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  • 19
    Dec
    2012
    6:35am, EST

    South Korea elects its first female president

    Kim Hee-chul / EPA

    Park Geun-hye waves to supporters in Yeouido, Seoul after she was declared the winner in South Korea's presidential election on Dec. 19, 2012.

    The Associated Press reports — Ruling-party candidate Park Geun-hye was elected South Korean president Wednesday, becoming the country's first female leader despite the incumbent's unpopularity and her own past as the daughter of a divisive dictator. The victory sets up the possibility of greater engagement with rival North Korea, despite a controversial rocket launch by Pyongyang last week.

    After liberal candidate Moon Jae-in (Moon Jay-in) conceded victory in a close race, Park said she will become "a president of promise."

    Huge crowds lined up throughout the day, braving frigid weather to choose between Park and Moon, the son of North Korean refugees. Read the full story.

    Ha Kyung-min / Newsis via Reuters

    Catholic nuns stand in a line to cast their ballots in the presidential election at a polling station in Busan, South Korea, on Dec. 19, 2012.

    Saenuri Party via Reuters

    Park Geun-hye, center, poses with her father (and then-President) Park Chung-hee and her mother Yuk Young-soo along with her younger brother and sister in Seoul in an undated photo handed out by the Saenuri Party on Dec. 19, 2012.

    Jung Yeon-je / AFP - Getty Images

    Presidential candidate Park Geun-hye, wearing a reindeer antler headband given to her by a campaigner, smiles at a campaign rally in Seoul on Dec. 18, 2012.

    Lee Jae-won / Reuters

    Yoo Bok-yeob, center, a 72-year-old village schoolmaster, casts his ballot with family members at a polling station in Nonsan on Dec. 19, 2012.

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    Explore related topics: asia, election, democracy, south-korea, world-news, park-geun-hye
  • 5
    Nov
    2012
    7:38am, EST

    Students hypnotized in preparation for South Korea's exam hell

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    A therapist hypnotizes students retaking the college entrance exams, during a meditation session at Deung Yong Moon Boarding School in Kwangju, South Korea on October 30, 2012.

    Reuters reports — Conversations between men and women are forbidden at the school on the outskirts of Seoul, where security cameras watch the students' every move. There is no access to television, the Internet, mobile phones or MP3 players.

    Welcome to the monastic life of a boarding school for students dedicated to spending nine months preparing to retake South Korea's college entrance exams, in the hopes of a place at the best college and a job for life at a top corporation.

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    A student retaking the college entrance exams attends class at Deung Yong Moon Boarding School on October 30, 2012.

    South Korea's exam hell is an annual event so full of pressure that many students are driven to despair, with some even taking their own lives. More than 50 percent of those between the ages of 15 and 19 who are suicidal have given "academic performance and college entrance" as a reason, says the national Statistics Korea. Read the full story.

    Previously on PhotoBlog: Chinese students face "the most pressure packed test in the world"

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    5 comments

    The importance placed on education for education's sake is overblown around the world. It would be better to teach (if it can be taught) common sense and decency, rather than 'book learning' in any case. Intelligent people can pick up on subjects, but not everyone is cut out to be a top executive -- …

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    Explore related topics: asia, education, school, south-korea, exam, world-news
  • 30
    Oct
    2012
    11:00pm, EDT

    Fire guts restaurant building in South Korea

    Yonhap / EPA

    Smoke billowing from an area of restaurants fills the sky over Seoul's Jongno Ward on 31 October 2012, after the site was engulfed in flames.

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    Explore related topics: asia, fire, south-korea, world-news, seoul
  • 7
    Oct
    2012
    11:06am, EDT

    A 'baby box' and a home for unwanted infants in South Korea

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    A baby abandoned in a "baby box" at Joosarang church waits for a medical examination at a children's hospital in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 19. Pastor Lee Jong-rak of the church, who runs a "baby box" where mothers can leave unwanted infants, has seen a sharp increase in the number of newborns being left there because, the pastor says, of a new law aimed protecting the rights of children. South Korea is trying to shed a reputation of being a source of babies for adoption by people abroad. It is encouraging domestic adoption and tightening up the process of a child's transfer from birth mother to adoptive parents.

