The vast majority of Korean men who take parental leave are either civil servants or full-time workers at the nation’s large conglomerates, with male employees at small and midsized businesses either unable to take it or choosing not to, a lawmaker’s office revealed Wednesday. According to Rep. Shin Bo-ra of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, 70 percent of Korean men who have taken paren...

Almost 75 percent of North Korean defectors currently living in South Korea were unaware of the existence of the term “human rights” while living in the communist state, and they have significantly different views from South Koreans when it comes to a number of social issues such as conscientious objection, a study showed. “Our study suggests that many North Korean defectors are either unaware ...

More than 80 percent of South Koreans have experienced some form of sexism — including body shaming and women having to cook large meals for male members of the family — during national holidays, such as Lunar New Year and Chuseok, a study showed. The study, compiled by the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, came to the conclusion after surveying some 1,170 Korean men and women earlier this ...

The recent death of a puma, killed by police after it escaped from its enclosure in a Daejeon zoo, has triggered a wave of criticism concerning animal rights abuses in South Korea, with some saying all zoos in the country must shut down. The puma, named Bbo-rong, was shot to death Tuesday, about four hours after it escaped its enclosure at Daejeon O-World through a door left unlocked by staf...

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang’s Mansudae Art Studio has been creating a buzz at home and overseas -- even after a UN official said the visit did not violate UN sanctions that ban international transactions with the North Korean art establishment. So what do we know about the studio and why has it been banned by the UN? The Mansudae Art Studio was founded in 1959. It ...

Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday announced a set of measures to cut the use of plastic by 50 percent by 2022, including a plan to ban plastic use at all city organizations. The announcement came in response to a massive plastic waste crisis in the country, and follows China’s ban on plastic waste imports in January. Previously, China had imported about half of the world’s waste, includin...

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has a history of eating at local restaurants on his overseas visits. Visiting Vietnam in March, he enjoyed pho at a noodle house. In Beijing last year, he had breakfast local style: Chinese-style deep-fried doughnuts and soymilk at a local eatery. Moon continues his so-called “local restaurant diplomacy”-- an effort to connect with the people -- in Pyongyang. ...

Political parties responded to the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang along partisan lines, with some opposition lawmakers calling for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s “official announcement” of the country’s complete denuclearization before talking about any future economic collaborations. Others were visibly touched, tearing up as they watched President Moon Jae-in arriving in Pyongya...

Most parents of children aged up to 5 will be given a monthly allowance of 100,000 won ($88) per child starting from Friday, with the exceptions of some high-earners and overseas residents, the country’s Welfare Ministry said. Of 2.3 million applications submitted from June 20 to Sept. 14, 1.9 million have been accepted for the allowance scheme aimed at boosting the country’s critically low birt...

More than 60 percent of South Korean unwed mothers have not been able to receive medical care due to low income, while 70 percent have suffered depression at least once, according to a newly released study. The report, published by the Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association, came to the conclusion after surveying 359 Korean unwed mothers nationwide in April. Among those who partici...

A total of 23 Yemeni asylum seekers – many of them minors -- have been granted a one-year stay in Korea, the Jeju Immigration Office said Friday. The Jeju Immigration Office, however, did not grant legal refugee status to any of the Yemeni applicants. The 23 are among some 500 Yemenis who have arrived on the country’s southernmost island of Jeju since January, fleeing a civil war in their home c...

More than 80 percent of South Koreans support the idea of “dignified death” -- meaning they do not wish to receive life-prolonging treatment should they become terminally ill without the possibility of medical treatment curing their illness or relieving pain -- according to a newly released study. The study by Seoul National University Hospital researchers came to the conclusion after surveying ...

A local feminist group that has been actively organizing rallies ever since May announced that it will hold a fifth protest against spy-cam porn near Hyehwa Station in Seoul on Oct. 6. The activists say spy-cam porn is a form of violence against women that is rampant in South Korea. The first rally, held May 19, drew some 12,000 women demanding stronger punishment for men who produce sexuall...

Forty of the 50 foreign nationals who may have been in contact with South Korea’s recently confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome patient have been located, health authorities said Wednesday. The Korean government is still searching for the 10 remaining individuals, using public CCTV footage as well as collaborating with local accommodation providers in hopes of locating all of the trave...

A webtoon artist accused of defaming late activist farmer Baek Nam-gi -- who died in 2016, 10 months after being blasted by a police water cannon – maintained his innocence after the prosecution Tuesday sought a one-year prison sentence. Authorities believe that the artist, Yoon Suh-in, created and distributed a series of online cartoons that depicted Baek’s daughter on vacation overseas as he...