More than 85,000 terminally ill South Koreans have chosen to forgo life-prolonging treatment since the legalization of the right to die with dignity two years ago, government data showed. 　The law took effect on Feb. 4, 2018, allowing terminal patients to sign up to forgo a “meaningless extension of life” by stopping or postponing four life-sustaining treatments. 　According to the data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of patients who opted to die with dignit

Technology Feb. 9, 2020

  　As Korean cinema marked its centennial last year, director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” won the country’s first Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, opening a new chapter in Korean cinema. 　Bong continues to write history, clinching the first Golden Globe for a Korean film. ”Parasite“ also became the　first film to win at the BAFTA Film Awards, winning the best film not in English and best original screenplay. “Parasite” now awaits

Culture Feb. 6, 2020

　Korean movie theaters saw their total monthly admissions for January drop to an eight-year low, data showed, amid fears of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus. 　According to data compiled by the Korean Film Council, a total of 16.8 million people went to theaters over the one-month period. 　It is the lowest January figure since 2012, when the local box office posted 16.6 million in admissions in the month. 　The decrease came as people have refrained from going to cinemas in the last t

Latest News Feb. 5, 2020

　South Koreans changed residences to a different region at the slowest pace in 47 years in 2019, due to the rapid aging population and tightened regulations on home purchases, data showed. 　The number of people who moved to other regions - defined as a different province or city - in the country dropped 2.6 percent on-year to 7.1 million last year, according to the data by Statistics Korea. 　The population mobility rate - the number of those changing residence for every 100 people - fell 0

Social Affairs Feb. 4, 2020

　A slightly lower proportion of South Koreans used social media in 2019, amid the waning popularity of platforms such as Facebook, data showed. 　According to data from the Korea Information Society Development Institute, 47.7 percent of people surveyed used social media last year, down from 48.2 percent the previous year. 　The figure had risen steadily since 2011, when it stood at 16.8 percent. It surpassed 30 percent in 2013 and 40 percent in 2015. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2020

　As restaurants nationwide add them to menus, plant-based “meats” are becoming increasingly popular in the United States - where more than 40 percent of adults have eaten them at least once, a new survey showed. 　Gallup research said 41 percent have tried a plant-based meat - whether it be a substitute for beef or pork - and they are mostly among upper-income young adults and those living in American suburbs. 　Plant-based meats are rising in popularity, with fast food chains li

World News Feb. 2, 2020

　Wealthy bargain hunters should be wary of getting married in New York, hiring lawyers in Hong Kong or buying fine wines in Rio de Janeiro. 　That’s according to research from Julius Baer Group, which broke out the world’s most expensive cities for a variety of luxury goods and services - from houses to whisky to handbags. High local tax rates make Rio de Janeiro - Brazil’s second-largest city - the world’s most expensive metropolis in five of 18 categories in the Swi

World News Jan. 30, 2020

　The average monthly income of wage earners rose 3.4 percent in 2018 from a year earlier, government data showed. 　South Koreans earned 2.97 million won ($2,550) per month on average in 2018, compared with 2.87 million won in 2017, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. 　The data showed that the average monthly income of male wage earners stood at 3.47 million won in 2018, while that of female workers came to 2.25 million won. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2020

　Sales of South Korean mobile games rose 5.2 percent on-year to surpass 4.2 trillion won ($3.6 billion) last year, industry data showed. 　According to the data from mobile big data platform IGAWorks, combined sales at three app markets - Google’s Play Store for Android devices, Apple’s App Store for iPhones, and ONE store - came to 4.29 trillion won in 2019. 　NCSoft had the biggest market share with 21.5 percent, followed by Netmarble with 11.7 percent and Nexon with 5.1 perce

Business Jan. 27, 2020

　The Chinese Zodiac is based on a twelve-year cycle, with each year related to an animal sign. The signs in order are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. It is calculated according to the Chinese lunar calendar.　Based in China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many Asian countries, such as South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.　This is the Year of the Rat according to Chinese zodiac. Rat is the first in the 12-year cy

National Jan. 22, 2020

　The number of traffic accident deaths in Seoul fell 19.1 percent last year from a year earlier, data showed.　A total of 246 people died in traffic accidents in Seoul in 2019, down from 304 tallied a year earlier, with a daily tally of 0.67, according to the data compiled by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Jan. 21, 2020

　Samsung Electronics ranked third in global wireless headset shipments last year, industry data showed, though it trailed far behind its rival Apple. 　Samsung shipped 7.4 million totally wireless headsets for a 6.9 percent market share in 2019, according to data from market tracker Strategy Analytics. 　Apple was the dominant force in the TWS market with a 54.4 percent market share after shipping 58.7 million AirPods, its signature TWS headset product, in 2019. (Yonhap)

Technology Jan. 20, 2020

　South Korea’s outbound shipments of processed rice products shot up last year, amid the booming popularity of Korean dramas, K-pop and other cultural content abroad, data showed.　Exports of these products reached $106 million in 2019, marking a sharp rise from $89 million posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The exports also nearly doubled from $55 million posted in 2015.　These products cover a wide range of food items, such as snacks, n

Industry Jan. 19, 2020

　The hordes flocking to the Louvre in Paris fell to 9.6 million in 2019 as the museum tried to limit overcrowding, its director said.　After numbers rocketed by a quarter the previous year to a record 10.2 million, the most visited museum in the world said, it set out to actively discourage tourists in the peak summer months.　The Louvre gets far more visitors than any other museum in the world, including the National Museum of China in Beijing, which attracted 8.6 million people in 2018; and New

World News Jan. 16, 2020

　Imported car sales in South Korea fell 6.1 percent in 2019 from a year earlier as Japanese brands were affected by a boycott amid trade tensions between Seoul and Tokyo, an industry association said.  　The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 244,780 last year from the previous year’s 260,705, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.  　Japanese carmakers such as Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor saw their sales plunge 19

Business Jan. 15, 2020