• World

    Happiness Is equality

    LONDON ― The king of Bhutan wants to make us all happier. Governments, he says, should aim to maximize their people’s Gross National Happiness rather than their Gross National Product. Does this new emphasis on happiness represent a shift or just a passing fad? It is easy to see why…

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  • Who should be next US president?

    Voters on Tuesday will go to the polls to decide which man ― Mitt Romney or Barack Obama ― will occupy the White House for the next four years. President Obama is seeking re-election amidst an economy that hasn’t fully perked up since the recession that was under way when…

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  • East Asia

    Clash of two languages

    A Japanese professor was introducing himself to his new class at a university in Seoul. “I’m professor Seki and I’m going to teach you…” All the Korean students burst into uncontrollable laughter. “Is anything wrong?” Seki asks. “Your name, sir,”replies came from the still chuckling audience. The newcomer to Seoul…

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  • Society

    FTA with Kiwis won’t hurt farmers

    The ambassador of New Zealand to Korea said a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with his country won’t hurt farmers here. “New Zealand is not a threat to Korean farmers,” Ambassador Patrick Rata told The Korea Times during an interview on Oct. 24. His comment came two days after the New…

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  • East Asia

    First lady may face special investigations

    A special probe into the first family over a “shady deal” for property for their retirement home is reaching first lady Kim Yoon-ok at a critical juncture ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election. According to officials of a team led by special prosecutor Lee Kwang-bum, a former judge, the…

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  • East Asia

    What’s on Lee’s mind

    Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest electronics products maker, is expected to rapidly map out a new business plan for the coming years now Chairman Lee Kun-hee has returned home from a month-long overseas tour. “The chairman conducted onsite inspections on businesses in Vietnam, China and Japan as well as meeting…

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  • Business

    Road to GMO?

    Biotech giants find opportunity in food insecurity The severe drought in the United States this year is set to take its toll on Korean households’ dining tables. The U.S. accounted for some 40 percent of global corn production in 2010 while the U.S., Argentina and Brazil together produced more than…

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  • South East Asia

    [The AsiaN Video for Indonesian] Camp Konsentrasi di Korea Utara

    Halo! Saya Meidyana Rayana dari Indonesia. Berikut adalah berita mengenai perdebatan reunifikasi Korea Utara dan Korea Selatan. Donald Kirk dalam artikel yang ditulisnya untuk Korea Times, mengkritik para professor dan pejabat yang baru-baru ini mengadakan konferens mengenai reunifikasi Korea Selatan dan Korea Utara. Kirk mempertanyakan mengapa para ahli dari Universitas…

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  • East Asia

    Lots of illicit money flows out of China

    An astonishing US$3.97 trillion in illicit funds left China between 2000 and 2011, according to a report released Friday by the Washington, DC-based Global Financial Integrity, a research and advocacy group. As much as 10 percent of China’s annual gross domestic product may be disappearing out of the country in…

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  • People

    New Zealander loses 120 kg through surgery

    Sciascia named honorary ambassador for medical tourism A morbidly obese New Zealander who had received bariatric surgery in Korea a year and a half ago came back to Seoul half her original size and looking ahead to lose more weight. Jasmin Sciascia, 27, who had been under spotlight since last…

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