• Park pledges full support for rescue work

    President visits site to console family members President Park Geun-hye visited the site of the sunken ferry Sewol, Thursday, to console grieving families of the missing and encourage rescue workers. She met the family members in a gymnasium in Jindo, near the scene of the tragedy, to hear their tearful…

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  • Countries offer condolences

    Countries offered their condolences to the families affected by a ferry disaster off Korea’s southwestern coast and offered help with the ongoing search-and-rescue efforts. “We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those who lost their lives on board the South Korean ferry,” said Marie Harf, the U.S.…

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  • East Asia

    Korea praying for a miracle

    No more survivors found in race against time JINDO ― The nation was hoping against hope Thursday that more survivors from the sunken ferry Sewol would be found. Unfortunately, that collective prayer fell short of helping find anyone alive many hours after the ferry capsized near Jindo Island off the…

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  • Boosting youth hiring

    Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea usually wrestle with chronic labor shortages. It’s not strange, therefore, even if it’s hard to find young workers at small factories. By contrast, many young college graduates are out of work ― the employment rate among youths aged 15-29 remained at 39.7 percent…

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  • Court rules men’s sex toys not obscene material

    Men’s sex toys are not obscene material, a court said Wednesday, countering a previous top court ruling. The Cheongju District Court acquitted an adult products shop owner, 52, accused of displaying vagina-shaped masturbation devices in an appeals case. She was indicted for displaying 13 men’s sex toys in her shop.…

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  • Ferry may have hit submerged rock

    What caused the Sewol, a 6,852-ton car ferry, to sink? According to Coast Guard and news reports, survivors said that they heard a big “thumping” sound before the vessel started to list. Based on initial investigations, the authorities said that the Sewol might have hit a submerged rock. Some reports…

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  • ‘Wrong instructions increased death toll’

    Survivors of the ferry Sewol said an announcement from the captain asking passengers to stop moving worsened the situation. “I ran into my room, after I heard the announcement. But things didn’t seem right,” a female student who jumped into the water told a local TV station. She injured her…

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  • 290 missing; six dead

    Ferry boat Sewol capsizes in foggy morning near Jindo, 179 rescued Two hundred and ninety people remained unaccounted for and six were confirmed dead after a ferry apparently hit a submerged rock and capsized off the southwest coast Wednesday morning. The Korea Coast Guard said that 179 passengers were rescued…

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  • University student bodies lose reputation, popularity

    College student bodies are losing their previous reputation as the champions of students’ rights, suffering from a double whammy of internal problems and students’ indifference. Back in the 1970s and ’80s, when the Korean thirst for democracy was strong, university student councils stood at the forefront, paving the way. Young…

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  • Chaebol’s undue gains

    The entrenched business malpractice of chaebol owners and their family members receiving huge dividends through unlisted companies remains intact despite an avalanche of criticism. Rather, such “dividend parties’’ are becoming more conspicuous amid slack public scrutiny. Some of the unlisted companies made hefty dividend payouts while in the red, which…

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