The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday a plan to support the city’s 217,000 senior citizens living alone. According to the city’s recent survey, of the more than 1 million elderly people aged 65 or older in Seoul, 21.5 percent live alone, many of them financially struggling.The number of aged living alone has continued to increase in recent years from 16.2 percent in 2004, the city s

Social Affairs May 19, 2011

Her elder son who is preparing for an Ivy League school at a prestigious foreign language high school in Seoul may receive the best school education in Korea. However, his mother, Park Sung-hee, says she has never reduced the family’s spending on private education. “Even though you enter a good school, the situation is the same at least for the students at the school. In order not to lag behind ot

Social Affairs May 17, 2011

Rival regions rage, claim decision was made on political motivationThe nation’s multi-trillion won science belt project took its first step on Monday with Daejeon selected as the host city. A government-private committee said Monday that Daejeon, some 164 kilometers south of Seoul, will have the National Basic Science Institute and a particle accelerator that will be completed in the region over t

Social Affairs May 16, 2011

Seoul Global Center will start consultations on industrial accidents for foreign residents from Tuesday. The weekly service, offered every Tuesday from 2-5 p.m. at the support center for expatriates, will be provided in seven languages including English, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese. With the number of foreign workers here surging recently, many have complained of difficulty finding proper hel

Social Affairs May 16, 2011

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) – Brimming with pride, President Barack Obama on Friday met and honored the U.S. commandos he sent after terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, saluting them on behalf of America and the world and capping an extraordinary week for the country. "Job well done," the president declared.Obama addressed roughly 2,000 troops after meeting privately with the full assault team — A

World News May 7, 2011

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's Iwate prefecture, whose coastline was hard hit by the March 11 tsunami, on Saturday won endorsement for its historic Hiraizumi area to be listed as a World Heritage site, the government said.Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs announced that an International Council on Monuments and Sites panel recommended that the Buddhist architecture, gardens and archaeological sites in Hi

World News May 7, 2011

CAIRO (AP) -- Al-Qaida has vowed to keep fighting the United States and avenge the death of Osama bin Laden, which it acknowledged for the first time Friday in an Internet statement apparently designed to convince followers that it will remain vigorous and intact even after its founder's demise.Al-Qaida's plots are usually large-scale and involve planning over months or even years. But Western int

International May 7, 2011

The number of North Korean defectors to Thailand has jumped more than 50 times since 2004, a U.S. report claimed Saturday.Radio Free Asia (RFA), citing a Thai newspaper, the Bangkok Post, said the number of North Koreans who illegally entered Thailand and were arrested soared from 46 in 2004 to 2,482 in 2010.Through April this year, 870 North Koreans have been arrested for illegal entry, RFA added

North Korea May 7, 2011

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Barack Obama Friday urged his nation to invest more in the development of clean energy technology in order not to lag behind South Korea and other countries."We're in a competition all around the world, and other countries -- Germany, China, South Korea -- they know that clean energy technology is what is going to help spur job creation and economic growth for years to

International May 7, 2011

WASHINGTON -- The United States and China next week will discuss ways to improve inter-Korean ties and reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the State Department said Friday.Speaking to reporters, spokesman Mark Toner expressed hope that the Security and Economic Dialogue between the U.S. and China, slated to be held in Washington Monday and Tuesday, will serve as a venue to discuss the tension

International May 7, 2011

Korean history will become a required subject at every school from 2012 and teachers should pass a history exam to be appointed.The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Friday unveiled a plan to strengthen history education.“In new schoolbooks, Japan renewed its sovereignty claim over Dokdo and distorted historic facts regarding Korea. Now is a very critical time for Koreans to have a

Social Affairs April 22, 2011