The Korea Herald

2 out of 5 students want to quit school: survey

Sept 4, 2012

More than 40 percent of students in Korea feel like quitting school due to stress over school records and boredom with school life, a government survey showed Tuesday.In an online poll of 31,364 elementary, middle and high school students conducted in July, some 40.3 percent said they wished to leave school.As the main reason, 41.8 percent cited stress over their school records, followed by boredom with 22.1 percent, relationship with peers with 13.5 percent, and problems with teachers with 6.1
Diversity and sense of community in schools

Sept 4, 2012

Education in South Korea is attracting increasing attention worldwide. South Korean students’ excellent performance on the Program for International Students Assessment is often taken as an indicator of the achievement of South Korean education. President Barack Obama of the United States likes to point to Korea as an example that American schools should emulate in order to solve the pressing problems facing their educational system. The astonishing pace at which the Korean school system grew mi
Sungkyunkwan rises in business, high tech fields

Sept 4, 2012

Reforms, international programs drive success of Korea’s oldest schoolArchaic buildings and tranquil gardens greet visitors to Sungkyunkwan University to the side of the entrance. Founded in 1398, it was the place of study and repose for king’s scholars of Joseon Dynasty. Confucianism is still the guiding principle of the longest-running higher education institute in Korea nestled beside a royal court of the medieval dynasty in central Seoul.Surviving over 600 years of checkered history includi
Porn-addict father jailed for raping daughter

Sept 4, 2012

(123rf)A 38-year-old man addicted to pornography was given a hefty prison term for raping his daughter, the latest in a string of unnerving sex crimes in Korean society.The Busan District Court on Tuesday sentenced the father, whose identity was withheld, to seven years in prison for raping his 13-year-old daughter in August 2010 and again in February 2011.The court also ordered that his personal
Seoul City to continue to restrict large stores

Sept 3, 2012

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said Monday that the city government would continue to restrict the operation of so-called super-supermarkets and large retail stores run by conglomerates. He said on a radio program that the city would restart the compulsory holidays for SSMs and large retailers again from November, after revisions to related bills by each district office are finished. “The court rulings did not completely nullify the restriction on the operation of SSMs and large stores on the second
Online pedophile communities operate unchecked

Sept 3, 2012

The recent kidnapping and rape of a 7-year-old girl has highlighted the danger of online communities of possible pedophiles running unchecked on the Internet.On Aug. 30, a 23-year-old man kidnapped and raped a 7-year-old girl in Naju, Jeolla Province. During the police interrogation, the man revealed that he was in the habit of watching pornographic material involving children and that he developed a desire to engage in similar acts.There are more than 10 online communities of people who claim t
Elevator institute to raise fund for accident victims

Sept 3, 2012

The Korea Elevator Safety Institute has announced that it will raise funds for victims of elevator accidents after signing an agreement with the Community Chest of Korea.KESI, a state-run agency specializing in technical inspections concerning elevator safety, agreed last Thursday with the charity organization and other civic groups to help victims of elevator accidents.According to the agreement, KESI will open a special bank account and operate promotional activities to raise funds for the vic
Lee pledges to consider all possible measures to deter sex crimes

Sept 3, 2012

President Lee Myung-bak pledged Monday to make electronic anklets more effective, expand the personal information disclosure of sex offenders and consider all possible measures against rapists, including chemical castration, as public outrage runs high over the recent kidnapping and rape of a seven-year-old girl.Lee made the pledge during a biweekly radio address, calling last week's brutal rape,
Unification Church founder dies at 92

Sept 3, 2012

Controversial religious leader oversaw a vast business empireRev. Moon Sun-myung, the founder of the Unification Church and a business mogul, died shortly before 2 a.m. on Monday morning. He was 92.Moon died at a church-owned hospital in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. His wife, Han Hak-ja, and children were at his side, the church said.Rev. Moon Sun-myung (Yonhap News)Moon was admitted to the intens
Business travelers spend $332 a night in Seoul

Sept 2, 2012

How much does a night’s stay in Seoul cost globe-trotting business travelers? About 390,000 won ($332), according to data released Sunday by a lawmaker’s office here.The expenses covered a room for two at a five-star hotel ($175) and dining out ($157). This made Seoul the world’s 57th-most expensive city to visit among 100 world cities outside the U.S. and the 7th among Asian destinations. The data, compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization for Saenuri Party Rep. Cho Hae-jin, are based on a sur
Meth seizures rise 98 percent in 2011

Sept 2, 2012

The amount of methamphetamine seized by law enforcement authorities almost doubled in 2011, prosecutorial data showed Sunday, while seizures of other drugs also rose. The statistics from the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office showed that the overall number of drug offenses in Korea declined 5.7 percent to 9,174 last year, remaining below the 10,000 bar for a second consecutive year. That was low enough to put Korea among “drug-free countries” internationally. Yet the data revealed a noticeable a
Police revive stop and search to help fight violent crimes

Sept 2, 2012

The police have revived the practice of stopping and questioning suspicious individuals in the wake of a recent series of high-profile violent crimes.On Sunday, the National Police Agency sent out directives to police stations and district police agencies across the country to employ the method as part of efforts to prevent violent crimes such as acts of indiscriminate violence and sexual assault against minors. The method allows police officers to stop and question suspicious individuals when i
World’s largest tidal power plant threatens the old man and the sea

Sept 2, 2012

Sitting in his boat, Kim Seon-man stares into the fog. Slowly he scans the horizon, or where he knows the horizon would be. His boat glides through the water to where other fishermen wait. For Kim, 55, days like this may be numbered. A tidal power plant of world record-breaking size that is about to be built close to his hometown will likely force him to give up his livelihood ― fishing.The tidal plant, to be built at Incheon Bay on Korea’s western shores, will be equipped with 44 turbines able
Police to request arrest warrant against child rape suspect

Sept 1, 2012

NAJU, South Korea (Yonhap News) – Police said Saturday they will request an arrest warrant against a suspect in the latest child rape case that has shocked South Korea.The 23-year-old man, identified only by his surname Ko, was detained on Friday, a day after he allegedly abducted a sleeping 7-year-old girl from her home and brutally raped her in Naju, 350 kilometers south of Seoul.Ko has confesse
Korean victim of Japan’s sex slavery dies

Aug 31, 2012

Another Korean victim of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement died on Friday morning, bringing the total number of the survivors to 59, according to the Seoul government.The heath of the woman, whose name was withheld from the media, has been worsening since she suffered injuries to her waist after falling last year, people close to her said. The total number of the victims registered with the government since 2003 is 234. Five of them including this latest woman have passed away so far this year.