The Yoon Suk Yeol administration's plan to restrict protests by groups with a record of allegedly illegal demonstrations as well as ban nighttime and rush-hour rallies, contradicts the Constitution as well as Yoon’s repeated emphasis on freedom and individual rights, critics said Thursday. Political commentator Chin Jung-kwon called this plan "a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea" in an era wh...

With the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly in the rear-view mirror, South Korea is witnessing a late-season resurgence of seasonal flu and the common cold this spring, with the number of patients five times greater than the average of previous years, officials said Monday. According to government data, the ratio of patients diagnosed with or suspected of having seasonal influenza in the 19th week of t...

When Cha Mi-joo asked about her 14-year-old son's opinion on his school lunch, he nonchalantly shrugged and gave a one-word response, "kebake." She had to ask what he meant, because the term didn't align with her knowledge of the Korean language. It was during this exchange that she discovered a new slang term derived from the English phrase "case by case." "Kebake," which according to her son,...

An ill-fated replica of Korea's 16th century turtle-shaped warship was sold for 1.5 million won ($1,100), less than 0.1 percent of the money spent for its creation, officials at Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, said Thursday. According to Geoje, the sale of the recreated Geobukseon took place on Tuesday during the eighth round of bidding, starting from the initial bidding price of 117.5 million...

The story of two middle-school students who walked 11 hours through the night to reach Everland for a school trip went viral after it was shared on social media recently. The reason for their arduous journey? A bet proposed by their friends with a reward of 70,000 won ($52). According to the person who shared their story in an online community, the two teenage boys were found wandering in Yongi...

Families that communicate in group chat rooms on mobile messaging apps are more likely to have stronger bonds compared to those who don’t, a study showed Sunday. “There is a higher chance that families with group chat rooms feel more satisfaction due to in-depth communication,” according to a report released by the research team led by Sogang University communications professor Cho Jae-hee. “Fa...

The mid-80s were a harrowing time for South Koreans, marked by traumatic events that shook the entire nation. The shock of the Korean Air Flight 007's shot down by a Soviet missile on Sept. 1, 1983, which killed all of its passengers and crew, was compounded by another horror, just a month later, at the hands of communist forces in the northern part of the peninsula. On Oct. 9, in Myanmar’s cap...

In the country with the highest suicide rates in the world, a disturbing new trend may be emerging: the live broadcasting of suicides on social media. On April 16, a teenager livestreamed her death by suicide on Instagram. Such content has been of international concern for some time, but the girl’s death marked the first known case of its kind in South Korea. Further jolting the nation, two tee...

From students to illegal workers In 2021, there were 1,611 foreign graduates of Korean universities, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Labor. Of them, 257 were hired by a company in Korea, while 189 continued their education here. Another 193 left the country. The rest -- nearly 60 percent of the total -- were classified by the government agency as "unable to identify status after g...

Splurging on pets Pet dermatology and omakase dining is indicative of a growing trend towards the pampering of pets in South Korea. The “luxury market” for pets is expected to grow, with more Koreans interested in providing faster and better services for their animal companions, market insiders said. According to the state-affiliated Korea Rural Economic Institute, the size of the country’s pet...

A South Korean lawmaker's call for the abolition of “no kids zones” in certain restaurants and venues met a divided response from the public Friday. Rep. Yong Hye-in of the minor progressive Basic Income Party on Thursday claimed that many private restaurants and public venues adopt “no kids” policies without reasonable grounds. “Today, popular cafes and restaurants on Instagram and even public...

The South Korea-US alliance, formed 70 years ago in the wake of the Korean War, has evolved to be more than a military pact. It is a cornerstone for all aspects of the Seoul-Washington ties, encompassing the economy, culture and shared values. The alliance’s beginning dates back to Oct. 1, 1953 when two sides signed the Korea-US Mutual Defense Treaty. It was in the aftermath of the 1950-53 war ...

A teenage girl livestreamed her death by apparent suicide on Instagram on Sunday, prompting several viewers to alert the police, officials said Monday. Seoul Gangnam Police Station said the victim, whose name and exact age was withheld, died after falling from a 19-story building near Gangnam Station at around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. She reportedly suffered from severe depression. It is unclear ho...

The first duo -- Park and his friend Jung, 38 -- allegedly sold marijuana grown in their respective apartments located in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, from May last year to February this year. Park’s wife, who was pregnant at the time, was living with Park in the apartment where the plant was being cultivated. Park has not been indicted for personal use of cannabis and is not alleged to hav...

For many Koreans, the name Min Byoung-chul rings a bell. In the 1980s, his “Practical English” book series introduced learners to “wanna” and “gonna” instead of “want to” and “going to," which were taught in local textbooks. An educational TV show bearing his name attracted millions of people who aspired to learn “real” English as spoken by Americans. Over the past some 15 years, the man who w...