Last year marked a grim milestone as migrant deaths within and from the Middle East and North Africa region surged to nearly 3,800 people, the highest number since 2017, according to data released by the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project. This unsettling trend was mainly spurred by a shift in migratory paths, as increasing interceptions by the Libyan Coast Guard have forced desperate migrants to seek alternative and often perilous sea routes from North Afr

World News June 29, 2023

The number of airport bus passengers in Seoul has exceeded 2 million during the first five months of this year, driven by the expansion of travel demand as COVID-19 measures have been lifted, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. From January to May, a total of 2.11 million people used airport buses, nearly double the previous year’s total of 1.23 million. Airport bus usage has been steadily increasing for 14 consecutive months since April last year, data from the city government showed.

Social Affairs June 28, 2023

New York has leapfrogged Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive city to live in as an expat, while skyrocketing rents saw Singapore crash into the top five, according to a new study. Soaring inflation and rising accommodation costs were cited as reasons for New York topping ECA International’s Cost of Living Rankings for 2023, while Geneva and London remained in third and fourth place, respectively. Seoul, which rose from 10th to 9th place this year due to increased housing and acco

World News June 27, 2023

Foreign ownership of South Korean land rose 1.8 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, the Land Ministry said. Foreigners owned 264.01 square kilometers - slightly more than four times the size of Manhattan - at the end of December. It represents 0.26 percent of South Korea’s total land area, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The value of land held by foreigners also increased 2.6 percent to 32.88 trillion won ($24.8 billion) over the cited period, the s

Social Affairs June 26, 2023

　Over 6 million have participated in temple-life experience programs over the past decades, with foreigners accounting for 11 percent of the total, data showed. 　According to data compiled by Rep. Song Eon-seok of the ruling People Power Party, a total of 6.44 million have visited temples across the country as of 2022 to experience temple life since the programs’ launch in 2002. Some 695,000 foreign tourists also enjoyed the temple stay programs. 　Temple stay gives visitors a fuller exp

Travel June 23, 2023

  Global airlines more than doubled their 2023 industry profit forecast to $9.8 billion from $4.7 billion, spurred on by strong travel demand as the sector recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic years are behind us and borders are open as normal,” Director General Willie Walsh of the International Air Transport Association said. But profit margins, clocking in at 1.2 percent, were still too thin to ensure the industry’s long-term financial robustness, he added

World Business June 22, 2023

South Korea’s exports of agriculture tractors hit a record high in 2022 by advancing 23 percent on-year, data showed, amid growing demand for small-sized models. The value of tractors shipped overseas came to $1.24 billion in 2022, rising from $1 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The amount also marked a sharp rise from $657 million posted in 2020, the data showed. The customs office said the increase was driven by rising demand fo

Mobility June 21, 2023

According to a report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 248,000 patients from abroad visited South Korea for medical treatment last year, up 70 percent from 146,000 in 2021. In 2019, just a year before the pandemic, 497,000 foreign patients entered Korea. Recently, the ministry has released a set of strategies for attracting up to 700,000 foreign patients a year to Korea by 2027. In order to meet its goal by 2027, the government will implement four different strategies: improving i

Technology June 20, 2023

K-pop boy band BTS is in the midst of two weeks of events for “2023 BTS Festa” at various venues in Seoul until next Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary since its debut. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Foundation have rolled out the “Seoul BTS Tour Map - Map of the SEOUL,” featuring 13 important locations the iconic group has visited along with filming locations for web series “Run BTS.” The map will be available at six Seoul Tourism In

K-pop June 19, 2023

　The Korea Baseball Organization, the national governing body of professional baseball, announced the 24-man roster for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in September, which had been postponed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 　The team, composed of 24 players, features not only veteran talent but rising young stars. The infield is fortified by players like Kang Baek-ho of KT Wiz, while the outfield boasts talents like Lee Jung-hoo from Kiwoom Heroes, at 23 and 24 years old respectively. 　The

Baseball June 16, 2023

South Korea’s household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stood at the highest level among 34 major economies in the first quarter, global financial data showed. The ratio stood at 102.2 percent in the January-March period, followed by Hong Kong with a ratio of 95.1 percent, Thailand with 85.7 percent, Britain with 81.6 percent and the United States with 73 percent, according to the Institute of International Finance. Korea was the only country where household debt exceeded its GDP in t

Social Affairs June 15, 2023

In the throes of Canada’s raging wildfires, a glance at this century’s major blazes paints a troubling picture of a globe marked by climate change. The 21st century has seen many of these destructive events, with Australia’s 2019-20 season and Russia’s 2021 wildfires scorching immense tracts of land. The fire seasons of 2009 and 2015, one in Australia and another in Russia, saw an alarming loss of life, unlike most other major fires. The current Canadian situation, althou

World News June 14, 2023

　The number of smartphone users on 5G mobile networks had topped 30 million as of April for the first time since the service was commercialized in 2019, data showed. 　The total number of 5G users reached 30.02 million in April, accounting for 38.1 percent of the total 78.79 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. 　SK Telecom, the country’s largest mobile carrier by subscriptions, had the most 5G users at 14.35 million as o

Social Affairs June 13, 2023

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reclaimed the title of the world’s wealthiest person, surpassing LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault. Musk and the luxury tycoon have been neck-and-neck for the top spot this year in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a listing of the world’s 500 richest people. LVMH shares have tumbled about 10 percent since April, at one point wiping $11 billion from Arnault’s net worth in a single day. Musk’s rise in the position was due to the shares of Tesla

World Business June 12, 2023

The proportion of female executives at South Korea’s major companies came to 7 percent in the first quarter of 2023 following last year’s implementation of a related law, a corporate tracker said. The number of female executives at 349 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales reached 997 at end-March, accounting for 6.8 percent of the total 14,718, according to the Leaders Index. The proportion was up 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier and 1.7 times the tally for the f

Social Affairs June 9, 2023