presidential campaign, Chung Eui-yong, 74, has been nominated to serve as foreign minister. Chung has long helped shape Moon’s engagement policy for North Korea as well as his vision for the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. When Moon took office in 2017, Chung was picked to lead the presidential National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae and held the post for three years.
PoliticsJan. 20, 2021
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Gyeonggi residents, including foreigners, to receive COVID-19 relief
All residents of Gyeonggi Province, including registered foreigners, will receive 100,000 won ($90.90) in emergency cash payouts to cope with the COVID-19 economic fallout regardless of their income, age or occupation, with the exact timing to be decided soon. Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday at an online press conference that it is appropriate to dole out the second round of cash relief and to do so rapidly, given the devastating economic situation, the slowing coronavirus infe
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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State-run Youth Startup Academy set to recruit record-high number of students
The state-run Youth Startup Academy has recruited 1,065 students so far, already a record-high number, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Monday. Established in 2011, the Youth Startup Academy has so far fostered 4,798 young entrepreneurs and created 13,718 jobs while generating 4.78 trillion won ($4.35 billion) in cumulative sales from startups that began with its support. South Korea’s leading fintech unicorn Viva Republica’s Toss and one of the country’s most popular
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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Euljiro opens resting area dedicated for essential public workers
A dedicated resting area for essential public workers is to be newly built in central Seoul’s Euljiro 5-ga. Jung-gu Office announced Wednesday that it plans to build a seven-floor resting area building with a floor space of 200 square meters by October, with construction to begin early this month. The existing rest areas in Jung-gu for on-site essential public workers were installed on a small scale and mostly located underground. They have been vulnerable to ventilation problems,
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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US to review entire approach on NK: Secretary of State nominee Blinken
Antony Blinken, incoming US President Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, said the North’s nuclear problem has “gotten worse” and that the new administration is planning a full review of Washington’s approach to Pyongyang. “I think we have to review and we intend to review the entire approach and policy toward North Korea because this is a hard problem that has plagued administration after administration, and it is a problem that has not gotten bet
North KoreaJan. 20, 2021
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‘Child abuse is still a family matter, not a crime, in Korea’
South Korea lacks a “big picture” for dealing with child abuse, and must break away from the idea that child abuse is a “family problem,” experts say. Although this is slowly changing, child abuse is still perceived as a family issue instead of a crime that society needs to intervene to stop. Even before the horrific death in October of a 16-month-old girl named Jeong-in, child abuse was nothing new. In 2020, a 9-year-old boy who was abused by his stepmother died afte
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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USFK reports another virus case linked to Yongsan base
A US Department of Defense official working at an American military base in central Seoul has tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Wednesday. The American working at the US Army Garrison Yongsan was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Monday following direct contact with someone who tested positive earlier, the US military said. The official had been in quarantine at his off-installation residence since Jan. 8, and tested positive after developing symptoms.
