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K-pop
[Graphic News] Foreign spending in S. Korea hits fresh high in May

Monthly spending by foreign tourists in South Korea reached a record high of over 1.4 trillion won ($913 million) in May, marking the third consecutive month foreign spending surpassed 1 trillion won, data showed. Credit card spending by inbound travelers came to 1.41 trillion won in May, up 73.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Organization. Spending by foreign travelers surpassed 1 trillion won for the first time in March, as global fans of K-pop megast
July 24, 2026 - 08:00:00
Social Affairs
[Graphic News] 98% of Korean parents back smartphone limits

Nearly all Korean parents believe their children’s smartphone use should be restricted, reflecting growing concerns over its impact, according to a recent survey. Rep. Kim Young-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, chair of the National Assembly's Education Committee, surveyed about 51,000 parents of elementary, middle and high school students in Seoul, Incheon and South Gyeongsang Province. Some 98.1 percent of respondents supported restricting smartphone use. Their top concerns were exposure t
July 22, 2026 - 08:00:00
Social Affairs
[Graphic News] Summer travel trends shift toward indoor venues

South Koreans are increasingly opting for indoor cultural and entertainment venues over traditional summer vacation destinations, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. Based on T Map destination search data for July and August 2025, Coex ranked as the most searched destination, followed by Everland and Sokcho Beach. Other popular destinations included the National Museum of Korea, Caribbean Bay and Kintex, highlighting growing demand for exhibitions, shopping and cultural experiences. Pre
July 20, 2026 - 08:00:00
Social Affairs
[Graphic News] S. Korea’s foreign medical spending hits record high

Foreign tourists spent a record $180 million on medical services in South Korea in May, up 74.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. Dermatology led demand at 57.8 percent of spending, followed by plastic surgery at 18 percent. The surge in medical spending was largely driven by the growth of pharmacies, which had accounted for less than 5 percent of spending but surpassed 10 percent for the first time this year, reaching a record share in May. Chinese visito
July 16, 2026 - 08:00:00
Social Affairs
[Graphic News] Samgyetang price gap widens

The price gap between preparing samgyetang at home and eating it at a restaurant has widened ahead of the summer season, with dining out costing nearly twice as much as home cooking. According to Korea Price Information, the cost of samgyetang ingredients for a family of four came to 35,260 won ($25.60), or about 8,800 won per person. That was down 2.8 percent from a year earlier but up 12.5 percent from 2022. The year-on-year decline was largely due to lower glutinous rice prices. By comparison
July 14, 2026 - 08:00:00
WorldNews
[Graphic News] South Korea ranks 6th in OECD Public Trust Survey

South Korea ranked sixth among 38 countries in the OECD’s latest Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, its highest ranking to date. Public trust in the central government rose to 51.03 percent, up nearly 14 percentage points from 37.15 percent in the previous survey and well above the OECD average of 40.13 percent. Switzerland, Iceland and Norway topped the rankings. South Korea also ranked fifth in satisfaction with administrative services (79 percent) and health care (74 percent),
July 13, 2026 - 08:00:00
WorldNews
[Graphic News] Coachella tops global festivals; Waterbomb Seoul 16th

Yanolja Research has released its inaugural Global Festival Attractiveness Index, which ranks 560 major festivals worldwide based on attractiveness and popularity using social media data in 14 languages. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival topped the ranking, followed by Japan's Summer Sonic and Rock in Japan festivals. Japan had the strongest presence in the global top 20 with seven festivals, ahead of the United States with four. Among South Korean festivals, Waterbomb Seoul ranked 16
July 9, 2026 - 08:00:00
WorldNews
[Graphic News] Seoul ranks third globally for international meetings

