The number of single-person households increased further last year to account for a record high of 42 percent of all households, data from the Interior Ministry showed. According to resident registration data from the ministry, the total number of registered households in the country rose by 0.9 percent to reach 23.91 million as of December last year, compared to the previous year when the corresponding figure was 23.7 million. Of the total, one-person households reached 9.93 million as

Social Affairs Jan. 15, 2024

On Dec. 28, South Korean men’s soccer national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced his star-studded roster for the 26-man squad, which is seeking to win the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 1960. There were few surprises for the team, which will be brandishing star players like Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae. South Korea’s arch-rival,

Soccer Jan. 12, 2024

The presidential election in Taiwan on Saturday is being closely watched from Beijing to Washington, with the winner set to determine the future of the democratic island’s relations with an increasingly aggressive China. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and President Xi Jinping has in recent years intensified rhetoric about “unification” while refusing to rule out the use of force to bring it under Chinese control. Front-runner and current Vice President Lai Chin

World News Jan. 11, 2024

　South Korea’s current population of around 51.6 million is expected to decline significantly to 36.2 million by 2072 due to critically low birth rates, a statistics report showed. 　The portion of seniors aged 65 and above in the population, which came to 17.4 percent in 2022, is expected to soar to 47.7 percent in 2072, according to the biennial report released by state-run Statistics Korea. 　Regarding the state of the population, the agency predicted an annual fall of 0.16 percent fo

Social Affairs Jan. 10, 2024

Teen usage of social media hasn’t dropped much, despite rising concerns about its effects on the mental health of adolescents, a survey from the Pew Research Institute found. But the data also found that roughly one in six teens describe their use of two platforms — YouTube and TikTok — as “almost constant.” Seventy-one percent of teens said they visit YouTube at least daily; 16 percent described their usage as “almost constant” according to the survey.

World News Jan. 9, 2024

Canada - the world’s largest supplier of maple syrup - saw production of the sweet, sticky stuff plummet more than 40 percent due to unfavorable weather, according to national statistics agency data. Statistics Canada blamed severe storms and big temperature swings in eastern parts of the country for the lower yields. Top producing province Quebec experienced late spring ice storms that cut its production to 35.6 million liters - its lowest level since 2018. Total national production for 2

World News Jan. 8, 2024

　Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, was named as the most preferred destination for people around the world to move to, according to “The Most Popular Cities for Moving Abroad” survey released by Remitly, a US-based online remittance service. 　The study is based on Google search data over the past 12 months in 164 countries examining search volumes for the phrase, “move to (city),” Dubai topped the list with the support of 60 countries, including Cana

World News Jan. 5, 2024

The number of newly married couples fell more than 6 percent to come to around 1 million in 2022, and the proportion of the couples having no children reached an all-time high, data showed. The number of newly married couples came to 1.03 million last year, down from the previous year’s 1.1 million, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The newlyweds here refer to couples who tied the knot for the first time in the five years up to November 2022. The figure has shown a downtrend fro

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2024

After delays from renovations, natural disasters and general construction, there are a number of big-name travel destinations set to open in 2024. From the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, here are five travel spots to visit in the new year. Notre Dame Cathedral in France Notre Dame is slated for a December 2024 reopening, which means people have already started booking

World News Jan. 3, 2024

Sales of South Korea’s transportation industry rose nearly 20 percent in 2022 driven by a rising demand for travel after the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. Sales came to 232.5 trillion won ($177.7 billion) last year, up 19.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The growth came as sales of the air transport sector surged 57.9 percent on-year to 23.4 trillion won, with more people taking trips as the COVID-19 situation stabilized. Sales of the water t

Industry Dec. 28, 2023

South Korea’s car exports hit a record high in November on strong demand for premium electric cars in the US market, data showed. The combined value of car exports reached $6.53 billion in November, marking an all-time-high monthly figure, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Over the January-November period, the combined car exports came to $64.5 billion, also setting a new record for the period, it added. The ministry anticipated the annual automobile shipments to hov

Industry Dec. 27, 2023

European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine, in a historic political win for Kyiv as it grapples with uncertainty over future financial aid from the US and Europe. European Council President Charles Michel announced the move on Dec. 14. He said the bloc also agreed to open accession talks with Moldova and granted candidate status to Georgia. While Kyiv still faces hurdles in clinching funding from both the EU and US, the country’s progress on joining the bloc will

World News Dec. 26, 2023

  Douglas fir These soft needles are dark green or blue-green in color and are about 2-3 centimeters in length. The Douglas fir’s needles radiate in all directions from the branch. When crushed, these needles have a sweet fragrance. They are one of the top Christmas tree choices. Balsam fir These trees exhibits a relatively dense, dark green, pyramidal crown with a slender spirelike tip. On lower branches, needles generally occur as two-ranked (two rows along sides of the branch), a

World News Dec. 22, 2023

　South Korea’s exports of dried seaweed - “gim” in Korean - and cooked rice reached an all-time high during the first 10 months of this year on brisk overseas demand accompanying the popularity of Korean culture and food, the Korea Customs Service said. 　Outbound shipments of gim came to a record high of $670 million in the January-October period, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the customs agency. 　In terms of volume, gim exports rose 17.3 perc

Consumer Dec. 21, 2023

More than half of the new jobs in 2022 were taken by adults 60 or older, while younger people took up only about 1.15 percent of the year’s newly added posts, data showed. South Korea added 870,000 new jobs in 2022, marking a 3.4 percent on-year increase to bring the total jobs to 26.45 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Of the total, jobs for those aged 60 and older rose the most by 440,000, followed by 260,000 new jobs for people in their 50s. The number of jobs

Social Affairs Dec. 20, 2023