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☆ She claimed she aborted her baby at nine months. In this country, there’s no law against that
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Lex Harvey | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Protesters hold placards reading 'Abolish punishment for abortion' as they protest South Korean abortion laws in Gwanghwamun plaza in Seoul on July 7, 2018. efired/iStockphoto/Getty ImagesBy not passing abortion laws, the National Assembly is “not doing its job,” said Cho Hee-kyoung, a law professor at Hongik University in Seoul. Changing attitudes to abortionDespite the country previously having highly restrictive abortion laws, abortion has not historically been the lightning rod in South Korea that it has been in the United States. If overpopulation had once prompted the government to push abortions, South Korea was now dealing with the opposite problem. It is impossible to know the true number of abortions that take place each year in South Korea because the procedure is unregulated.

Persons: haven’t, It’s, Ed Jones, “, ”, Cho Hee, ” Cho, Nayoung, Cho, Jung Yeon, Susanné Seong, “ They’ve, Charlie Neibergall, ” Nayoung, SeongJoon Cho, Yoon Suk, she’d Organizations: Seoul CNN, vlogger, Seoul National Police, South Korean, YouTube, CNN, Getty, National Assembly, Hongik University, country’s Ministry, Justice, Health and Welfare Ministry, Health, Ministry, Welfare Ministry, World Bank, South Korea’s Institute for Health, Social Affairs, Human Rights Watch, Korea, Pharmaceutical Affairs, Supreme, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, South, Bloomberg, Organization for Economic Cooperation, Development, HRW, Police Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korean, Gwanghwamun, AFP, South, efired, “, United States, Jusarang, Ames , Iowa, Canadian, Korea

☆ Want to train like a K-pop star in South Korea? A new visa will make it easier
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —South Korea will soon launch a new visa for foreign nationals who dream of training like a K-pop idol, in a bid to boost its tourism industry back to pre-pandemic levels. The “K-Culture Training Visa” will be open to foreigners who want to train in K-pop dancing, choreography and modeling, the finance ministry announced on Monday. K-pop is already the most-cited reason for visiting the country, according to the MCST, with particularly strong interest from overseas fans from Southeast Asia, Europe and the US. Tourists visit the statue of Sejong the Great of the Joseon Dynasty at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea on February 21, 2024. South Korea has also made it easier for digital nomads to stay and work in the country, implementing its “workation” visa at the start of this year.

Persons: –, Lee Jung, jae, Sejong the, Kim Jae Organizations: CNN, Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Korean, Tourists, Getty Locations: South Korea, Seoul, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Philippines, Korean, Europe, Korea

☆ South Korea holds rare military parade, warns North over nuclear threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Sept 26 (Reuters) - South Korea kicked off its first large-scale military parade in a decade on Tuesday, with weapons ranging from ballistic missiles to attack helicopters due to roll through Seoul in a show of force as it takes a tougher stance against North Korea. "If North Korea uses nuclear weapons, its regime will be brought to an end by an overwhelming response from the ROK-U.S. alliance," Yoon said while addressing troops in the rain. South Korea last held a military street parade in 2013. The event will also feature a joint flyover by South Korean and U.S. military aircraft to demonstrate an "upgraded" combined defence posture, the ministry said. Yoon has said that if Russia helped North Korea enhance its weapons programs in return for assistance for its war in Ukraine, it would be "a direct provocation".

Persons: Kim Jong, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Hyunmoo, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Soo, hyang Choi, Hyunsu Yim, Jack Kim, Gerry Doyle Organizations: North, country's Armed Forces, Seoul Air Base, ROK, Defence Ministry, The Armed Forces, SAM, KF, South Korean, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Seoul, North Korea, Pyongyang, Korea, South, Seoul . South Korea, Washington, Tokyo, Seongnam, U.S, Russia, Ukraine

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea showcased an arsenal of advanced weaponry in a military parade on Tuesday, rolling tanks and missiles down the streets of its rain-soaked capital during the first event of its kind in a decade. South Korean troops marched during the military parade in Seoul, South Korea, on September 26, 2023. Soldiers in vehicles waved to the crowd as they passed by; several carriers had the South Korean flag affixed to the exterior. Yoon has previously stated his goal to make South Korea one of the world’s top four arms exporters, after the US, Russia and France. South Korean weaponry and vehicles were on display during a parade in Seoul on September 26, 2023.

