BTS member Suga might serve his military duty as a social service agent, according to local news reports citing military officials. Serving as a social service agent is an alternative form of military service in South Korea, for those deemed unfit to serve as soldiers in a military base due to a number of factors such as health, financial difficulties and family situation. In the case of Suga, ...

A fraud suspect in his 40s was apprehended by the police on Monday with suspected crime revenue of about 15 billion won ($11.5 million) after several days on the run. The police caught an online merchant who disappeared with money paid by at least 46 people for luxury bags and gift cards, the Suwon Nambu Police Station on Tuesday. In the investigation, the suspect confessed that he made as much...

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s top banks, is offering multilingual services on Sundays at five branches around the country. The five branches -- Ansan, Uijeongbu and Balan in Gyeonggi Province, Gwanghui-dong in Seoul and Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province -- will be open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Foreigners can access general banking services in 10 languages, including English, Chine...

How would "seonbi," Confucian scholars during the Joseon era (1392-1910), have fun, if they lived today? As a response to his curiosity, Hwang Tae-in, 35, created “sansunoleum,” a reinterpretation of “hanryangmu.” The word "hanryang" has had different meanings throughout history, ranging from those who retired from public office to those trying for a military position, but today the word is used...

A woman was fined after abandoning her 3-year-old child in August in downtown Seoul, avoiding a prison sentence and possible deportation. Seoul Central District Court opted for leniency on Thursday, ordering a fine of 5 million won ($3,850) to a foreign national and ordering her to take a course against child abuse for abandoning her daughter in an alley in Myeong-dong, Seoul, according to local...

Video footage of a woman standing against Chinese Public Security has been going viral on social media as “white paper protests” against China’s "Zero-COVID" policy spread across the country. The video reportedly taken in Kashgar, Xinjiang province in China on Tuesday shows a woman in a white hoodie and jeans standing across from a line of riot police, appearing to record the police officers on ...

“Study in Korea Fair” kicked off its biannual online exposition in cooperation with local governments on Tuesday. A total of 84 universities across South Korea provide participants with information on courses, admission and scholarship in this session, which runs through Dec. 1. Nine local governments also have online booths, including Busan, Daegu and Incheon, the country’s most populous citie...

“The process attracts me more than the results,” says Kim Na-yeon a spinner and weaver of Hansan ramie fabric, which is made from the plant ramie, used to make traditional summer costumes. Ramie fabric from Hansan, South Chungcheong Province, has a long tradition that goes hundreds of years, and its production process was designated as a cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The making process o...

First lady Kim Keon-hee is once again drawing fire from the opposition bloc this time over her activities in Cambodia, where she accompanied President Yoon Suk-yeol for the ASEAN meeting. During her trip, she declined to attend a cultural event arranged by the Cambodian government for the spouses of attending state leaders. Instead, she visited a young heart patient at a hospital as well as at t...

Suneung, the college entrance examination that is held once a year, is now just a week away. Across the country, people of all ages pay attention to the exam that takes place simultaneously everywhere here on the third Thursday of each November, as society puts great importance on college admission. Students go all out to achieve their best score on the test in belief that a good score could ch...

Lawmakers at the National Assembly proposed revising a domestic violence law to allow the punishment of stalking crimes committed by family members. Independent Rep. Yang Jeong-sook and other 10 lawmakers on Thursday purposed a revision to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence to extend the scope of punishing stalking crimes, Yang’s office announced Mo...

Former President Moon Jae-in has notified the South Korean government of his intent to return the dogs that were gifted to him by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un back to the state. Moon on Saturday relayed his decision to the Ministry of Interior and Safety that he wishes to return a pair of dogs and their puppy that he was taking care of since May, according to local reports on Monday. Of the ...

One of the 26 foreign victims of Saturday night’s Itaewon tragedy has been identified as the niece of a US politician -- Rep. Brad Wenstrup. Twenty-year-old Anne Marie Geiske is one of the two American victims of the deadly disaster, according to the office for the representative of Ohio’s 2nd congressional district on Monday. “Monica and I, and our entire family, are grieving the loss of our n...

In shock and grief, South Koreans are mourning the losses of innocent young lives at Saturday night’s deadly crowd surge in Itaewon. At least 154 people -- most of them in their 20s -- died in the country’s worst disaster in years. The narrow alleyway where the fatal stampede took place is still blocked for police investigation. But not far from the disaster site, flowers, messages and beverages...