Most Popular
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Yoon calls for dialogue, trust from medical community
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NK leader guides firing drills involving super-large multiple rocket launchers
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Dyson founder visits Seoul for global debut of new hair dryer
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Leaders call for action against threats to democracy posed by AI
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Asiana Airlines wins data transfer certification in China
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Dispute heats up over dispatch of scandal-ridden envoy to Australia
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Dodgers beat S. Korea in final exhibition before MLB opener in Seoul
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Disgraced ex-K-pop star released after serving time for sex crimes
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Trump unlikely to unravel IRA: experts
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Yoon says medical licenses should not be used as tool against people
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Abortion in S. Korea: neither illegal nor legal
Kim, a 33-year-old woman living in Seoul, was taken by surprise when she found out she was pregnant late last year. With no intention of getting married or having a child of her own, she began searching for hospitals that would terminate the pregnancy for her. While searching online, Kim encountered numerous advertisements and blogs listing prices for abortions by vacuum aspiration. The prices varied according to the stage of pregnancy: 600,000 won ($450) before week 7 and 900,000 won before wee
March 7, 2024
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Products recalled overseas being sold in S. Korea: report
South Korea's consumer rights watchdog said Thursday that it found 473 faulty products which had been recalled from overseas markets were being sold here in 2023. The Korea Consumer Agency, affiliate of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, said it has pulled the faulty products from the distribution. Nearly a quarter of the products, 113, were food and beverages, 106 were electronic devices, 70 were products for children, while 61 were sports-related items. Some 69.9 percent of the recalls for
March 7, 2024
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Korea saw historically wet winter: weather agency
South Korea dealt with the wettest winter in about half a century, seeing a historic amount of 236.7 millimeters of rain drenching the nation in recent months, the weather agency said Thursday. From Dec. 1 through the end of February, up to 236.7 mm of rain was observed here, marking the highest amount of precipitation to be recorded in the cited period since 1973, when the Korea Meteorological Administration started collecting the related data. The latest precipitation level was 2.7 times highe
March 7, 2024
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S. Korea to inject W188b to fill in medical void amid doctors’ protest
The South Korean government announced Thursday that it would spend 188.2 billion won ($141 million) from the state health insurance fund for a month to address the medical care gap left by trainee doctors’ collective walkouts that started three weeks ago. The provision of the funds will start Monday, and the same amount will be spent in the following month if the medical crisis continues. Jun Byung-wang, a policy chief at the Health Ministry, said during Thursday’s briefing that the
March 7, 2024
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Myeong-dong dethroned as Korea's priciest retail destination: Meet new leader
Long recognized as South Korea's most expensive retail area, Myeong-dong in central Seoul has lost its crown. Recent surveys show that last year, this tourist-favored shopping district was surpassed by an unexpected contender in terms of store rent: Bukchang-dong. Bukchang-dong’s commercial strip is located between the Bank of Korea building, City Hall Station and Hoehyeon Station, and it topped the annual retail market analysis conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government with an
March 7, 2024
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Seoul to build, refurbish over 1,000 gardens by 2026
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will build up to 1,007 gardens across the city by 2026, starting with 150 new gardens by the first half of 2024, the city government said Thursday. The city government will spend 265.9 billion won ($199.8 million) to install gardens and green areas in various places around the city, specifically for groups such as children, older citizens and people with disabilities. The installation of the new gardens aims to lessen the stress and anxiety levels felt by Seoul
March 7, 2024
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Prison term sought for former day care center chief
South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday asked the court to hand down a one-year prison term to the former head of a state-run day care center who is accused of illegally acquiring the content of conversations among teachers at the center last year. The defendant, surnamed Kim, formerly head of the day care center in Sejong City, became the subject of nationwide criticism last year when the center's teachers resigned en mass after raising corruption allegations over textbooks and meals. This i
March 7, 2024
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Government begins research on legalizing nonmedical tattooists
The government has set in motion a plan to legalize tattooing by nonmedical practitioners. Currently, only medical professionals are authorized to administer tattoos in Korea. According to the Health Ministry on Thursday, it commissioned research earlier this month to develop a national qualification exam for tattoo practitioners. The result of that study, set to be published in November this year, will likely serve as a reference for formulating details of the licensing exam for tattooists and
March 7, 2024
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S. Korean adults' financial literacy higher than OECD average: survey
South Korean adults' financial literacy is higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average, a report showed Thursday. According to the survey by the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service, the financial literacy of South Koreans aged between 18 and 79 came to 67 points out of 100 in 2022, higher than the OECD's average of 63. South Korea's financial literacy level in 2022 was also higher than the 65 points earned in 2020 and ranked fifth
March 7, 2024
