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Society
Animal abusers spark uproar
Does an animal have rights or does it belong to an owner like property? Korea takes the latter position and acquitted a dog owner of animal abuse despite the abuse involving dragging the dog on the road behind his car. The incident, which Internet users call “Devil Equus,” took…
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Society
Speak out, Lady!
Gaga concert restricted by age, only in Korea That parental discretion is necessary for children’s choice of entertainment is accepted worldwide, with differences in the level of enforcement. On the Korean government’s controversial restriction of Lady Gaga’s upcoming Friday concert, however, entertainment industry insiders complain that non-local acts suffer from…
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School dropouts turn to crime
A spate of suicides stemming from violence among young classmates has spawned an equal amount of government measures, statistical studies and online debate. What it has ignored are the youngsters “outside of schools.” Those who drop out of schools due to family problems or maladjustment to school systems are more…
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Teacher assessment system
Mr. Jeong, one of my colleagues who teaches art, was exasperated, showing me a paper where his evaluation score by students was the lowest. The reason that he got so angry was due to the absurd evaluation. As an art teacher, he had always prepared all the materials necessary for…
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Society
Plagiarist!
Kookmin concludes IOC member’s thesis is piracy Kookmin University announced Friday that the ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker-elect and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Moon Dae-sung had committed plagiarism in his doctoral thesis submitted to the university in 2007, following a preliminary investigation. “The theme and purpose of Moon’s study was…
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Society
‘We are unkind hosts to foreigners’
Are Koreans ready to embrace multiculturalism? A survey shows that there is a long way to go before the Confucian-steeped country becomes a truly multicultural society. A government-sponsored survey showed that only a third of Koreans agreed to the coexistence of various races, religions and cultures. The latest case in…
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Society
Self-regulating indecency
Comedian belatedly in hot water for calling ‘comfort women’ whores Public opinion appears to be taking a decisive turn for decency over freedom of speech. A foul-mouthed popular podcaster alienated supporters of an opposition party whose ticket he ran on in the April 11 parliamentary elections, negatively affecting the outcome.…
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Society
Japanese woman eyes Mt. Qomolangma record
KATHMANDU, Nepal — A 73-year-old Japanese mountaineer, who became the oldest woman to scale Mt. Everest (also called Qomolangma) a decade ago, is attempting to smash her own record. According to Tuesday’s The Himalayan Times daily, Tamae Watanabe made history when she reached the world’s tallest peak on May 16,…
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Society
Inside a North Korean gulag
US journalist uncovers horrors of world’s toughest prison camp The international community has been concerned with the dire human rights conditions in North Korea. But the Communist state has been in adamant denial, as seen from an announcement from its state broadcaster. “There is no ‘human rights issue’ in this…
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Business
Why do coffee shops keep popping up?
Restaurants, and other self-run retail businesses are struggling to make ends meet as households tighten their purse strings to cope with slower income growth and a sluggish job market. But one retail sector has been immune to this prevailing trend. Riding high on Koreans’ increasing appetite for freshly-brewed, premium coffee,…
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