Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Seoul caps college tuition rise at 4.7%
The Ministry of Education announced a set of plans to restrict the increase in college tuition fees to no more than 4.7 percent next year to counter rising education costs that have contributed substantially to the nation’s heavy household debt. The government’s measure is expected to induce universities to freeze or lower their tuition fees next year, officials said. The state limit on tuition fee hikes was 5 percent this year and 5.1 year in 2011.College tuition fees have increased at almost d
Dec. 21, 2012
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Growing number of people think marriage is not a must: survey
The ratio of people in South Korea who think they should get married has been declining over the past decade, a survey showed Thursday, pointing to a growing trend here to delay or give up on marriage.According to the survey by Statistics Korea, the number of people who said that marriage is a must in their life stood at 62.7 percent. It is the lowest since the statistics agency started to unveil related polls in 1998 when the ratio was 73.5 percent.The ratio has been on the decline over the pas
Dec. 20, 2012
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Panel nears conclusion on alleged plagiarism by IOC member-lawmaker
A university ethics committee made a tentative judgment on allegations that Moon Dae-sung, former Olympic athlete and once ruling party lawmaker, plagiarized his 2007 doctoral dissertation. A report said the Kookmin University panel found him guilty of research fraud after its nine-month investigation. But its head denied the report, saying it has yet to finalize the decision. “At this point, we can’t tell anything. We have not yet reached final conclusions,” Lee Chae-sung, head of the school’s
Dec. 19, 2012
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Man gets 4 years in jail for pouring acid on his wife’s face
A district court on Wednesday sentenced a man to four years’ imprisonment for pouring acid on his wife.The man, identified with his surname Kim, allegedly had a grudge against his wife, 47, after she filed for divorce in April.His wife also asked for a restraining order against him in May. In June, Kim was indicted on charges related to pouring sulfuric acid on his wife’s face, leaving her with severe burns that required six weeks of medical treatment.“He committed a crime, even though the court
Dec. 19, 2012
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I came, I voted, I told the world
With the presidential election under way, many voters are posting online pictures of themselves after voting.“This is the first time I voted. I am so happy to vote for someone I support!” exclaimed a 19-year-old student on her Twitter account. With the comment, she posted a picture of herself standing next to a polling station.Such photos are called “injeung shot,” referring to a photo shot to confirm that he or she has completed a certain activity. “Injeung” is a Korean word meaning certificati
Dec. 19, 2012
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S. Korean pastor released on bail in China after 5 months of detention
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean pastor has been released on bail after spending more than five months at a detention center in eastern China for allegedly helping North Korean defectors there, a Seoul official said Tuesday. The 51-year-old pastor, Jeon Jae-gwi, was arrested by Chinese authorities on July 9 at an airport in Harbin on charges of sheltering five North Korean defectors and has been held at the detention center in Yantai of northeastern Shandong Province. "To my kno
Dec. 18, 2012
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Five Hyundai Heavy workers kidnapped in Nigeria
Four Korean and one Nigerian employee of Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s top shipbuilder, were kidnapped by an unidentified armed group at Brass Island in the state of Bayelsa, Nigeria, on Monday (local time), an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed on Tuesday.“No contact has been made with the kidnappers yet. The ministry has launched an emergency team with the related governmental agencies in Seoul and Nigeria, including the Ministry of Land, Transport and M
Dec. 18, 2012
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Sex crimes rise more than 60% over five years
Reported sex crimes in Korea increased by 61.6 percent in five years to 22,034 cases in 2011, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Monday. Seoul City recorded the highest rate of sex crimes per capita in the nation with 61.4 sex offenses per 100,000 people, followed by Bucheon with 60.9, and Suwon with 56.9.The number of sexual assault and abduction cases against children under the age of 13 years was 1,054 and 89, respectively.Among sex crimes against children, 23.8 percent and 32.6 percent wer
Dec. 17, 2012
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Seoul City issues plea on celebrity liquor ads
Seoul Metrolitan Government has asked alcohol, advertisement and entertainment firms to refrain from using pop stars in alcohol advertisements. The city will send out letters to liquor makers, advertisement companies and entertainment agencies Tuesday, asking them to reconsider their marketing strategies, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. “Becoming a pop star is ranked as the No. 2 future dream of our children. We believe that hiring pop stars, who exert great influence on teens, for alcoh
Dec. 17, 2012
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Regionalism still dominant in presidential election
The 18th presidential election will be decided Wednesday but its outcome remains unclear as ever with the country divided evenly over the two main candidates Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in.According to an opinion poll conducted by Realmeter for The Korea Herald on Dec. 13, the Saenuri Party’s Park had 47.8 percent of support, while Democratic United Party’s Moon had 47.7 percent.By region, Park and Moon’s main supporter bases appear unchanged, with the Gyeongsang provinces in the southeast showin
