Deen Islum, a 34-year-old worker from Bangladesh, now expects his life here to improve, as South Korea’s minimum wage is set to increase by 16.4 percent next year. “I think the minimum wage hike would be good for me. When I asked my boss to raise the wage, the boss has refused it,” Islum told The Korea Herald. “The legal minimum wage hike will allow me to take home more money.”Islum said that he does a very “difficult” job at a stone processing factory, spending some 11 hours a day at work and t

South Korea's minimum wage for next year was set at 7,530 won ($6.64) per hour, up 16.4 percent from this year, officials said Saturday. The decision came after last-minute negotiations among representatives from labor and management before a deadline. This year's minimum wage, mainly used for part-time workers, was 6,470 won per hour, up 7 percent from a year ago. (Yonhap)The minimum wage level is the lowest possible pay a local worker is lawfully entitled to receive.A trilateral council of rep

Tens of thousands of people marched through central Seoul on Saturday to stand up for equality for sexual minorities in South Korea’s biggest pride parade, despite vocal opposition from anti-gay protesters.　Despite sporadic rain, 85,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their supporters gathered at Seoul Plaza, rally organizers said. It was the largest crowd that the pro-gay event, held as part of the Korea Queer Culture Festival, has attracted since the inaugural event in 2000.

A queer festival advocating equality for sexual minorities will open on July 14 in central Seoul, with a large-scale parade planned for July 15.Under the slogan of “There is not later, we change it now!” the 18th annual Queer Culture Festival, which consists of a pride parade, main party and film festival, will run from July 14-23. The opening event will take place at Seoul Plaza from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, with several bands to give musical performances onstage.On Saturday, a total o

The South Korean part of the annual youth network workshop organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre ended Friday, with a closing ceremony attended by some 80 students from Korea, China, Japan and ASEAN countries. 　The second part of the 2017 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop will continue in Malaysia from Saturday to Wednesday. 　Under the theme of “Promoting Clean and Green Environment through the Establishment of Environmentally Sustainable Cities,” the students took part in lectures, field trips a

The government’s announcement to implement a “blind” recruitment system for all public jobs to ensure fair competition in the hiring process drew mixed reactions from job seekers, triggering controversy over reverse discrimination.Under a plan unveiled Wednesday, all state-run organizations will be banned from asking job candidates to reveal their academic and family backgrounds, personal details and physical attributes in order to ensure a level playing field. (123rf)While some job seekers hail

An illegal migrant worker who was hailed as a hero for rescuing a stranger from a house fire now fears being kicked out of the country, the Sri Lankan man told The Korea Herald. Nimal Siri Vandara, 38, lost his job and source of income, which was a lifeline for his family back home, after rescuing a 90-year-old woman from a fire in Gunwi-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, in February. He suffered burns and smoke inhalation injuries, which require continued medical treatment. He will also have to le

First lady Kim Jung-sook visited the gravesite of Korean-German composer Isang Yun in Berlin on Wednesday, local time, in symbolic recognition of the musician who still remains controversial in South Korea for “pro-North Korean activities.” Kim paid her respects to Yun (1917-1995), who led a life as an internationally acclaimed musician in the European country and was never allowed to visit his home country, as he was convicted of espionage.  First lady Kim Jung-sook (center) pays silent tribute

The government on Wednesday introduced plans to implement a “blind” recruitment system in the public sector and expand it into private firms to ensure fair competition in the hiring process.　Starting this month, state-run agencies will be banned from asking job candidates to reveal personal details such as names of the schools they attended, birthplace, family relations and physical attributes in the job application process. Attaching photos to application forms will also be prohibited. 　“The hi

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday nominated an incumbent prosecutor as the country’s top prosecutor, completing the lineup to push for making the prosecution more transparent and politically neutral. Prosecutir-General nominee Moon Moo-il (Yonhap)Moon Moo-il, the incumbent head of the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office, has been designated for the prosecutor-general post, which has been left vacant for nearly two months, to lead the reform of the prosecution as well as stabilize the law enforcement b

