Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
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NK troops disguised as 'indigenous' people in Far East for combat against Ukraine: report
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Opposition leader awaits perjury trial ruling
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Korea to allow CCTV on trekking courses
The government has revised laws to allow surveillance cameras on major trekking courses, officials said Sunday, after growing safety concerns over a recent murder of a female hiker.Concerns over unfrequented trekking paths mounted after a 40-year-old woman was killed while walking a popular coastal walking trail on the southern resort island of Jeju earlier this month. Following the incident, some parts of the trekking paths have been temporarily closed. In response, the Ministry of Public Admin
July 29, 2012
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Czech photographer’s work tours Korea
The hand-tinted photographs of Jan Saudek, one of the Czech Republic’s most famous photographers, are on display at the Chuncheon Art Gallery in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, until Aug. 1.According to the Czech Embassy, more than 150 of Saudek’s works from the past 40 years will be displayed at the gallery on a traveling tour. The exhibition was featured at the Insa Art Center in Seoul and will continue on to Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and Incheon.The 77-year-old’s work is largely characterized by pro
July 29, 2012
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Indian probationary workers train in Korea
India has sent probationary officers from its foreign service division to Korea on a familiarization trip, according to the embassy on Wednesday.The 10 Indian Foreign Service Probationary Officers met with Korean Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho and the Foreign Ministry’s director general for South Asia Park Hae-yun, and will meet other dignitaries during their week-long trip.The first-ever training visit from India’s Foreign Service is seen as a reflection of the increasing relations and the strength
July 29, 2012
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Paraguayan ambassador to help single mothers
Paraguayan Ambassador Ceferino Valdez on Wednesday was named honorary ambassador of a Korean non-profit campaign to help single mothers in Korea.According to officials from the Korea Sarangbat Society which leads the campaign, Valdez showed keen interest in the campaign and was happy to be named honorary ambassador.“It would be nice to deliver Benet Chogoris to Paraguay,” said the ambassador.The Benet Chogori campaign seeks to provide newborn baby clothes, called “benet chogori” here in Korea, t
July 29, 2012
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Israel, Korea hope to start negotiations on free trade pact
Israel and Korea hope to begin formal free trade negotiations next year, according to Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister on Thursday.Both countries have already concluded preparations for free trade agreement negotiations, which they are looking to begin next year, Danny Ayalon told reporters.“I hope we will do it sometime during next year,” replied Ayalon when asked when Korea and Israel would begin negotiations.Ayalon met Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-hwan during his visi
July 29, 2012
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Swiss-Korean science, trade ties bloom
Switzerland and Korea can expect a long future of good relations and increased economic ties, according to Swiss Ambassador Thomas Kupfer.“I see two countries that don’t have major problems on the horizon,” said Kupfer, adding that both countries have enjoyed “very positive relations.”And through these positive relations both countries could benefit from more cooperation in science and technology, which is considered a forte for Korea and Switzerland, according to the soon-to-depart ambassador.S
July 29, 2012
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Seoul hopes U.S. gives more professional visas
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― South Korea is pushing to expand the quota of non-immigrant U.S. visas for its citizens with a “specialty occupation,” a diplomatic source said Thursday.With the U.S. stuck in high jobless rates and politicians preoccupied with upcoming elections, South Korea is aiming to achieve the goal next year, added the source.“Riding on the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the South Korean government will step up efforts to increase the number of H-1B visas for its c
July 27, 2012
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Supporters appeal to U.N. over activist’s treatment
Group of some 130 activists demands probe into alleged Chinese torture of South KoreanLawmakers and activists said Friday they plan to appeal to international bodies over alleged physical abuses, including electrical torture, by Chinese investigators of an activist for North Korean human rights.They sharply criticized the South Korean government for its tardy and tepid response to the claims by Kim Young-hwan. He was deported to Seoul last week after 114 days of detention in China alongside thre
July 27, 2012
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Gov’t under pressure after activist claims abuse in Chinese prison
Controversy has sparked over the South Korean government’s mishandling of a diplomatic issue surrounding a human rights activist who was allegedly the victim of brutal treatment during his four-month detention in China. The North Korea-sympathizer-turned-human rights activist Kim Young-hwan was deported from China following a 114-day detention on charges of endangering China’s national security.Kim went to China to discuss cooperation on North human rights improvement and assistance for North Ko
July 26, 2012
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Budget strains Seoul’s aid programs
World’s 17th-largest donor struggling with shortage of funds and personnelSouth Korea is struggling to meet its commitments to an increased overseas assistance as its financial stability is threatened by ever-growing welfare outlays and shriveling tax revenues. The country has touted its astonishing transformation from a major aid recipient to the world’s 17th largest donor in a few decades. In 2010, it joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Com
