Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Korea sees surge in number of asylum seekers from Russia
South Korea saw a significant rise in the number of Russian asylum seekers last year, with over 5,000 submitting refugee applications, a government report found Monday. According to the latest monthly report by the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the number of Russian nationals who sought refugee status in Korea last year stood at 5,750, a five-fold increase from the number of asylum applications by Russian nationals in 2022, which stood at 1,038. The number is also almo
Feb. 12, 2024
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Man allowed S. Korean citizenship, after waiting 3 years to serve in military
A Seoul court recently ruled that a US-born man whose circumstances thwarted him from serving in the mandatary military service should be allowed to have South Korean citizenship. Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of a 31-year-old man who challenged the Seoul Immigration Office's 2022 rejection of his application for citizenship. Previously a dual citizen of South Korea and the US, he in 2022 submitted a written pledge not to exercise his US nationality while in the country and subm
Feb. 12, 2024
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Too much social media hurts children's self-esteem, report suggests
School-age children who frequently use social media to interact with others are more likely to develop negative perceptions of their bodies, a recent study found. Researchers at Ewha Womans University analyzed the data of 1,412 elementary school students 2019 and 1,397 elementary school students in 2020 to determine the effects of social media on one's perception of body before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Researchers categorized the children into three groups: "information seekers
Feb. 12, 2024
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Health care crisis looms as doctors prepare for strike over med school quota expansion
Fears of a health care crisis were brewing in South Korea on Monday, as doctors and medical residents discussed taking collective action in protest of the government's planned hike in the medical school student quota. The Korean Medical Association, the country's largest coalition of doctors groups with 130,000 members, threatened to go on strike on Thursday and hold a national meeting of doctors in Seoul on Saturday. Another group of interns, residents and trainee doctors, the Korean
Feb. 12, 2024
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Politician's likeness to criminal in Netflix's 'A Killer Paradox' sparks controversy
Popular Netflix original drama "A Killer Paradox" has been embroiled in controversy over one of its characters, who many here have alleged "bears a striking resemblance" to main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung. Netflix denied such rumors, saying such accusations are "completely baseless." The character, Hyeong Jeong-guk, portrayed by actor Seung Eui-yeol, is depicted as a corrupt older politician who is incarcerated for his crimes, with nea
Feb. 12, 2024
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No. of schoolchildren to drop below 5m by 2026
As South Korea continues to struggle with a remarkably low birth rate, the number of school-age children is estimated to fall below the 5 million mark in just two years. According to the latest data released by the Korea Educational Development Institute on Monday, the number of elementary, middle and high school students nationwide is expected to fall from some 5.13 million this year to about 4.83 million in 2026. In 2029, the number of students is expected to further decline to 4.275 million,
Feb. 12, 2024
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1 extra doctor means 0.11% lower chance of death: report
With South Korea pushing to increase the number of doctors in the country by expanding the medical school enrollment quota, a study has showed that the addition of one extra doctor per 100,000 people to the day-to-day health care sector can reduce the death rate by 0.11 percent. Researchers from Seoul National University Hospital analyzed Ministry of Health and Welfare data from 2016 to 2020 to find the correlation between the number of primary care doctors and the death rate in the South Korean
Feb. 12, 2024
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Doctors, govt. on collision course over medical school quota increase
Doctors and the government are on a collision course over the decision to significantly increase medical school seats, with doctors vowing to go on a strike and the government pledging a stern response, including even revoking doctors' licenses. Last week, the government announced its plan to add 2,000 seats to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, a sharp rise from the current 3,058 medical school seats that have been capped since 2006. The move came as the country
Feb. 12, 2024
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S. Korea mulls allowing pregnant women to postpone bar exam
The Ministry of Justice said Monday it is considering the inclusion of severe illnesses and pregnancy among cases that can be granted an extension for the state-mandated period to pass the bar exam. South Korean law stipulates that those who wish to become a lawyer can only take the state-issued bar exam five times within five years after getting a degree from law school, disqualifying those who failed to pass during that period from taking the test again. For those who served their mandatory mi
Feb. 12, 2024
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Doctors, government lock horns over medical school expansion
Medical circles continue to lock horns with the government following the announcement of an increase in medical school enrollment quotas by 2,000 from the current 3,058, as they mull joint action in protest of the decision. In response, the Health Ministry said Thursday afternoon it had issued orders to prohibit doctors from engaging in collective action and specialists from resigning en masse. The ministry raised the national health crisis level to alert -- the third highest in the four-tier
Feb. 12, 2024
