“저는 그 누구에게도 바람을 피우라고 설득하지 않습니다. 다만 바람을 피우고 싶어하는 사람에게 좀 더 은밀하게 바람을 피울수 있는 정거장을 제공해서 이혼의 가능성을 줄여줄 뿐입니다.”지난 10년간 전 세계 온라인 데이트 시장에서 가장 큰 논란거리를 만들어왔던 웹사이트 “애슐리 매디슨”이 드디어 한국에 상륙했다. 지난3월 18일을 기점으로 기혼 남녀 중 외도를 꿈꿔온 사람들은 애슐리 매디슨의 한국어 사이트에 접속하여 상대를 찾을 수 있게 된 것이다. 이미 전 세계 35개국에서 2천4백만명의 회원을 거느리며 작년 한 해에만 1억 2천5백만 달러의 매출을 올린 이 사이트의 창립자 노엘 비더만을 홍콩에서 만났다. 그는 한국에 가지 않은 이유로 솔직히 계란세례라도 맞을까 두려워서라고 했다. “내가 한국에도 서비스를 시작하겠다고 하자, 사람들이, ‘얻어맞기 딱 좋다’고 했습니다. 자연인 노엘 비더만으로는 언젠가 꼭 한국에 가고 싶지만, 아직은 아닌 것 같습니다”라고 했다. 이러한 반응이 과장은

유럽의 항공기 제조사 에어버스는 중장거리 노선을 타깃으로 제조 중인 차세대 A350의 성공을 위해 아시아 시장이 중요하다고 밝혔다. 올해 연말 카타르항공에 인도될 예정인 1호 A350은  에어버스의 숙명적 라이벌인 미국 보잉사의 보잉 777과 보잉 드림라이너 787와 경쟁하기 위해 에어버스가 사활을 걸고 개발 중인 차세대 중장거리용 항공기다. 에어버스는 400석 이상을 공급할 수 있는 장거리용 초대형 항공기 시장에서 `하늘을 나르는 호텔’로 불리는 A380의 선전으로 보잉의 747과의 경쟁에서 우위를 점하고 있지만, 한단계 아래인 중장거리 노선에서는 보잉이 앞서고 있어 A350의 성공이 중요하다. A350은 세가지 타입으로 개발 중이며 최대 350석을 공급할 수 있다. 에어버스의 A380 마케팅 담당 메니저인 클로드 데보퀸 씨는 `` 에어버스의 중장거리 모델이 성공하려면 타 지역에 비해 빠른 속도로 항공 트래픽이 성장하고 있는 아시아가 중요하다”라고 밝혔다. 그는 항공 트랙픽 성장세

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula amid ongoing diplomacy involving the U.S. that is seeking to revive the long-suspended six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.   Xi made the remarks at a meeting with a South Korean parliamentary delegation, led by Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the ruling Saenuri Party, at the Great Hall of the People.    "The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the basic stanc

South Korea and New Zealand wrapped up their fifth round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) on Friday after a five-day run, but failed to make tangible progress, the trade ministry said.During the negotiations held in Wellington, the two sides discussed all aspects of the free trade deal including market accessibility, but failed to bridge their gap on ways to protect some of South Korea's sensitive agricultural goods, the ministry said.   The two countries, however, have

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday announced early presidential elections and promised to bring opposition members into the government in a bid to defuse a deep crisis in which scores have been killed and hundreds injured. He gave no time frame, however, and it's unclear whether his belated concessions will be enough to hold off protesters who have occupied a piece of Kiev and government buildings around the country in a nationwide battle over the identity of their country.There was

Beijing on Friday blasted Tokyo for trying to re-examine a 20-year-old investigation that led to Japan's 1993 apology over its sexual enslavement of women during World War II, urging Tokyo to resolve the issue "in a responsible attitude."    China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the remarks a day after Japan's chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said his government is likely to review the accuracy of the investigation, a move widely viewed in South Korea as the first step

South Korea and the United States will meet again in April for negotiations on renewing a bilateral nuclear energy pact, the foreign ministry said Wednesday after the allies closed their two-day talks on the accord without progress.Seoul and Washington kicked off their ninth round of talks on the renewal of the accord, also known as the "123 agreement," on Tuesday in South Korea's central city of Daejeon, home to major nuclear research facilities. "The two sides agreed in the latest talks that t

The South Korean government said it plans to announce an expanded air defense zone on Sunday, amid a growing regional row following China's unilateral expansion of its own.    The Ministry of National Defense will declare the expanded air zone early Sunday at its headquarters, with the exact time of the release to be announced soon, ministry officials said.   Tension has been running high in East Asia since China unexpectedly announced on Nov. 23 an air defense identification zone above the East

A deal to boost global trade has been approved by the World Trade Organization's 159 member economies for the first time in nearly two decades, keeping alive the possibility that a broader agreement to create a level playing field for rich and poor countries can be reached in the future.    WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo shed tears during the summit's closing ceremony Saturday as he thanked host nation Indonesia and his wife.``For the first time in history, the WTO has finally delivered''

North Korea said Saturday it has deported an elderly U.S. tourist who was detained for more than a month, apparently ending the saga of Merrill Newman's return to the North six decades after he advised South Korean guerrillas still loathed by Pyongyang.North Korea made the decision because the 85-year-old Newman had apologized for his alleged crimes during the Korean War and because of his age and medical condition, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.U.S. Vice President

