[Graphic News] Tainan predicted top destination for South Koreans in 2025

Travel app Skyscanner has unveiled its Travel Trends 2025 report, capturing tourism insights based on a survey of 20,000 travelers worldwide. According to the report, next year’s key travel theme is predicted to be “shared experiences with others,” in which people will pursue experiences that can be shared with others who have similar interests. Among the survey participants, 1,000 South Koreans shared their preferred travel destinations, favoring shorter flights. Taiwan&rsqu

Nov. 14, 2024

Police mobilize over 10,000 officers for 2025 Suneung

To ensure the secure administration of the annual national college entrance exam, more than 10,000 police officers will be deployed nationwide, officials said Wednesday. For the Suneung, short for the College Scholastic Ability Test in Korean, set to be held on Thursday, a total of 10,256 officers will manage various tasks, including transporting exam papers, maintaining order at test site entrances, controlling traffic, patrolling nearby areas and ensuring the safe delivery of answer sheets aft

Nov. 13, 2024

Govt. cracks down on wedding industry

Amid prolonged controversy over excessive fees and a lack of transparency in the wedding industry, the South Korean government said it has mandated changes to contract terms at 18 major wedding planning firms. The Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday said it identified six types of unfair clauses in service agreements across 18 wedding planning companies that received the most consumer complaints over three months. These companies offer package weddings -- popular bundles consisting of pre-wedding s

Nov. 13, 2024

Only half of Koreans believe marriage is essential: study

Just over half of South Koreans believe getting married is essential, a recent government study showed Wednesday, and a growing proportion of people say it's alright for couples simply to live together without tying the knot. According to Statistics Korea's annual study on Korean society, 52.5 percent of Koreans say people should get married, while 41.5 percent say it is a matter of choice and 3.3 percent say they should remain single. The percentage of those who believe people must

Nov. 13, 2024

Suneung for all: Opportunity, redemption and the right to dream

On Thursday, more than half a million people across South Korea will converge at test sites to take what many view as a life-defining exam. This is the Suneung -- the nation’s college scholastic ability test. Held just once a year, the nine-hour marathon determines the universities students will be able to attend, and from there, their career opportunities, future earnings and even relationships, as education holds an especially revered place in Korean society. In November each year, South

Nov. 13, 2024

Elevator, escalator accidents spike among over-65s

The annual number of accidents involving senior citizens on automated transportation devices including elevators, escalators and moving walkways has been increasing since 2020, a report by the state-run consumer protection agency showed Wednesday. A total of 1,507 such accidents involving the over-65s were registered at the Consumer Injury Surveillance System from 2020 to September of this year, according to the Korea Consumer Agency. The yearly figure for these accidents of the elderly increa

Nov. 13, 2024

Korean model admits drug use, seeks help from embassy in Manila: report

A South Korean media outlet on Wednesday reported that TV announcer-turned-model Kim Na-jung had reached out to the South Korean Embassy in the Philippines for help leaving the country, after confessing to officials there that she had used drugs. According to Edaily, the 32-year-old contacted the embassy on Tuesday for help citing an unspecified danger, and received assistance going to the airport from her hotel and onto the plane from Manila to Incheon. The embassy did not elaborate on what typ

Nov. 13, 2024

[Herald Interview] 'Korea, don't repeat Hong Kong's mistakes on foreign caregivers'

Fifty-one years ago, during Hong Kong's "golden era" of social reform, then-Gov. Murray MacLehose established a framework to bring in low-wage foreign workers for domestic and care work. This policy aimed to encourage educated, upper- and middle-class local women to enter the workforce — a rationale similar to that of the Seoul city government's foreign caregiver pilot program today. Though now facing different socioeconomic conditions, some South Korean politicians and

Nov. 13, 2024

Police investigate mutilated body of kitten found in Incheon

Incheon police said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into possible animal cruelty case, after the body of a beheaded kitten was found the previous day. Officials at the Incheon Gyeyang Police Station received the report of the kitten at around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Police said it will investigate the surveillance footage of the area around the lot, to determine whether this is a case of animal cruelty or if the kitten had been killed by another animal. Another potential animal cruelty

Nov. 13, 2024

Military commander to face 10-year sentence for trainee’s death due to 'extra punishment'

Prosecutors have sought 10 and seven-year prison terms for an Army training center’s company and deputy commanders, accusing them of ordering unauthorized “extra punishment” that led to a conscripted soldier's death. On Tuesday, the Chuncheon District Court held the final hearing for the company commander surnamed Kang and the deputy company commander surnamed Nam, who were indicted on charges of abusing their power. The defendants are accused of conducting unauthorized

