With a cold snap catching the country off its guard, South Korean students are protesting school policies banning long, padded jackets and coats. A crowd of students in front of one high school in the Yeongdeungpo district of Seoul appeared to be donning the same monotonously colored uniforms Tuesday morning. None of the students were wearing the popular puffy jackets, despite the cold. One 18-year-old student said his school had started putting restrictions on wearing outerwear on top of the st

Two men were briefly detained for their alleged involvement in a series of fatal hit-and-run accidents, police said Tuesday. The 27-year-old and 25-year-old suspects, surnamed Suh and Park respectively, were booked without detention on charges of leaving the scene of a multiple-vehicle accident, according to Gyeonggi Icheon Police Station. Suh is accused of hitting a 43-year-old victim, who had passed out on the road toward Majang-myeon, with his Tivoli at 1:30 a.m. Saturday. Suh reportedly retu

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has begun to take steps to reduce overtime work in the public sector, mandating that all computers be shut down after 8 p.m. starting Friday. The latest measure comes after the growing number of criticism from Koreans, who lack a decent work-life balance. The city government ordered all computers at the Seoul City Hall building and its Seosomun annex be powered down at 8 p.m. Friday. (Yonhap)The automatic shut-down of computers will be implemented at 7:30 p.m. e

BBC’s Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker expressed her disappointment after learning that some Korean media outlets had misinterpreted her article published on March 10 by insinuating that she had called President Moon Jae-in a communist.Bicker requested via Twitter on Sunday that the Korean press “translate my articles fairly.” (Laura Bicker’s Twitter)Some conservative media outlets here had portrayed Bicker’s article as supporting their view of President Moon as a malevolent communist.But the ar

A college professor is under criminal scrutiny for physical assault of his students in North Gyeongsang Province, according to the local police station in the area, Monday.The first victim alleged that the professor physically assaulted him in late December 2017, kicking the victim in the shins about 10 times. The victim was hospitalized for two weeks. Not too long after the first victim was allegedly assaulted, the professor reportedly assaulted another student. Three additional students also s

A man, 58, received on Monday a reduced sentence for allegedly abusing a neighbor’s pet dog by inserting his finger in the dog’s private parts, in an appellate court. The Seoul High Court has ordered man in his 50s to pay a fine of 2 million won ($1,860). He had initially been sentenced to treatment for alcoholism and four months in prison, but appealed the court’s verdict. The man is accused of causing physical harm to the dog’s vagina after it reportedly scratched his nose with its front paw l

The Daejeon High Prosecutors’ Office on Friday demanded life imprisonment for a doctor accused of murdering his wife by injecting her with drugs, in an appellate court. This is the second time prosecutors have sought a life sentence for the doctor. He had received a 35-year jail term during the first trial, but appealed the court’s verdict. The doctor, 45, is accused of having slipped his wife a sleeping pill and then injecting her with illicit substances without her knowledge, thereby killing h

The Jeju District Court sentenced Thursday a 98-year-old man to a four-year jail term for the attempted murder of his wife.The man, who lived with his 87-year-old wife in Jeju, allegedly beat her multiple times last year on July 22, after she disagreed with his speaking ill of their children. Following the dispute, the victim decided to move in with her eldest son.  (Yonhap)She reportedly went back to the house where her husband lived to pick up her belongings on Sept. 18 last year. She told her

Speculations that a version of the lewd text messages exchanged between the late actor Jo Min-ki and an alleged victim may have been fabricated are sending shockwaves through the online community. Many online commenters have pointed out the possibility that the person who shared the text messages via a Facebook page modified parts of the alleged victim’s words in order to gain more followers on Facebook. The actual alleged victim did not officially report the text messages that went viral on Fac

Following a series of deaths by apparent suicide in a single family, police officers found the victims’ husband and father wondering aimlessly in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul on Thursday. They discovered the man around 2 a.m. Thursday. According to the local police station, the man appeared to be in shock upon realizing his wife and two children had taken their lives.It is said the man was in no condition to carry out a conversation due to the trauma. He was transported to the hospital immediately for ev

