Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Herald Interview] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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[Newsmaker] COVID-19 cases top 50,000 in S. Korea amid worsening pandemic
South Korea's total COVID-19 caseload broke the 50,000 mark on Monday as new cases have been rising at their fastest pace ever, hampering authorities' antivirus efforts. New cases stood at 926 earlier in the day to push up the total to 50,591, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily death toll hit a record high of 24, raising the total to 698. The caseload surpassed the 50,000 mark in the 11 months since the nation reported its first case on Jan. 20. The
Social AffairsDec. 21, 2020
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[Newsmaker] [Feature] A week of YouTuber chaos leaves Ansan residents angry
As the winter cold wave hit Tuesday, the many YouTubers surrounding the residence of child rapist Cho Doo-soon left one by one, leaving behind worried and weary residents. On Friday, the alleys around Cho’s house were quiet and empty, according to residents and police. While YouTubers left with their mission of grabbing online interest successfully completed, the residents were left angered by the YouTubers on top of their worries about Cho. Cho was convicted of raping an 8-year-old gir
CultureDec. 20, 2020
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[Newsmaker] N. Korea making all-out efforts against coronavirus before key party convention
North Korea has been striving to stave off a COVID-19 outbreak on its soil ahead of a major national event, according to its state-controlled media Sunday. It plans to convene the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea next month, in which the Kim Jong-un regime is expected to unveil the direction of its major policies at home and abroad. No exact date has been announced yet. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the powerful ruling party, called for more thorough coronavirus virus
North KoreaDec. 20, 2020
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea faces shortage of hospital beds as cases on the rise
South Korea faces a dearth of hospital beds due to a surge in confirmed cases especially in Seoul and nearby areas. A total of four coronavirus patients have died while waiting for hospital treatment in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, authorities said Friday. And 251 patients, most of them severe cases, in Gyeonggi Province and 580 patients in Seoul are on standby for available hospital beds. According to Gyeonggi Provincial government Friday, two coronavirus patients in their 70s and a pati
Social AffairsDec. 18, 2020
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea culls 6.1m poultry as farm-related bird flu cases reach 18
South Korea has completed the culling of 6.1 million poultry nationwide to curb the nationwide spread of highly pathogenic bird flu, as the total farm-related caseload reached 18, the agricultural ministry said Friday. The destroyed poultry included 4 million chickens and 1.2 million quails, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Under the local law, poultry within a 3-kilometer radius of farms infected with highly pathogenic bird flu must be culled. South Korea has
Social AffairsDec. 18, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Top prosecutor to fight suspension in court
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is taking legal action to overturn his two-month suspension from office, which took effect Wednesday night upon receiving presidential approval. Lee Wank-kyu, a legal representative for the prosecutor general, told reporters in a statement Thursday that Yoon’s defense would file for an injunction from the Seoul Administrative Court to halt the suspension order. The injunction request will be submitted electronically after working hours as it is impossibl
PoliticsDec. 17, 2020
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[Newsmaker] High school dropouts no longer exempt from active duty
High school dropouts will no longer be exempt from mandatory active duty from next year, South Korea’s Military Manpower Administration said Wednesday. All able-bodied men here aged between 18 and 30 must serve active duty for 18 to 21 months. Currently, those who do not graduate from high school must complete alternative service. Unlike soldiers on active duty, participants in the program do not live together or take part in training at military bases. Instead they work as delegates to d
DefenseDec. 16, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Virus death toll experiences double-digit rise for 2nd day, hospital bed shortage looms
South Korea's coronavirus death toll continued to rise Wednesday, posting a double-digit increase in virus fatalities for the second straight day as critically ill patients piled up amid spiking virus cases. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the country reported 12 additional deaths from COVID-19, raising the total to 612. The country reported a daily high of 13 COVID-19 deaths Tuesday. The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients came to 226, sharply
Social AffairsDec. 16, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Moon pins high hopes on new probe unit to fight corruption
President Moon Jae-in expressed high hopes Tuesday for the imminent launch of a new investigative body that will be tasked with looking into corruption among high-level government officials, such as prosecutors and presidents. Setting up the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, independent from the state prosecution office, is one of Moon’s main campaign pledges and is key to his reform push to fight corruption. Last week, parliament approved a bill on expediting i
PoliticsDec. 15, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Tourists to S. Korea forecast to drop to 32-year low this year
The number of overseas tourists visiting South Korea is expected to slump to the lowest level in 32 years amid the new coronavirus pandemic that has practically paralyzed the global tourism sector, data showed Tuesday. The number of foreigners who visited the country in the January-October period reached 2.39 million, down 83.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the culture ministry and the state tourism office. Roughly half of the figure -- 1.27 million -- was tallied in Jan
