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East Asia
Two Koreas begin clearing mines along DMZ
The two Koreas began removing landmines buried along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Monday, to fulfill a joint military agreement signed during the latest inter-Korean summit last month, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday. The move is in line with their bilateral agreement to…
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East Asia
Unemployment of college graduates hits record high
The unemployment rate for college graduates rose to a record high in the second quarter as companies and small businesses grew more reluctant to hire new workers amid a consumption slump and other unfavorable business conditions. Due to worsening job market conditions, the number of unemployed university graduates as of…
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East Asia
Gay rights and global culture
Is there really such a thing as a global culture? Consider gay rights. Last Thursday the Indian Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality. Last April a court in Trinidad and Tobago found colonial-era laws banning gay sex to be unconstitutional. And late last year, Australia became the umpteenth state to legalize same-sex…
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East Asia
Korea isolated in job recovery
Korea seems to be one of the very few countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) facing rising joblessness. Developed countries such as the United States, Japan and Germany, on the other hand, have reached virtually full employment. Korea’s unemployment rate stood at 4 percent in August,…
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East Asia
Indonesian teenager survives 49 days at sea
An Indonesian teenager who survived 49 days adrift at sea after the wooden fish trap he was employed to mind slipped its moorings says he ran out of food within a week and survived on fish and seawater he squeezed from his clothing. Aldi Novel Adilang told The Associated Press…
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East Asia
Euljiro provides window into Seoul’s industrial past
Euljiro industrial supply market, a sprawling web of sheet-roofed shelters nestled within high-rise buildings in downtown Seoul, has seen better days. “Business is bad. Export orders keep falling because other countries can now manufacture parts on their own,” Jeon Yong-sik, 67, a metal spinning craftsman with 50 years of…
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East Asia
Seoul Community Radio celebrates two years on air
Seoul Community Radio (SCR), an online radio station operating out of Itaewon dedicated to promoting underground electronic dance music in Korea, celebrates its second anniversary this month. “Any underground music scene needs a few key ingredients to really come together… you need good clubs, obviously, and DJs, but you also need…
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East Asia
Koreans opting for hotel stays over Chuseok
Jin Hyon-ho, a 41-year-old father of two daughters, is currently busy surfing the internet, looking for better hotel packages for the upcoming Chuseok holiday. “After visiting my parents and parents-in-law, I plan to have a one-night stay in a hotel with my family,” said Jin, who often stays in hotels…
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East Asia
Exhibition gives new views on Chuseok ritual table
With the time-honored Chuseok holiday around the corner, there are new suggestions to update the traditional table set for the ceremony to pay tribute to ancestors. Cultural foundation Arumjigi is holding a display of those ideas. The display has three parts: ritual culture, ritual table and ritual cutlery. Korean families set…
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East Asia
Man fined W6 million over women’s toilet spycam
A man in his 20s was fined 6 million won ($5,360) for secretly videotaping inside women’s toilets in North Chungcheong Province in May. The Cheongju Provincial Court made the ruling on Wednesday, finding the man, 21, guilty of violating the Sexual Violence Act. The court also ordered the accused to…
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