Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday that it will roll out new refrigerators in the U.S. market this month with a flat screen that displays services from Twitter Inc., Google Inc. and the latest news from The Associated Press. The company will release two new side-by-side fridges with an 8-inch touchscreen that displays short-message updates from Twitter and Google as well as news and weather infor

CEO reveals push for partnership with multinational pharmaceutical firmsKorea’s stem cell research is slowly showing signs of a renaissance as many scientists strive to mend its reputation, marred by a case of scientific fraud six years ago.Although the 2005 incident involving Prof. Hwang Woo-suk, once hailed as a global cloning pioneer, led to a slump in human embryonic stem cell study here, othe

People are eating Chinese noodles on April 14, Black Day, in Korea. (Yonhap News)April 14 is Black Day in Korea. Singles get together and eat Chinese noodles called “jjjajangmyeon.” But Korea has a host of unique days which may be unfamiliar elsewhere. Every 14th day in a year marks a different, and usually romantic, occasion. Although the origins of many of them are unclear, it is assumed that th

South Korea's parliament subcommittee on Friday voted down the nation's free trade pact with the European Union, frustrating the ruling Grand National Party, which had hoped to get the bill through this month in order to ratify it by July as agreed upon by the two sides.  After a government briefing on protective measures for local industries, the six-member legislation subcommittee of the Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee put the trade bill to a standing vote, officials said.But th

Local portals Naver and Daum were considering filing a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission against Google and Apple for allowing only Google and a few other chosen portals on their smartphones, industry sources said on Tuesday. Currently, Google, Yahoo and Bing are the only search engines carried by smartphones powered by Android and Apple operating systems. Naver and Daum believe the limited

Cecilia Chacon swears in as new Bolivia's minister of defense at the government palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Chacon will be the first woman to be defense minister in Bolivia's history.  -- 볼리비아 사상 첫 여성 국방장관으로 임명된 41세 세실리아 차콘이 취임식에서 선서를 하고 있다. (AP-Yonhap News)<<최다클릭기사>>63빌딩 6배높이 - 275층 '왕국타워' 건설Babel tower of the 21st century? Saudi to build world's tallest building

(YouTube)When UAE’s 828 meter tall Burj Khalifa opened last year, the world was shocked at its tremendous size, while some had doubts about its safety. However, the world’s attention towards the tower may not last for long as an even larger one, which is exactly a mile in height, is to be built in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Royal family recently announced its bold plan to construct a 1.6km tall “King

The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office is investigating allegations that Gloworks chief executive Park Sung-hoon may have compromised the health of his firm with inappropriate corporate activities, police sources said on Monday.Park is best known as the chief executive of online music provider Bugsmusic, which was transformed into a company developing natural resources called Gloworks.Some of the c

The number of mobile phone users in North Korea has increased to 450,000, up 50 percent from the figure released late last year by an Egyptian company operating in the reclusive nation, South Korean officials said Tuesday.   In a speech to a group of businessmen in Seoul, Vice Unification Minister Um Jong-sik said the increase indicates more and more ordinary North Koreans, particularly youths, ar

BOK freezes key rate at 3 pct for AprilSouth Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate on Tuesday, a sign that it needs more time to assess the impact of a rate hike in March amid lingering economic uncertainties like the fallout from Japan's quake.   Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers froze the benchmark seven-day repo rate, dubbed the base rate, at 3 perce

 Indonesia's air force will purchase 16 T-50 Golden Eagle fighter jets next year from South Korea, Xinhua News reported on Sunday.    The report, which quoted Seputar Indonesia, a local broadcaster, said the move is part of the military's effort to modernize its force.    "There would be 16 jets, or one squadron," Chief of Indonesia's Air Force Staff Marshal Imam Sufaat told Seputar Indonesia, acc

   DAEJEON (Yonhap) -- Police said Sunday a university professor was found hanged at his apartment, the latest suicide involving students and faculty of South Korea's top science university.    The professor, identified only by his surname Park, was found by his wife on Sunday afternoon hanged in the kitchen of his apartment in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, police said.    The 54-y

With awareness of healthy eating greater than ever, people are on the search for food with fewer calories and less sugar.“Sugar Stacks" (http://www.sugarstacks.com/) is a website that lists the amount of sugar contained in popular foods.The website may help in preventing the unintentional consumption of too much sugar.By Kang Yoon-seung (koreacolin@gmail.com)Intern reporterEdited by John Power<한글요

The Korean Education Center, based in Sydney, said Friday that 5,758 students in Australia are learning Korean language as their school subject.Only 3,030 students were learning Korean in 2009 but in just two years the number increased by 90 percent. In New South Wales, where most Korean expats live, the number doubled during the same period. But it is apparently not due to more Korean expats stud

    RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) _ A gunman roamed the halls of an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and killed 12 children, lining them up against a wall and shooting them in the head at point-blank range as he shouted, ``I'm going to kill you all!''   It was the worst school shooting in Brazil _ and would have been deadlier if the gunman had not been shot in the legs by a police officer, wh

 North Korea could stage a terror attack in downtown areas in South Korea, Seoul's defense chief said Thursday, as South Korea keeps its troops vigilant against possible North Korean provocations.   Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told lawmakers that the North could plot a possible terrorist attack by taking advantage of lax defense preparedness in South Korea's downtown areas.   No terrorist attack

(MCT)“Bingsu,” a popular summer ice dessert in South Korea, is to be sold on the streets of Pyongyang.With North Korea’s biggest holiday coming up soon, the city plans to open 100 bingsu vendors. April 15 is the birth date of the late North Korean founder and leader Kim Il-sung. The holiday is referred to as “the Day of the Sun” in the North. The year 2012 marks his 100th birthday.South Korea’s Yo

(MCT)While people move from one company to another for many different reasons, a recent study showed that the biggest factor is salary.In a survey by Korea-based recruitment portal Saramin, about 41.5 percent of respondents who had changed jobs said salary was the main reason. About 2,057 people participated in the research, with 65.8 percent of respondents having experience of moving in their car

South Korea recaptured its status as the world's leading shipbuilding nation in terms of new orders in the first quarter by beating China by a wide margin, industry data showed Thursday.    According to data compiled by London-based market researcher Clarkson Research Services, South Korean shipbuilders won a combined 3.29 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders in the January-March pe

North Korea was to convene its rubber-stamp parliament Thursday amid keen interest on whether its ailing leader, Kim Jong-il, would promote his heir-apparent son to another top post.   The session comes amid lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula over Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South last year, which killed a total of 50 South Koreans, mostly soldiers.   It also comes as former U.S.