More than 120 university leaders from around the world gathered for an annual forum in Seoul on Monday to promote better mutual cooperation on research and to look for new innovative roles of educational institutions in new-generation industries.Hosted by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the 2016 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities kicked off with about 120 presidents and vice presidents of 65 research universities from 36 countries, including thre

Social Affairs April 11, 2016

A Korean victim of sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II residing in China was moved to Seoul for medical treatment, officials said Sunday. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said 88-year-old Ha Sang-sook, the only Korean sexual slavery victim living in Wuhan, China, arrived at Chung-Ang University Medical Center in Seoul to treat her injured lungs.In early February, she broke a rib after she fell down the stairs from the second floor, leading to lung inflammation and ren

Social Affairs April 10, 2016

The two-day early voting of South Korea’s 20th general election kicks off Friday, five days ahead of the official polling day, officials said Thursday.The National Election Commission said Korean nationals are allowed to cast their votes early in any of the 3,511 polls installed at district offices across the country regardless of their permanent addresses. The early voting will run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Saturday. Three preliminary voting polls are also installed at Seoul Station, Yongsan

Politics April 7, 2016

The Korean government on Tuesday stepped up its warning against a liberal teachers’ group for using a controversial textbook which it accuses of biasedly illustrating the Sewol ferry tragedy. The warning came after the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union vowed to push ahead with the use of the “416 textbook” that it published last month to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy that took the lives of 304 passengers who were mostly high school students on April 16, 2014. It was the

Social Affairs April 5, 2016

Two out of 10 teenage students in Seoul City still face corporal punishment at school, despite the punishment ban adopted a few years ago, a report showed Monday. According to report on student rights by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, about 19 percent of the surveyed students were found to have been physically punished in the past year. The survey was conducted on some 21,000 students in the city last year. 123rfMiddle schoolers reported the largest number of corporal punishment cas

Social Affairs April 4, 2016

Foreign vessels detected to be harboring pathogens were found to have moved from one local fishing port to another without any quarantine measures taken, officials said Friday.According to the Health and Welfare Ministry’s audit reports for the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Quarantine Station, a total of 66 foreign ships contaminated with pathogens moved through local ports in 2014. More than 205 ships stationed in Korea were also excluded from quarantine cont

Social Affairs April 1, 2016

South Korea on Friday warned against Pyongyang’s continuous jamming of global positioning systems that it defined as a clear provocation to further escalate cross-border tensions. “North Korea must immediately stop the dangerous and reckless act that violates a relevant international treaty and threatens people’s safety here,” Cheong Wa Dae said after the meeting of the National Security Council. 　The announcement came after the South issued an alert late Thursday afternoon, confirming signs of

Defense April 1, 2016

The Korean government is pushing to better protect teachers’ rights amid a series of violent incidents that have threatened their safety and authority. The Education Ministry said it would run four healing support centers for teachers on a trial basis as part of its efforts to support the mental treatment of those who suffer abuse by students. The photo shows a contract teacher being hit by his students with a broom during class in December in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province. YonhapStarting in Daejeo

Social Affairs March 31, 2016

Herald Corp.’s education subsidiary Herald Edu has launched an English study service that aims to provide an enhanced platform for teenagers to study English, company officials said Wednesday.Launched on Monday, the “English Qbig” website offers a comprehensive English learning program that will help students with their reading and writing skills. The programs will be applicable to students from third grade in elementary schools to middle schoolers.The courses are offered in five different level

Social Affairs March 30, 2016

Misperceptions of HIV and AIDS are still prevalent in South Korea, with many overlooking prevention, a survey showed Wednesday. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with the Korean Alliance to Defeat AIDS, 75.6 percent of respondents said they thought most AIDS patients contracted HIV from prostitution. Some 74 percent considered people with HIV or AIDS as those having a promiscuous sex life. The survey was conducted with 1,000 individuals

Social Affairs March 30, 2016

The Korean history test will become mandatory for college entrance exam takers starting this year, officials said Tuesday. The Education Ministry said the score of the College Scholastic Aptitude Test, or Suneung, will be invalid if test-takers do not sit for the Korean history exam. The new rule is part of the ministry’s guidelines and plans for the CSAT this year. The ministry annually releases the basic scheme for the national college entrance exam at the start of the school year. The test wi

Social Affairs March 29, 2016

The South Korean government said Friday it had launched a probe into the safety of 19 children who have not been registered for school this year with their whereabouts unknown.Since earlier this year, the government has surveyed the enrollment status of schoolchildren who were supposed to enter elementary and middle schools this year nationwide, as part of its fortified measures against child abuse. A survey of long-term absentee students is separately underway.　 Of nearly 7,600 children who wer

Social Affairs March 18, 2016

Schools should refrain from the excessive survey of students who are suspected of smoking to protect the human rights of teenagers, a local watchdog said Thursday.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea’s warning came after a high-school teacher in Incheon reportedly forced his male student to fill a paper cup with the teenager’s urine in front of the teacher in October last year to detect whether the student had smoked. The student later filed a complaint with the NHRCK. He claimed that i

Social Affairs March 17, 2016

A series of irregularities discovered at international schools recently have raised concerns about the need to tighten the monitoring of such schools, which have ascended to the top echelons of private education in the country and become attractive sources for foreign investment.YonhapSeoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Tuesday launched an audit of British international school Dulwich College over allegations of accounting fraud. The school is suspected of embezzling 7.5 billion won ($6.3

Social Affairs March 15, 2016

Go academy teacher Kim Sang-soon in southern Seoul has been much busier these days with more parents and students inquiring about Go courses. “There are indeed many more calls and visits from children, especially preschool girls. I’m pretty sure that the AlphaGo match brought back the popularity of Go,” said the 65-year-old, who has taught Go for the past three decades. “This is definitely a good sign.” Renewed interest in the Go game is sweeping through South Korea. (Yonhap)On Sunday, Korean Go

Social Affairs March 14, 2016