Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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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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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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Taiwan president-elect Lai to face China's ire after victory
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's new president-elect, Lai Ching-te, is likely to face his toughest task yet when he takes office in May and has to deal with the ire of China which has repeatedly denounced him as a dangerous separatist. Lai, who won Saturday's election, repeatedly said during the campaign that he wanted to keep the status quo with China, which claims Taiwan as its own, and offered to talk to Beijing. "We don't want to become enemies with China. We can become friends,&qu
World NewsJan. 14, 2024
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Biden gives greetings on Korean American Day
US President Joe Biden issued a message to celebrate Korean American Day on Saturday, highlighting Korean Americans' "immense contributions" to the United States and their efforts to "enrich" the country. Korean American Day honors the Korean American community's contributions and marks the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the US on Jan. 13, 1903. In 2005, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed resolutions for celebration of the day. "Thro
Foreign AffairsJan. 14, 2024
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Bong Joon-ho questions legitimacy of drug probe into Lee Sun-kyun
Cultural figures including internationally acclaimed “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho criticized police and media outlets in connection with the death of actor Lee Sun-kyun. They said they would band in unity to submit the so-called “Lee Sun-kyun Act” to protect artists’ human rights. Lee, 48, died last month amid a weekslong police investigation into allegations he had used illegal drugs. The Association of Solidarity of Cultural Artists, a newly established organi
FilmJan. 12, 2024
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US SEC OKs bitcoin ETFs in watershed for crypto market
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK -- The US securities regulator on Wednesday approved the first US-listed exchange traded funds to track bitcoin, its Chair Gary Gensler said, in a watershed for the world's largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry. The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 applications, including from BlackRock, Ark Investments/21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco and VanEck, among others, according to a notice on its website. Some products are expected to begin trading as ea
World NewsJan. 11, 2024
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48 countries, EU unite in condemning NK-Russia arms transfer
A united front of 48 countries, alongside the European Union, unequivocally expressed their condemnation in the "strongest possible terms" against North Korea's export of ballistic missiles and Russia's recent use of the ballistic missiles in the assault on war-torn Ukraine. The joint statement, featuring endorsements from foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, Japan, Ukraine, and other participating countries, was issued on Wednesday, Seoul time. "Our gove
Foreign AffairsJan. 10, 2024
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] 'Aegyo': The psyche behind childlike adults
“Cuteness or charm, esp. of a sort considered characteristic of Korean popular culture. Also: behavior regarded as cute, charming or adorable. Cf. kawaii n.” – Oxford English Dictionary Ever encountered someone deliberately using or prolonging their “ng” or “o” sounds to sound cute? Like saying, “hajang,” instead of “haja” (let’s do it). This intentional mispronunciation, akin to baby talk, functions as one form of "
Hashtag KoreaJan. 9, 2024
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North Korea makes no mention of leader's 40th birthday
North Korean state media outlets remained silent on the presumed 40th birthday of their leader Kim Jong-un on Monday. The Korean Central News Agency, Rodong Sinmun, Korean Central Television and Korean Central Broadcasting Station have yet to make any report on Kim's birthday. Kim is known to have been born on Jan. 8, 1984, though the North has not officially confirmed the date. Earlier in the day, state media outlets carried reports on Kim's visit to a newly built chicken factory wh
North KoreaJan. 8, 2024
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One in 7 Korean women in 20s underweight: study
One in nearly six or seven Korean women in their 20s are underweight, and almost half of these young women weighing less than average or classified as normal weight attempt to lose more weight to cater to Korea’s strict beauty standards idealizing thin bodies, a report showed Monday. According to a study published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the percent of South Korean adults who attempt to lose weight and related factors using the Body Mass Index classification,
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2024
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Celine Song’s ‘Past Lives’ named Best Picture by National Society of Film Critics
Korean Canadian filmmaker and playwright Celine Song’s directorial debut, “Past Lives,” was named Best Picture of 2023 at the National Society of Film Critics Awards. “Past Lives,” a semi-autobiographical romantic drama film about Korean writer Nora (Greta Lee) living in New York who reunites with her childhood sweetheart, Hae-sung (Teo Yoo), after 20 years, won the top prize at the 58th annual awards. Other contenders were “Oppenheimer” and “The Z
FilmJan. 7, 2024
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Korean tourist shot dead in Guam
A South Korean national was killed in a gun attack in the US territory of Guam on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. According to the ministry, a South Korean tourist visiting Guam was taken to a hospital, where he died, after being shot in a robbery. Local media outlets reported the shooting happened at Gun Beach in Tumon at around 8 p.m. Thursday. The victim, assumed to be in his 50s, was promptly taken to a hospital in the area. The beach is located at the northern end of
