Most Popular
-
1
1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
-
2
Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
-
3
US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
-
4
K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
-
5
K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
-
6
Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
-
7
[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
-
8
Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
-
9
Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
-
10
Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
-
[Graphic News] Marriages between Koreans and foreign spouses log largest growth in 2022 as pandemic eases
The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses rose by the greatest number last year as the stable COVID-19 situation promoted people’s cross-border movements, the statistics agency said. The number of “multicultural marriages” jumped 25.1 percent on-year to reach 17,428 in 2022, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest growth since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 2008. The number of international marriages fel
Social AffairsDec. 14, 2023
-
[Graphic News] 6% of executives in S. Korea’s top 100 firms are women: data
The proportion of women in executive positions at the top 100 companies in South Korea reached the 6 percent mark for the first time ever this year, data showed. According to data of top 100 companies in terms of sales compiled by global headhunter UnicoSearch, 439, or 6 percent, of the total of 7,345 executives were women as of the first half of this year. The executives included executive directors, members of the owner families and unregistered directors, but not outside directors. By compani
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2023
-
[Graphic News] More Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of Gaza crisis than approve it: poll
Americans are divided on US President Joe Biden’s response to the Israel-Gaza conflict, with more disapproving of the president’s response than approving of it. Most Americans agree Hamas has “a lot of responsibility,” for the current conflict, according to data from the Pew Research Center. Opinions on the Biden administration’s response to Israel's military campaign in Gaza are starkly different between age groups. Cumulatively, 41 percent of respondents
World NewsDec. 12, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Youth population in S. Korea to halve in 30 years
The number of young South Koreans is forecast to halve in 30 years amid a rapid aging trend and a record low birthrate, the statistics agency said. The number of people aged 19-34 came to 10.21 million in 2020, and the figure is forecast to tumble to 5.21 million in 2050, according to the analysis by Statistics Korea. The proportion of the young population out of the country’s total came to 20.4 percent in 2020, but it is expected to fall to 11 percent in 2050, it added. The number of youn
Social AffairsDec. 11, 2023
-
[Graphic News] S. Korean players combine for 5 wins in LPGA
Amy Yang’s win at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, Nov. 19, gave a combined total of five victories won by South Koreans in the LPGA in 2023. However, for the second time in three seasons, South Koreans have failed to produce a major champion in women’s golf, as the post-COVID downward trend continued. As recently as 2019, South Korea had eight players combine for 15 wins. Even during the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season, cut short to just 18 tournaments, South Kor
GolfDec. 8, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Over 1.3 million S. Korean women quit jobs after marriage: data
One out of every 6 South Korean married women suffers from career interruption due mainly to child-rearing, marriage and pregnancy, data showed. The number of married women aged 15-54 who stopped working came to 1.35 million as of April, accounting for around 17 percent of the total 7.94 million married women in the age group, according to data from Statistics Korea. This year’s number of career-interrupted women fell 3.45 percent on-year, or 48,000, because the total female population of
Social AffairsDec. 7, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Donations from big firms up 25.1% despite weaker earnings
Top companies in South Korea boosted their donations in the first nine months of the year despite overall weaker earnings, a corporate tracker said. CEO Score, which tracks corporate management activities, said 264 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales donated a combined 1.42 trillion won ($1.09 billion) to charities during the January-September period, up 25.1 percent from a year ago. CEO Score said the increase came despite the overall lackluster corporate performances during the p
CompaniesDec. 6, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Israel-Hamas truce on hostage exchange ends
Israel’s war with Hamas resumed after a weeklong truce to allow hostages to be released broke down on Friday. In Israel, sirens warned of incoming rockets at several communal farms near Gaza, a sign that militants had also restarted attacks. The renewed hostilities heightened concerns for Palestinians - many of whom have been displaced by the war - as well as about 140 hostages who remain in Gaza, after more than 100 were freed during the truce. By Wednesday, Hamas had released 97 hostages
World NewsDec. 5, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Global wine production hits lowest level since 1961
Global wine production has fallen this year to its lowest level since 1961 as vineyards were pummeled by extreme weather events, the International Organization of Vine and Wine said. Output reached 244.1 million hectoliters, down 7 percent from last year, the intergovernmental body said as it presented its first estimates. A number of major producers in the southern hemisphere had significant drops in production. Australia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Brazil all saw output drop between 10
World NewsDec. 1, 2023
-
[Graphic News] S. Korea’s rice output falls
South Korea’s rice output fell 1.6 percent this year due mainly to a decrease in cultivation area, data showed. Rice production came to 3.70 million metric tons in 2023, compared with 3.76 million tons a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. This year’s decline came as the combined size of rice paddies slid 2.6 percent on-year to a record low of 708,012 hectares. The government has been implementing measures to balance supply and demand of rice, such as gi
FoodNov. 30, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Half of Russians want Putin to end war
Almost half of Russians want President Vladimir Putin to open talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to a survey. Some 48 percent of respondents agreed it was time to negotiate a peace deal, with 39 percent in favor of pressing on with the war, the telephone poll of 1,611 people by the Russian Field company found. The proportion favoring talks was the highest since the company began monitoring attitudes to the war in April last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no willingness
World NewsNov. 29, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Eco-friendly cars account for 1/3 of new car purchases in Jan.-Sept.
