• Society

    Falling into smartphone pit

    In public areas it’s increasingly common to see people so engrossed in smartphones that they completely ignore people around them. They interact more with these treasured devices than with colleagues or lovers sitting right in front of them. It seems they simply can’t take their eyes off these portable electronic…

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  • Society

    Is Yu-na victim of own success?

    Heroine skater now under close scrutiny Is it the envy or something deeper that is triggering the Kim Yu-na sniping? Perhaps Kim is a victim of her own success. The Korean star figure skater was criticized for her beer commercial and accused of putting on a “show” when she did…

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  • Society

    Syria accuses armed groups of committing Hama massacre

    A Syrian boy walks next to the rubble of house , destroyed during a military operation by the Syrian pro-Assad army in April 2012 , in the town of Taftanaz, 15 km east of Idleb, Syria, Tuesday, June 5, 2012. <AP/NEWSis> DAMASCUS, June 7 (Xinhua) — Syria’s state TV said…

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  • Society

    Twitter simplifies its bird logo

    SAN FRANCISCO, June 6 (Xinhua) — Micro-blogging website Twitter on Wednesday announced it will simplify its logo, dropping the text and making the blue bird silhouette more simple and happy- looking. According to a video posted on Twitter’s blog, the new logo was created from three sets of overlapping circles.…

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  • Society

    KIPA, Yunnan College agree on ethnic projects

    The Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) and Chinese Yunnan Public Administration College (YPAC) agreed to increase academic research Monday, in a joint effort to find a solution to ethnic problems. KIPA, a flag think tank under the Prime Minister’s Office, and YPAC share the view on the need that…

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  • Society

    ‘Medical tourism is next big thing’

    Korea Tourism Organization (KTO)’s chief Lee Charm sees medical tourism as the next big thing for the nation’s tourism industry. “The prospect for medical tourism is fantastic. The area of medical service has unlimited growth potential.” Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “Korea’s medical services are…

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  • Business

    English divide deepens further

    The massive gulf between the rich and poor contributes to a dramatic disparity in English skills, government researchers said Monday. With the economy in decay, low-income earners are unable to pay for private language courses while the quality of public education just isn’t cutting it. This marginalizes them in society…

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  • Smuggler arrested for helping N. Korea launch cyber attack

    Police have arrested a smuggler for allegedly helping North Korean intelligence attempt cyber terrorism on government computer networks through online game software. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Sunday that the 39-year-old man, surnamed Cho, is under investigation for purchasing 10 versions of gambling software with malicious code from North…

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  • High TOEIC scorers not fluent in English

    Park Jai-sang, a 27-year-old college graduate in Seoul, is nicknamed a “TOEIC genius” among his peers because every time he takes the English proficiency test, he scores higher than 900. Considering his score, his level of proficiency should be excellent. When he applied to work at a major trading company,…

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  • Society

    Calls mount to tackle favoritism for athletes

    Baseball players from Kyungki and Paichai high schools compete during a national tournament held in Seoul. The recent controversy over academic privileges enjoyed by award winning athletes is touching off a debate about reform of their admission, attendance and graduation from top universities. The nation’s figure skating heroine Kim Yu-na…

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