South Korea has signed a series of memorandums of understanding with Ethiopia to strengthen cooperation in the health sector, health ministry officials here said Friday.The agreement was made in Addis Ababa as South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Ethiopian counterpart Hailemariam Desaleg watched their representatives sign four MOUs in the health care sector and one MOU in the social welfare sector, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. The MOUs call for, among other things, advancing

S.M. Entertainment, the country's largest talent agency, and a private institute will found an alternative international school for teenagers dreaming of becoming K-pop stars, the companies said Friday.S.M. signed a memorandum of understanding with Haneul Education Co. to open what is tentatively called the "K-pop international school" in Seoul's southern district of Gangnam, possibly early next year.Selected Korean and foreign K-pop star aspirants will learn major subjects taught in typical Kor

Diesel cars are being blamed as the main culprit of the chronic fine dust pollution in the country, but studies indicate that diesel construction equipment is also a big part of the problem, according to experts on Friday.A tally from the Ministry of Land, infrastructure and Transport showed South Korea had 450,482 registered construction equipment as of end-March, 67 percent of them forklifts and excavators. The majority, experts say, use diesel fuel for cost and efficiency reasons, releasing d

South Korea's government said Tuesday that it plans to sign an initial deal with Sri Lanka on the development of the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo and adjacent areas.Kang Ho-in, minister of land, infrastructure and transport, is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with his counterpart from Sri Lanka, Patali Champika Ranawaka, at a Seoul hotel later in the day, according to the ministry.The deal calls for, among other things, South Korea and Sri Lanka to primarily cooperate on projects to d

South Korea has designated a career diplomat with expertise on Asia as its new ambassador to Japan, a government source said Tuesday.Lee Joon-gyu, 62, is to replace Yoo Heung-soo, who offered to resign last month, according to the source who requested anonymity.Lee served as ambassador to India until last year. Lee Joon-gyu (Yonhap)His official inauguration will take some time since he has to receive so-called "agreement" from Tokyo, a diplomatic procedure that could take up to 40 days.Lee, who

South Korea and Mongolia will boost their cooperation in football after leaders from both sides agreed to mutual football development programs, the sport's national governing body said Friday.The Korea Football Association said that its chief Chung Mong-gyu had a meeting with Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Mongolian Football Federation head Ganbaatar Amgalanbaata at a Seoul hotel on Thursday night and discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries in football."Personall

Cymechs Inc., a producer of semiconductor robots, on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore’s Creative Robots to jointly develop artificial intelligence robots.Cymech CEO Bae Do-in said the two companies’ collaborative project, the revamped educational robot “Alpha,” will have more than 200 facial expressions, unlike its prototype that only transmitted information through a rectangular black-and-white display panel.  Cymech CEO Bae Do-in (Cymech Website)Bae stressed the new A

The famous cliff from 2014 hit-TV drama “My Love from the Star” has been temporarily closed to the public over safety concerns since April 22.  　According to the Incheon Metropolitan City, the cliff in Songdo was graded worrisome D and E in its latest safety examination. A scene from 'My Love from the Star' (SBS)Experts have reportedly warned that the cliff face was unstable and could result in deadly rock falls due to having been previously used as a quarry up to 1994. However, the city is know

Convenience store chain CU has launched rice specifically designed to go with cup noodle products, Tuesday.  Priced at 700 won (60 cents), this 125-gram rice is called “ra-mal-bap,” short for “ramenae-marameokgi joeun-bap” which literally translates to “rice that is good to put in ramen.”Ra-mal-bap (CU)It is common among Koreans to add rice to instant ramen for more filling portions. Unlike the past instant-cooked rice products, ra-mal-bap is a basic white rice shaped into a ball that is conveni

Cosmojin Tour, specializing in catering to foreign tourists, announced Wednesday that majority of its clients picked jjimjilbang as their most exotic experience in Korea. Jjimjilbang is a type of an indoor leisure complex that combines sauna, karaoke and restaurant.  Even the U.S. ambassador to Korea, Mark Lippert, tried jjimjilbang while meeting with university students.According to Cosmojin Tour, it surveyed 926 tourists who visited Korea in March and April for their most memorable experience.

