s divided families. With an average age of 84, they were accompanied by 58 family members for physical and emotional support as they prepared to meet relatives last seen decades before. One 91-year-old made the 90-mile journey from his home north of Seoul by ambulance; 14 others were in wheelchairs. All were to spend the night in the Hanwha resort in the eastern port of Sokcho before heading to the...
Victims include nine university students attending orientation event at Manua Ocean Resort in Gyeongju At least 10 people were killed and more than 100 injured when an auditorium packed with students collapsed at a resort near the southern South Korean city of Gyeongju. More than 560 college students attending an orientation concert were believed to have been in the building when the roof caved in...
Trade minister says deal will phase out South Korea’s 40% tariff on beef and 75% of tariffs on South Korean cars will be axed Daniel Hurst ...
s foreign ministry said in a statement. Three South Koreans – two men and a woman – were killed along with the Egyptian driver, the ministry confirmed. Another 13 were injured. The tourists were all members of a church group from the central South Korean county of Jincheon who were on a 12-day trip through Turkey, Egypt and Israel. "We believe that terrorism can never be justified under any circumstances...
Valentine's Day is often maligned or grudgingly celebrated but some couples around the world have found unorthodox methods to mark the day ...
s stance on Japan's history, including its territorial claims. He said: "From an educational point of view, it is natural for a country to teach its children about integral parts of its own territory. We must make efforts to politely explain our position to both nations and seek their understanding." The announcement quickly drew protests from Seoul and Beijing. South Korea's foreign ministry...
Calls for NHK's Katsuto Momii to resign after remarks that risk fuelling tension with South Korea and China Justin McCurry ...
extremely inappropriate' after prompting anger in South Korea The new chairman of Japan's national broadcaster NHK has expressed regret for defending the country's use of wartime sex slaves during remarks in which he also suggested he would toe the government line on key diplomatic issues. Katsuto Momii faced calls to resign over the comments, made at the weekend during his first press conference as...
s new iPhones hit sales Samsung Electronics, under pressure to appease investors who have berated it for hoarding the spoils of rapid growth, has pledged to hand out even more profit after almost doubling its full-year dividend to a record $2bn (£1.2bn). The main rival of Apple has amassed $51bn in spare cash in recent years by selling as many as one of every three smartphones, but the amount of profit...
s 50-year rise to riches: The greying generation that is most responsible for that ascent is living in relative poverty. In a fast-paced nation famous for its high achievers and its big spending on private tutors and luxury goods, half of South Korea's elderly are poor, the highest rate in the industrialised world. Some live in crumbling hillside neighbourhoods that lack running water. Others wait...
s proposal to resume reunions of families separated by the Korean War. The reunion programme has not begun again since it was halted late in 2010, as tensions between the two countries remain high. The two countries had planned to resume the program last September before Pyongyang abruptly scuttled the plan. The dispute centres on North Korea's push to link the reunion's resumption to the restart of...
Wireless service will be capable of downloading full-length films in a second, science ministry says Justin McCurry ...
t saved enough and you're running short of time because your tenancy (yes, that the huge deposit was only key money) will be over in two years. Welcome to jeonse and the Korean housing market. And it is a strange market to British eyes. Homeownership is not popular. Unlike booming Hong Kong or Singapore, home prices fell about 8% last year. Rather than buy a depreciating asset, the middle classes look...
s latest demand is disingenuous as it insults the South even while Kim Jong-un is calling for improved ties South Korea has rejected a call from the reclusive North to halt "provocative" military drills with the United States, saying that as a democracy it does not launch pre-emptive strikes. North Korea has previously demanded that the South call off the annual drills, labelling them a prelude to...
Statement that manoeuvres with South Korea are a provocation has become an annual fixture in cross-border tension ...
Shutdown of operations in Australia will mean more cars being shipped from Asian country ...
s administration "How are you all doing nowadays?" The question has been bothering South Korea ever since early December when Ju Hyun-woo, an economics student at Korea University, put up a dazibao – a handwritten poster commonly used by opponents of the dictatorship in the 1980s, taking a cue from the propaganda messages that flourished in China under Chairman Mao. Appealing to his generation, thought...
s Super Junior boy band, found dead after reportedly killing his own parents The father and grandparents of a member of a South Korean boy band, Super Junior, have died in a suspected murder-suicide. The grandparents of Park Jeong-su, better known by his stage name Leeteuk, were discovered dead in bed while his father was found hanged at their Seoul home, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on its website...
s largest smartphone maker announces fourth-quarter profits down 6% on the year to £4.7bn Samsung Electronics earned less than even the most conservative analyst forecast in October-December after handing out an estimated $1bn (£610m) in bonuses to mark 20 years since its chairman set it on the road to becoming a global behemoth. The world's largest smartphone maker has splashed out on its employees...
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