Climate anxiety worsens following extreme June weather

Following scorching heat waves nationwide and record-breaking heavy rain on Jeju Island over the last few weeks, South Korea's residents are grappling with "climate anxiety," as many have found themselves concerned about the increasingly unpredictable extreme weather. Climate anxiety -- related to "climate depression" -- is a term used to describe feeling distressed due to worries about climate change and its impacts on the Earth and human existence. “I always thou

June 24, 2024

Most international students are based in Seoul area: report

Even foreign students are stuck in Seoul-centric mode. A recent report showed that over half of them were studying in the Greater Seoul area as of last year. A total of 181,842 international students were in South Korea as of 2023, according to a report issued Monday by the government-affiliated Korean Council for University Education, more than double the 85,923 in 2023. Of those, 119,237 were studying for a university degree while 52,602 were in a non-degree programs such as language study cou

June 24, 2024

Hwaseong factory fire leaves multiple casualties

At least 16 people have been confirmed dead in Monday's battery factory fire in Hwaseong as of 5 p.m., with the final death toll expected to rise above 20. Of the 23 people who had earlier been reported missing in the fire, 20 were confirmed to be foreign nationals. The rescue authorities commenced a search of the lithium primary battery plant, run by Aricell, after firefighters got the blaze under control at 3:10 p.m. It was over three hours after the fire first broke out on the secon

June 24, 2024

Only 1 out of 10 victims of workplace bullying report it: survey

Most victims of workplace bullying in South Korea refrain from filing formal complaints about it to the authorities or their employers, a survey showed Monday. Gabjil 119, a civic group that assists victims of workplace abuse, conducted a survey of 1,000 employees and found that only 10.3 percent of respondents said they have filed a report against such cases. The survey allowed respondents to pick multiple responses. Of those who sought outside help, only 8.1 percent reported such cases to th

June 24, 2024

Expectations grow for doctors, govt. to sit down for talks

Representatives of doctors and the government are expected to sit down for talks as early as this week, as both sides have hinted that they would hold negotiations to seek a breakthrough to end a monthslong standoff over the government's medical reform. The move came as Lim Hyun-taek, a hawkish head of the Korea Medical Association, has stepped back from the standoff, prompting the KMA to form a committee to cope with potential talks with the government. After holding its first meeting last

June 24, 2024

[Graphic News] Users of translation service Naver Papago top 20m

Users of Naver Papago, the South Korean online portal operator's artificial intelligence-powered translation service, have steadily increased, topping 20 million last month on overseas demand, industry sources said. The number of Papago's monthly active users, both for app and web versions, reached 20.74 million in May, up 18 percent from a year ago, according to the sources, which cited a report by Naver Cloud Corp. Papago's MAUs first surpassed the 20 million threshold in Marc

June 24, 2024

S. Korea faces nearly 6-month summers by 2100 if emissions not cut: report

By the end of this century, South Korea will have summers lasting nearly half the year if greenhouse gas emissions continue at current levels, according to the worst-case climate change scenario. According to the highest baseline scenario for Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP5-8.5) future climate change scenarios presented on the Korea Meteorological Administration's official webpage, Korea will experience an average of 169 summer days in the 30-year period that starts May 2081 and ends

June 23, 2024

Denmark's Buldak ramyeon recall sparks Google search spike

The recent recall of several Buldak ramyeon products in Denmark for being too spicy has unexpectedly turned into a marketing win for the company, shown by a surge in Google searches for the products, data showed Sunday. According to Google Trends data, worldwide searches for Buldak ramyeon -- popularized over the past decade as "Korean fire noodles" on the internet -- reached a peak on June 12, following news of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration's decision to recal

June 23, 2024

Rapid surge in spam texts prompts police probe

Spam text messages promoting stock investments, loans and shopping deals have surged rapidly in South Korea during the first half of this year, prompting a police investigation to determine the cause of the spike. Between January and May 2024, around 170 million spam text messages were reported and detected by the Korea Communications Commission, according to data provided by Korea Communications Commission and released by Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday. Additionall

June 23, 2024

Korea is having its hottest June ever now: weather agency

It’s official: South Korea is experiencing its hottest June ever, and by a significant margin. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Sunday, regions across the country recorded an average of 2.4 heat wave days from June 1 to 20, which is four times the average from 1991 to 2020. The previous record was set in 2018, when there were 1.5 heat wave days. A heat wave day, as defined by the KMA, is when daytime temperatures soar above 33 degrees Celsius. This year’s first

June 23, 2024

After SNUH strike ends, will other doctors follow suit?