Dec. 17, 2012
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Prosecutor indicted without detention in sex scandal
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office indicted a trainee prosecutor involved in a sex scandal without detention on Monday.The prosecution’s internal inspection team charged prosecutor Jeon Jae-mong with bribery and abuse of power.“His inappropriate behavior caused anger and criticism among the public and tainted the reputation of prosecutors,” said an SPO official, adding that the prosecution would seek the dismissal of Jeon.The internal inspection committee at the SPO last week recommended seeking ch
Dec. 17, 2012
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YouthECA provides online platform for young people
YouthECA, a website dedicated to students, has launched an online platform for young people to find information on contests and prizes.The company is in partnership with nine government offices including the Ministry of Environment, as well as various nonprofit organizations including the Korea Junior Leadership Center.The site (www.youtheca.com) provides up-to-date information to help students participate in competitions and contests, divided into 10 categories.YouthECA currently runs a special
Dec. 17, 2012
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Science education for future leaders
The world is changing rapidly. Twenty years ago, Sony was a leading electronics provider for every instrument. Now, it is leading basically none. Kodak, which had first developed digital camera technology, has already disappeared. Nowadays we never hear the names of the former top sellers of 2G cell phones. And all of this happened in the last decade.According to Alvin Toffler, human history has witnessed three waves. Before the first wave, the era of hunting and gathering lasted about 30,000 ye
Dec. 17, 2012
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Sejong University bets on new technology
Sejong University derives its name from Korea’s most respected king, who oversaw the creation of the Korean alphabet and a slew of technological advances including the invention of a water clock, a sundial and new farming techniques during the Joseon Dynasty. Following the spirit of Sejong the Great, the university is striving to establish itself as the nation’s center of education and research in the fields of environment, energy and aerospace that hold the keys to the future of mankind.The sch
Dec. 17, 2012
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ETS opens Facebook page for TOEFL candidates
The Educational Testing Service, or ETS, the U.S.-based firm that administers TOEFL and TOEIC tests, has launched a new Facebook page for TOEFL candidates.The TOEFL page (www.facebook.com/TOEFL) provides a wide range of test prep materials and study resources along with sample questions to assist students.The Facebook page also offers students a forum to connect and communicate with other TOEFL test takers regarding study-abroad opportunities, according to ETS.(596story@heraldcorp.com)
Dec. 17, 2012
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Apocalypse rumor impacts world
The rumor based on Mayan calendar that the world ends on Dec. 21 has caused some people serious problems. They are even complaining of physical pain over the rumor, according to NASA. To counter the global fears, some authorities such as the Vatican and the U.S. government have publicly announced that the rumor is groundless. A poll conducted by Ipsos research center, 10 percent of the global respondents said they believed that the Mayan calendar marked the end of the world. Another 2 percent of
Dec. 17, 2012
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Young women most afraid of crime: study
A recent study showed that young women fear crime the most of any demographic, while the level of fear decreases as people get older.The research paper by Kim Seong-eon, professor of Police Administration Studies at Kyungnam University, suggested that senior citizens who live alone feel less fear because they become desensitized to their surroundings.Kim conducted research on aged people’s fear of crimes under a hypothesis that the elderly were likely to have the biggest fear of crime, and conve
Dec. 17, 2012
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Women with higher salaries have more babies: report
Working mothers who earn more tend to have more babies than those with lower pay, a report showed Sunday. Women working in the public sector, including civil servants, also had more children than their private-sector counterparts, it added.The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said the average fertility rate of women with a monthly salary of more than 2 million won ($1,860) was higher than of those who earn less than 1 million won, in an analysis of the correlation between birthrates
Dec. 16, 2012
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Generations divided on presidential poll
Wednesday’s presidential election is likely to see the biggest-ever clash of generations as the younger and older voters are split almost evenly behind Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in, with 40-somethings holding the casting vote. The election is one of the most tightly contested ever, according to the survey conducted Wednesday by the pollster Realmeter for Herald Corp. The poll showed the Saenuri Party’s Park’s lead over the Democratic United Party’s Moon had narrowed to 0.1 percent. Although not
Dec. 16, 2012
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Campaign for education chief turns ideological
With three days to go before Wednesday’s by-election for Seoul education chief, two main candidates Moon Yong-lin and Lee Soo-ho are focusing on ideological accusations rather than policy.Moon, a former education minister on a conservative platform, is targeting his progressive rival Lee’s background as head of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union, calling him a “pro-North Korea leftist.”Moon also accused Lee of involvement in now-defunct Democratic Labor Party. “He caused a disrupti
Dec. 16, 2012