DefenseJan. 20, 2021
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Seoul city's bike service users soar amid pandemic
The accumulated membership of Seoul's public bike service has surpassed 2.78 million, largely due to high demand for personal transport means amid the coronavirus pandemic, the city government said Wednesday. The tally translated into one in every four Seoul citizens using the city's unmanned bike rental service, dubbed Ttaereungyi in Korean. The growth was particularly great last year, when nearly 1.21 million people newly became members, amounting for 43.3 percent of the total users. "
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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Additional bird flu case confirmed, total now at 68
South Korea's agricultural ministry Wednesday confirmed yet another highly pathogenic bird flu case traced to a farm, with the total caseload of confirmed infections reaching 68. The latest confirmed case of the malign H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from an egg farm in Eumseong, 131 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The farm was raising 400,000 chickens. Authorities have issued a seven-day standstill order on all poultry farms in
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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Delivery chaos looms as parcel workers consider full-scale strike ahead of Lunar New Year
South Korea may be headed for delivery chaos ahead of next month’s Lunar New Year holiday, as unionized parcel delivery workers consider a full-scale walkout next week in their fight for better working conditions and wages. The Parcel Delivery Workers’ Solidarity Union said Wednesday that a nationwide vote among its 5,500 members has started and will end Thursday. The members will decide whether to go ahead with the collective action as its negotiations with logistics firms and the
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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Seoul women spend nearly four times longer than men on housework: report
Women in Seoul spent almost four times longer than men on household chores and were paid less in 2019, highlighting the persistent gender disparity in the country’s capital, according to a report by the Seoul city government. Girls and women aged 15 or older spent about two hours and 26 minutes on housework in 2019, about 3.6 times longer than men who devoted 41 minutes, according to the 2020 Seoul gender statistics report on residents’ work-life balance. In double-income househo
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2021
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Marking 1-yr fight against coronavirus, PM vows full effort to overcome it
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday the government will continue all-out efforts to end the COVID-19 crisis, a year after South Korea confirmed its first infection case. Chung pledged to place top policy priority on turning 2021 into the "original year" of overcoming the pandemic and thanked the people for related cooperation so far. "Today marks exactly one year since the first COVID-19 patient in the nation was reported. Public cooperation has always filled up the def
PoliticsJan. 20, 2021
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Watchdog opposes disadvantages against NCO candidates with juvenile criminal records
Records of juvenile delinquency should not stand in the way of a person's aspiration to pursue professional careers in the military, a state human rights watchdog said Wednesday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said the Marine Corps' disqualification of a non-commissioned officer (NCO) candidate due to his history of juvenile offenses violates his freedom of occupation and rights to equality. The NHRCK expressed such an opinion in response to a petition from an applicant
PoliticsJan. 20, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Ex-President Park tests negative for COVID-19 after being exposed to patient
Former President Park Geun-hye, now serving a 22-year prison term on corruption convictions, tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday after coming into contact with an infected person, the Ministry of Justice said. According to the ministry, Park came into close contact with a prison officer diagnosed later with COVID-19 while traveling by bus to a medical facility on Monday outside the Seoul Detention Center, where she has been imprisoned since March 2017. The prison officer tested positive
PoliticsJan. 20, 2021
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Ex-national security adviser tapped as top diplomat amid stalled NK diplomacy
Chung Eui-yong, President Moon Jae-in's pick for foreign minister, is known for his role as national security adviser in spearheading Moon's engagement policy for North Korea that led to the first-ever summit between the United States and North Korea. Chung's nomination, announced just ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden, is seen as reflecting Moon's will to revive his peace drive and help resume the nuclear diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang in his remaining time
PoliticsJan. 20, 2021
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Navy officer in Seoul tests positive for COVID-19
A Navy officer based in Seoul has tested positive for the new coronavirus after coming into contact with an infected civilian, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The officer was confirmed to have been infected in a test conducted before release from quarantine, which he was put into following contact with a person who was found to have contracted COVID-19, according to the ministry. The latest case raised the total number of infections among the military population to 540. Meanwhile, a vete
DefenseJan. 20, 2021
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Moon replaces foreign minister as Biden takes office
President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday named three ministerial nominees, including his former top security adviser Chung Eui-yong as foreign minister, in the first Cabinet reshuffle this year. Chung, 74, replaces Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, the nation’s first female foreign minister and the longest-serving minister in Moon’s Cabinet. Kang’s replacement comes as a surprise, as she had been widely expected to stay until the end of Moon’s presidency in May 2022. A C
PoliticsJan. 20, 2021
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N. Korea tightens antivirus campaign as party congress, military parade end
North Korea is stepping up antivirus efforts and tightening border control to ward off the new coronavirus, state media reported Wednesday, as major political events attended by thousands of delegates wrapped up last week in the capital city. Pyongyang concluded the eight-day congress of the Workers' Party and held a military parade last week, during which thousands of attendees, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, were seen without masks. Officials attending Sunday's meeting of the rub
North KoreaJan. 20, 2021