Samsung Guide Dog School, which marks its 33rd anniversary this year, is Korea’s first guide dog training institution and the world’s only guide dog school operated by a single corporation, with its operations fully funded by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. The school was established in September 1993 by late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee as part of efforts to foster greater understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities. At the time, corporate involvement in guide dog training was unprecedented worldwide. The school became a full member of the International Guide Dog Federation in 1999 and went on to host the organization's general assembly in Korea in 2002. Lee was also honored by the federation that year for his efforts to raise awareness of people with disabilities. Since its first guide dog, Bada, was paired with a visually impaired person in 1994, the school has provided more than 320 guide dogs to visually impaired partners free of charge. Its responsibilities extend beyond raising and training guide dogs. The school also teaches visually impaired partners how

Completing professional training does not mean a guide dog is immediately ready to accompany a visually impaired person. The dog must first be matched with a suitable partner, and the two must learn to walk and live together. Few understand this process better than Yoo Seok-jong of Samsung Guide Dog School. Born with a visual impairment, Yoo now lives with his fifth guide dog. Drawing on his own experience, he helps visually impaired people find dogs suited to their needs and lifestyles. During an interview at the school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 2, Yoo was accompanied by Gori, a 5-year-old demonstration dog. Yoo's own guide dog was at a veterinary clinic after falling ill that morning. Friendly and sociable, Gori normally helps introduce visitors to guide dogs and accompanies visually impaired people on trial walks. Yoo said one of the most important factors in matching a guide dog with a prospective partner is walking speed. "The person's walking speed needs to match the dog's natural pace," he said. "Trying to force either one to adjust can be difficult." Temperament is equa

As Jerry, a Labrador retriever, approached a crosswalk, he came to a stop at the curb. His trainer, Keum Jung-hun, had given no command. Jerry simply recognized the boundary between the sidewalk and the road and stopped on his own. Keum pressed a small device, producing a sharp click. Known as a clicker, the tool signals that Jerry has performed a task correctly. "It means he did a good job," Keum explained. "Verbal praise takes time, but a clicker lets us mark the exact moment he does something right." Jerry is an almost 2-year old guide dog in training. The Korea Times met him during a training session at Samsung Guide Dog School on Nov. 2. The school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is fully funded by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. After six to seven months of professional training, he has passed his final walking assessment and is now completing the remaining steps before being paired with a visually impaired partner. Accompanying Jerry and Keum on their morning training walk outside the school grounds near Bundang Central Park in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, revealed that guide dog tr

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating slipped back to 39 percent this week, a weekly poll showed Friday, amid negative sentiment over his real estate policies and economic concerns. The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,002 people aged 18 and older, showed that positive assessments of Lee's performance fell 2 percentage points from the previous week, when the figure stood at 41 percent. Lee's approval rating has fluctuated around the 40 percent mark in recent weeks after hitting a low of 37 percent in October. Those who disapproved of Lee's handling of state affairs remained unchanged from the previous week at 50 percent. Real estate policies were cited the most by those who disapproved of Lee's performance at 17 percent, followed by economic and livelihood concerns at 15 percent. Among those who positively assessed Lee's performance, 19 percent cited economic and livelihood issues, followed by diplomacy at 17 percent and communication at 9 percent. The latest survey came amid political disputes over a controversial special counsel bill over allegatio

For the emergency dispatchers staffing Seoul’s 119 hotline — Korea’s equivalent of 911 — every second counts. Yet over the past year, a handful of individuals treated the city’s critical lifeline for fires, accidents, and medical emergencies as a personal bulletin board, a late-night cab service, and a sounding board for drunken rants. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday that it had filed criminal complaints against five habitual callers who collectively flooded the 119 emergency dispatch center with 8,710 non-emergency calls and text messages between September 2025 and August 2026. The barrage intensified sharply over the summer. Between June and August alone, the five individuals accounted for 4,034 separate contacts — an average of more than 40 disruptions a day. Among the worst offenders, one individual placed 2,661 phone calls, while another sent 2,886 text messages. According to the Seoul Emergency Operations Center, the nature of the contacts ranged from perplexing to blatantly disruptive. Dispatchers fielded silent calls where nobody spoke on the line, inco

