Lawmakers and ambassadors were among the 1,122 people who gathered in Gwangju and Seoul Friday to make kimchi to donate to underprivileged people. The 2024 Korea Kimchi Grand Festival was held for two hours in the National Assembly’s courtyard in Yeouido, central Seoul and May 18 Democracy Square in central Gwangju simultaneously. The event was organized by Herald Media Group, local broadcaster Gwangju MBC and Rep. Ju Chul-hyun of the main opposition Democratic Party. The event at the Nati

Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2024

A 28-year-old Korean man was apprehended at Jorge Chavez International Airport near Lima during an apparent attempt to smuggle out hundreds of arthropods, including 320 tarantulas, on Nov. 8. According to Peru’s nature protection agency, the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), the man was carrying 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants, some of which were protected species. All of the creatures were native species of the Peruvian Amazon and were confirmed to have

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2024

Cleaning workers contracted by a city government who were asked to help an injured stray cat, killed the animal instead, touching off controversy over alleged animal cruelty, local media outlets reported. The employees of a cleaning company working for the Incheon Seo-gu Office were dispatched to the scene on Nov. 9, following a request to rescue the injured cat, according to the district office on Wednesday. After reaching the street in Seoknam-dong where the cat was found, they used cleaning t

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2024

South Korea needs a strategy to maintain the growth of the Korean language, according to Ross King, a professor of Korean language and literature at the University of British Columbia. The Korean language has gained popularity in North America in recent years, but a lack of strategy could jeopardize its future, King said. The number of students studying the Korean language has grown by about 75 percent in the US over the past 10 years, while student enrollment in other language courses has dropp

Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2024

The growing popularity of the Korean language could help address Korea's demographic crisis, Sejong City Mayor Choi Min-ho said Wednesday. Speaking at the Global Business Forum, held at Simone in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, Choi said Koreans should be more open to building a multicultural society, and that Hangeul could play a key role. “It is good that Hangeul is called the pride of Korea. But it could also be something more that helps with Korea’s low birth rate,” he said

Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2024

A single driver has accumulated more than 1.7 billion won ($1.21 million) in unpaid administrative fines as of Oct. 10, police data has revealed. Administrative fines are imposed on car owners for speeding and parking violations, not by police officers but by cameras, according to the Road Traffic Act. Rep. Youn Kun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday revealed a police list of the top 100 delinquent drivers who have not paid the largest amounts in administrative fine

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating has fallen to a new low in the latest Gallup Korea poll released Friday, coming in at a record 17 percent. The results, however, do not reflect reactions to Thursday’s press conference, which was met with mixed reactions. The poll, conducted between Nov. 5 and 7, indicated that public sentiment has further deteriorated, with only 17 percent rating Yoon’s performance positively -- 2 percentage points lower than two weeks ago. Over the sa

Politics Nov. 8, 2024

The city of Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, has started the search for an unknown number of deer that have appeared on trails and attacked local parkgoers. In a joint operation among the city government, Suwon Fire Station and Suwon Jungbu Police Station, officials are scouring Gwanggyo Lake Park and Gwanggyosan to capture the deer that have attacked people at least twice and were seen several times in some neighborhoods in northern Suwon. According to reports, a deer was spotted in Yeonmu-dong early

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2024

A popular natural rock climbing park in Wonju, Gangwon Province is being criticized for the names of three of its courses being misogynistic. The criticism came to light in a report in local weekly Women News on Monday. The report found names such as “Dolimbbang” which can be read as slang referring to “gang rape," “Hyeongsu,” an older brother's wife or "sister-in-law," and "Hyeongsu II." The names were found on a sign displayed in the

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2024

Unseasonably warm weather with day highs of around 20 degrees Celsius has delayed the autumn foliage peak, leaving large parts of Korea’s major foliage hotspots green as of Wednesday. Of the 21 hotspots the Korea Meteorological Administration monitored, seven -- including Naejangsan in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, famous for its maple leaves -- had not reached their foliage peak Wednesday. The KMA announces the “peak” when 80 percent of the place is covered with autumn foli

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2024

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea ruled Tuesday that numerous types of illegal abuse inflicted on a group of seasonal workers from the Philippines last year amount to human trafficking. It was the first time the commission recognized abuse against seasonal workers of foreign nationality as human trafficking. Pointing to loopholes in the system as well as insufficient government management and supervision as causes, the commission identified illegal abuse practices including: wage exp

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2024

A surge in cases of scrub typhus at the end of October has prompted the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to advise caution to avoid contact with mites. There were 312 cases of scrub typhus between Oct. 24 and 30, a fivefold increase from 57 two weeks earlier according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The disease is caused by bacteria carried by the larvae of chiggers, also known as harvest mites, which suck fluids from animals including humans. The bacteria can caus

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2024

Local festivals in Korea on the theme of bunsik, Korean light meals and snacks, are enjoying unprecedented success, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors in recent weeks. Although the festivals were held in cities 2-3 hours by car from the Seoul metropolitan area, where half of the Korean population lives, some cities saw visitor numbers similar to their whole populations as the events went viral online. The 1st Gimcheon Gimbap Festival, held at Samyeongdaesa Park in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsa

Travel Nov. 4, 2024

The court will review an arrest warrant for a woman who rammed into seven cars and drove the wrong way along a boulevard near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul. The review will be held in Seoul Central District Court at 3:30 p.m. Monday, after police requested the warrant the previous day. The woman in her 20s was caught driving without a license after causing an accident on the street near Exit No. 12 of Gangnam Station at 1:39 p.m. on Saturday, according to local media. She was reportedly pull

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2024

Relations between South Korea and Uzbekistan have climbed to new heights, with the two sides continuing to set new milestones as bilateral ties mature, Uzbek Ambassador to South Korea Alisher Abdusalomov said at the Global Business Forum in Seoul on Wednesday. In the forum’s sixth weekly session held Wednesday, the delegate explained the strong partnership that Seoul and Tashkent have fostered since Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991 and the two countries' establishment of dip

Diplomatic Circuit Oct. 31, 2024