July 24, 2012
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KOICA builds power plant in Haiti, technical college in Nepal
The Korea International Cooperation Agency said Monday it has completed a power plant in Haiti as part of its efforts to help rebuild the disaster-stricken country. The state-run aid agency has funneled $3 million into the project over the last two years in the sea town of Leogane, some 40 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince and the epicenter of a powerful earthquake that swept through the country in February 2010. The facility is expected to supply about 4,000 households and entails a mobile elec
July 23, 2012
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EAI soars in global think tank map
Institute builds on global knowledge network in security, Asia, public policyWhen it started out in the spring of 2002, the East Asia Institute looked no different from many independent academic projects ― pure, proud but doomed to obscurity.Its organization was untenably tiny with only two staffers. It declared financial independence from government and businesses. Its motto ― “Ideas can change the world” ― sounded fairly idealist A decade later, the experiment has transformed into one of the w
July 23, 2012
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Fiji opens embassy in Seoul
Fiji opened an embassy in Seoul on Thursday in the year of the 41st anniversary of diplomatic relations with Korea.The establishment of an embassy in Seoul will strengthen diplomatic relations and economic ties between the two countries, according to Fijian Ambassador Filimoni Kau.The move comes after Korea established an embassy on the island-group nation in 1980 while Fiji was represented by an embassy in Japan which also represented Fiji for Russia and the Philippines.Prime Minister Voreque B
July 22, 2012
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ASEAN-Korea Center supports PyeongChang
The ASEAN-Korea Center agreed on Thursday to cooperate with the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympics Winter Games to promote interest in the Southeast Asian region.Both sides are expect to grow interest from the ASEAN member states in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics through the memorandum of understanding, according to a press release. The ASEAN-Korea Centre and the committee will share information and networks in collaborative research to support the upcoming Olympics.
July 22, 2012
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Italian actresses celebrated in exhibition
The Italian Cultural Institute unveiled the DIVE- 4 DIVAS exhibition in Seoul on Wednesday in celebration of 20th century Italian cinema. The exhibit pays homage to four iconic Italian actresses, including Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale, and recognizes prominent film industry illustrators of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The exhibit displays 36 original movie posters of the divas by these illustrators. The evocative and imaginative posters, with unique interpretations from each artist, lent to the mass
July 22, 2012
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British Embassy supports Korean officials’ study in U.K.
The British Embassy awarded 24 Korean government officials and a North Korean defector in Seoul on Wednesday with scholarships for postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom.This year’s scholarship awarded officials from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare among others. British Ambassador Scott Wightman also gave a special notice to Hong Sung-il (alias), a North Korean defecto
July 22, 2012
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French Embassy awards scholarships to 23 students
The French Embassy awarded 23 Korean students with scholarships in Seoul on Tuesday for postgraduate education in France.The Blaise Pascal Scholarship will provide expenses for students already pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees in French universities.“Because the embassy is helping me, I am really happy that I was able to receive this opportunity and am really thankful,” said Hong In-hye, who plans to study French literature. Over 150 students applied for the Blaise Pascal scholarship this
July 22, 2012
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Colombia strengthens ‘blood’ brotherhood with Korea
The Korea-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will be a win-win opportunity for both economies and help further strengthen the “brotherhood” forged through blood during the Korea War, the Colombian Ambassador said Tuesday.Jaime Cabal expects the FTA to take effect as early as March after the two countries finish domestic procedures including securing parliamentary approval for the deal. The Colombian government hopes to receive confirmation from its congress by this December and implement its first FT
July 22, 2012
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U.S. stresses no hostile intent on N. Korea
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- The United States government reaffirmed Friday that it has no hostile intent towards North Korea as it seeks peace and stability on the peninsula."As a matter of longstanding policy, the United States is committed to the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and has no hostile intent toward the DPRK," a State Department spokesperson said on the cust
July 21, 2012
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‘Korea needs to focus on specialized aid’
Travel writer and relief worker Han Bi-ya, called on the Korean government on Tuesday to shift its foreign aid policy to a more specialized, grant-based approach.She underlined the significance of close cooperation between the government, development-related agencies and non-governmental organizations in crafting programs that reflect the needs of recipients. “While Korean NGOs and other related sectors have secured some level of professionalism in development and relief activities, the governme
July 17, 2012
