From grammar analyses and pattern drills to a communication-centric approach, English teaching methods have evolved over the past decades with researchers striving to find more effective ways to learn the language. These methods have been formulated as the pedagogical focus has shifted from offering as much English input as possible to learners, to encouraging them to speak and write the language, and interact with one another.Currently, English education in Korea focuses on fostering students’

More people in South Korea are moving online to file complaints in light of improvements to the nation’s online petition system, according to South Korean government data on Wednesday. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said the number of civil complaints filed online rose by more than 13 percent to 362 million cases, equaling about 55 percent of all civil complaints. Administrative agencies handled a total of about 657 million civil complaints last year, up 7.8 percent from 609

The nation's top court on Wednesday accepted the resignation of a senior judge for delivering a controversial ruling that valued a convicted former tycoon's prison labor at 500 million won ($467,726) a day.Chang Byong-woo, the chief of the Gwangju District Court in the southwestern city of Gwangju, offered to resign on Saturday, holding himself accountable for allowing Huh Jae-hoh, the former chairman of the now-defunct Daeju Group, to pay off his fines of 25.4 billion won through 50 days of man

A major German drug maker called off its plan to discontinue the supply of a hemophiliac drug to the South Korean market in response to the fierce protests from patients, health authorities said Tuesday. Bayer HealthCare Korea announced in February that it would stop providing Kogenate FS for Korean hemophiliac patients from July, citing its integration process of global manufacturers. Hemophiliac patients immediately launched several protests against the plan, leading the Ministry of Food and D

The prosecutors’ office could wrap up the probe into the spy agency’s alleged evidence fabrication as early as Thursday, and summon suspected spy Yoo Woo-seong in a separate case. According to reports, the prosecutors’ office may wrap up the evidence forgery investigation on Friday or Saturday having indicted a National Intelligence Service agent and a Korean-Chinese collaborator. The two suspects, both surnamed Kim, are accused of having played critical roles in obtaining the forged Chinese gov

There were 209 reported attempts of technology theft in the past five years, an overwhelming majority of them from small- and midsize companies, South Korea‘s spy agency said Tuesday.According to a center for protection of industrial secrets under the National Intelligence Service, attempted theft of trade secrets to foreign countries has grown to cover a wider range of sectors, with smaller companies falling prey because of weaker security awareness and lack of resources to invest in advanced s

The wife of former Daeju Group chairman Huh Jae-ho has pledged to pay the billions in fines for the disgraced tycoon, who has been pushed into tight corner over his hidden assets. The development came amid the prosecution’s enhanced probe into Huh, who was levied the remaining 22.4 billion won ($21.2 million) fine after deducting six days of short prison labor last month. Huh was initially sentenced to pay off his 25.4 billion won fine with 50 days of prison labor after he was found guilty of em

South Koreans who have attempted suicide in the past are 25 times more likely to eventually take their own lives, according to a report by the Welfare Ministry on Tuesday. Out of about 8,800 people who had been taken to the emergency room for suicide attempts between 2007 and 2011, almost 240 people eventually killed themselves by the end of 2012, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare data. The suicide rate for those who have previous attempts stood at 700 for every 10,000 persons per

  South Korea's third-strongest earthquake since 1978 shook the Taean area in the western part of the country on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage.   The magnitude 5.1 earthquake, centered about 100 km northwest of West Gyeongnyeolbi Archipelago off Taean, happened at around 4:48 a.m., according to the Daejeon Meteorological Office.    The temblor shook homes and other structures in Taean and Seosan, with its aftershocks felt even in Seoul, Incheon and its adjacent a

A National Intelligence Service agent and a collaborator were indicted Monday as a probe into allegations of evidence forgery neared its end. The NIS agent and the collaborator, both surnamed Kim, are accused of forging the document supposedly issued by the customs authorities in the Chinese city of Sanhe. The document is one of three allegedly forged pieces of evidence submitted by the prosecution to appeal Yoo Woo-seong’s acquittal in the ongoing espionage case. The spy agency official is also