"김연아 선수에게  감사드립니다. 김연아 선수 덕분에 정말 즐겁게 지냈습니다. 소치올림픽에서도 꼭 좋은 결과를 받으시길 바랍니다."'골든 스핀 오브 자그레브'를 마무리하는 잔치 무대에서도 주인공은 단연 '피겨여왕' 김연아(23)였다.대회 일정이 모두 끝나고 갈라쇼가 이어진 8일(한국시간) 크로아티아  자그레브의 돔 스포르토바 빙상장.출연자 중 가장 마지막인 15번째로 등장한 김연아가 올 시즌 갈라프로그램인 '이매진' 맞춰 연기를 마무리하고 링크를 빠져나가자, 갑자기 장내에 한국어  메시지가 울렸다.대회 조직위원회가 한국어 통역을 통해 공식적으로 김연아를 향해 감사의  인사를 전한 것이다.조직위는 이것도 모자라 유일하게 김연아만 한 차례 다시 링크로 모시며 관객들에게 인사할 기회를 주는 등 10년 만에 찾아온 피겨 여왕을 극진히 대우했다.그 이유는 이날 경기장 분위기만 살펴봐도 알 수 있다.다른 경기가 열릴 때에는 3분의 1도 채우지 못하던 객석은 이날 갈라쇼가 열릴 때에는 어느새 가

South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na cruised to an overwhelming victory in her highly-anticipated season debut in Croatia on Saturday, despite committing an early mistake in her free skating program.Kim scored 131.12 points in Saturday's free skate for a totalof 204.49 points to capture the Golden Spin of Zagreb at Dom Sportova arena in the Croatian capital. On Friday, she earned 73.37 points in the short program, the highest short program score by anyone this season.The total score was the fift

2014년 브라질월드컵에 도전하는 한국 축구가 벨기에, 알제리, 러시아와 운명의 맞대결을 펼친다.한국은 7일 새벽 브라질의 코스타 두 사우이페에서 열린 국제축구연맹(FIFA) 브라질월드컵 조 추첨에서 유럽의 벨기에와 러시아, 아프리카의 알제리와 함께 조별리그의 가장 마지막 H조에 배정됐다.물론 각 대륙을 대표하는 국가들이 모인 월드컵에서 16강 진출은 어느 조에서나 어렵지만 브라질이나 스페인, 독일, 이탈리아 등 강력한 우승 후보를 피한 것만으로도 큰 행운이 따라준 조 편성이다.한국은 6월 18일 쿠이아바에서 러시아와 조별리그 1차전을 치른다. 이어 23일 포르투 알레그레에서 알제리와 2차전, 27일 상파울루에서 벨기에와 마지막 3차전을 치른다. 경기가 열리는 도시별로 이동거리가 멀지 않다는 것도 만족스러운 결과다.<관련 영문기사>S. Korea paired with Belgium, Algeria, Russia in 2014South Korea on Friday was paired

South Korea on Friday was paired with Belgium, Algeria and Russia in the group stage at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.At a draw held here in the Brazilian resort town, South Korea ended up in Group H with the two European qualifiers and one African representative.   South Korea, making its eighth consecutive World Cup appearance, is currently 54th in the FIFA rankings, the lowest among the four in the group.    Belgium is the highest-ranked nation in Group H at No. 11, followed by Russia at

South Korean technicians tasked with inspecting potential sites in North Korea for wireless tagging system to facilitate cross-border movements of people and materials to and from the joint factory park returned home, the Seoul government said Monday.The six-member team returned to the South across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two countries after spending the day checking prospective sites that can be used to set up the radio frequency identification tag (RFID) system.Seoul's

KB Financial Group made its bid Monday to buy two affiliates of Woori Finance Holdings Co., as the government moves a step closer to privatizing the state-run banking group, officials said.The second-largest South Korean banking firm submitted its bid to take over Woori F&I Co., the debt investment unit, and auto insurance arm Woori Financial Co., according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and bank officials familiar with the matter.Four other financial companies, including local broke

South Korea stunned Switzerland with a 2-1 victory in their football friendly match here on Friday, erasing an earlier deficit in the spirited second half.At Seoul World Cup Stadium, Bolton Wanderers winger Lee Chung-yong headed in the go-ahead goal in the 86th minute, as the 56th-ranked hosts upset the world No. 7.   South Korea's record under head coach Hong Myung-bo improved to three wins, three losses and three draws.It was the first clash between the two countries since Switzerland defeated

Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, at the end of his rare visit to North Korea late last month, encouraged the North to let its people "live free" andemulate Mongolia's model of transformation, saying, "No tyranny lasts forever," according to a transcript of Elbegdorj's speech on Friday.   Elbegdorj gave the speech at the Kim Il Sung University on Oct. 31 or before wrapping up his four-day visit to North Korea, the Mongolian leader's office said in the transcript. It marked the first vis

China will loosen its decades-old one-child policy by allowing two children for families with one parent who was an only child and will abolish a much-criticized labor camp system, its ruling Communist Party said Friday.The changes were part of a key policy document released by the official Xinhua News Agency following a four-day meeting of party leaders through Tuesday in Beijing. The document also seeks to map out China's economic policy for coming years.The labor camp _ or ``re-education thro

A special United Nations panel on North Korea's human rights abuses has been seeking to determine whether the communist country's massive violation constitutes crimes against humanity, a U.N. special rapporteur on the issue said Friday."We have a clear picture of what is happening there. It is the almost-complete denial of the human rights in the country," said Marzuki Darusman in a press conference held in downtown Seoul."The commission has been documenting a wide range of rights violations and