With the #MeToo movement spreading across the nation, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Tuesday launched a probe into allegations that a middle school teacher sexually harassed students. Officials at the Office of Education received reports of sexual misconduct allegedly committed by the teacher through posts from a “#School-Me Too” Facebook account, where students and parents openly share personal experiences of sexual misconduct. The teacher is accused of sexually harassing a victi

Two men in their 30s and a woman in her 20s were found dead Tuesday in a holiday home in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. A police station in the region alleges that the victims died of gas poisoning and suspect the victims killed themselves. The victims’ bodies were found on the second floor of the pension.  This photo is not related to the article. (Yonhap)The owner of the pension had called the police after making several attempts to open the entrance door, which did not budge.Police officers dis

The Korea Post designated Monday 15 post offices in areas with a high number of foreign residents, offering overseas money transfer options via MoneyGram.Officials of the national postal service have announced that so far Seoul’s Itaewon Post Office, Uijeongbu Post Office in Gyeonggi Province and 13 other places will operate as “special MoneyGram post offices” to meet the high demand of money transfers in those specific areas. MoneyGram lets customers send money for cash pick-u

A woman in her 70s died after being attacked by one of the animals at her dog farm in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday. Police said the victim’s son was at home eating lunch when he heard his mother scream for help. He immediately went outside and saw that Lee was suffering from pain after being bitten on the chest and hands by one of the dogs she was feeding.The dog was a tosa, a rare breed of Japanese origin. It was originally bred in tosa, or present-day kochi, as a fighting dog. (Yo

South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has partnered with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation to present Paralympic athletes with traditional winter wearable goods, specifically “bolkki.” Bolkki is made through the process of folding a piece of leather filled with fur or cotton. Its design provides warm cover over the head, ears and cheeks. The wearable product has been utilized by Koreans during the cold winter season since the Joseon era (1392-1910).  (Korea Craft and Design F

A 43-year-old mother and her 4-year-old daughter fell to their death at 2:42 p.m. Sunday from the 30th floor of their apartment block in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. A neighbor, who witnessed the fall, immediately called the police. Police officers found them on the apartment‘s flowerbed upon arrival. This photo is not related to the article. (Yonhap)According to police findings, the mother had been undergoing a divorce lawsuit. Police said they will talk to witnesses to figure out the exact route

The Jeonnam Yeosu Coast Guard on Monday arrested six Vietnamese men on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering another Vietnamese citizen over an unpaid gambling debt. Maritime police officers said the 31-year-old victim was beaten to death after being kidnapped and taken to Balpo Beach, South Jeolla Province, at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 24. (Yonhap)The victim had borrowed 17 million won ($16,000) from one of the suspects to bet on sports nearly a year ago, but fled to a fish farm in Goheung county three

With the Paralympics kicking off Friday, visitors to South Korea can participate in a number of activities related to the Paralympics in Seoul, the Korea Tourism Organization said Friday. Located near the tourist spot Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, the KTO’s Seoul Center consists of five floors. Each floor offers unique activities, ranging from donning Korean traditional costumes, or hanbok, to creating delicious Korean cuisine. Foreigners can also experience K-pop at the center. A photo booth featuri

With temperatures slowly rising, the number of Koreans in long, padded jackets is dwindling.Coming on March 21 this year, the official start of spring is a traditional time for cleaning. And younger Koreans are going digital by opting for mobile apps to find veteran cleaners. Victor Ching, CEO of Miso, noticed the potential of a mobile-based cleaning service here and launched a cleaning app of the same name in August 2015 with a dream to create an “Uber” in cleaning.  Victor Ching, CEO of Miso (

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach received an honorary doctorate degree in politics from Dankook University at its Jukjeon Campus’ Nanpa Concert Hall at 10 a.m. Friday. Dankook University’s head board of trustee Chang Choong-sik, President Jang Ho-sung, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Korean Sport and Olympic Committee President Lee Ki-heung and other officials attended the ceremony to congratulate Bach. IOC President Bach’s relentless efforts in supporting North Kor