The coming year will see a number of changes ranging from minimum wages to university admissions fees. Each will have varying degrees of impact on day-to-day lives, below are some of the changes likely to have a direct effect on the lives of the individual. 1. Minimum wage increase The minimum hourly wage will rise by 460 won from Jan. 1 to 9,620 won ($7.60) an hour. Employees working eight hours, five days a week, will earn over 2 million won a month, including 346,000 won of holiday pay. 2.

Social Affairs Dec. 31, 2022

“I want to leave drawings that can be publicly praised by people in the present,” Kwak Seon-hye, majoring in traditional fine arts at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage said. Kwak studies Korea’s traditional Buddhist arts in college. She sees her role as a bridge between the past and future, underlining the importance of drawing beautiful and valuable works of the traditional genre. “As (ancestors’ present) became our tradition from the past, what we

weekender Dec. 31, 2022

The number of commuter buses between Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province is set to increase next year, adding about 4,000 more seats during rush hour. Seoul and Gyeonggi governments on Monday agreed on a plan to provide more buses during rush hour on 33 routes that link residential neighborhoods across Gyeonggi Province and Seoul’s business districts, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced. The move allocate 58 additional buses from 6-9 a.m. and 5-10 p.m. The

Social Affairs Dec. 20, 2022

“Sounds from machines and tools echo in this huge space. I feel comfortable listening to the sounds while working with the timbers here,” said traditional architecture students Kim Jun-ha and Kwon Seong-jun as they showed their workspace. Kim and Kwon are students at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, which specializes in training students in traditional crafts. With a plane and saw in hand, they are on their way to being masters of traditional Korean building constr

weekender Dec. 17, 2022

The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. (KOMSCO) and BTS’ label Bit Hit Music jointly launched the K-pop band’s official 10th anniversary medal and began reservation on Friday. KOMSCO began taking pre-orders for the first edition of medals projected to be sent starting in March, KOMSCO announced. There are three types of gold medals and a single type of silver medal. A total of 10,000 gold medals are sold in 28-, 14- and 7-gram sizes to signify the 10th anniversary. There will

K-pop Dec. 16, 2022

Footage from a deadly car crash in Gangneung, Gangwon Provinc is raising public suspicions about whether the cause was “sudden unintended acceleration.” The videos of the accident show a car driven by a 68-year-old woman running amok for about 600 meters on Dec. 6. The car crashed into a trench by the road, claiming her 12-year-old grandson’s life and leaving the driver seriously injured. “Oh my God, why doesn’t this work? Oh, something is wrong,“ the frighten

Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2022

A building in Namdaemun market in central Seoul caught fire on Wednesday evening. The fire authority estimates that a temporary building near exit three of the large market caught fire at around 7:52 p.m. Emergency responders are working to contain the blaze, and a total of 77 firefighters arrived on the scene in 21 fire engines. There are no reports of injury or deaths as of 10 p.m.

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2022

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 shoulder injury from a traffic accident in 2012 is suspected to be the reason for his qualification

K-pop Dec. 13, 2022

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 as 15 billion won in criminal revenue, according to local media reports. The suspect, who sold luxury

Social Affairs Dec. 13, 2022

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, Chinese, Thai and Indonesian. The services include making deposits, withdrawals, overseas transfers an

Market Dec. 12, 2022

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 to refer to unemployed or carefree people. The hanryangmu

Culture Dec. 3, 2022

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 media reports. Child abandonment is punishable by up to 3 1/2 years in prison and generally leads to

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2022

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 her phone as they advance toward her. She holds her ground as the officers

Foreign Affairs Dec. 1, 2022

BTS’ member Jin is to begin his military service in one of the northernmost military bases in South Korea, on Dec. 13, according to the South Korean military. The bootcamp where he begins his 18 months of military service is that of the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. The 5th Infantry Division has a reputation for being a tough unit to serve in, due to harsh winters. Yeoncheon often sees the coldest temperatures in Gyeonggi Province. The average temperature ranges fr

K-pop Nov. 24, 2022

“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 cities. Participants can get real-time counseling and information about admissions to loca

Social Affairs Nov. 22, 2022