Group tour organizers that attract students or elderly people to Seoul will receive financial assistance from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.The city government said Monday that it will provide up to 4 million won ($3,500) per group made up of more than 20 persons and up to 500,000 won ($440) for elderly groups. The support will be given for events such as welcoming dinners or cultural performances.“We expect more student or elderly groups to visit Korea. We will develop tour programs customi

Shinawatra highlights women’s power as driving force for developmentThai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra hoped her visit to one of the world’s largest women’s universities would boost exchanges between her country and South Korea in enhancing women’s rights and education, She also said that women were driving national development. “Women’s power will bring a sustainable development to a country’s economy,” Shinawatra said in a lecture to Ewha Womans University students on Monday. “I also hope

The first schools in Sejong City opened on Friday, as the new city under construction in South Chungcheong Province for numerous government ministries and agencies prepares for a population influx.The four schools are Chamsaem Kindergarten, Chamsaem Elementary School, Hansol Middle School and Hansol High School. They are equipped with state-of-art education facilities, according to the Education Ministry.Education ministry officials said the schools, though surrounded by apartment buildings unde

The foundation board of Sookmyung Women’s University has dismissed school president Han Young-sil, who has been in the conflict with the board over the latter’s alleged “laundering” of donation money. The decision was made at a hastily-called board meeting on Tuesday and took effect on Thursday, a local news outlet reported on Thursday. But the school administration called the board’s decision invalid because it violated the procedural rule which calls for the board to announce the agenda of its

Decision to benefit 1,000 employees; cost expected to reach 6.2 billion wonThe Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday they would make city staff on temporary contracts permanent hires as part of efforts to improve job security and secure access to employment benefits.A total of 1,054 staff on temporary contract who have worked for the past two years or longer will be granted permanent status in May, according to officials. Their contracts will have unlimited duration and include benefi

John Linton, director of Severance Hospital International Health Care Center, received Korean citizenship from the Justice Ministry Wednesday. Ministry officials said that citizenship was granted in recognition of his medical contributions here and about a hundred years of outstanding achievements by his ancestors in the country.Linton, 53, now holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Korea under the revised law, which allows foreigners to have dual nationalities even if they obtain Korean citizen

The Education Ministry said Tuesday they had notified a foundation chairman and five auditors at one of the nation’s prestigious women’s universities of their potential terminations for misappropriation of school donations. The Sookmyung Women’s University foundation board was accused of placing donations addressed to the school administration in its account, and then sending the money to the school’s management as though it were the foundation’s required financial contribution to the university

Herald Media signed a memorandum of understanding with Yonsei Lifelong Learning Center on Monday on future cooperation on joint efforts to nurture global-minded individuals Hong Sung-A, director of English education business division of Herald Media and Lee Jong-soo, director of YLLC, signed the MOU at YLLC in Seoul on Monday.The two institutions is expected to develop curricula for nurturing global talent, conduct further research on methods for advanced education and find areas where they can

Rhie Won-bok, a famous cartoonist and author, has been named a chair professor of Deoksung Women’s University, where he has taught visual design for 27 years, the school said Monday. Rhie’s tenure ended in February, but the school said they wanted Rhie to stay because of his contribution to the school, especially in promoting it globally through student and academic exchanges with schools overseas. “Professor Rhie has made a great contribution to the development of the university and its student

City hospitals have received the highest marks while road maintenance and sports facilities scored low in a citizen satisfaction survey for city services, city officials said Monday. According to the annual poll by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, city hospitals received the highest score of 86.1, thanks to staff kindness, clean facilities and convenience. Road and sports facility maintenance scored 57.5 and 56.6 points for lack of safety and accessibility, respetively. Most of the sports faci

State University of New York opened its Korea campus in Songdo, Incheon on Monday, which is the first branch campus of the U.S. university in Korea. “We are proud that after a long relationship with Korea we constructed this partnership,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher at a meeting with Education Minister Lee Ju-ho on Monday morning before the opening ceremony.“We have had a rough start in embarking on the project, but I look forward to a great outcome. More elite schools are also flocking t

Suh Nam-pyo, president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, will give a lecture on the internationalization of his school at royal Swedish academic events from Wednesday to Thursday, the school said Monday. Invited by King of Sweden Carl Gustaf, Suh is expected to attend two separate events ― a world university president forum and a royal professors’ symposium. At the forum, Suh, who is one of the key speakers, is expected to lecture on how KAIST has achieved international reco

U.S. and Korean students raised their understanding of the plight of North Korean refugees at a rare meeting with North Korean defector students in Seoul last week. Harvard University students on an eight-day exchange program with Ewha Womans University experienced one of the highlights of their itinerary last Thursday ― a dinner with defectors who attend universities here. “We were so fortunate to have the opportunity to meet defectors from North Korea. It was a really enjoyable dinner. We talk

Resident’s registration numbers banned for age approval; filtering software to be distributedThe government has strengthened measures to prevent teenagers from easy access to pornographic websites and adult content on mobile phones. The measures came at the national policy meeting presided over by the prime minister on Friday.Social security numbers will be disabled when they are used to get the age approval needed to view adult content on the Internet from August. Social security numbers have b

A fire broke out at the nation’s biggest thermal power plant in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, on Thursday night. The blaze was put out completely in Friday morning. No one was killed or injured.The blaze started on a power cable in the basement of Unit 1. A total of 402 fire fighters and 30 fire trucks rushed to the site. The unit has stopped generating electricity. Unit 2’s operation was also halted due to planned maintenance work. The Boryeong power plant has four units, which supply 8

Teachers sought professional advice most for students’ behavioral and mental problems, according to data from a telephone counseling service for teachers released on Friday. Behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder were the most frequently mentioned issues, accounting for 31 percent of inquiries. Mental problems such as depression were second with 24 percent, followed by suicide issues with 14 percent.The data is based on a total of 218 phone calls made by teachers to Seoul’s teach

Illegal immigrant workers face human rights violations during crackdown by immigration officers, a report said found.According to the report the Human Rights Commission of Korea released last week, about 30 percent of illegal immigrants said they experienced human rights violations when caught during raids. Over half of them said they weren’t informed about the future process and nor given interpretation assistance on the spot. The report is based on a survey conducted from July 20-29 in 2010. T

Two universities in South Korea have been listed on a global top 100 league based on academic reputation. Seoul National University was placed in the 51st to 60th group, the same spot as last year, while Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, which was listed in the 91st to 100th band last year, moved up to the next highest group ― 81st to 90th ― according to the World Reputation rankings released by the Times Higher Education Supplement on Thursday. “It has been a year of stability

Universities should recruit faculty and accept students regardless of their nationality to become globalized, a visiting senior official from Harvard University said. Jorge Dominguez, vice provost for international affairs of Harvard University, also said at the Korea Foundation forum in Seoul on Wednesday that universities should be financially open to talented students.“Korean universities hire their former students as faculty, but I think global higher education means they open their chances

51% says bullied verbally; 13% suffer physical bullying, a nationwide poll showsOver 12 percent of students have experienced school violence during the past year, and verbal assault and group bullying were the most frequent types, a nationwide survey showed.According to the interim findings from the survey on school violence by the Education Ministry on Wednesday, a total of 171,637 students said they have been victims of school violence during the past year.Of them, 51.2 percent said bullying i