• East Asia

    Menstrual leave ― an entitlement men reject

    Female workers are entitled to take one day off for menstrual pains every month but few dare to exercise that right in male-dominant workplaces here. The reality they face is harsh. They need to muster tremendous courage to tell their male bosses they will use sick leave for period cramps.…

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  • East Asia

    Ulala, producers of music, hope

    The boys originally came together because of their love of dance. But the boys, now men better known as ULALA Session, are highly regarded for their music, for providing a kaleidoscopic variety of on-stage performances and for their heart-moving story. After winning the “Superstar K3” last year, the group comprising…

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  • East Asia

    Restructuring in full swing

    POSCO sells non-core assets; SK decentralizes POSCO, SK and other large business groups here, which have seen their bottom lines deteriorate, have begun taking preemptive measures to better cope with worsening business conditions at home and abroad. Some conglomerates are rushing to dispose of non-core units to raise much-needed cash…

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  • East Asia

    Taiwan’s ‘peace initiative’

    While the world’s attention has been focused on the rivalry between China and Japan over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, Taiwan, which has the same territorial claims as China, has come up with what it calls a “peace initiative’’ involving all three parties. On Aug. 5, a month…

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  • Looming uncertainty

    Single candidacy must be completed soon With barely 50 days to go before the Dec. 19 presidential election, a mountain of uncertainty looms large. That’s largely because the main standard-bearer of the opposition camp has not been determined yet. Moon Jae-in, the candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party…

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  • East Asia

    NK first lady reemerges in public

    North Korea’s “first lady” Ri Sol-ju resurfaced in state media after a 50-day hiatus, Tuesday, amid speculation over her possible pregnancy. Ri and her husband North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday attended a concert commemorating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Kim Il-sung Military University, the North’s…

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  • East Asia

    Ban accents Korea’s ‘catalyst’ role

    UN chief considers trip to North Korea to help promote peace United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for Korea to act as a catalyst on the world stage on U.N. targets such as sustainable development, Tuesday. In a speech to the National Assembly plenary session, Ban, a former South Korean…

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  • East Asia

    Korea to share water management know-how with Asian countries

    Korea will provide its environmental technology on water management for developing nations across Asia to meet growing demand on the water industry and related markets, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry of Environment said on the last day of the two-day Asia Water Management Forum in Seoul, Tuesday that the…

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  • East Asia

    Time for Japan to stop distorting truth

    On Aug. 24, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda explained to the Japanese National Diet three key points why Dokdo was Japanese territory with the aim of maximizing the impact of Japanese propaganda, but instead, it exposed the limits of the logic within it. The first reason that Noda provided for…

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  • East Asia

    The Difference between the Korean and the Japanese Perspectives on “Dokdo”

    The arguments about Dokdo issue between the Japanese and the Korean people seem to be gradually increasing with the Senkaku(“Diaoyu” in Chinese) territorial issue. I think that there is the fundamental difference between the Japanese and the Korean Perspectives on Dokdo issue and to understand it is very important to…

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