[Subway Stories] Sinchon, a playground for K-pop lovers

    The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring subway stations and their surrounding areas across the city. – Ed.  On a recent Wednesday, a square near exit No. 2 of Sinchon Station was packed with people, predominantly young and female.  The crowds were for Enhypen, a rookie boy band from Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind BTS, who was holding a fan meet-and-greet event there.  While the septet said hello to fans one b

Aug. 7, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 100,000 for 6th day

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases exceeded 100,000 for the sixth straight day on Sunday as infections stayed high amid the spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant and increased movement encouraged by eased social curbs and summer vacation. The country added 105,507 new COVID-19 infections, including 484 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,489,128, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. This marked the sixth straight day that daily cases hovered above 10

Aug. 7, 2022

Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul opens to public after renovation

Gwanghwamun Square, a major landmark in central Seoul, opened to the public Saturday after nearly two years of renovation. The square, which has been expanded and partially refurbished into a park, opened to the public at 11 a.m., according to the Seoul city government. Construction began in November 2020 to expand the square with new historical and cultural attractions. The square is now 2.1 times larger than before at 40,300 square meters after an adjacent road that had been located to its

Aug. 6, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 100,000 for 5th day

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases remained over 100,000 for the fifth straight day Saturday as the country battles a new wave of infections fueled by a highly infectious omicron subvariant. The country added 110,666 new COVID-19 infections, including 573 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,383,621, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Saturday's figure is slightly down from 112,901 Friday but jumped 1.35 times from a week earlier. Daily infection cases have

Aug. 6, 2022

S. Korea to allow PCR test reservations nationwide, increase hospital beds amid COVID-19 resurgence

The South Korean government will introduce a reservation system for polymerase chain reaction tests amid a resurgence fueled by a highly contagious omicron subvariant, the government said Friday. The government also noted it would continue to secure additional hospital beds, while recommending local hospitals to spend more on oral antiviral pills for critically ill COVID-19 patients. According to a COVID-19 response meeting held on Friday, the government will allow people to make reservation

Aug. 5, 2022

Japan gave $1 compensation to war crime victims: civic group

A civic group on Thursday denounced the Japanese government over a pension payment of less than $1 to victims of forced labor during Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula. According to the Japanese Forced Mobilization Civic Group, a number of victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial era received 931 won ($0.74), from the Japanese government as pension. The victims and civic group deplored the payment, saying it is “a malicious ridicule and an insult.” The gro

Aug. 5, 2022

S. Korea confirms 5 percent minimum wage increase for 2023

The minimum hourly wage for next year has been finalized at 9,620 won ($7.38), up 5 percent, or 460 won, from this year, unchanged from the Minimum Wage Commission’s earlier decision, the Labor Ministry said Friday. The ministry officially published the 2023 minimum wage in the government gazette at 9 a.m. The new minimum wage translates to a monthly wage of 2.02 million won, when an individual works 209 hours a month. This will apply equally across all industries. Earlier on June 29,

Aug. 5, 2022

[Newsmaker] 1 in 3 parents who killed their children given suspended jail terms: report

One in 3 parents who murdered or attempted to kill their own children since 2020 were given suspended prison sentences, while all parent killers sentenced during the same period were handed jail terms, local media reported Friday. The local Segye Ilbo newspaper said it analyzed verdicts given to 15 filicide cases and 15 patricide or matricide cases from January of 2020 to May of this year. Among the filicide cases, it found that the accused had walked away with a suspended term for five of the

Aug. 5, 2022

Police investigating Iraqi who strewed dollar, euro bills in northern Seoul

Police are investigating an Iraqi man who strewed a large amount of U.S. dollar and euro bills on a street in northern Seoul and later reported to police he lost money, officials said Friday. The Iraqi in his 30s scattered dollar, euro and Korean won bills worth a total of 22 million won (US$16,930) on a street in a residential area of Seoul's Nowon district Thursday evening, according to police officials. The man reportedly started strewing the banknotes after he tried to give money to a p

Aug. 5, 2022

COVID-19 tests for new conscripts to be resumed amid virus resurgence

The government will resume preemptive COVID-19 tests for new military conscripts to prevent mass infections at boot camps amid a new wave of virus resurgence, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Friday. "The government will have new conscripts get free tests at public health centers nationwide within three days before joining the military by classifying them into the priority group for the polymerase chain reaction test," Lee said during a government virus response meeting. The upcomin