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    A policeman talks on a phone as preacher Jeong Young-ran looks on after a mother abandoned her baby at a "baby box" at Joosarang church in Seoul on Sept. 18.

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    A police officer collects DNA samples from two abandoned babies after the babies were left at a "baby box" at Joosarang church in Seoul on Sept 20.

    Reuters -- South Korean pastor who runs a "baby box" where mothers can leave unwanted infants has seen a sharp increase in the number of newborns being left there because, the pastor says, of a new law aimed at protecting the rights of children.

    South Korea is trying to shed a reputation of being a source of babies for adoption by people abroad. It is encouraging domestic adoption and tightening up the process of a child's transfer from birth mother to adoptive parents.

    The law that took effect in August is aimed at ensuring adoption is more transparent and makes it mandatory for parents to register newborns if they want to give them up.

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    South Korean pastor Lee Jong-rak adjusts the blanket around an abandoned two-week-old baby boy in a "baby box" at Joosarang church in Seoul on Sept. 18.

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    Ward officials, who did not want to be identified, hold abandoned babies as they head to a child advocacy center after the babies had undergone checkups at a children's hospital in Seoul on Sept. 19.

    But the regulation aimed at seeing more thorough records are kept, though well intentioned, has sparked a surge of undocumented babies being abandoned, said Pastor Lee Jong-rak.

    "If you look at the letters that mothers leave with their babies, they say they have nowhere to go, and it's because of the new law," Lee told Reuters.

    Lee, who opened his "baby box" for unwanted infants three years ago, said he had seen the number being left there shoot up from an average of five a month to 10 in August and 14 in September.

    Despite the new law, Lee said he never forced mothers to provide information about the babies they leave in the box, built into the wall of his church in Nangok, a tough working-class neighborhood in the capital, Seoul.

    Read the full story.

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    Pastor Lee Jong-rak plays with Lee On-u, 6, a disabled child who was abandoned, at the Joosarang church in Seoul on Sept. 20.

    Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

    South Korean pastor Lee Jong-rak carries a baby, abandoned a day earlier at a "baby box" at his Joosarang church, to hand it over to ward officials as portraits of other abandoned children raised and adopted by him are seen on a wall of the church in Seoul on Sept. 20.

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    12 comments

    Does anyone know where to send donations to this church, to help with these babies?

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  • 5
    Oct
    2012
    3:30pm, EDT

    Lee Jin-man / AP

    South Korean performers dangle for Hi Seoul Festival

    South Korean performers suspend in midair during a performance, called "Aphrodite" by Spanish theater company La Fura Dels Baus, in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 5, 2012. The performance is part of the Hi Seoul Festival running from Oct. 1 through Oct. 7.

    Comment

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  • 25
    Sep
    2012
    7:37am, EDT

    A show of skills in South Korea ahead of Armed Forces Day

    Lee Jae-won / Reuters

    Soldiers of the special warfare command parachute to the ground during a demonstration ahead of the Armed Forces Day anniversary at the Gyeryong military headquarters in Gyeryong, about 87 miles south of Seoul Sept. 25.

    Ahn Young-Joon / AP

    South Korean special army soldiers demonstrate their martial arts skills, Sept. 25 during a rehearsal for upcoming anniversary of Armed Forces Day.

    Jung Yeon-Je / AFP - Getty Images

    South Korean Special Army soldiers perform martial arts during a rehearsal on Sept. 25 for Armed Forces Day.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    Members of the South Korean military put on quite a show during a rehearsal ahead of the annual Armed Forces Day celebrations which takes place Oct. 1, the day that South-Korean forces broke through the 38th parallel during the Korean War.  The two Koreas remain technically at war since the Korean conflict was concluded with a truce rather than a peace treaty, and the day is a reminder of those who lost their lives during the war and those who are currently serving.

