North Korea is believed to have closed more than 30 restaurants in foreign countries due to toughened international sanctions, a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.The North's move indicates that the regime faces difficulties in earning dollars as the U.N. Security Council's sanctions on Pyongyang are aimed at curbing the source of hard currency suspected of bankrolling the North's nuclear and missile programs.The source said that since the imposition of the sanctions in March, the Nor

North Korea July 12, 2016

한 결혼정보회사의 지난 9일 설문조사에 따르면 미혼남성은 ‘꿍한’ 여성, 미혼여성은 ‘잘 따지는’ 남성을 배우자 감으로 기피한다고 한다. (123RF)결혼정보회사 비에나래와 결혼정보업체 온리-유가 공동으로 4일 ∼ 9일 사이 전국의 결혼희망 미혼 남녀 508명(남녀 각 254명)를 대상으로 “평생 함께 살기에 가장 ‘피곤한’ 배우자는 어떤 성격, 성향의 보유자일까요?”를 묻자 남성은 21.7%가 ‘꿍한 성격’이라고 답했고, 여성은 23.6%가 ‘잘 따지는 유형’으로 답해 각각 가장 높은 비중을 차지했다. 이어 남성은 ‘임기응변식’(18.5%) - ‘의존적’(17.3%) - ‘부정적’(13.4%) 등의 순으로 답했고, 여성은 ‘일방통행식’(19.3%) - ‘깔끔한’(16.5%) - ‘욱하는’(14.6%) 등의 순이다. (비에나래)한 32세 여교사는 “이것저것 잘 따지는 남자는 소개하지 마세요! 평생 피곤할 것 같아서요”라고 말했고, 한 35세 남성 변호사는 “한번 토라지면 몇 일간 꿍

한국어판 July 12, 2016

Some 75 percent of female public workers and public schoolteachers used childcare leave after having their first child, but less than half of their counterparts working at private companies did so, a study said Tuesday. The gap was even wider between female workers hired in permanent positions (46.9 percent) and those working on temporary basis (1.9 percent), according to the study by the Korea institute for Health and Social Affairs.The institute surveyed 788 women aged 15 to 49 who had their f

Social Affairs July 12, 2016

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Tuesday, following overnight gains on Wall Street boosted by strong U.S. jobs data and cautious optimism about the world's No. 1 economy.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.08 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,991.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The KOSPI's advance, however, was limited due to a burden from a 0.83 percent rise a day earlier. Institutional investors were net sellers, while foreigners and individuals were net buyers.I

July 12, 2016

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. basked in a record share of the global NAND flash market in the first quarter of the year, data showed Tuesday.Samsung's share came to 42.6 percent of the global DRAM market in terms of sales during the January-March period, up 0.6 percentage point from the previous quarter, according to the data compiled by industry tracker IHS Inc. The company logged $2.61 billion in global sales, also up 3.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.NAND flas

Technology July 12, 2016

North Korea is showing "high-level activity" at its nuclear test site, the 38 North website monitoring the communist nation said Monday.Commercial satellite imagery taken on July 7 of the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site shows what appears to be supplies and/or equipment stacked on the ground at the site's North Portal, where the North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, 38 North said.In addition, a small vehicle is present at the support building immediately to the south of the po

North Korea July 12, 2016

 The United States urged North Korea to free detained American citizens Monday after the communist nation said it will deal with the detainees according to wartime law in protest of Washington's sanctions on leader Kim Jong-un.The North also said it would "totally cut off" the dialogue channel between the two sides via the North's mission to the United Nations in New York, accusing the U.S. of impairing the "dignity" of its leader with the sanctions that Pyongyang also labeled as a declaration o

North Korea July 12, 2016

The Ministry of Unification and horse racing track operator LetsRun Corporation, said Monday that three additional food trucks run by North Korean defectors will be launched at Busan and Jejudo Island’s horse racing grounds, from September. In January, the ministry funded the launch of two food trucks run by North Korean defectors at Seoul’s LetsRun Park horse racing track, along with the LetsRun Corporation and Hyundai Motors.  (123RF)An additional three food trucks -- two in Busan’s LetsRun Pa

North Korea July 11, 2016

A civil servant in his 50s was dismissed from his position at Namyangju City Hall after it was found that he had secretly taken photos of female colleagues’ underwear by wedging a mobile phone inside his shoes. The police investigation took place following a report of the man’s suspicious behavior. They had found an upskirt video of women taken between May and June.  (123RF)Namyangju City Hall had dismissed the accused on July 4 after he was booked without detention by the police. Eleven victims

Social Affairs July 11, 2016

The second Sinchon Beer Festival will take place on Thursday and Friday in Sinchon’s main street, which stretches from Sinchon Station exits three and four to the front gate of Yonsei University.Hallyu star Song Joong-ki of the hit drama “Descendants of the Sun” will make an appearance at the festival opening as a face for distiller Hite-Jinro, which is sponsoring the festival.   (KBS)The company had said on Facebook two weeks ago that it would set up an artificial beach at the festival and invi

Culture July 11, 2016

Hundreds of unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co. held a meeting on Monday to decide whether to go on a strike, union officials said.No details of the meeting that drew about 500 senior union officials in Ulsan were immediately available. Ulsan is home to Hyundai's main assembly plants, located some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul.The meeting came six days after the union of the largest South Korean carmaker suggested that the unionized workers could stage a strike, citing the collapse of neg

Mobility July 11, 2016

Low-credit borrowers sought more loans at savings banks in the first quarter, pushing up the number of lendees at the secondary banks to a four-year on-quarter high, a savings banks' association said Monday.In the January-March period, the number of people who took loans from savings banks jumped 7.41 percent, or 112,886 borrowers, to 1.63 million from 1.52 million a quarter earlier, according to data from the Korea Federation of Savings Bank. It was the biggest on-quarter jump since the first q

July 11, 2016