Seoul strengthened its position as a leading global MICE destination by hosting 216 international meetings last year, ranking first in Asia and third worldwide. MICE is an acronym that stands for the meeting, incentive travel, convention, exhibition and event sectors. According to the Union of International Associations, South Korea hosted 491 international meetings in 2025, accounting for 5.29 percent of the global total of 9,281. The country climbed four spots from sixth place in 2024, when it
July 8, 2026 - 08:00:00
Social Affairs
[Graphic News] Vietnam tops list of international students in Korea

Vietnam has become the largest source of international students at South Korean universities, narrowly surpassing China. The Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute said in the seventh edition of the report Reading Our Education Through Data that Vietnam accounted for 75,198 international students enrolled at Korean universities as of April 2025, compared with 74,820 from China, a difference of just 378 students. The report said South Korea had 403 universities and
July 7, 2026 - 08:00:00
Market
[Graphic News] Samsung Wallet remains Korea’s top payments app

Samsung Wallet retained its position as South Korea’s most-used mobile payments app in May, attracting more than 19 million monthly active users, while major rivals such as Kakao Pay, KB Pay and Naver Pay posted record user numbers, intensifying competition in the fast-growing digital payments market. According to market tracker Wiseapp Retail Goods, Samsung Wallet recorded 19.04 million monthly active users in May, maintaining a wide lead over competitors. Kakao Pay ranked second with 11.87 mil
July 6, 2026 - 08:00:00
WorldNews
[Graphic News] Seoul ranks 12th among world’s wealthiest cities

Seoul ranked as the world’s 12th-richest city by ultra-high-net-worth population last year, posting the fastest growth among major cities amid the AI investment boom and a rally in technology stocks. According to Altrata’s World Ultra Wealth Report 2026, the global UHNW population, those with a net worth of at least $30 million, rose 14.4 percent from a year earlier to 556,850 in 2025, marking the fastest annual increase since 2017. The report attributed much of the growth to technology entrepre
July 2, 2026 - 08:00:00
WorldNews
[Graphic News] Major earthquakes around world in 2026

According to the US Geological Survey, two earthquakes that struck Venezuela in quick succession on June 24 ranked as the second- and seventh-strongest earthquakes worldwide this year. Rescue efforts remain underway in Venezuela following the earthquakes. The strongest earthquake recorded in 2026 was a magnitude 7.8 quake that struck the Philippines on June 7, followed by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Venezuela on June 24 and another magnitude 7.5 quake in Tonga on March 24.
July 1, 2026 - 08:00:00
Social Affairs
[Graphic News] Workers aged 70 and older surpass 2m

The number of employed South Koreans aged 70 and older surpassed 2 million for the first time in 2025, according to government data. Statistics Korea said over 2.16 million people in the age group were employed last year, up 9.2 percent from 1.98 million in 2024. The figure has increased steadily from just under 1.22 million in 2018, rising by nearly 80 percent over the seven-year period. Workers aged 70 and older accounted for 7.5 percent of all employed people in 2025, up 3 percentage points f
June 30, 2026 - 08:00:00
WorldNews
[Graphic News] Deployed nuclear warheads rise as NK expands arsenal

The world’s nine known nuclear-armed states possessed an estimated 12,187 nuclear warheads as of January 2026, while the number of deployed warheads rose to 4,012 from 3,912 a year earlier, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. North Korea’s nuclear arsenal grew from 50 to 60 warheads during the period, and SIPRI estimated that Pyongyang has enough fissile material to produce at least 30 additional warheads. While the global stockpile declined slightly fr
June 29, 2026 - 08:00:05
WorldNews
[Graphic News] Europe dominates happiest cities; Seoul 26th

European cities overwhelmingly dominated the latest ranking of the world’s happiest cities, while Seoul and Incheon were the only South Korean cities to place in the global top 50. According to market intelligence firm Visual Capitalist, the London-based quality-of-life research organization Happy City Hub released its Happy City Index 2026. The ranking evaluated cities with populations above 100,000 across 64 indicators, including quality of life, economy, governance and mobility. Copenhagen to
June 26, 2026 - 08:00:00