Hopes are growing for an end to months of medical disruption in South Korea after medical professors at the nation's most prestigious hospital decided to end their indefinite walkout, a week after they went on strike to protest medical reforms. The emergency committee of medical professors at Seoul National University, who were the first among doctors to walk out without a time limit last week, announced the withdrawal from its strike on Friday afternoon. The group said doctors could not tu

June 23, 2024

'Comfort women' statue set up for 1st time in Italy

ROME -- A girl statue symbolizing the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, euphemistically called "comfort women," has been erected in Italy for the first time, a local activist group said Sunday. The statue, dubbed a Statue of Peace or comfort women statue, was disclosed to the public on Stintino Beach of the Sardinia island Saturday, according to the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery. The Stintino statue was the second suc

June 23, 2024

Leakage suspected after water released from spent fuel storage at Wolseong No. 4 nuclear power plant

The authorities are looking into a possible leakage after some 2.3 tons of stored water was released from spent fuel storage at the Wolseong No. 4 nuclear power plant in southern South Korea, officials said Saturday. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) said it received the report on the discharge of the water into the sea from the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), the operator of the Wolseong plant, at 7:53 a.m. KHNP discovered a decrease in the water level of the spent f

June 22, 2024

[Weekender] Meet my green friends: Home gardening for healing, companionship

Lee Won-young, a 26-year-old graduate school student, has recently added a new routine to her busy life -- taking care of a potted plant that she called “Chris.” Chris sits by Lee’s desk in her room. Lee’s routine every Monday is to water her potted plant to make sure it survives another week. Throughout the rest of the week, Lee spends time moving her plant in different locations around the house to make sure it gets enough sunlight and putting it under an LED light to b

June 22, 2024

Canine custody clash: Does dog belong to buyer or guardian?

  A messy canine custody battle broke out recently after a woman sued her son's former girlfriend, claiming ownership of a golden retriever who had lived with her for years but is legally owned by the ex-girlfriend. Seoul High Court recently ruled in favor of the ex-girlfriend, overturning an earlier ruling that granted the mother ownership of the animal. "There is no evidence to believe that (the ex-girlfriend) explicitly expressed her will to give the dog to the plaintiff," the

June 22, 2024

Koreans' favorite YouTubers: Tzuyang and Kwaktube

Eating and travel shows are a big hit among Koreans on YouTube, with "mukbang" YouTuber Tzuyang being the most popular, followed by travel YouTuber Kawktube, a survey showed Thursday. In a poll conducted by Gallup Korea from March to April, involving 1,777 respondents aged 13 and older, Tzuyang topped the list with 5.2 percent choosing her as their favorite YouTuber. Kwaktube of the eponymous travel YouTube channel secured second place with 4 percent. All YouTubers in the top five of t

June 22, 2024

Heavy rain hits southern S. Korea; gov't activates counter-disaster team

Heavy rains pounded southern regions in South Korea on Saturday, including the southernmost resort island of Jeju, with the government initiating anti-disaster operations to brace for emergencies. Heavy rainfall of up to 150 millimeters was expected in Jeju over the weekend, and as much as 50-100 mm in the southwestern Gwangju city and the surrounding South Jeolla Province, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The Gwangju regional weather agency said it issued the heavy ra

June 22, 2024

Medical professors at Seoul Nat'l Univ. hospitals to end indefinite walkout

Medical professors serving as senior doctors at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) and its affiliates decided Friday to end an indefinite walkout, saying they could not put patients at risk any more, officials said. On Monday, senior doctors at SNUH in Seoul and its three affiliates began an indefinite walkout in protest against the government's increase of the medical school admissions quota. Around 530 senior doctors there, or 54.8 percent of the total, have joined the collective a

June 21, 2024

Man puts plastic bag over face of comfort women statue

Seoul Seobu Police Station said Friday it has sought charges against a man for placing a plastic bag over a statue symbolizing comfort women, the euphemism for the tens of thousands of women coerced into sexual slavery by imperial Japan during World War II. The man surnamed Kim, who is a leader of a controversial civic group calling for the abolishment of the act on supporting former comfort women, has been accused of violating Article 3 of the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act for placing the

June 21, 2024

Over 10m people flew between S. Korea, Japan in Jan-May, most in history

A total of 10.15 million took international flights between South Korea and Japan from January to May of this year to mark an all-time high, government data showed Friday. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of passengers who flew between South Korea and Japan in that period increased by 46.2 percent compared to the same period the year before, which was 6.94 million. The previous high in this category was marked in the Jan.-May of 2019, which was 9.38 m

June 21, 2024