The number of abortions estimated to have been performed in South Korea stood at 49,764 in 2017, down from 69,909 in 2016 and 168,738 in 2010, possibly due to wider use of birth control, a report said Thursday. 　The report was based on a survey of 10,000 women aged between 15 and 44. It was the first such nationwide survey in eight years. 

Social Affairs Feb. 18, 2019

　A total of 2.9 million tourists used Airbnb, a global house-sharing platform, here last year, up 56 percent from a year earlier, the company said.　Seven out of 10 Airbnb users, or some 2.02 million, were locals, with 156,200 Chinese tourists to South Korea staying at Airbnb accommodations, accounting for 17 percent of all foreign tourists using the house-sharing platform, it added.　Airbnb hosts earned an average of 4.94 million won ($4,400) last year, according to the company.

National Feb. 17, 2019

　Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in rapid decline and one-third could disappear altogether, according to a study warning of dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains.　The research found that 41 percent of the world’s insect populations are declining, while a third are endangered. The extinction rate of insects is eight times greater than those of mammals, birds and reptiles, and there are suggestions they could totally vanish within a century. 　The study says

World Feb. 14, 2019

　Fewer young students in South Korea perceive North Korea as an enemy than a year ago, while a larger number of them regard the North as a cooperative partner, a poll has showed.　In the poll of 82,947 elementary, middle and high school students by the education and unification ministries last year, only 5.2 percent said North Korea should be thought of as an enemy, marking a sharp fall from 41 percent in a similar survey held in 2017.　Instead, 28.2 percent of the young students agreed with the n

North Korea Feb. 13, 2019

　China edged out South Korea in the global liquid-crystal display TV market last year to become the world’s top manufacturer of the products, data showed.　According to data compiled by industry tracker IHS Markit, China accounted for the largest share (31.9 percent) of the 152.16 million units of LCD televisions shipped during the first nine months of last year.　Korea came in second at 30.6 percent, or 46.58 million LCD TVs, followed by Japan with 14.6 percent and European nations with 2.8 perce

World Business Feb. 12, 2019

　Smartphone use has become the norm in most developed nations, while many emerging economies are showing sharp gains, a global survey showed Tuesday.　A Pew Research Center report found strong majorities of adults using smartphones in the world’s wealthier countries, led by 95 percent adoption in South Korea and 88 percent in Israel.　The report is based on a survey of 30,133 people in 27 countries, conducted from May 14 to August 12, 2018.　China, believed to be the world’s largest smartphone mark

World Business Feb. 11, 2019

　South Korea rose six notches in an international corruption awareness ranking to No. 45 of 180 countries in 2018, a report from a global anti-corruption watchdog showed.　South Korea scored 57 out of 100 points in the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index report issued by Berlin-based Transparency International.　The index evaluates countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, using corruption-related data collected by governance and business experts, according to Transparen

World News Feb. 10, 2019

　Illegal wildlife trade in Hong Kong is booming, according to a new study. 　In a report, conservation groups said Hong Kong has become a hub for wildlife crime, as millions of animals, plants and their derivatives are trafficked through the city every year by organized smugglers who rarely face stiff penalties.　 According an analysis of seizures for three commonly trafficked species since 2013, the volume of animal parts could equate to the death of 3,000 elephants, 65,000 pangolins and 51 rhino

World News Feb. 7, 2019

　Foreign tourists in Seoul prefer different sightseeing spots depending on nationality, a research paper showed.　Visitors from Asia prefer Myeong-dong, one of the capital’s main shopping districts, while European and American tourists are most impressed by royal palaces, according to the paper jointly published by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Kyung Hee University.　Chinese and Americans gave high marks to Seoul for safety, while Japanese said they were satisfied with the food and Europea

Travel Feb. 6, 2019

　Koreans are surveyed to have had more leisure time and spent more money on leisure activities on average in 2018 than previous years. 　On average, people had 3.3 hours of free time per weekday and 5.3 hours per weekend, the Culture Ministry said, citing the outcome of its 2018 survey on national leisure activities of 10,498 people aged over 15 in 17 cities across the nation via one-on-one interviews.         　The figures were increases from 3.1 hours and 5 hours in 2016, respectively, according

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2019

　The combined number of passenger planes operated by South Korea’s six low-cost carriers extended to 140 airplanes last year, challenging the 167 airplanes owned by the national flag carrier Korean Air Lines, the government said. 　The six LCCs -- Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul, Eastar Jet and T’way Air -- have aggressively expanded their fleet to meet growing travel demand on short-haul routes to Asian cities. 　The budget carriers and two full-service carriers -- Korean Air and Asiana A

Business Jan. 30, 2019

　The number of Japanese visitors to South Korea increased at the fastest rate in nine years in 2018. 　According to data from Statistics Korea, the number of Japanese visitors to the country spiked 28.1 percent on-year to more than 2.92 million in 2018. The rate of increase was the highest since 2009, when the figure rose 28.7 percent from the previous year. 　On the other hand, the rise in the number of South Korean visitors to Japan slowed from a year earlier, according to data from the Japanese

National Jan. 29, 2019

　Following 2018’s dramatic Ultra Violet, Pantone’s Color of the Year 2019 is Living Coral.　Pantone Color Institute describes the color that “Living Coral is a bright pink-orange hue with a soft, golden undertone, making it a more livable shade of coral than we’ve seen in the past.”　Pantone announces a new color of the year every December, based on its trend-forecasting research.

World Jan. 28, 2019

　South Korea bought US weapons worth a total of $6.73 billion from 2008 to 2017, becoming the third-largest importer of arms produced by its ally, according to an annual analysis of the defense market.　According to the 2018 Global Defense Market Yearbook by the state-run Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, Saudi Arabia topped the list of importers of US weapons, followed by Australia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.　In the decade starting 2008, Saudi Arabia imported $10.63 billi

Defense Jan. 27, 2019

　According to an online survey of 8,000 people in 16 countries, including South Korea, 80.3 percent of foreign respondents positively rated the nation’s image.　Notably, 34.6 percent expressed a “very positive” impression of the nation, the survey showed. It was jointly conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the affiliated Korea Culture and Information Service.　Forty percent of foreign respondents said Korea’s most representative image was in Korean cuisine, 22.8 percent in

National Jan. 24, 2019