Eco-friendly cars accounted for one-third of all new vehicle purchases made here in the first nine months of 2023, government and industry data showed. According to data from the Transportation Ministry and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the rate of car purchasers who bought eco-friendly models, including hybrid and electric units, between January and September, stood at 32.1 percent of all new vehicle customers. It marked the first time for the portion of new eco-friendly model
MarketNov. 28, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Beer imports from China plunge 43% after worker urination video at Tsingtao
South Korea’s beer imports from China plunged more than 40 percent last month from a year earlier following the release of a viral video showing a man urinating into a tank at Tsingtao Brewery, the customs office said. The amount of beer imports from China fell 43 percent on-year to 2,281 metric tons in October, and the value of beer purchases from the neighboring country declined 38 percent to $1.93 million, according to the Korea Customs Service. The video released on Oct. 19 shows a uni
World BusinessNov. 27, 2023
-
[Graphic News] S. Korea’s beverage exports hit all-time high this year: data
South Korea’s exports of beverages reached a record high during the first nine months of 2023 in line with the popularity of Korean food and the overall culture, the customs agency said. The export value of beverages, excluding alcoholic drinks and mineral water, amounted to $529 million during the January-September period, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. It is the highest level ever for a nine-month tally. Last year, the country lo
MarketNov. 24, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Drugs smuggled in through Incheon Airport surge after 2022: lawmaker
The amount of drugs smuggled into South Korea through the country’s main gateway has risen since international travel increased following the lifting of pandemic travel restrictions, an opposition lawmaker said. The amount of narcotics smuggled into South Korea through Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, rose from 129,362 grams in 2020 to 538,241 grams in 2022, Rep. Maeng Sung-kyu of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said, citing data from the Korea Customs Service. F
Social AffairsNov. 23, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Japan ranks last globally in employee well-being
Japan came in last in a global ranking of employee well-being, measured by assessing workers’ physical, mental, social and spiritual health, the results of a survey conducted by the McKinsey Health Institute showed. Employee well-being in Japan was at 25 percent in the poll of more than 30,000 workers across 30 countries, according to the study. Turkey ranked the highest at 78 percent, followed by India and China. South Korean employee well-being came in below the average at 48 percent to
World NewsNov. 22, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Hyundai stands as No. 2 EV player in US market
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group stands as the second-largest player in the US market for electric vehicles despite concerns surrounding Washington’s protectionism policy, data showed. Hyundai Motor took up 4.8 percent of the US EV market in the January-September period, with its smaller sister Kia accounting for 2.7 percent, according to US magazine Automotive News. Their combined market share came to 7.5 percent, taking up the second-largest slice of the US EV market following Tes
World BusinessNov. 21, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Number of non-wage workers edges up in 2023
The number of non-wage workers, such as the self-employed, in South Korea rose 0.56 percent on-year in 2023, data showed. There were 6.72 million non-salaried workers as of August, up by 38,000 from the same period in 2022, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number accounts for 23.4 percent of all employed people in the country, down 0.1 percentage point over the cited period. Of the total non-wage workers, one-man operations, which do not hire workers, inched up 0.8 percent
Social AffairsNov. 20, 2023
-
[Graphic News] South Korean LPGA Rookies of the Year
South Korean Ryu Hae-ran has clinched the LPGA Rookie of the Year award with one tournament left this season. Since the rise of superstar Pak Se-ri more than two decades ago, Korean female golfers have become an international force to be reckoned with in women’s professional golf tournaments. This trend has been marked by a consistent stream of LPGA Rookie of the Year awards going to Korean women every few years. Fourteen of the past 26 rookies of the year (including this year’s) hav
GolfNov. 17, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Afghanistan opium poppy supply plummets 95% after Taliban ban: UN
Opium poppy production in Afghanistan, previously the world’s top supplier, has plummeted since the Taliban administration banned the cultivation of narcotics last year, a United Nations report said. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said opium cultivation fell throughout the country to just 10,800 hectares in 2023 from 233,000 hectares the previous year, slashing supply by 95 percent to 333 tons. This was putting pressure on farmers in the war-torn country, where most people depend on agri
World NewsNov. 16, 2023