• Please, be alive

    JINDO ― An odd sense of helplessness mixed with hope prevailed at Paengmok Port, Friday. The families of more than 200 students and other passengers in the sunken Sewol ferry appeared ready to hold on to any sign of hope on the third day after the vessel capsized. The bulbous…

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  • Five-year-old girl the only survivor of family

    Among the youngest survivors rescued from the ferry Sewol that sank off the southwestern coast was a 5-year-old girl, and her story touches many. Her mother, father and older brother are still missing. The girl, identified as Kwon, is being taken care of at Hankuk Hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla…

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  • Captain, gov’t under fire

    The captain of the ill-fated Sewol ferry is the focus of public outrage after it became known that he and six other crewmembers were among the first to be rescued when the vessel was sinking. Captain Lee Joon-seok, along with a chief engineer surnamed Sohn and other crews, was escaped…

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  • Hope pinned on divers

    Tragedies create heroes and heroines and the sinking of the ferry Sewol, off the country’s southwestern coast Wednesday en route to Jeju, is no exception. Among them, military and civilian divers could deserve the biggest praise as they work around the clock with the hope of saving the almost 300…

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  • 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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