EconomyDec. 15, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Police book YouTubers, others after chaos outside child rapist's home
Ansan Danwon Police Station said Monday eight people had been booked for alleged offences outside the residence of child rapist Cho Doo-soon in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, following his release on the weekend. One of those under investigation, a 17-year-old, was booked for allegedly attempting to break into Cho’s residence by climbing a wall, and another is under investigation for allegedly assaulting police officers. A man in his 50s was booked for allegedly interfering in the teenager&rs
Social AffairsDec. 14, 2020
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea on high alert over nationwide spread of bird flu
South Korea said Monday it is speeding up efforts to cull poultry in areas affected by highly pathogenic bird flu amid growing concerns over the nationwide spread due to migratory birds. The country has identified 13 highly pathogenic bird flu cases across the nation so far this year, with the latest case being reported at a chicken farm in Gimpo, located just west of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea reported its first farm-related case in Je
Social AffairsDec. 14, 2020
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[Newsmaker] ‘Winter did not have to be this bad’
A winter surge of COVID-19 infections was something that Korea was well warned against but did not do enough to prepare for, experts say, arguing that any further delay in response could exact a greater toll in lives than earlier heights of the pandemic. Korea just saw its worst weekend yet for COVID-19 cases, tallying record-high numbers of new infections for two consecutive days at 950 cases and 1,030 cases. For the first time since the virus took hold, the number of patients under treatment
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi Gov. Lee seeks emergency mobilization of college dorm to treat COVID-19 patients
SUWON -- Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung said Sunday that he will seek an emergency measure to mobilize a private university dormitory to accommodate new coronavirus patients. In a tweet, Lee announced his first such plan to mobilize a private facility to tackle the public health care crisis, as the province is running short on hospital beds and other facilities to treat the growing number of COVID-19 patients. Earlier in the day, the provincial government sent a document to Kyonggi Unive
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Notorious child rapist released from prison amid strong protests
Cho Doo-soon, one of South Korea's most notorious child rapists in recent memory, was released from prison on Saturday amid strong protests against the heinous criminal's return to society. Cho served a 12-year term for kidnapping and raping an 8-year-old girl in a church bathroom in Ansan, 42 kilometers southwest of Seoul, in December 2008. A huge public outcry has erupted over what has been seen as too lenient a punishment for a horrendous sexual crime against a minor. He left the correction
Social AffairsDec. 12, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Officials on alert over release of infamous child rapist
Local authorities are on alert with the scheduled release of infamous child rapist Cho Doo-soon less than 24 hours away, as they seek to protect nearby residents and prevent possible acts of revenge against him. Cho, 68, will be released Saturday morning after serving 12 years in prison for brutally assaulting an 8-year-old girl in 2008. It is not known which correctional center he will be released from, but he will be set free between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Upon release, Cho will be tracked at all
Social AffairsDec. 11, 2020
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[Newsmaker] N. Korea says no confirmed cases of coronavirus as of early Dec.: WHO
North Korea has conducted tests on more than 9,000 people, but there has been no reported outbreak of the coronavirus in the country, a World Health Organization report showed Friday. The North has conducted tests on 9,373 people and claims that no cases have been reported as of Dec. 3, according to the agency's latest weekly situation report on COVID-19. Nearly half of those tested had influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) or were people who developed fev
North KoreaDec. 11, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Cram schools prepare lawsuit over 'unfair' virus restrictions
Local cram schools are planning to take legal action against the government, saying they have been treated unfairly in being forced to close their doors under stricter social distancing schemes. Directors for a number of cram schools in the capital region, which includes Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, are preparing to file a lawsuit against the government for forcing after-school study institutes to halt operations amid Level 2.5 social distancing. The cram school directors are in searc
Social AffairsDec. 10, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Justice ministry holds disciplinary session over prosecution chief's alleged wrongdoing
The Ministry of Justice held a meeting Thursday to discuss disciplinary measures against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over alleged irregularities, after delaying the session twice amid backlash. Last month, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae suspended Yoon for six counts of alleged wrongdoing, including surveillance of the judiciary, the first time a justice minister has taken such a step in the country's history. Yoon, who fiercely refuted all allegations against him, has been restored after wi
PoliticsDec. 10, 2020
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[Newsmaker] NK’s Kim Yo-jong lashes out at South Korean FM for coronavirus remark
Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful younger sister, lashed out at South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha for questioning Pyongyang’s claim that it is free of the coronavirus, warning that she may “pay dearly” for the remarks, state media said Wednesday. Kim was apparently responding to Kang’s remark delivered Saturday at the Manama Dialogue, an annual regional security forum held in Bahrain. Seoul’s top diplomat said that i
North KoreaDec. 9, 2020