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Doctors vow massive rallies this week against med school quota hikes
Doctors will hold massive rallies across the nation this week in protest of the government's planned hike in the enrollment quota for medical schools amid a looming strike feared to affect the health service, officials said Sunday. The Korean Medical Association (KMA), a major lobby group for doctors, said it will hold protests nationwide Thursday as a first collective action after the entity went into emergency mode in response to the government's decision to boost the number of medic
Feb. 12, 2024
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Social media use leaps, reading volume declines among 20-year-olds in past decade: report
Twenty-year-olds spend much more time on social media now than the same age group a decade ago, whereas their monthly reading time declined, a report showed Monday. The Korean Educational Development Institute surveyed 5,705 people who turned 20 in 2021, and about 23 percent of them said they use social media for an average of three to five hours a week, while about 17 percent said they use social media for about six to 10 hours. In a similar survey, only 6.7 percent of the 4,850 people who turn
Feb. 12, 2024
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Over half of young singles have been in asymmetrical relationships: survey
Some 54 percent of unmarried people in their 20s and 30s say they have been in a romantic relationship where the power dynamics were skewed toward one of the parties, a recent survey by a local matchmaking company found. In the January survey by Duo, conducted on 150 men and 150 women in their 20s who have had romantic partners, 60.3 percent of the respondents said a so-called "gab-eul" power dynamic exists in romantic relationships. Gab-eul refers to a relationship between two people
Feb. 11, 2024
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Less than 1% of S. Korean drivers know how to turn right properly: report
Hardly any of the South Korean drivers are fully aware of the details involving the recent legislative change on the proper way to turn right, a study by a government-funded organization showed Tuesday. The Gyeonggi Research Institute said they recently published a study on how well the residents of the greater Seoul area are aware of the 2022 revision of the Road Traffic Act. This revision specified that a vehicle must come to a full stop when making a right turn at the intersection at a red li
Feb. 11, 2024
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] ‘Chemyeon’: the role of 'face' in shaping Korea's cultural dynamics
Lee Jung-ah, 36, recently ended her yearlong relationship with her boyfriend, mainly due to her parents’ opposition. They told her they disapproved of him because he did not match up to her professional and educational background. They worried that they would lose face in front of their relatives and acquaintances if she married him. Now, Lee is hoping to find someone who can uphold the "chemyeon" of her father, who is a university professor, although she believes the chances of
Feb. 11, 2024
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Top 0.1 pct of wage earners in Seoul made average 1.4 bln won in 2022
The top 0.1 percent of wage earners in Seoul made an average of 1.4 billion won ($1.05 million) in 2022, triple the amount earned by the same cohort in Gangwon Province, data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by the National Tax Service and released by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the main opposition Democratic Party, there were 6,213 people in the top 0.1 percent wage bracket in Seoul. The southern island of Jeju came second with 1 billion won, followed by Gyeonggi Province with 950 mill
Feb. 11, 2024
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Supreme Court says old name of coffee can be trademarked
South Korea's Supreme Court recently decided to allow an antiquated name for coffee to be used as the name of a coffee shop, officials said Tuesday. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff surnamed Hong, who challenged an earlier decision by the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board that invalidated his 2015 trademark to use "Yangtangguk" as the name of his new cafe. Yangtangguk, which literally translates as "Western soup," was the name used during the Joseon e
Feb. 10, 2024
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Traffic building up on highways as people travel on Lunar New Year
Traffic on major highways began to build up across South Korea on Saturday morning as millions of people hit the road on the Lunar New Year. This year's holiday began Friday, marked by the traditional exodus of people from Seoul and its surrounding areas to their hometowns. On the second day of the long weekend Saturday, more people headed out of the capital region, while others were making their way back to Seoul. According to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp., a drive from Seoul to the
Feb. 10, 2024
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Endangered Korean leopard returns to homeland
An endangered Amur leopard from the UK has found a new home at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday. The arrival of the female leopard, born in 2014, at Seoul Grand Park is a significant addition to the zoo's existing pair of only male cats, born in 2016. Zoo officials said they plan to initiate a breeding program for these leopards. The public will have the opportunity to meet the new leopard in the second half of the year. The Amur leopard, scientifically known as Panthera par
Feb. 9, 2024
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5.2m cars to hit the road on 1st day of Lunar New Year holiday
Some 5.2 million cars were expected to hit the road nationwide Friday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, as people head to their hometowns. Among such cars, some 490,000 vehicles were expected to leave the greater Seoul area for provincial regions, while 370,000 cars were forecast to travel into the city, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. The agency expected traffic congestion on roads heading to provincial regions to have peaked between 11 a.m. and noon and to ease around 8 p.m
Feb. 9, 2024