Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Govt. asks doctors to remain by patients amid looming collective action
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday called for doctors to refrain from taking collective action amid their looming strike in protest of the government's decision to raise medical school enrollment seats. Doctors have warned of a massive strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision announced earlier this month to add 2,000 to the country's medical school freshmen quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats. "If d
Feb. 18, 2024
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South Korea, NASA launch air quality research across Asia
South Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research and NASA will conduct joint research in Korean territory to identify sources behind winter air pollution across Asia, the Ministry of Environment in South Korea announced Sunday. The joint research is scheduled to commence in South Korea on Monday and will extend to Malaysia and Thailand until Mar. 25. This year's air quality study, scheduled for February to March, coincides with a period of heightened air pollution levels comp
Feb. 18, 2024
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Govt. urges restraint as junior doctors plan joint action
The Korean government on Sunday issued a public plea urging doctors to abstain from joint action that could disrupt nationwide medical services. The statement comes as interns and residents prepare to stage a walkout this week in protest against the government’s decision to increase medical school enrollment quotas by over 60 percent. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo urged junior doctors to reconsider taking their gowns off, saying that citizens would have to bear the brunt of collective action
Feb. 18, 2024
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Ex-police officers, teachers selected as school violence investigators in Seoul
Nearly 190 school violence investigators consisting mainly of retired police officers and teachers have been selected to investigate fights and bullying cases that arise between students starting from the upcoming March semester, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday. School violence investigators were first introduced in December 2023 to lessen the burden of teachers who were previously responsible for handling and investigating fights between students while being exposed to co
Feb. 18, 2024
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Seoul touts economic potential of S. Korea-Cuba ties
The South Korean presidential office said Sunday that the establishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba would create new economic opportunities for Korean companies, though it conceded it would take time. “The establishment of diplomatic relations and the future opening of a permanent mission in each country will lay the groundwork for expanded economic cooperation in a gradual manner," the presidential office touted the anticipated impacts of forging of ties announced on Wednesday. The
Feb. 18, 2024
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Where does Korea stand on assisted death?
Lee Myung-shik, 63, is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of acute myelitis, a condition he developed after retiring from his public service job in 2019. Unable to perform basic bodily functions independently, he requires the constant use of a urinary catheter and the assistance of his daughter to manually remove stool from his rectum. “Usually, when a person’s lower body is paralyzed, they normally do not have any sensation from the affected parts, but it’s different in
Feb. 18, 2024
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Govt. orders hospitals to submit doctors' work logs amid looming protest
South Korea's health authorities recently ordered trainee doctors to submit their daily work logs amid their looming collective action in protest of the government's decision to raise medical school enrollment seats, officials said Sunday. Doctors have warned of a massive strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision announced earlier this month to add 2,000 to the country's medical school freshmen quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current
Feb. 18, 2024
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S. Korea's air passenger traffic up 57% in Jan.
South Korea's air passenger traffic shot up 57 percent on-year in January on the back of the strong demand for routes connecting to China, data showed Sunday. The number of international travelers to and from South Korea reached 7.28 million, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It represents around 91 percent of the figure tallied in January 2019, indicating international travel has nearly recovered to the pre-pandemic level. By destination,
Feb. 18, 2024
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Emergency reports for missing persons doubled in 2023
South Korea's 119 emergency service received a total of 53,935 reports last year requesting a search for a missing person, more than double the number of the previous year, the National Fire Agency revealed this week. Some 36 percent of those reports were requests to find people aged 65 or older, with the 119 dispatch service cooperating with local police to seek the missing person in 7,819 cases. This figure also marked a steep increase from 5,137 cases in 2021. "We think this is due
Feb. 17, 2024
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US envoy vows to work to prevent forced repatriation of NK defectors
The US special envoy for North Korean human rights has vowed to work with the international community to prevent the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors, South Korea's unification ministry said Saturday. Ambassador Julie Turner made the remarks Friday as she met with a group of young defectors who expressed concerns over the fate of North Korean defectors in China who could face harsh punishment in their home country. Turner also discussed with officials ways to cooperate with the
