South Korea: 2 killed, 70 injured in Daegu sauna fire
Two people died and more than 70 were injured in a fire at a sauna in Daegu, Tuesday morning. According to Daegu Fire and Safety Department, the fire started in a sauna on the fourth floor of a seven-story building at around 7 a.m. More than 50 fire trucks with 145 firefighters were mobilized to […]
South Korea: gov’t under fire for ‘China-style’ internet censorship
The Korean government is under massive criticism after blocking access to hundreds of porn and gambling sites by opening up user data packets ― a method some people believe opened the door to China-style internet censorship. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), an internet censorship body, said on Feb. 11 that it had blocked access […]
Seoul plans marathon at DMZ in Olympics with Pyongyang
Olympic runners and cyclists may be able to compete inside the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ), according to a working draft of Seoul’s bid to co-host the 2032 Olympics with Pyongyang. The Seoul Metropolitan Government says the DMZ ― a symbol of painful division and the ongoing military standoff between the two Koreas ― is […]
Touring DMZ with North Korean defector
“I’m a dead man in my hometown,” a North Korean defector, who uses the alias Jeong Sang-soo to protect his identity, said during a Korea Times interview in the middle of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tour. “I had to fake my own death so that my wife and children who are still in the […]
Rushing through 1970 Seoul’s music scene
Korea….what an adventure! In some respects it feels like yesterday, yet in reality it was a lifetime ago. I feel uniquely blessed to have spent the formative years of my childhood in the Land of the Morning Calm. I met life-long friends there, I met my wife Betty there and I got to be a […]
Moon: Trump-Kim summit to produce ‘specific, substantial’ outcomes
President Moon Jae-in expressed the hope Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un can build off their first meeting to make “more specific and substantial progress” at their second summit, which he believes could help advance inter-Korean relations. “Beyond bringing a lasting peace with no threat of war threat, the […]
Koreans well educated but underperforming
Rigid labor, education hinder human development South Korea has been locked in an “education paradox” with the country spending huge amounts on educating and training young people only to see their global competitiveness getting left behind year after year. Simply put, they are highly-educated but ill-equipped to bring value to the economy. In addition, the nation […]
South Korea: Shareholder activism unnerves chaebol
KCGI seeks to force Cho out of Hanjin management Shareholder activism has emerged as the centerpiece of the nation’s capital market. A growing number of shareholders at large Korean companies or chaebol are trying to have a bigger say in their management and to influence the owner families’ behavior by exercising their rights as partial owners. […]
South Korea: cellphone exports fall to 16-year low
Korea’s exports of mobile phones hit a 16-year low in 2018 after falling 23.2 percent year-on-year amid mounting competition from Chinese phone makers, data showed Sunday. Cellphones have been a major export item along with semiconductors. But the business has suffered a continued decline because of the slow global smartphone market and increased offshore production […]
Korea: Jeju massacre victims get their names cleared in court
The Jeju District Court overturned military court rulings that imprisoned Jeju Islanders in a bloody ideological conflict from 1948 to 1954, Thursday, clearing the names of the 18 surviving plaintiffs and recognizing them as wronged victims of the Jeju April 3 Uprising and Massacre. The ruling panel said the national security and anti-rebellion charges the […]
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