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Govt. begins to form committee to allocate additional med school seats to universities
The government has begun forming a committee responsible for allocating 2,000 additional medical school admission seats to universities, officials said Thursday, amid continuing protests from doctors against the plan. The move came as the government is forging ahead with the medical quota hike to address a chronic shortage of doctors in rural areas and essential but unpopular medical fields, despite a weekslong walkout by trainee doctors nationwide. Earlier this week, the government announced th
March 7, 2024
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Companies caught asking job applicants about body type, wealth and parents' job
South Korea's Labor Ministry said Wednesday that it found 281 cases of hiring process violations in October and November of last year, among the most common of which involved asking job applicants questions that had been deemed inappropriate. The ministry said it reviewed employments conducted via the state-run job search website Worknet in the two months by 627 business establishments, and found that 151 of the establishments committed violations of varying degrees in hiring employees. Acc
March 6, 2024
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Pressured to be 'best moms,' women say it's not just about money
With South Korea’s total fertility rate reaching as low as 0.72 in 2023, making it one of the lowest among the ranks of the 38-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the government is devising a list of attractive policies to persuade women to have babies -- that includes giving them hefty amounts of subsidies dubbed “childbirth benefits.” From the central government, potential mothers receive 1 million won ($751) to pay for their medical expenses. Once t
March 6, 2024
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Hot summer temperatures to persist due to El Nino impacts
As ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean gradually decrease, climate conditions will most likely switch to a neutral state between April and June, according to the World Meteorological Organization. El Nino is a natural phenomenon in which ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific remain 0.5 degrees Celsius higher than usual for more than five months. The El Nino phenomenon officially began between May and June 2023 and was recorded as one of the five strongest El N
March 6, 2024
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Misogyny making short hair unsafe
Prosecutors have sought a five-year sentence for a man in his 20s who was arrested for attacking a woman he perceived to be a feminist "because she had short hair." In November last year, the man kicked and punched a female convenience store worker, saying, "Since you have short hair, you must be a feminist. I'm a male chauvinist, and I think feminists should be punished," according to police. He also assaulted another customer, in his 50s, who tried to intervene. At t
March 6, 2024
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70% of globe's hooded cranes now in S. Korean bay: experts
Nearly 70 percent of the entire global population of hooded cranes, an endangered migratory bird species, is thought to be resting in a South Korean bay, local experts said Wednesday. A joint on-spot survey of Cheonsu Bay, in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, reported the spotting of about 14,000 cranes in the area -- 11,000 at the eastern part of Ganwol-ho, an artificial lake in the bay, and another 3,000 at the western part. The research was conducted by Seosan Birdland, an ecotourism center
March 6, 2024
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Professors sue health ministry over med school expansion plan
Faculty councils of 33 medical schools filed for an injunction Tuesday against the planned hike in medical school enrollment quotas, along with an administrative lawsuit against the Health Ministry, reports said the same day, citing education and health authorities. This comes after 40 medical schools nationwide have collectively requested an increase in the annual student quota by 3,401 in a government survey. The professors say the schools made their decisions without heeding their opinions. M
March 6, 2024
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Pharmaceutical sales rep claims to have run personal errands for doctors
A person claiming to be a sales representative of a local pharmaceutical company recently alleged in an online post that they had been pressured into running all sorts of personal errands by and for doctors. The person uploaded screenshots of the mobile messenger app Kakao Talk which show a 2018-2019 conversation thread between the pharmaceutical representative and a private practitioner who was the client of their drug company. In the conversation, the doctor is seen instructing the sales rep t
March 6, 2024
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Dating dealbreakers for Korean divorcees: survey
What made you decide to stop seeing someone after more than three dates? What were the dealbreakers? A new survey conducted by Korean matchmaking services Only You and Bienarae asked this question to divorced, single men and women and found clear differences between their answers. For men, the most significant turnoff, as chosen by 33.8 percent of respondents, was a woman who does not appear to prioritize him over others, while women found the use of vulgar language to be the most off-putting
March 6, 2024
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1st Korea Glocal Education Fair to kick off May 29
By Choi Jeong-yoon, Hwang Sung-chul In order to tackle the existing challenges of regional areas, the Ministry of Education, South Jeolla Province, Jeollanamdo and Gyeongsangbukdo Office of Education will host the first Korea Glocal Education Fair, hoping to present a new paradigm for sustainable, region-centered future education in the era of digital transformation. The event, which kicks off on May 29 and runs for five days at the Yeosu EXPO Center, aims to present a blueprint of "glocal
March 6, 2024
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Muscled firemen calendar raises W1b for burn victims over decade
A charity project to support survivors of fires who suffered burns by raising money from sales of calendars featuring muscular firefighters has raised more than 1 billion won ($750,000) over its 10-year span, Seoul’s fire department said Wednesday. The 10th edition of the “momjjang” or "great body" calendar, on sale from November to January, generated 96 million won in revenue and donations, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters. The
March 6, 2024