Korea on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new task force aimed at developing policies to reduce living costs and boost real disposable income for wage earners. First Vice Finance Minister Kwon Dae-young chaired the meeting with officials from relevant ministries to discuss detailed implementation plans following the presidential office's announcement of the initiative this week. The task force comprises four working groups covering existing support measures, taxation, fiscal policy and finance, respectively, to identify practical ways to achieve those goals. The new team will focus particularly on helping workers cope with labor market changes driven by structural changes in industry, along with the growing financial burden of caring for children and elderly parents. Other key goals will include helping workers build assets, improve job security and manage their health. "The measures in the 2026 tax revision bill and next year's budget proposal are directly linked to wage earners' household finances next year," Kwon said. "While respecting deliberations at the National Assembly, we w

Two 17th-century Buddhist worship halls in southeastern Korea have been designated as national cultural treasures, the Korea Heritage Service said Friday. Under Korea’s heritage ranking system, a "Treasure" sits just one tier below the country's top "National Treasure" status, honoring buildings and artifacts of major historical and artistic value. The newly recognized buildings are Daeungjeon Hall at Unheung Temple in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang Province, and Daeungjeon Hall at Geodong Temple in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. Both serve as the main prayer halls — or Daeungjeon, literally "Hall of Great Enlightenment" — of temples traditionally traced to the seventh-century monk Uisang, though the surviving wooden structures date to the late Joseon Dynasty. Unheung Temple’s main hall, constructed in 1682, stands as a monument to wartime resilience. During the 1592–1598 Japanese invasions of Korea, the temple served as a strategic stronghold for warrior monks led by the revered Master Samyeong before being burned to the ground in battle. Dendrochronological analysi

Tucked inside western Seoul’s Gangseo District, Seoul Botanic Park is defying the winter chill with a vibrant seasonal showcase of more than 40 tropical orchid varieties, 300 poinsettias and imaginative plant displays designed to liven up indoor spaces. The exhibition, titled “Between Winter and Plants,” runs from Friday through Jan. 31, 2027, across the park’s greenhouse, Seed Library and Garden Support Center. At the Tropical Hall, a display titled “Today, Orchids” features Aria, a miniature Phalaenopsis orchid developed domestically in 2019, alongside more than 40 varieties of tropical orchids, including Oncidium, Cattleya, Vanda and Cymbidium. The Mediterranean Hall presents a Christmas garden featuring 300 plants from 15 domestically developed poinsettia varieties, including red Flame, green Green Star, peach Grace and pink Pink Bell. The display also features unusual spherical-bracted varieties called Sugar Ball, Red Ball and Snow Ball, while a fountain installation inspired by Rome incorporates a Christmas tree arrangement made with red Flame poinsettias. At the Seed Li

Seven Chinese tourists, a dozen villagers and a couple of journalists forded streams and bushwhacked to the downed plane of Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese admiral. Machetes proved handy.

For starters, the government should cut red tape for residential and commercial solar installations

CEBU CITY, Philippines — With threats of intense heat looming over next year’s Fiesta Señor, church and city officials are tightening crowd-control and safety measures for the religious celebration. Augustinian friars at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu on Thursday, Nov. 12, outlined plans to manage crowds and prevent heat-related illnesses during the

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — An alleged high-value drug trafficker known as “Boss Dexter” was arrested after yielding P374,000 worth of suspected crystal meth and a loaded handgun during a police sting operation in Tubod town, Lanao del Norte, on Wednesday morning, Nov. 11. The 43-year-old local resident was cornered by operatives of the

TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, Philippines — More than 10,000 MacBook Neo laptops are being distributed to teachers and other personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Eastern Visayas to strengthen digital learning, improve workplace efficiency, and enhance the delivery of basic education services across the region. DepEd Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez said the distribution of

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with United States President Donald Trump during the 49th ASEAN Summit, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

Hong Kong is set for heavy showers and thunderstorms from Friday night, with urban area temperatures forecast to fall to as low as 19 degrees Celsius (66 Fahrenheit) next week as a cold front reaches the Guangdong coast. The Hong Kong Observatory said upper-air disturbances would bring showers and a few squally thunderstorms to southern China on Friday and Saturday. The city will see sunny periods on Friday, but showers will develop in the afternoon and intensify at night, accompanied by...