Nov. 13, 2024

[Graphic News] Korea’s app users spend more time on YouTube, Instagram

US-based social media platforms YouTube and Instagram saw their usage time among South Korean app users rise sharply in September from a year earlier, data showed, while locally based platforms like KakaoTalk and Naver lost ground. The total hours spent by Korean users on YouTube, the most popular app here, came to 1.8 billion hours in September, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by industry tracker Wiseapp. Instagram also saw its combined usage time reach 378 mill

Nov. 13, 2024

S. Korean students excel in global computer literacy assessment

South Korean students have achieved the top ranking among 32 countries in terms of computer literacy, and second place in computational thinking, assessed among 22 nations, according to the 2023 International Computer and Information Literacy Study. According to the report released by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement on Tuesday, South Korean middle school students scored an average of 540 in computer and information literacy, significantly surpassing th

Nov. 12, 2024

Born weighing 260 g, Korea's smallest baby comes home as healthy infant

A baby weighing less than a large apple at birth has defied medical odds, heading home after six months of intensive care, Samsung Medical Center in Seoul said Tuesday. Lee Ye-rang weighed a mere 260 grams when she was born on April 22 this year at just 25 weeks and five days, setting a record as South Korea's smallest surviving infant. A typical newborn weighs about 3.2 kilograms. By the time of her discharge on Nov. 5, she weighed 3.19 kilograms. She was breathing on her own, without the

Nov. 12, 2024

Hagwon employee arrested for secretly filming female students

Police said Tuesday that a man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of secretly filming female students at a private academy, as well as other women in public spaces, to produce exploitative content. Gangwon Provincial Police said the suspect is accused of using smartphones to secretly film 17 female students under their uniform skirts 141 times from January 2020 to October, while he was working at a private cram school, or hagwon, in Gangwon Province. The man then created 1,810 pieces of s

Nov. 12, 2024

Courts to make key verdicts on main opposition leader, his wife

The political future of Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung is likely to be decided this month, as South Korean courts are expected to deliver several court rulings that could potentially bar the main opposition leader from running for president. The Seoul Central District Court is set to deliver rulings in two separate cases against Lee on Friday and Nov. 25, marking the first decisions in his four ongoing criminal cases. On Friday, the Seoul court is expected to deliver a verdic

Nov. 12, 2024

Why this year’s fall foliage is less vibrant

Though fall has officially arrived in South Korea, this year’s foliage season was observed later than usual due to unprecedented high temperatures, resulting in less vibrant fall colors across the country. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration’s monitoring report of 21 prominent mountains nationwide, nearly half the mountains saw peak fall colors later than usual this year. The KMA declares the “beginning” of foliage when 20 percent of the leaves on a mount

Nov. 12, 2024

Education Minister apologizes for miscommunication with medical students

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho expressed regret on Monday for the government’s delayed communication with protesting medical students, who have been boycotting classes over the government’s plans to expand medical school enrollments. At a press conference in the city of Sejong, Lee acknowledged the government’s failure to close the gap with students who have not returned to school since March. "I apologize to the public for our delay in op

Nov. 12, 2024

88% of Suneung supervisors concerned about their rights

An overwhelming majority of middle and high school teachers nationwide worry that their basic rights may be violated when supervising the Suneung college entrance exam, a survey showed Monday. The Korean Federation of Teachers Unions conducted the survey on 4,654 teachers across the country, in which 88 percent of the respondents said they have been concerned about potential human rights violations during Suneung duties. The Ministry of Education requires to middle and high schools across the co

Nov. 12, 2024

When do singles feel like dating? When they 'need someone on my side,' Koreans say

A recent survey by a local dating app showed that single South Koreans feel the urge to look for a romantic relationship mostly when they want someone on their side. Dating app Noondate conducted the survey of 16,792 men and women across the country who are not romantically involved with anyone, asking them when they feel like starting a romantic relationship. The leading answer for both sexes was "when I feel like I want someone to take my side," chosen by 48 percent of women and 39 p

Nov. 12, 2024

Korean study finds 'obese' BMI may actually be healthiest

In South Korea, a body mass index over 25 is considered "obese," but recent research suggests the healthiest range may actually be higher than that. Health experts are now urging that the threshold be raised to 27. Oh Sang-woo, a family medicine professor at Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, recommended raising Korea's obesity threshold to a BMI of 27, noting that the current classification may not currently be ideal. "Research conducted 20 years ago found that the lowest

Nov. 12, 2024