South Korea
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East Asia
S. Korea climbs again in press-freedom index
South Korea’s press freedom has risen for two years straight to rank 41st in the latest index, a press advocacy group said Thursday. The 2019 World Press Freedom Index compiled by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders showed that the country climbed two places from the previous year’s list due to…
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East Asia
Redrawing Korea’s Industrial Map
“It will take at least 100 years to rebuild this country,” Gen. Douglas MacArthur once said as he faced the war-ravaged cities of Korea while leading the United Nations forces during the Korean War. As one of the world’s poorest countries, post-war Korea’s per capita gross domestic product was less…
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East Asia
Unification minister says S. Korea will lead peninsula’s peace process
Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Wednesday that South Korea will play a leading role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and establishing a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Kim made the remark during a forum on inter-Korean relations in Seoul, saying there is still a “long way to…
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East Asia
Moon to hold summit with Turkmen president
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, on Wednesday to discuss ways to improve the countries’ bilateral ties. The summit will follow a welcome ceremony for Moon, who arrived here Tuesday on a three-day state visit. It will be held at the presidential palace, Oguzkhan,…
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East Asia
S. Koreans grieve in memory of victims of Sewol ferry sinking on its 5th anniv.
Yellow ribbons tied to a breakwater at the southwestern port of Paengmok wave in the wind, a symbol that commemorates those who died in a deadly ferry sinking in 2014. Their color has somewhat faded with the passage of time, but the port still stands as a pilgrimage site for…
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East Asia
Free education
Success will depend on how to secure outlays The country can no longer delay providing free education for high school students. That is why the Moon Jae-in administration has decided to begin this program for seniors in the fall semester this year. The government and ruling party made the decision…
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East Asia
S. Korea: Constitutional Court rules against abortion ban after 66 years
The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the country’s strict abortion ban is unconstitutional, a landmark decision that signals major change in various aspects of society. The nine-justice panel made the ruling in a 7-2 vote, in response to a 2017 complaint filed by an obstetrician standing trial for performing multiple…
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East Asia
European scholars of Korean studies open conference in Rome to discuss Korean phenomena
European scholars of Korean studies opened their biennial conference in Rome, Italy, on Thursday to discuss the latest Korean political, social and cultural phenomena. The 29th conference of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE), hosted by the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies at Sapienza University of Rome, will…
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East Asia
Seoul to install fine dust signal lamps in public parks
The government of Seoul said Thursday it will install signal lights to display levels of fine dust air pollution at all riverside parks in the capital to caution citizens against health hazards. A total of 12 fine dust signal lamps will be installed at major entrances to all of the…
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East Asia
S. Korea: Moon notes need for extra budget to battle fine dust, natural disasters
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday highlighted the need for an extra budget to address growing issues of fine dust air pollution and public safety. Following a report from the finance minister, the president told the government to swiftly push for a supplementary budget so necessary funds can reach where they…
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