Less than half of households in Japan subscribe to a daily newspaper, a level not seen in about 60 years, according to a media tracking report, signalling further evidence of the decline of print as the favoured news medium in the country. While the report shows most Japanese no longer read newspapers, they still trust legacy media more than online media. “It is commonly said that two factors have reduced the number of people subscribing to print newspapers,” said Tetsuo Hatanaka, a professor at...

The Philippines wraps up chairmanship of ASEAN with a days-long summit that will see world leaders converge in Manila

Critics say Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, and his department have shielded Nvidia as concerns have grown over A.I. chip sales to firms like Megaspeed.

ASEAN leaders to arrive in PH starting Nov. 14 for 2026 summit

5 Seconds of Summer gave Filipino fans a special treat in the form of a jeepney-themed meetup and a surprise appearance in Pasay City.

Malacañang on Friday said the government wants to avoid a repeat of the criticism it faced over the Philippines' preparations for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games as it hosts the 49th ASEAN Summit.

Macroeconomic issues are occupying the thoughts of leading Japanese multinationals as they adjust strategies in China, but few say they worry that diplomatic tensions will cost them opportunities in one of their largest overseas markets. Big names, from Panasonic to Hitachi, used a major trade show in Shanghai this week to highlight their commitment to China and parade their offerings. While nimbly navigating geopolitical headwinds, they are also looking forward to possible exchanges between...

The first female summa cum laude graduate of the PMA and its first woman Commandant of Cadets adds another first, 33 years after entering the Academy with its pioneering batch of women

The US administration of President Donald Trump has demanded Japan triple its spending on hosting American troops to more than 3 trillion yen (US$19 billion) over five years starting in the 2027 financial year, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Japan is considering substantially increasing the payment to its major security ally to roughly 1.5 trillion yen, they said. The coming host-nation support for US forces stationed in Japan is expected to include spending to boost...

Bookmark this page for Rappler's comprehensive coverage of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial at the Senate

MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution panel has no issue with Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband Manases Carpio, supporting young athletes, but lawyer Benjamin Tolosa Jr. clarified that questions had to be asked of a defense witness whose testimony touched on credit card expenses discussed before. In a press briefing on Thursday, Tolosa, one of the

From large factory premises in Tseung Kwan O to compact, multilayered industrial buildings in Kwai Chung, data centres are spreading into every corner of Hong Kong. The outlook once appeared promising. Property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield ranked the city the fourth-best data centre market globally in 2023, while the government had branded Hong Kong a “prime location for data centres”. But reality has been less kind. Hong Kong was not even among the top 10 Asia-Pacific markets in the...

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Fresh from a grueling 30-day training on close-quarters combat and hostage rescue, 94 newly minted Army privates are officially joining the ranks of the 10th Infantry  Division to bolster its territorial defense operations in Mindanao. Maj. Ruben Gadut told the Inquirer the new troopers—93 men and one woman—capped off

Indonesia’s fresh drills this month on its first and only aircraft carrier have refocused attention on the issue of whether the costly, ageing vessel is being put to good strategic use. The KRI Sriwijaya-100, commissioned two months ago, should be deployed for power projection and military operations far from Jakarta’s shores, analysts say, warning that underutilisation risks turning the military asset into “a sitting duck”. The Indonesian navy conducted helicopter operation drills aboard the...

MANILA, Philippines — Road reblocking and repairs will be conducted over the southbound portion of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue or Edsa from Nov. 13 to 15, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Thursday, ahead of the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit. According to the DPWH in an advisory,