    More photos from South Korea on PhotoBlog

    6 comments

    Good Lord!!! Truly have some Americans lost their mind? Lets see Obama struts out to the View while he gets his applause and he's in heaven....meanwhile very serious world problems are going on and he will deal with them WHEN HE IS READY and don't you undermine him! PERIOD......where are the believe …

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    Explore related topics: military, south-korea, world-news, armed-forces-day
  • 17
    Sep
    2012
    7:39am, EDT

    Typhoon Sanba rocks South Korea with huge waves

    Yeosu City via AFP - Getty Images

    Waves caused by Typhoon Sanba slam into the coast of Yeosu, about 460 km (286 miles) south of Seoul, South Korea.

    Yonhap News Agency via AP

    High waves caused by Typhoon Sanba crash onto a beach in Yeosu, south of Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 17.

    Yonhap News Agency via Reuters

    High waves beat upon a coast road in Busan, about 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Seoul Sept. 17.

    Typhoon Sanba, packing winds of 137 kilometers (85 miles) per hour, slammed into South Korea on Monday, bringing torrential rains across the country and shutting down flights, ferry services and cutting power to many. At least one person died and tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate. Full story.

    Typhoon Sanba battered South Korea with strong winds and heavy rain on Monday, flooding streets and damaging hundreds of homes. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    51 comments

    I hope the injury and death countdoes not increase. Wish you a quick recovery South Korea!

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    Explore related topics: weather, typhoon, south-korea, world-news, featured, typhoon-sanba
  • 14
    Sep
    2012
    11:32pm, EDT

    Funeral for Rev. Sun Myung Moon draws thousands in South Korea

    Kim Jae-Hwan / AFP - Getty Images

    Unification Church honour guards carry the coffin containing late Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon during his funeral ceremony at the Cheongshim Peace World Center in Gapyeong. Tens of thousands of mourners were expected to turn out for the elaborate funeral in South Korea of their "messiah" and controversial Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon.

    Ahn Young-Joon / AP

    Bereaved family members carry a coffin containing a body of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial founder of the Unification Church, during his funeral service at the CheongShim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, South Korea on Saturday.

    Lee Jae-Won / Reuters

    Han Hak-ja, widow of Evangelist Reverend Sun-Myung Moon, sits beside the coffin containing Moon's body during a funeral service for the late, founder of the Unification Church, at the CheongShim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, about 37 miles northeast of Seoul. Sun-Myung Moon, 92, a self-declared messiah who founded the church which has millions of followers around the world, died at a retreat in Gapyeong on September 3.

    Jung Yeon-Je / AFP - Getty Images

    Hyung-Jin Moon (3rd L), Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon's youngest son and successor and followers gesture for the late Moon during his funeral ceremony. More than 30,000 mourners, many weeping openly, attended the elaborate, flower-strewn funeral in South Korea on September 15 of their "messiah" and Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon.

    Jung Yeon-Je / AFP - Getty Images

    Unification Church followers take pictures in front of a large hillside museum (top), where the body of the late Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon is placed, in the church's estate in Gapyeong, about 60 km east of Seoul, on Friday, a day before his funeral. The funeral ceremony is expected to draw 35,000 mourners including 15,000 from abroad.

    Unification Church patriarch Sun Myung Moon was 92 when he died on Sept. 3. Famous for conducting mass weddings, he said:

    "International and intercultural marriages are the quickest way to bring about an ideal world of peace," Moon said in a 2009 autobiography titled "As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen."

    "People should marry across national and cultural boundaries with people from countries they consider to be their enemies so that the world of peace can come that much more quickly."   