Aug. 5, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 100,000 for 4th day

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases exceeded 100,000 for the fourth straight day Friday amid a wave of infections driven by a highly infectious omicron variant. The country added 112,901 new COVID-19 infections, including 497 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,273,011, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's figure is slightly up from 107,894 Thursday. On Wednesday, the daily caseload stood at 119,922, which was the highest since the 125,821 c

Aug. 5, 2022

Russian man nabbed for allegedly killing Uzbek over unpaid debt

A Russian man who was on the run after allegedly killing a Uzbek man in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, has been apprehended three days after the crime, police said Wednesday. The Russian national in his 50s was put under emergency arrest on murder charges, according to police in Hwaseong, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul. The suspect is accused of stabbing the Uzbek national in his 40s several times at the latter's home in Hwaseong's Songsan district last Saturday before fleeing, polic

Aug. 5, 2022

[EYE] Born to steal K-pop fans’ hearts, bridge cultures

  Tall, handsome and sweet -- Theo is everything a girl wants.  He is the boy next door with curly hair, smiley eyes and an adorable and vibrant personality. He is effortlessly stylish and loves food and cooking. He also knows a thing or two about cool Korean stuff, as he is half-Korean and half-Brazilian.  Theo is a virtual human created by a Brazil-born K-pop fan-turned-entrepreneur in Seoul, with an aim of bridging the two worlds as Brazilians’ fascination with Korea g

Aug. 4, 2022

Special counsel requests extension on Air Force sexual harassment probe

An independent counsel probe led by prosecutor Ahn Mi-young has requested an extension of the investigation period for the death of the late Sgt. Lee Ye-ram, a victim of sexual violence in the Air Force. 　 　The team said it asked the president‘s office to extend the investigation period on Thursday. 　 　The independent counsel probes are limited to 70 days, but the investigation can be extended by up to 30 days with the approval of the president. 　 　The team launched an investigation on Jun

Aug. 4, 2022

Korea, US speakers reaffirm strength of alliance, will to denuclearize NK

South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday reaffirmed the two countries‘ alliance and will to strengthen cooperation and bring about the denuclearization of North Korea. Pelosi, the first US House speaker to visit Korea in 20 years, arrived in Seoul late Wednesday after a stop in Taiwan. Taiwan and China went noticeably unmentioned throughout Pelosi’s visit to Korea. President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is on

Aug. 4, 2022

Time to put a cap on our mishandling of plastic bottles

Water bottles usually bear the recycling symbol of three arrows in a Mobius strip. This symbol reminds us to dispose of our trash correctly in a recycling bin. And most Koreans follow the rules of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle sorting and disposal. But these used bottles don’t get used repeatedly in a recycling loop, as suggested by the symbol. If recycled, they are given life just one more time as some end-of-life products and then thrown away. Or they end up in landfills, e

Aug. 4, 2022

COVID-19 figures remain above 100,000, critical cases rise

The number of critical COVID-19 cases rose above the 300 mark for the first time in over two months, while daily cases stayed above 100,000 for the third consecutive day, fueling concerns of another surge following the summer vacation season. 　In the 24 hours ending midnight Wednesday, the country recorded 107,894 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the cumulative figure over 20 million, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. 　The number of seriously ill patients increased by 26 f

Aug. 4, 2022

Ex-South Chungcheong Gov. Ahn discharged from prison

Former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung was discharged from prison Thursday after completing a 3 1/2-year prison term for sexually abusing a female secretary who worked for him. An, 58, did not respond to questions from reporters as he boarded a vehicle outside the Yeoju Correctional Institution in Gyeonggi Province around 7:55 a.m. Once deemed a powerful presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, An stepped down as South Chungcheong governor in 2018 over accusations that he

Aug. 4, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 100,000 for 3rd day; critical cases at over 2-month high

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed above 100,000 for the third straight day Thursday amid a fresh wave of infections driven by a highly infectious omicron variant. The country added 107,894 new COVID-19 infections, including 435 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,160,154, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's figure fell from the 119,922 the previous day, which was the highest since the 125,822 cases reported April 15. But it increas

Aug. 4, 2022

N. Korea reports no new suspected COVID-19 cases for 6th day: state media

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases stayed at zero for the sixth consecutive day, with apparently no remaining fever patients under treatment, according to its state media Thursday. No new fever cases were reported over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency anti-epidemic headquarters. It did not provide information on additional deaths or those under treatment. As of July 5, the death toll

Aug. 4, 2022