• ‘Japan massacred Koreans on Sakhalin’

    A recently released Soviet Union report suggests that a large-scale massacre of Koreans by Japanese soldiers took place on Sakhalin, off Russia’s east coast. It also sheds more light on the fate of victims of forcible conscription for wartime labor under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945). The National Archives of Korea…

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  • Society

    ‘Accidental death’ of activist may have been murder

    Jang Jun-ha, an independence activist, journalist, lawmaker and democracy activist who died in 1975, may have been murdered and not killed after falling while mountain climbing as claimed by the Park Chung-hee administration, according to a new examination of Jang’s remains. The examination was conducted on Aug. 1 when the…

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  • Business

    Luxury brands booming

    Louis Vuitton, Gucci stingy in social contribution Sales of foreign luxury brands in Korea tripled in the last five years thanks to local consumers’ constant fever for Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada, an online information provider said Wednesday. According to Chaebul.com, combined sales of top 10 foreign luxury brands reached…

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  • Business

    Foreigners rush to sell buildings

    An increasing number of foreign landlords of office buildings in Seoul are selling their properties amid a prolonged slowdown in the market. According to market sources, during the first half of the year no foreign investors signed contracts to buy office buildings or mega-sized commercial buildings with total floor areas…

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  • Business

    Casinos return to limelight

    Gov’t mulls easing rules to bolster economy Speaking of the positive sides to casinos has been a taboo subject in presidential meetings over the past four years. Though it was obvious that gambling business will help lure foreign investors and travelers, President Lee Myung-bak, a devoted Christian, had been opposed…

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  • Society

    ‘Philippines has much to learn from Korea’

    The Philippines can learn a lot from Korea in terms of economic development, said Jose Mariano, president of the University of Asia and the Pacific. “The situation of the Philippines and Korea was not so different a couple of decades ago,” said Mariano. “But in a decade or two, Korea…

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  • Society

    Wide awake on hazardous overdose of energy drinks

    At around 7:15 a.m. every school day, Kim Kyu-dong, a 17-year-old high school senior at Gyeonggi Province, drops by a convenience store to buy two tins of Hot 6, an energy drink with high amounts of caffeine and taurine. Kim drinks one of them right before the first class starts…

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  • East Asia

    Chinese Protest Against Japan Over Disputed Island

    A Chinese man holds a national flag during a protest outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Chinese hold a protest against Japan plans to nationalize disputed islands, which also claimed by Taiwan and China. The islands called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese have long…

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  • West Asia

    Syrian Air Strikes Continue To Pound Civilian Homes

    A Syrian man look for survivors under the rubble of destroyed houses after an air strike in the town of Azaz on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Syrians injured in an air strike that hit their homes evacuate a field hospital after a second air strike…

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  • President and foreign policy

    Korea needs leader with historical, diplomatic sense Contrary to popular expectations and previous instances, President Lee Myung-bak made only cursory remarks about Japan and other regional problems in his Liberation Day speech Wednesday. Instead, he mostly focused on the economy, especially on how Korea has joined the ranks of leading…

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