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Hong, ” Yoon, –, Peter Layton, Kim Keon Hee, ”, Yoon, it’s, Layton, Chung Sung, Joe Biden, Biden, Fumio Kishida, David Organizations: South Korea CNN, 75th Armed Forces, Seoul Air Base, Reuters, South, Ministry of National Defense, Korean, Griffith Asia, Griffith University, Export, Import Bank of Korea, Japanese Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, United States, Japan, Pyongyang, North Korea, Washington, China, Russia, France, Maryland

☆ Fate Brought Them Together During a Blizzard in Buffalo. Then They Reunited in Seoul.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Christine Chung | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

About five months ago, in the middle of a deadly and ferocious blizzard, Alexander and Andrea Campagna answered a knock on the door of their home near Buffalo. Outside were 10 South Korean travelers whose van had become stuck in the snow on their street. The Campagnas welcomed the stranded travelers in, and, in doing so, provided a much-shared story of compassion and good will during a vicious storm just before Christmas. They were about a week into a 10-day all-expenses paid tour of the city as guests of the Korea Tourism Organization, to reward their generosity and promote tourism to Korea as well. “It’s kind of a storybook situation that you could not have scripted,” Mr. Campagna, 40, said, in an interview at a cafe on the Gyeongbokgung grounds.

The bill passed the opposition-led parliament last month, prompting protests from some medical workers who said the new law would open the door for nurses to provide treatment without a medical license. Nurses say that the doctors' claim is groundless, and that the country needs more care centres to cope with its rapidly aging population. In vetoing the bill, Yoon said that the new law caused excessive conflict among medical workers, and that nursing practices outside medical institutions would cause public anxiety over the healthcare system. The Korean Nurses Association, which led the walkout, strongly denounced Yoon, saying he abandoned his promise as a presidential candidate to improve nurses' working conditions. The impact of the strike was seen as limited so far, as most protesters used holiday time or shortened business hours, with major hospitals operating normally.

[1/3] Women ride on an escalator past a couple wearing masks to avoid contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a shopping mall in Seoul, South Korea, January 30, 2023. The lifting of the face-covering rules in the majority of indoor locations is South Korea's latest step in easing COVID rules as new cases show signs of a slowdown. People are still required to wear the masks in public transport settings and in medical facilities. But many citizens also said they will still wear masks with the pandemic not fully over. The easing of rules come about three years after South Korea reported its first outbreak of COVID infection on Jan. 20, 2020.

☆ South Koreans cheer dramatic win, shed joyful tears with Son
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

They celebrated striker Son Heung-min's tearful post-match interview and munched Ghana-branded chocolates to honour the plucky performance by the African nation whose match result ensured South Korea's berth in the knockout round. Cheers erupted from apartment complexes and the streets across South Korea. "I felt absolutely thrilled - we were cornered going into injury time, and Sonny was running like crazy," said Lee Tae-woo, referring to Tottenham Hotspur striker Son, after watching the game with friends. Many on social media circulated Son's interview, in which he said through tears he had not performed well, thanking his team mates for pulling off the dramatic win. The term "Ghana chocolate" was trending on South Korean Twitter, referring to a brand by Seoul-based Lotte Confectionery Co Ltd (280360.KS) using cacao beans from Ghana.

☆ South Korea's deadly Halloween crush was avoidable, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

District authorities for Yongsan, where Itaewon is located, discussed measures to prevent illegal drug use and the spread of COVID-19 during the Halloween weekend, according to a district press release. But there were only 137 police officers in Itaewon at the time, the city of Seoul said. Moon Hyeon-cheol, a professor at the Graduate School of Disaster Safety Management at Soongsil University, said this type of crush had the potential to happen in any populous city. "We need to take this tragedy and learn to prepare for the risk of disaster," he said. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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