• Message from North

    Koreas should be ready to meet each other half-way The New Year message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attracts our attention more for its style than substance, and for what’s been left unsaid rather than said. For the first time in 19 years, North Koreans watched their leader deliver…

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  • South Korea’s global role

    The election on Dec. 19 of Park Geun-hye as president of South Korea represents a milestone event in the remarkably rapid evolution of that country from wartime devastation to post-Cold War leadership. She is the first woman to be elected chief executive of her country, which alone represents significant forward…

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  • East Asia

    Love-stricken Rain hit over furlough

    Top star Rain was embroiled in controversy Wednesday for allegedly receiving preferential treatment during his ongoing military service, after his relationship with top actress Kim Tae-hee was revealed. Criticism of Rain, who is currently serving as an “entertainment soldier,” has been blowing up after online media Dispatch revealed the relationship,…

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  • East Asia

    Defense minister warns budget cut will backfire

    Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin expressed deep regret Wednesday that the National Assembly passed the New Year’s budget with nearly 500 billion cut from his ministry’s proposal. “It’s not right to slash the defense budget in order to use the financial resources for other purposes at this critical time when national…

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  • East Asia

    Seoul tells NK to act prudently

    Following a New Years overture by North Korea to improve cross-border relations, senior Seoul officials Wednesday urged Pyongyang to take a constructive path if it wants to alleviate tension. The remarks pointed at lingering concerns that the North could continue to act provocatively through further testing of nuclear weapons technology.…

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  • East Asia

    Major changes in regulations this year

    Increase of childcare subsidy All Korean households with children aged between three and five will be given 220,000 won ($203) per child every month, under the government’s plan to expand public welfare benefits and reduce the financial burden of childcare on families. The subsidy reflects concern about the rapid increase…

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  • East Asia

    Korea is no longer country for young men

    During the carefree days of the 1980s and early 1990s, Korean youngsters carried an unmistakable sense of entitlement, enjoying the luxury of passing on job offers for one with a bigger paycheck. The millions of young people toiling in the decimated job market of today are shocked into realization that…

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  • East Asia

    Firms step up guard against crisis

    The heads of Korea’s top four conglomerates are placing priority on exploring new markets, improving product quality and leading market trends this year in order to secure an edge in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. In a New Year message, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee urged the country’s largest business…

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  • East Asia

    Banking groups brace for ‘Ice Age’

    Financial CEOs to focus on risk management Chief executives of financial companies vowed Wednesday to tackle the challenges of low economic growth and declining interest rates. Describing the 2013 financial industry as an “Ice Age,” heads of the nation’s four largest financial groups ― Woori, KB, Hana and Shinhan ―…

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  • South East Asia

    [The AsiaN Video for Indonesian] 2 Bulan Penting Dalam Transisi Presiden Korea Selatan

    Halo, saya Meidyana Rayana. Berikut adalah berita dari dalam negeri Korea Selatan. Dalam politik Amerika, dikatakan bahwa keberhasilan pemerintahan baru sering tergantung pada apa yang dilakukan dalam 100 hari pertama. Sebaliknya, di Korea, 67 hari pertama dari pemilihan hingga pelantikan sebagai presiden dapat menentukan nasib suatu pemerintahan baru. Sejak pemilihan…

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