Only 3 in 10 families with children under the age 14 have both parents working in South Korea, markedly lower than the average for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member economies, the government said in a report Monday. According to the report by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 29.4 percent of Korean families with children aged 14 or younger were dual-income households, far less than the OECD average of 58.5 percent. The largest number of Korean households with child

Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo  Abe's conservative party was set for a major defeat in the Tokyo assembly  election Sunday, exit polls showed, as he struggles with a series of setbacks  and scandals that have driven down his popularity at the national level.Former TV anchorwoman Yuriko Koike, who was elected the city's governor in  a landslide last year, was expected to seize a comfortable majority of the  127-seat Tokyo assembly, which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party previously  c

North Korea on Sunday condemned the South for what it called Seoul's "submission to the U.S.," as leaders of the two countries joined their voices last week in urging Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambition. Kim Jong-un (Yonhap)The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, published a commentary that assessed Seoul's senior officials as having "revealed their miserable appearance seized with sycophancy and submission to the U.S. occasioned by the chief executive's first junket to the U.S.," r

On the surface, the investigation was routine.Federal agents persuaded a judge to issue a warrant for a Microsoft email account they suspected was used for drug trafficking. But U.S.-based Microsoft kept the emails on a server in Ireland. Microsoft said that meant the emails were beyond the warrant's reach. A federal appeals court agreed. Late last month, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene.The case is among several legal clashes that Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft

A 10-day annual youth network workshop organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre kicks off Monday in Incheon to forge strong networks among Asian students in achieving a sustainable and clean environment in the region.　Under the theme of “Promoting Clean and Green Environment through the Establishment of Environmentally Sustainable Cities,” students will participate in various lectures, field trips and cultural activities for the 2017 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop to be held in Korea from July 3-

A two-hour drive from Seoul and a long ascent up a steep mountain -- it is only a small price to pay to watch endangered Korean gorals roaming through the lush green grass. At the site stretching about 200,000 square meters located in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province, the Association of Korean Goral Conservation is trying to restore Korean gorals -- a goat-like animal native to Korea. There, the association is currently raising 26 gorals -- designated as a natural monument No. 217 and grade I endang

South Korea’s second-largest umbrella labor union is set to go on a general strike nationwide Friday, calling for a minimum wage raise and better conditions for irregular workers. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which encompasses some 734,000 workers across industries and regions, will hold rallies nationwide, with the main event in Seoul scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at Gwanghwamun Square. About 40,000 unionists are expected to join, the KCTU said.  (Yonhap)Some workers were already on

A ruling party lawmaker on Thursday proposed a bill that would ban the physical detention of foreign nationals under the age of 18 awaiting deportation. As of 2016, nearly 200 foreigners under 18 -- whose parents are mostly unregistered migrant workers -- are being held at detention facilities, which human rights activists describe as “prison-like.” Drafted by Rep. Keum Tae-sup of the Democratic Party of Korea, the bill intends to revise the Immigration Control Act to end such practices. Twelve

Eating a tasty meal with chana dal or doenjang washed down with a gin daisy could well foster a nice feeling of  hygge. Just hope you don't find any zyzzyva on your plate.If you need to look up any of those words, the unofficial custodian of the  English language now has the answers. (123rf)In its latest update, the Oxford English Dictionary identified more than  600 words, phrases and senses that have entered common parlance.They include "zyzzyva", a genus of tropical weevils native to South Am

The European Union slapped a record 2.42 billion-euro ($2.72 billion) fine on internet giant Google on Tuesday for taking advantage of its dominance in online searches to direct customers to its own online shopping business.European regulators gave the company based in Mountain View, California, 90 days to stop or face more fines of up to 5 percent of the average daily worldwide revenue of parent company Alphabet. Google says it is considering an appeal.The European Commission, which polices EU