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Shopping scams, taxi rip-offs fuel 71% rise in foreign tourist complaints in South Korea
A Japanese tourist walked into a cosmetics store in Seoul, only to find no prices on display. Pressured by staff, she bought a face mask set — then realized it was being sold elsewhere for one-third of the price. When she tried to return it, the staff instead convinced her to buy a different product, which also turned out to be overpriced. A Singaporean traveler who left their phone in a taxi was told by the driver it would cost 500,000 won ($350.77) to get it back. Under Korean law, that kind o
April 16, 2025 -
Gyeonggi Province sees 29 cases of subsidence in 2024
The number of subsidence cases in Gyeonggi Province rose slightly in 2024, with 29 reported incidents, according to data released by the province Wednesday. While the number marked a slight uptick from the previous year, the overall trend has been downward, dropping from 79 cases in 2018 to 26 in 2023. The most recent case occurred last Friday in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, when the pavement above an underground subway construction site collapsed, leaving one person injured and another mis
April 16, 2025 -
Seoul school told students to delete video evidence of teacher assault: report
A high school in southwestern Seoul is facing a backlash after reportedly checking students’ phones and asking them to delete footage of a classmate assaulting a teacher, according to multiple Korean-language media reports on Wednesday. The assault took place last Thursday at a school in Yangcheon-gu, where a senior student allegedly struck a teacher in the face while holding a smartphone. He was reportedly enraged when the teacher in question scolded him for playing video games with the phone d
April 16, 2025 -
Seoul continues Subway map reboot
Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday unveiled redesigned route maps of the city's subway lines, as part of its first major design revamp in 40 years. The new designs will be used in train cars and on platforms and screen doors starting at the end of the year, following cooperation with Seoul Metro on visual, color and information design, an official told The Korea Herald. According to the city government, the overhaul aims to create a standardized, user-friendly design that enhances readab
April 16, 2025 -
Thank-you letter from old lady helps ‘laundromat project’ reach funding goal
A rural county in southwestern South Korea has recently raised 180 million won ($126,000) in donations to set up laundromats in remote areas where elderly citizens have long struggeld with laundry chores. Gokseong-gun of South Jeolla Province said Tuesday that it had surpassed its fundraising goal, originally set for the end of this year. Some 1,500 people participated in the fund-raiser, with letters of support pouring in from across the country. The county attributed the early success of the f
April 16, 2025 -
Brain boost backlash: ADHD patients caught in pill shortage
Twenty-six-year-old Lee Jung-woo — not his real name — has been living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at least since he was diagnosed at 10 years old. For over a decade, he relied on a steady prescription of methylphenidate, the core ingredient in the most widely used ADHD medications in South Korea. But when his regular hospital unexpectedly shut down, a new challenge emerged: finding a place that still had his medicine. “It’s like a treasure hunt,” Lee said. “I’ve called more th
April 16, 2025 -
Man behind Gyeongbokgung graffiti sentenced to additional year for money laundering
A 31-year-old man previously convicted of orchestrating graffiti at Gyeongbokgung, the iconic Joseon-era (1392-1910) royal palace in Seoul, has been sentenced to an additional year in prison for laundering criminal proceeds, according to local media outlets. Previously, the man, identified by the surname Kang, was sentenced to seven years in prison in December for inciting two high school students he met via Telegram to deface the historic sites with graffiti promoting an illegal video-sharing w
April 16, 2025 -
Police in hourslong standoff with PSS in 6th attempt to search presidential office
The police were locked in a seven-hour standoff with Presidential Security Service officials on Wednesday as they attempted to conduct a search and seizure of the presidential office, along with the PSS’ office and residence of its former acting chief, Kim Seong-hoon, as part of its ongoing investigations into the Dec. 3 martial law debacle involving former President Yoon Suk Yeol. At 10:13 a.m., the special investigation team of the Korean National Police Agency’s National Office of Investigati
April 16, 2025 -
Elderly woman stuck on balcony for 18 hours strings together clothes to seek help
A woman in her 70s strung together multiple pieces of clothing to alert patrol officers after being stranded on her balcony for almost two days. Seoul Jongno Police Station said Tuesday that Sgt. Yoo Jae-il and senior patrol officer Kim Du-tae rescued the woman from an apartment complex near Dongnimmun Station of Line No. 3 at around 10 a.m. Thursday. The woman had stepped outside to the balcony to water her plants the previous day when the door automatically locked behind her, leaving her stuck
April 16, 2025 -
Search enters 6th day for missing worker at collapsed subway construction site
Search efforts continued for a sixth day Wednesday to find a worker missing in the collapse of a subway construction site in the city of Gwangmyeong. The construction site for the Sinansan Line collapsed Friday, causing a section of the road above ground to cave in and damaging several buildings. Rescue workers have been working almost around the clock to find the 50-something worker who is the only person still missing in the accident. As of Wednesday morning, workers had dug 21 meters into the
April 16, 2025 -
Private education for kindergarteners ineffective, may hurt child's self-esteem: study
Private education for children before the school age does not significantly improve their linguistic or problem-solving abilities on a short-term basis, and could have negative emotional effects such as low self-esteem, a study by a state-run research institute showed Tuesday. Senior researcher Kim Eun-yeong of the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education shared the results of the study conducted by her team, which studied 72 first-graders and their parents living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Provin
April 15, 2025 -
Taxi driver couple commended for helping catch voice phishing suspect
A couple working as taxi drivers was commended for helping police catch a suspect in a voice phishing scam after the two grew suspicious of a passenger who rode in each of their cabs. Seoul Gangdong Police Station said Tuesday that they have presented the couple with a reward and certificate of appreciation for their help in the recent arrest. The suspect, a man in his 60s, rode the taxi driven by the husband and got off at a road in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, at around 2 p.m. on March 19. Fiv
April 15, 2025 -
Sinkholes raise fears over old pipe infrastructure
Public concern is growing over sinkholes forming across South Korea, with aging underground infrastructure cited as a major cause in cities like Seoul and Busan. According to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 63 sinkholes were reported in the capital between March 2022 and March 2025. District-level data shows some of the city’s most central and populous areas are home to the oldest sewer pipes, including those for rainwater. Jongno-gu has the highest proportion of 50-year-old sewer p
April 15, 2025 -
Snow, hail in April — what’s driving the chill?
After nationwide warm spring temperatures accompanied by blooming flowers, South Korea saw unseasonably cold temperatures from Saturday until Monday, bringing strong gusts of wind, rain and even snow to many parts of the country. The cold weather continued into Tuesday, accompanied by strong winds. Over the weekend, eastern parts of Gyeonggi Province, as well as inland regions and mountainous regions in Gangwon Province, saw accumulated snowfall of up to 5 centimeters. As strong wind advisories
April 15, 2025 -
Man attacks wife and daughter, falls to death with wife
Two people died earlier this week after a man attacked his wife and daughter and the couple fell from their apartment to their deaths, according to rescue authorities in South Chungcheong Province on Tuesday. A 40-year-old man was found dead on Monday at his apartment complex in Cheonan, the province's largest city, and his 38-year-old wife was found critically injured with her heart having stopped. She was taken to a hospital for emergency treatment but died. Officials at the Chungnam Fire and
April 15, 2025