Centenarians in Korea near triples in 10-year period

The number of South Koreans aged 100 or older nearly tripled over the past decade, with the increase particularly sharp among men, government data showed Thursday. As of Nov. 1, 2025, there were 8,604 centenarians in the country, up from 3,159 in 2015, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The number increased by an annual average of 10.5 percent over the 10-year period, with 17.3 centenarians per 100,000 people in 2025. The ages were based on respondents' answers to a surv

2026-08-20 17:49:39:00

Dog meat restaurants seek damages over looming ban

Restaurants serving dog meat in Daejeon have filed lawsuits against local governments, seeking additional compensation as a nationwide ban on the breeding, slaughter, distribution and sale of dogs for food takes effect next February. Six restaurants in Daejeon's Daedeok-gu have asked the Daejeon District Court to overturn the district office's refusal to compensate them for projected operating losses resulting from the end of their dog meat businesses. The district office rejected their request,

2026-08-20 17:05:50:00

Korean textbooks moving beyond stereotypes of Africa: NGO

South Korean elementary school textbooks are presenting a more diverse and positive picture of Africa than before, according to a civic group that has campaigned against stereotypical portrayals of the continent in classrooms. Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, a South Korean internet-based civic group, said Thursday it analyzed seven sixth-grade social studies textbooks set to be used from the second semester of this year and found significant changes in how Africa is portrayed. The group had p

2026-08-20 13:28:51:00

92% of Koreans live in just 17% of the country

More than 9 in 10 South Koreans live in urban areas that account for less than one-fifth of the country’s land. Some 92.1 percent of the population lived in urban areas in 2025, even though those areas accounted for just 16.7 percent of the country’s territory, according to government data released Thursday. A total of 106,563 square kilometers of land had been designated for specific land-use purposes as of the end of last year, of which 17,740 square kilometers were classified as urban areas,

2026-08-20 12:06:42:00

Family releases photos of missing woman after alleged false police report

The family of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman who has been missing for three months, has released detailed information about her in a desperate effort to find her. The case drew renewed public attention Tuesday after News1 reported that the police officer initially assigned to the case may have falsely told his superiors that he had contacted Jang by phone. The officer later closed the missing-person case in May after reporting that he had spoken with Jang. Jang’s family has made public her pho

2026-08-19 17:54:36:00

Drivers make way, cutting emergency trip from 56 to 17 minutes

South Korean police on Tuesday released footage showing drivers in Seoul making way for an ambulance carrying an emergency patient on one of the city’s busiest roads. Officers at the Seoul Dongjak Police Station received a report on July 28 that a taxi passenger was coughing up blood during rush hour on Olympic-daero, a major expressway running across Seoul. According to footage posted on the National Police Agency’s official YouTube channel, officers dispatched to the scene began escorting the

2026-08-19 16:48:25:00

Teen convicted for bomb prank that almost foiled 10-year reunion

The Seoul Northern District Court sentenced a 19-year-old to six months in prison, suspended for three years, for falsely claiming in a YouTube livestream comment that he had planted a bomb at a train station. The defendant, surnamed Yang, posted the comment while watching a livestream on KBS Documentary’s YouTube channel from his home in Seoul on Aug. 15, 2025. The livestream centered on a long-awaited reunion involving two college students and a KBS documentary crew who had met at Andong Stati

2026-08-19 13:29:43:00

Man stabs couple at motel in apparent jealousy attack

A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder a couple at a motel in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, police said Wednesday. The suspect, a Thai national, is accused of stabbing the two victims at around 2 a.m. Wednesday at a motel in Mado-myeon, Hwaseong, according to the Hwaseong Seobu Police Station. The victims, also Thai nationals in their 30s, sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Hospital staff reported

2026-08-19 11:42:59:00

1 in 4 Korean adults has metabolic fatty liver disease

A quarter of South Korean adults have a form of fatty liver disease linked to metabolic problems, according to a new study by a state-run health agency. The Korea National Institute of Health said 24.1 percent of adults were found to have metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, a chronic condition in which excess fat builds up in the liver alongside at least one metabolic risk factor. The findings were based on an analysis of 23,111 adults aged 19 to 80 who took part

2026-08-19 11:38:51:00

Death penalty sought for motel drug killings

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday sought the death penalty for Kim So-young, a 20-year-old woman accused of killing two men and injuring four others by giving them drinks spiked with drugs. The request was made during a hearing at the Seoul Northern District Court. Kim has been indicted on charges including murder and aggravated assault over a series of incidents between 2025 and 2026. Prosecutors allege that she met multiple men at motels and other locations and gave them drinks containing be

2026-08-18 17:47:24:00