Citizens make big money reporting violationsIn the waiting room of one internal medicine clinic in Seoul, an inconspicuous pair of investigators is conducting a sting. These sleuths do not have fedora hats or trench coats, but designer purses, blouses, and most importantly, a camcorder hidden out of sight.Kim, the veteran of the two, exhibits such nonchalant behavior in the clinic that it is hard

Voice of America, a U.S.-funded radio broadcaster, awarded Seoul’s weather agency a certificate of appreciation for its collaborative weather broadcasts into North Korea, according to officials on Wednesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration’s partnership, which started in 2010, offers residents of the hermit kingdom weather forecasts and other relevant information segments through the radio

Global enterprise executives in Korea held the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss plans for improvement of the foreign investment environment in the capital.Seoul city, the government and various chambers of commerce officials and heads of multinational corporations gathered in hopes of making Seoul a top global city.“Seoul’s competiveness has advanced greatly ove

Weather agency predicts two or three more heavy storms by SeptemberThe Korean Peninsula is expected to face a mega typhoon of disastrous proportions this summer, according to the state’s weather agency on Tuesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicts that two or three more typhoons could hit the two Koreas up till September, after analyzing computer simulations. The KMA found that the

The capital is hoping to ride the wave of PyeongChang’s successful 2018 Winter Olympics bid to attract more foreign tourists, officials said Sunday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand its sale of tourist packages to the U.S. and Middle East on top of the current eight Asian countries including China, Taiwan and Malaysia.The Seoul City tourism packages are made by domestic tour compan

Bribery, sex crimes and drunk driving made up the lion’s share of offenses for teachers receiving stiff disciplinary action, according to the education ministry on Sunday.The results are from a report by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which studied all 2,649 heavy penalty cases between 2007 and June 30 of last year. Heavy penalties include expulsion, dismissal and suspension. A

In an effort to combat the growing globalization of the illegal narcotics trade, the Supreme Prosecutors Office announced on Sunday its plans to strengthen joint investigations and construct an information system.Prosecutors will increase its efforts to stop foreign drugs from entering the country by beefing up monitoring at airports and harbors, while also conducting joint investigations with all

Authorities on Wednesday decided to lift the evacuation order on the high-rise office building and its adjacent shopping mall, despite being unable to discover the reason behind Tuesday’s tremors.　“Through emergency inspections for the past two days, we have not found any major issues with the structure of the building,” said Park Jong-yong, vice chief of the Gwangjin district office.“In order to

Thousands of people evacuated from a high-rise office building after tremors were felt throughout the building for unknown reasons in Seoul on Tuesday.According to the Gwangjin Fire Station, the 39-story Prime Center including TechnoMart, a major electronics retail outlet in Gwangjin-gu, shook violently for 10 minutes at around 10:10 a.m., prompting some 300 people to evacuate.At the time of the t

A U.S. photo album app maker released its latest app, showcasing more than 1,000 photos of North Korea, from all facets of life. Fotopedia North Korea, available free for the iPhone, iPod and iPad at the App Store, features photos by world renown photographer Eric Lafforgue from his visits into the isolated country.“I traveled to North Korea four times between 2008 and 2010, always under strict su

An airline carrier that operates flights to Mongolia has been creating “ghost” flights out of Korea to sell extra tickets, according to Seoul’s transportation ministry on Tuesday.Starting last month, Mongolian Airlines has been increasing the number of flights, promoting ticket sales. But because those flights were not authorized by Seoul, customers were forced onto alternate flights.According to

Walter SharpThe Seoul Metropolitan Government will name U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Walter Sharp as an honorary citizen for his contribution to the safety of the Korean Peninsula, officials said Monday.“Gen. Sharp has made many efforts to promote bilateral relations between the U.S. soldiers and surrounding citizens, like starting the Good Neighbor English Camp program for Korean high school

Foreigners expecting to reside in Korea for longer than three months will be required to register their biometrics upon entry, the Justice Ministry announced on Thursday.Starting Friday, foreigners planning to stay in Korea for 91 days or longer will have to register all 10 fingerprints and scans of their facial structures at their port of entry. The new biometrics collection system is part of a r

The latest strand of the Korean wave isn’t coming from the usual pop culture, but Chinese parents sending their children to learn Korean. Leading the boom is 10-year-old Liu Ming-feng who took home the gold from the Homtamin Cup Korean Chinese Children’s Broadcasting Culture Festival, in the category for narrating children’s stories in Korean. The seventh contest held by China Radio International

With typhoon Maeri fizzling out, sparing the Korean Peninsula from predicted damage, two more typhoons may hit here this season, according to the state’s weather agency on Monday.The Korea Meteorological Administration predicts that 23 typhoons will form this year, following the yearly average of 23.3 typhoons during the season, between June and December.Of those predicted, one or two typhoons are

A term synonymous with Hawaii much like ukulele, luau or humuhumunukunukuapua’a (the state fish), shaved ice is a must-have for anyone visiting from the mainland. Shave ice, as the locals call it, has its roots in Asian culture, as it was Japanese plantation workers who first started shaving ice with machetes and flavoring it with fruit juice. One of the near infinite flavor combinations available

Seoul City pumps 2,000 tons of tainted water from around U.S. military basesPollutants remain in drainage water from a central Seoul U.S. military base, despite the capital pumping nearly 2,000 tons of contaminated water since 2001, city officials said on Tuesday.The discovery of pollutants is increasing concerns about waste disposal at U.S. bases, already heightened by concerns of possible Agent

Confrontation between city, street vendors may escalateNormally a street that contains a harmonious balance of both tranquility and bustling excitement, Insa-dong can leave you with a sense of what Korea might have been.But with the recent crackdown on street vendors, many foreigners are left wondering why the streets look like a warzone and stores are without customers.After deciding to create a

U.S. says it has found no official records of orders given to remove materials yetA U.S. Army commander told South Korean officials on Thursday that there was no confirmation that chemicals were removed from Camp Carroll, contrary to earlier statements that herbicides were disposed offsite.Earlier in the month, Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, commander of the Eighth U.S. Army and head of the Joint Inves

Ministry to begin health survey of residents living near U.S. baseSouth Korean and U.S. officials agreed to use ground-penetrating radars, and underground water analysis within a southern U.S. army base to help verify whether a toxic defoliant was buried there nearly three decades ago, officials said Wednesday.The results of their meeting Wednesday were announced during a briefing at Camp Carroll