German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to former Nazi concentration camp Dachau received mixed reactions, but in doing so, she became the first-ever incumbent chancellor to take such a step.Merkel was immediately slammed for combining the obvious potent symbolism of a German head of state describing the shame she feels about an ugly chapter in her country’s history ― indeed, in world history ― with a planned Oom-pah-pah beer tent and campaign rally moments later. “We speak about the duty to rem

South Korea’s infamously high suicide rate is taking a toll on the youth, with more than 100 of them taking their own lives every year.A total of 139 primary and secondary students committed suicide last year, according to education office data released by Rep. An Min-suk of the Democratic Party.High school students accounted for the greatest number of youth suicides, at 88 deaths.  The figure has, however, been on the decline since 2009 ― the number of student suicides stood at 150 in 2011 and

The government’s tax revision that was modified after drawing public backlash shows how desperate the Park Geun-hye administration is becoming to find funds for its welfare pledges.Spending 135 trillion won for equitable wealth distribution over the next four years would require a “big pot” of money that needs to be drawn from its reserve funds by maintaining a budget surplus, funds raised via government bonds, and the business community and the people by levying taxes.It simply ran out of optio

Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s latest film “Our Sunhi” has nabbed the filmmaker the Best Director award at this year’s Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. The award marks Hong’s first win at the annual film fest, which was held Aug. 7-17.“Our Sunhi” is Hong’s 15th film, starring actress Jeong Yoo-mi and actors Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Jae-young. It tells the story of a young film studies graduate student named Sun-hi, who is about to leave for the United States to continue her stud

By Shin Hyon-hee Despite the breakthrough in Gaeseong, the two Koreas faced a series of tough talks to sort out differences over the industrial park’s globalization, compensation for businesses and other thorny issues. At the core of the consultations will be an envisioned joint committee to run the factory zone based on consensus, designed to block the North from making unilateral decisions such as its April entry ban and pullout of workers. During the seventh meeting in Gaeseong on Wednesday,

A wave of positive reviews overseas for LG Electronics’ newest smartphone, the G2, is fanning the company’s hopes for better luck in the market this year. CNET called it a “speed demon,” noting that the “menus flew by with almost blinding swiftness.” Trusted Reviews claimed it was not just LG’s best phone so far, but is “shaping up to be one of the best phones ever made.”  Ubergizmo raved about the decision to install power control buttons on the back of the device, saying they have become “beli

Attention is being paid to whether President Park Geun-hye will replace her economic policymakers who devised a much-criticized tax code revision, after having already ordered a review of the proposal to contain the fallout. Speculation persists in political circles that Park could conduct a partial Cabinet reshuffle in the third quarter of the year to ease public anger.Some politicians started to call for the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok and senior pres

Former President Chun Doo-hwan’s brother-in-law, known as one of the key figures who helped him conceal illegally accumulated assets, was questioned by the prosecution on Monday. Lee Chang-seok is the first member of Chun’s family to be summoned by the prosecution looking for the former president’s massive slush funds.Summoning Lee indicates that the authorities are not only searching for concealed assets but also seeking ways to prosecute Chun and his family, sources say.The younger brother of

Lee Yong-nyeo, one of the few surviving victims of Japan’s military sex slavery and a leading activist who sought for truth, an apology and compensation, has died Sunday.The House of Sharing, a shelter for the “comfort women” in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, said Lee died at a hospital early Sunday morning. She was 87.At the age of 16, Lee was shipped from Busan to Yangon, Myanmar, where she was forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers during World War II.Since 1995, after moving to

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated that his patience with the operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant had worn out when it ordered his government to help with the clean up.Tokyo Electric Power Company announced last month that about 300 tons of radioactive groundwater had been flowing into the sea every day. It was criticized for its lack of openness and slowness to report the leaks or the risk of them happening. The announcement added to a growing consensus that TEPCO’s respo

Democratic Party Chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil is facing his biggest challenge since his appointment in May, squeezed between the Saenuri Party and hard-liners in his own ranks in an escalating political row over the National Intelligence Service. Since he took office in May, the main opposition changed its name and its constitution has taken a more moderate direction.The revised version includes clauses regarding national security and North Korean human rights, which have been thorny issues for the

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos announced on Monday he would buy the Washington Post for $250 million in a surprising move. For Bezos and the embattled U.S. newspaper, the question is whether the business genius has any tricks up his sleeve to revive the paper without drastically changing its journalistic status.Established in 1877, the influential newspaper has been owned by the Graham family for the last 80 years. The sales decision thus came as a shock, though not totally surprising given that

Korea may be the most costly country to parents, where most children rely partially or entirely on them for college tuition, living costs, rent and wedding expenses. The expression “deunggol breaker,” or spine breaker, is now a common nickname for children as heavy financial burdens tie down their parents.But Korean college students say it is not fair to blame kids for seeking economic support from their parents, as there is no way to afford college but to dive into heavy debt. It was not until

Expectations were high over the weekend for the resumption of stalled business projects in North Korea following the Hyundai Group chairwoman’s visit to the communist state. Hyun Jeong-eun visited the North for six hours on Saturday to hold a memorial service for her late husband and former Hyundai chairman Chung Mong-hun, who pioneered North Korean businesses in the early 2000s.After her brief visit, she received a personal letter from the North’s young leader Kim Jong-un who wished the company

World No. 1 Park In-bee of South Korea is aiming to make headlines with her Korean rivals as the British Open kicks off its four-day run at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday. Heavy favorite Park aims to make history at the course, regarded as the “home of golf,” where the sport was first played in the early 1400s, by adding a first British Open to her three major wins. The 25-year-old Seoul native captured titles at Kraft Nabisco, the LPGA Championship and U.S. Open. A win in the