    Related story: Feuds a concern as children inherit Moon's empire

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    55 comments

    The Lord of the 3rd Chakra has gone away. Never let go of his ego, and it inflated like a helium balloon with ego attached. Thought he was the blueprint for the perfect man....let it go. Dust and ashes. He marketed a worldwide brand of spiritual Amway...just bring more people and money and you go hi …

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  • 28
    Aug
    2012
    6:31am, EDT

    Dramatic rescue as typhoon capsizes Chinese fishing boats off South Korea

    Kang Jae-Nam / Newsis via AP

    A Chinese fisherman wearing an orange life vest, fourth from left, is rescued by South Korean coast guard officers from a Chinese ship in Jeju, South Korea, on August 28, 2012. A powerful typhoon pounded South Korea with strong winds and heavy rain Tuesday, while the nation's coast guard battled rough seas in a race to rescue fishermen on two Chinese ships that slammed into rocks off the southern coast.

    South Korea Coast Guard via AP

    South Korean coast guardsmen attempt to rescue Chinese fishermen after it slammed into rocks off the coast of Jeju, south of Seoul.

    Kang Jae-Nam / Newsis via AP

    A Chinese fisherman is rescued by South Korean coast guard officers, unseen.

    Yonhap via AFP - Getty Images

    The South Korean coast guard rescue a crew member, center, of a stranded Chinese fishing boat.

    Kang Jae-Nam / Newsis via AP

    A Chinese fisherman, second right, wearing an orange life vest, is rescued.

    Reuters reports — A typhoon with winds of up to 106 mph buffeted South Korea's west coast on Tuesday, killing five people at sea and leaving 10 missing when two Chinese fishing vessels capsized.

    Typhoon Bolaven barreled up the coast before making landfall in already flood-ravaged North Korea as the impoverished country struggles to feed its 24 million people.

    Much at stake for US as tensions rise in troubled China Seas

    Coast guard rescuers pulled 18 surviving fishermen from the Chinese vessels that capsized off the southern island of Jeju and found five bodies, the emergency services said. Read the full story.

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    10 comments

    Generally most people do not hate the rest of the people in the world as apply demonstrated in these rescue photographs.

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    Explore related topics: weather, china, rescue, asia, typhoon, south-korea, world-news, featured, commentid-featured, typhoon-bolaven
  • 27
    Aug
    2012
    11:00pm, EDT

    Power of the Typhoon: Fishing boat caught in rough seas

    Kim Ho-Cheon / AP

    A Chinese fishing boat navigates through rough waves caused by Typhoon Bolaven in waters off Seogwipo on Jeju Island, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 27, 2012. 

     

    See more PhotoBlog posts on hurricane

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    2 comments

    Absolutely! FANTASTIC! photograph! Who? took it, and from where? Hope ALL got home safely.

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    Explore related topics: hurricane, weather, typhoon, south-korea, bolaven
  • 10
    Aug
    2012
    8:30pm, EDT

    Paul Hackett / Reuters

    South Korean soccer ream revels in victory over Japan

    South Korea's players toss coach Myung Bo Hong into the air to celebrate their 2-0 victory over Japan in the men's bronze medal soccer match at the London 2012 Olympic Games at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Aug. 10.

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  • 14
    Jul
    2012
    11:51pm, EDT

    Good clean fun at the Boryeong Mud Festival

    Lee Jae-Won / Reuters

    A tourist reacts as he plays in mud during the opening day of the Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon beach in Boryeong, about 190 km (118 miles) southwest of Seoul, on July 14. About 2 to 3 million domestic and international tourists visit the beach during the annual festival, according to the festival organisation.

    JEON HEON-KYUN / EPA

    Festival visitors are covered with mud during the 15th Boryeong Mud Festival on Daecheon beach in Boryeong City, 190km west of Seoul, South Korea, on July 15. During the festival period, tourists flock to the area to experience the beneficial properties of the Boryeong mud, as well as for entertainment. Fully immersed in the mud, visitors enjoy mud wrestling, mud sliding and even swimming in the mud mega tub. Boryeong Mud Festival runs from July 14 until the 24.

    JEON HEON-KYUN / EPA

    Festival visitors are covered with mud during the 15th Boryeong Mud Festival on Daecheon beach in Boryeong City, 190km west of Seoul, South Korea, July 15 2012.

     

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    5 comments

    With all the mud slinging, I thought it was the Democratic National Convention.

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