Hundreds of thousands of South Korean students took the national college entrance examination, or suneung, on Thursday, a week after it was postponed following an earthquake last week. Over 600,000 high school seniors began arriving at their designated test venues as early as 7 a.m. for the exam -- the equivalent of the US’ SAT -- which lasted nine hours starting from 8:40 a.m. (Shot by Lim Jeong-yeo / Edited by Lim Jeong-yeo) In many parts of the country, it was a cold winter morning

Social Affairs Nov. 23, 2017

The Moon Jae-in administration’s plan to establish a new investigative entity with the authority to dig into corruption and irregularities of the prosecution, long considered virtually untouchable, along with a few other powerful state organs, has hit a major snag even before it got started.  Members of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Tuesday discuss bills related to the creation of the new independent probe body. YonhapOn Tuesday at the National Assembly’s Legisla

Social Affairs Nov. 21, 2017

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake and a series of aftershocks that struck off the southeastern city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, last week had damaged some 2,000 private homes and injured dozens as of Sunday, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.Officials from the Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources look into sudden appearance of sands on a rice paddy in the southeastern coastal region around the port city of Pohang that was biy by the 5.4 magnitude quake last week

Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2017

The decision by educational authorities to postpone South Korea’s national university entrance examination due to Wednesday’s earthquake is having repercussions across society. Student studies of the annual college entrace exam at a shelter in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. YonhapDue to Wednesday’s rare magnitude 5.4 quake and the series of aftershocks that struck Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the Ministry of Education announced Wednesday evening that the test would be delaye

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2017

South Korea’s Education Ministry confirmed Wednesday that the national entrance examination, or suneung, will be delayed to Nov. 23, due to a possible aftershock in the quake-hit Pohang area. It is the first time that the multi-subject standardized test, equivalent to the US’ SAT, has ever been postponed since it was introduced in 1994. Education Minister Kim Sang-kon said in an urgent briefing held at 8:20 p.m. that the decision was due to “a request made by an education office in Pohang” to po

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2017

A recent murder case of an unregistered worker from Thailand highlights South Korea’s failure to provide basic protections for workers staying here illegally, experts say. YonhapA woman identified by authorities as Chutima, 29, who had worked at a factory in Gyeonggi Province for nearly 10 years, was found dead on Nov. 5. She was killed by her Korean co-worker after a failed rape attempt, according to a police investigation. Police say the 50-year-old suspect, now under arrest, lured Chutima to

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2017

Dwight School Seoul located in Digital Media City, Mapo-gu, believes the key to academic success is igniting every student’s passion for learning and providing personalized learning opportunities for each student, the school said Wednesday.  The 2017 graduation ceremony of Dwight School SeoulAs an International Baccalaureate World School, Dwight School Seoul provides international education based on the highest recognized academic standards and uses the IB curriculum to kindle every child’s pers

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2017

With suneung, or the national college entrance examination, scheduled to take place Thursday, education authorities on Monday began moving exam papers and answer sheets to 85 designated locations across the country. Officials move boxes containing exam papers and answer sheets for Thursday's national college entrance exam from a printing company in Sejong on Monday. YonhapThe sheets will be kept under tight security until early Thursday morning, when they are to be handed over to test administra

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2017

In the latest twist of the massive influence-peddling scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye, prosecutors are looking into allegations that the nation’s spy agency regularly made secretive money transfers to Park’s former aides when she was in office. Former President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)Former National Intelligence Service chiefs under the Park administration allegedly abused the agency’s “special activities” budget, which investigators suspect was an illicit channel for bribes for

Social Affairs Nov. 10, 2017

(Shot by Bak Se-hwan)From early in the morning Tuesday, anti-Trump demonstrators began filling streets near Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, where Trump was to sit down with President Moon Jae-in for a face-to-face talk and hold a joint press conference afterward. Police officers in fluorescent green jackets were also seen patrolling and guarding key points near the presidential office, as well as the US Embassy building in Seoul and the Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel where Trump is staying. “We

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2017

South Korean health authorities have found an unusual and disturbing trend in the use of medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. In the month before the national college entrance exam, the rate of diagnosis and prescription picks up markedly in the same age groups as the test-takers.  123rfWhile prescriptions of ADHD drugs last year fell around 10 percent compared to the 2011 level, the figures for 18-year-olds and 17-year-olds shot up by 64 percent and 37 percent, res

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2017

Three people died and one was injured after a 2.5-ton truck carrying barrels of motor oil caught fire at about 1:20 p.m. in a deadly car crash on a highway in Changwon on Thursday, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, firefighters said.Vehicles caught ablaze at about 1:20 p.m., on Thursday after a five-ton truck collided near Changwon Tunnel. YonhapThe fire engulfed nine vehicles on both sides of the road. The blazes had been extinguished approximately 40 minutes after the incident.Police said t

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2017

A new study reveals that more than 1 in 3 married women in South Korea has experienced domestic violence at least once while pregnant, a research group said Tuesday.123rfThe result is based on a survey conducted by the College of Nursing at Kyungpook National University on 250 pregnant women last year, where 34 percent responded that they had experienced mental, physical or sexual abuse at least once at the hands of their husband during pregnancy. The most common type of abuse was mental, includ

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2017

Around 9,000 police officers signed a petition pleading for mercy for two colleagues charged with negligent homicide in the death of a protester by a blast from a police water cannon during a street rally. CCTV footage shows activist farmer Baek Nam-gi on the ground after being knocked down by a police water blast on Nov. 14, 2015. Two other activists try to shield him as the blast continues to strike them at the anti-government rally held in central Seoul. YonhapThe two, identified by their sur

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2017

Around 30 world-leading scientists, thinkers and opinion leaders, including five Nobel laureates, gathered in Seoul for an international forum on aging. Under the theme of “The Age to Come,” the Nobel Prize Dialogue kicked off its three-day run at Seoul’s Coex on Monday. Panelists Richard Roberts (center), the 1993 Nobel Prize in medicine awardee, New Castle University professor emeritus Tom Kirkwood (right) and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology chair professor Park Sang-chul d

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2017