South Korea plans to increase the number of personnel working at international organizations to 100 next year, the Ministry of Personnel Management said Sunday, amid the country's stepped-up efforts to bolster its diplomatic profile on the global stage.The ministry said that it would expand a government system that allows public servants to take a leave of absence to serve at international organizations for three years and extend the period by two years if necessary.Currently, 85 public servants

The city of Gyeongju will provide massive discounts for tourists during the four-day weekend that starts from Thursday. The iconic town in north Gyeongsang Province, is a popular travel destination, boasting well-preserved national treasures and historic sites.  (Korea Tourism Organization)On May 5, which is Children’s Day, Gyeongju’s Yangdong Folk Village, which dates back to the Joseon Dynasty, will offer free entry to children and a 15 percent discounted entry price for family members. Shilla

Following the unexpected rain Tuesday, powerful gusts are sweeping across Korea due to a sudden low pressure in the East Sea. The Korea Meteorological Administration issued nationwide strong wind alerts from 4 a.m. Wednesday to 21 cities in Korea.  (Yonhap)The average wind velocity reached maximum 30 meter-per-second in some areas of the country, felling utility poles.From North Gyeongsang Province, more than 20 cases of wind-damages were reported including farmland and roof destructions. A numb

A public official of the Seoul city government took his life in a motel room by intentional carbon monoxide poisoning, Monday. The police said the 39-year-old surnamed Park had worked as a 7th grade civil servant for two months, before breaking into tears in front of his mother complaining of his work being “too tough” and disappearing shortly after. His mother reported him as missing to the police, who tracked the location of Park’s cell phone and found his body at a motel located in Jegi-dong,

A U.S. airman rescued six people including three children from a burning building in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday, by rallying the public to hold up a blanket for the trapped occupants to jump onto. (Facebook capture)Master Sgt. Daniel Raimondo, upon seeing the burning building outside Osan Airbase, urged the people on the street to help hold a blanket while convincing the three mothers to throw their babies and then themselves from the fourth floor window.A video of the rescue was posted o

A ginseng variety of samgak kimbap was launched at 7-eleven convenience stores in Korea on Tuesday, in collaboration with Korea Ginseng Corporation. Samgak, or triangle, kimbap have long been a convenience store staple. Rice is formed into a triangle about the size of a baby‘s fist and wrapped in seaweed with any number of varying ingredients inside. Popular fillings are spicy bulgogi and tuna with mayonnaise.  (7-11 Korea)The newly launched product has rice cooked in Cheong Kwan Jang red ginsen

The stakeholders of an entertainment management agency admitted to taking part in celebrities’ overseas prostitution at a public hearing held on Wednesday. The Seoul central court said the three accused, each identified by their last names Lim, Yoon and Oh, had connected a female celebrity and a trainee to a Korean entertainment company that owed them investment money.  (123RF)The company’s CEO and chairman, surnamed Kang and Park, were under financial pressure to repay the trio for their invest

Seoul City has discovered 105 underground cavities after four months of high-tech ground inspection. According to the city government Wednesday, during its inspection of 48-kilometer section of arterial roads previously connected to cave-in accidents, 105 potential sinkholes were detected.  A sinkhole that opened up at an apartment complex in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, last year. (Yonhap)With an additional 246-kilometer section to be scanned this year, an estimated 195 more cavities are expected be

The possibility of an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 5.5 occurring on the Korean Peninsula in the next several years cannot be ruled out in the wake of Japan's latest quakes, a geologist here said, citing a pattern of seismic activity.But the presumed quake, even if realized, will cause no severe damage to South Korea as its buildings are designed to resist a maximum 6.5-magnitude earthquake, according to Ji Heon-cheol, head of the quake research center at the state-funded Korea Institute

The 49-year-old man who murdered a trekker on a well-beaten mountain path in Gwangju had a serious case of megalomania, according to the police on Tuesday. The killer, surnamed Kim, had wandered around a college campus and the adjacent Eodeungsan Mountain with a knife, before coming across a trekker and brutally murdering him at around 5 p.m. on Monday.The victim was a 63-year-old man surnamed Lee who had been resting on a rock with his mobile phone. Kim attempted to forcefully take the phone fr