Feb. 17, 2024
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Ruling party warns of stern action against looming strike by doctors over quota hike
The ruling party warned Saturday of strong measures against a planned strike by doctors next week, stressing that an increase in the number of doctors is key to resolving a shortage and boosting medical services. Trainee doctors at major hospitals decided to resign early next week and doctors have warned of a large-scale strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year. "The country's
Feb. 17, 2024
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Government orders hospitals to reject mass leave of trainee doctors
The Health Ministry ordered 221 hospitals on Friday to ban mass leave of junior doctors and to maintain essential medical personnel, in response to a nationwide movement of collective action among doctors in protest of the government's recent decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota. The government's decision comes after trainee doctors from five major general hospitals in Seoul threatened to walk off the job at 6 a.m. on Tuesday next week, in an apparent show of protes
Feb. 16, 2024
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Free, unmanned monorail opens in Jung-gu, Seoul
A free, unmanned monorail has opened in Jung-gu, Seoul, officials said on Friday. The Jung-gu Office said the 100-meter long monorail connecting Shindang Hyundai Apartment to Daehyeonsan Reservoir Park began operating from Thursday. This is the first time in Seoul that the monorail has been introduced as a means of transportation. The monorail has three platforms in total: the starting point, the middle point and the ending point. It takes about 3 to 4 minutes from the departure point to the f
Feb. 16, 2024
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[From the Scene] ‘South Korea’s health care died on Feb. 6’
Unleashing pent-up anger against the government’s decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 from the current 3,058, hundreds of doctors from the Seoul Medical Association, along with medical students, interns and residents and their families, walked the picket line on Thursday to urge a reversal of the planned hike. The picket was part of massive protests staged by doctors’ groups nationwide beginning Tuesday, marking the first collective action by doctors gro
Feb. 16, 2024
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Govt. says nationwide doctors' strike unlikely despite growing grievances
A nationwide strike by doctors is unlikely to be realized, the health ministry said Thursday, though trainee doctors and medical school students have moved to take collective action against medical school enrollment quota hikes. Doctors have warned of a massive strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision announced last week to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats. "The poss
Feb. 15, 2024
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[Contribution] Looking back on 35 years of ties on the occasion of Serbia's National Day
By Nemanja Grbic, Serbian ambassador to Korea As the Embassy of Serbia in Seoul proudly celebrates its National Day together with the small Serbian community living here, as well as our Korean friends, it is an opportunity to once again recall the close and decadeslong friendly relations that so happily exist between our two countries and two peoples. Statehood Day or National Day is celebrated every Feb. 15 in Serbia to commemorate the outbreak of the First Serbian Uprising in 1804, which e
Feb. 15, 2024
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Ministry downplays risk of doctors’ strike despite growing calls for action
While medical circles have shown signs of momentum for collective action across the country, the Health Ministry on Thursday downplayed the possibility of them walking out of school campuses and jobs, saying it judges the likelihood of a full-scale joint action as “very low.” Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo said during Thursday’s press briefing that the ministry has seen no movements at this point, adding that reports that junior doctors have submitted t
Feb. 15, 2024
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1 in 6 elementary schools in Seoul to have under 40 students per grade: study
Amid a sharp decline in the school-age population due to a rapidly dropping birth rate, 1 out of 6 elementary schools in Seoul will have fewer than 40 students per grade level, government research suggested Thursday. The number of "small-scale schools" that have fewer than 240 students will increase by 101 in 2028, an almost 50 percent increase from this year with 69 schools, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's prediction on arrangements of schools from 2024
Feb. 15, 2024
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Farewell to Seoul's oldest elephant passing at age of 59
The oldest female elephant in South Korea passed away Tuesday at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at the age of 59, zoo officials said Thursday. The female elephant, named Sakura, had suffered from deteriorating health since November last year, primarily caused by ascites and subcutaneous edema. Born in February 1965 in Thailand, she was in her 90s in human years. Sakura spent her early years as a circus performer at a Japanese amusement park, Takarazuka Family Land, from when she was 7 m
Feb. 15, 2024
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1 out of 5 job-seekers in S. Korea aged 60 and above
With South Korea rapidly closing in on the "super-aged society" threshold, 20.1 percent of all job-seeking posts uploaded on the state-run job search website last year were by people aged 60 and above. According to the Ministry of Labor, a total of 4.77 million people sought to find new jobs through the state-run Worknet, out of which 959,602 were posted by senior citizens. The figure was higher than for any other age group except the 29 and below group, who uploaded 1.15 million posts
Feb. 15, 2024