Lee's approval rating rebounds after 2-week decline: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rebounded to 37.3 percent after two consecutive weeks of decline, a survey showed Monday. In the poll conducted on 2,520 adults nationwide from last Monday to Friday by Realmeter, positive assessments of Lee's job performance rose 2.1 percentage points from the previous week. Negative assessments fell 1 percentage point to 60.4 percent. As reasons for the rebound, Realmeter cited policies aimed at improving people's livelihoods in areas such as housing a

Oct. 19, 2026

[Graphic News] Korean children rank high in skills, low in health and well-being

South Korean children ranked 27th overall among those in high-income countries, placing among the highest in academic skills but near the bottom in physical and mental well-being, according to UNICEF’s Innocenti Report Card. South Korea’s skills ranking rose from 11th in 2020 to fourth in 2025 and third in 2026. However, it ranked 30th in physical health and 34th in mental well-being in 2026. The report measures physical health through child mortality and overweight rates, mental well-being thro

Oct. 19, 2026

[Lee Kyong-hee] A journalist’s response to ‘The Assassin(s)’

Watching the controversial film “The Assassin(s)” the other day, I found myself choking up more than once. I asked myself why. The film is hardly a melodrama. It is a deftly crafted political mystery thriller, moving briskly through a succession of suspenseful scenes. Some viewers may simply enjoy it as gripping entertainment. For me, however, it was an unsettling encounter with an era I had lived through. The film’s vivid reconstruction of the 1970s brought back memories that had lain dormant f

Oct. 19, 2026

[Editorial] Locked out

A rising tide of exports can lift an economy’s headline figures without opening the door to its next generation of workers. South Korea’s September employment report illustrates that disconnect. Overall employment expanded for a third successive month as manufacturing snapped a two-year contraction, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Yet employment among people aged 15 to 29 fell for the 47th straight month. The recovery is improving corporate balance sheets without creating enoug

Oct. 19, 2026

S. Korea, Ukraine had no discussion on timing of disclosing N.K. POW repatriation: diplomat

South Korea and Ukraine had formed a consensus to keep discussions on the repatriation of captured North Korean soldiers confidential for as long as possible, a South Korean diplomat said Sunday. Yoon Ji-wan, charge d'affaires at the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine, made the remark during a parliamentary audit by the subcommittee on foreign affairs conducted at the South Korean Embassy in Poland. "We had no discussions on a timeline for disclosure, but we did share the idea that confidentiality

Oct. 18, 2026

New investigation agency makes 1st arrest since launch

A new investigation agency tasked with handling major crimes made its first arrest of a suspect Sunday, 16 days after its launch. The narcotics investigation bureau of the Seoul office of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency said it has taken a Southeast Asian national into custody on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. The suspect, whose identity was withheld, is accused of bringing 2.5 kilograms of marijuana from overseas. After detaining the suspect, citing flight risk and conce

Oct. 18, 2026

Late firefighter’s daughter’s letter goes viral

A letter from the 6-year-old daughter of a firefighter who died while responding to a factory fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, has gone viral online. Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party posted photos on his social media on Saturday showing the letter written by the firefighter’s daughter, who will start elementary school early next year. The letter began, “To my dad, whom I miss.” “Dad (you) passed away yesterday, but I miss you so much already,” the girl wrote. “My dear dad, let’s me

Oct. 18, 2026

Grand Mint Festival cancels outdoor shows, offers full refunds amid heavy rain

The Grand Mint Festival 2026 canceled all outdoor performances on Sunday, the second day, due to heavy rain. All ticket holders for Sunday’s festival will receive full refunds. Mint Paper, the festival's organizer, announced on its official social media channels that it would fully refund tickets for the second day, stating it was “nearly impossible” to continue with the planned performances as weather conditions worsened. Indoor performances at KSPO Dome continued as scheduled on Sunday. Mint P

Oct. 18, 2026

Tigers beat Twins to take stranglehold in KBO postseason series

The offense exploded for five runs in the opening frame and starter Adam Oller worked six solid innings, as the Kia Tigers defeated the LG Twins 6-3 for their second straight postseason victory. After emerging victorious in a game played amid intermittent showers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju, the Tigers are now a win away from taking this best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. The series will move to the Twins' home in Seoul

Oct. 18, 2026

Heavy rain floods roads, topples trees across Seoul

Heavy rain battered Seoul on Sunday, leaving roads flooded, trees uprooted and traffic disrupted across the city. Flooding forced the closure of the underpass beneath Jeungsan Bridge in Seodaemun-gu in both directions at 3:04 p.m., before traffic resumed at around 4:17 p.m., according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's traffic information system. Several expressway sections, including the Yangjae-Anseong stretch of the Gyeongbu Expressway, were also affected by heavy rainfall and strong wind

Oct. 18, 2026

800 yrs after Vietnamese prince's arrival, a Korean county tries to revive historic ties

Some 800 people gathered Saturday at Chunghyodang, a centuries-old building tucked away in the mountains of eastern South Korea, where conversations could be heard in Korean, Vietnamese and occasionally English. They had come to commemorate an unlikely historical connection: The arrival of a Vietnamese prince on the Korean Peninsula 800 years ago and the Korean clan descended from him. “We are gathered here to retrace the historic relationship between Korea and Vietnam that spans over 800 years,

Oct. 18, 2026

Couple forces children to hit family dog, threatens them with knife

A man and woman have each been sentenced to 18 months in jail, suspended for three years for multiple accounts of emotional and physical abuse against their children, court officials said Saturday. The Chuncheon District Court recently found the married couple guilty of child abuse, placing them on probation and ordering them to take 40 hours of lectures on preventing similar crimes. The 47-year-old husband was accused of forcing his daughter to strike the family dog when the animal bit him in J

Oct. 18, 2026

Free K-pop albums? Seoul shop turns fan waste into treasure

Cardboard boxes brimming with K-pop albums sat inside a Seoul shop on Thursday afternoon. Among the offerings were releases from chart-topping idol groups such as NCT and Ive, alongside those of lesser-known acts. Some were bundled with photobooks. Yet every album was free for the taking. Muller, a 24-year-old German tourist and fan of Tomorrow X Together, returned to the shop for a second visit during her weeklong trip to Korea, hoping to pick up more albums as souvenirs for her friends back ho

Oct. 18, 2026

Kazakh national arrested for threatening driver on street

A 21-year-old Kazakh national was arrested for allegedly blocking a car and damaging it while threatening its driver in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, police said Saturday. The man allegedly chased a car driven by a man in his 30s at around 11:40 p.m. on July 29. After blocking the car with his own vehicle, he got out and kicked the front of the victim’s car, according to police. The incident went viral after a YouTuber shared dashcam footage of the confrontation. However, poor lighting on the rural

Oct. 18, 2026

Kim Young-kwang isn't afraid of a little K-drama rom-com cringe

Netflix Korea’s latest romantic comedy series, "Take Charge of My Heart," is about as classic a K-drama as they come. The series adheres to a time-tested K-drama formula: a handsome, wealthy heir and an ordinary protagonist drawn together by fate, with a steady stream of accidental physical contact and romantic misunderstandings fueling their connection. While leaning heavily on familiar tropes that have long defined the genre, the series appears to be finding success with its well-worn rom-com

Oct. 18, 2026