Social AffairsJan. 5, 2024
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S. Korean All-Star closer Go Woo-suk signs with San Diego Padres
South Korean All-Star closer Go Woo-suk is now a member of the San Diego Padres. The Padres announced Wednesday that Go has agreed to a two-year contract with a mutual option for a third year in 2026. The Padres did not disclose financial details. Earlier in the day, New York Post columnist Joel Sherman tweeted that Go had signed a two-year deal worth $4.5 million. A major league source confirmed to Yonhap News Agency that the guaranteed amount of Go's contract is indeed $4.5 million over t
BaseballJan. 4, 2024
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2023 marks ‘hottest year on record’
The year 2023 was Korea's “hottest year on record,” according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday. South Korea’s average annual temperature was 13.7 degrees Celsius, the highest average annual temperature since 1973, when weather records were first collected by the administration, the KMA said. The average annual temperature last year was 0.3 degrees higher than the previous record of 13.4 C in 2015. According to the KMA’s data, between January to Nove
Social AffairsJan. 3, 2024
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Prosecution launches special team to investigate stabbing of Lee
Prosecutor General Lee One-seok on Tuesday ordered the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office to form a special investigative team to look swiftly into the stabbing of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader during his visit to Busan at the hands of an unidentified man. He also ordered prosecutors to team up with the police to investigate the case thoroughly, according to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. “The prosecutor general has asked that a special probe team be formed
Social AffairsJan. 2, 2024
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Wishes of hope, better times in the Year of the Blue Dragon
As 2024 begins, those born in the Year of the Dragon are celebrating the return of their zodiac sign after 12 years. The year 2024 is the Year of the Blue Dragon, known as the “gapjin” year in the 60-year sexagenary cycle, which is based on 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches. The Korea Herald interviewed five individuals born in the Year of the Dragon to hear their wishes before Lunar New Year on Feb. 10. Kim Hye-young, born in 1988, lives on Jeju Island. The new year is par
CultureJan. 1, 2024
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New Year's Eve celebrations roll across Asia, but wars cast a shadow on 2024
Revelers across Asia celebrated the countdown to midnight on New Year's Eve with fireworks and brightly lit signs — offering a hopeful start to 2024 for some, even as the globe's ongoing conflicts raised security concerns and led to muted or even canceled festivities. As the clock struck midnight in Australia, more than 1 million people — a number equivalent to one in five of the city’s residents — watched a 12-minute firework display focused on the Sydney Har
Foreign AffairsJan. 1, 2024
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Over 240,000 illegal sexual photos, videos deleted this year
Over 240,000 illegally produced and distributed sexual photos and videos were deleted in 2023 in South Korea, an anti-digital sex crime organization said Friday. A total of 243,855 items of such illegal content were deleted between January and Dec. 20, data compiled by the Digital Sex Crime Victims Support Center, an organization closely affiliated with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, showed. The figure is up 30,855 from about 213,000 last year, highlighting a troubling potential tre
Social AffairsDec. 29, 2023
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A look back at 2023
The year 2023 saw very few ups and an overbearing number of downs, with war, climate threats and social and economic woes posing existential questions. The Korea Herald runs the top 10 news stories of the past year for Korea and the world, with hopes that humanity will prevail to overcome the challenges we continue to face in the new year. [Top 10 News in Korea] Teachers' deaths ignite outrage A series of apparent suicides among teachers since July sparked outrage, exposing the grim reali
NewsmakerDec. 28, 2023
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[Newsmaker] Estranged Lee Jun-seok to launch new party
The estranged ex-leader of the ruling party, Lee Jun-seok, said Wednesday he would launch a new political party of his own, as the new interim party leader made no moves to convince him to stay. "I have decided to leave the People Power Party, leaving all my political assets tied to it behind," the 38-year-old politician announced in a press conference held in the afternoon at a restaurant in Nowon-gu, northeastern Seoul. Lee spent his childhood in Nowon-gu and sought to represent the
PoliticsDec. 27, 2023
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Ministry inspected 2% of 2,600+ sexual abuse cases in public sectors
Over 2,600 cases of sexual violence and harassment were reported in public organizations nationwide over the past two years, with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family responding to just over 50 cases for on-site inspection, the ministry's data showed Tuesday. Some 18,000 government offices, institutions and schools recorded 2,620 cases of sexual abuse from July 2021 until June this year, according to data provided by the ministry to Rep. Yangyi Won-young of the main opposition Democ
Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023
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Israel bombs Gaza on Christmas
Palestinians said they felt "no joy" this Christmas as Israel bombed the besieged Palestinian territory on Monday, with no end in sight to the war that Hamas says has claimed more than 20,000 lives. Festivities were effectively scrapped in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, with few worshippers or tourists on the usually packed streets. In the Gaza Strip, the Hamas militant group reported 50 strikes in central areas early on Monday, inc
NewsmakerDec. 25, 2023