• East Asia

    Don’t be duped by tricky statistics

    We live in the information age; the Internet overflows with a limitless stream of data and statistics. Everyday newspapers and online media outlets spit out news stories based on statistics produced by various institutions. But it’s hard to know whether the data is true or false. They say: “Numbers don’t…

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  • East Asia

    Original paintings of Korean cartoons on exhibit

    Korean cartoons, better known as “manhwa,” began with the influence of the Western world but they have later grown with a unique style that emphasizes such Korean traditional aesthetic elements as margins and lines. The Korean cartoon industry is now enjoying a golden age with the surge in popularity of…

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  • East Asia

    Chinese company eyeing Korean hotel

    A Chinese company has submitted a letter of intent to the Incheon Development & Tourism Corp. (IDTC) to acquire the Harbor Park Hotel in the port city, IDTC officials said Tuesday. If successful, it would mean the first Chinese ownership of a large-size Korean hotel, they said. “The Chinese firm…

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  • East Asia

    A Growing Number Of Foreigners Visiting Pyongyang Use Cellphones With Its Loosening Of Some Restrictions

    A Chinese man, second left, asks about the newly started cellphone service through a man, left, translating for him at a Koryolink cellphone rental booth at Pyongyang Airport in Pyongyang in North Korea Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. North Korea is loosening some restrictions on foreign cellphones by allowing visitors to…

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  • East Asia

    British And U.S. Ambassadors To UN Vote On Security Council Resolution Condemning NK Rocket Launch

    British Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Lyall Grant, left, and American Ambassador Susan Rice vote on a Security Council resolution condemning North Korea’s rocket launch in December that sent a satellite into orbit, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 at United Nations headquarters. <AP Photo/Mary Altaffer> Li Baodong (C), the Chinese…

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  • tobechecked

    Hun Sen, Chinese Ambassador To Cambodia Attend Inauguration Ceremony Of New Container Terminal In Phnom Penh

    Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (R Front) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Pan Guangxue (L Front) start a boom button at the inauguration ceremony of China-financed new container terminal of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 22, 2013. Cambodia on Tuesday inaugurated a new container terminal…

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  • Kickbacks for doctors

    The government is stepping up its crackdown on the long-standing practice of offering and receiving kickbacks in the medical community. Yet it remains to be seen whether the illegal practice will be uprooted this time, given that it is endemic and deep-rooted. A joint investigation team of prosecutors, police and…

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  • East Asia

    Presidential transition team

    When President-elect Park Geun-hye announced her presidential transition team, each member surprised many people. Some were not so well-known or surprise picks that went against people’s expectations. What caught my eye was a critical article pointing out that four of the 24 members were “children of the Yushin regime,” those…

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  • East Asia

    Samsung comes of age

    You don’t have to hang around Samsung Electronics for long before the word “innovation” is mentioned. Samsung people love to use it; I am not sure you can even have a chinwag with them without the “i” word cropping up. Personally, I have never been convinced. Certainly, Samsung is a…

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  • 50% of Korean feel belonging to lower class

    About half of South Koreans perceive themselves as belonging to the lower income class, according to a recent report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA). A survey of 1,000 adults conducted by KIHASA showed 50.5 percent of respondents said they believed they earned below average. The…

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