S. Korea reports more gloomy childbirth data in Feb.

The number of babies born in South Korea fell to a record low in February, data showed Wednesday, underscoring the country's chronically low birth rate. A total of 21,461 babies were born in February, down 5.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest for any February since 1981, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. South Korea is struggling with a sustained fall in childbirths as many young people delay marriage

April 28, 2021

New Korean learning kit aims to help more fans study Korean with BTS

The process of learning a language can be more effective when you have a strong motivation, which is why the company behind BTS recently released the latest version of its Korean learning kit involving the K-pop act's miniature characters for global fans. "Learn! Korean with TinyTAN," is a follow-up series to Hybe Edu's "Learn! Korean with BTS" released last year. The company said the new version is tailored to fans who are newly learning the language, focusing on the basic

April 28, 2021

New cases bounce back near 800; untraceable infections at highest ever

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose to the highest in four days on Wednesday, nearing 800, and the proportion of untraceable infections hit the highest point ever amid concerns of another wave of the pandemic. The country reported 775 more COVID-19 cases, including 754 local infections, raising the total caseload to 120,673, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is the highest since Saturday, when the country recorded 785 cases, and marks a sh

April 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] Power generator, construction materials delivered to Seongju THAAD base despite protest

SEONGJU -- The Ministry of Defense on Wednesday successfully delivered non-weapon materials and construction equipment onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base here after briefly running into protests from residents and activists opposed to the deployment of the American missile defense system. Early in the day, a few dozen protesters staged a sit-in and blocked the passage of vehicles heading to the base for the THAAD system in the central town of Seongju, about 300 kilometers s

April 28, 2021

Coronavirus self-test kits to hit pharmacy shelves next week

South Koreans are expected to be able to purchase coronavirus self-test kits at local pharmacies or via online channels early next week, kit makers said Wednesday. South Korea's drug safety agency on Friday green-lighted two types of COVID-19 home test kits developed by biotech firms SD Biosensor and Humasis in an effort to boost its testing capacity amid rising cases. Humasis said its self-test kit is priced around 9,000 won ($8.10) to 10,000 won per single package, and will start sales at ph

April 28, 2021

‘When can I get my shot?’ Vaccine envy grips Koreans

Vaccine envy is spreading among pandemic-weary Koreans, as the country trails behind most major economies in vaccinations with just 4 percent of the population half or fully vaccinated. “When I hear about mask-less concerts and travels resuming in some countries I just get depressed,” said a Seoul resident surnamed Park. Park, a 29 year old without medical conditions, said he has “no idea” when he would be getting his shot. Based on the latest vaccination timeline, a

April 27, 2021

S. Korea reports steady rise in variant cases, total now at 535

South Korea has confirmed 86 more cases of contagious variants of the new coronavirus, bringing the total to 535, amid concerns that the country's virus battle may be exacerbated by the more transmissible viruses. Of them, 52 people were local infections and 34 imported cases, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Tuesday. By nationality, 58 of them are South Koreans and 28 are foreigners, the authorities said. According to the KDCA, 86 cases are the Britain-

April 27, 2021

Foreign population in S. Korea falls below 2m for 1st time in over 5 years

The foreign population in South Korea has fallen below the 2 million mark for the first time in over five years amid the new coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday. As of March, the total number of foreign residents here stood at around 1.99 million, down 9.2 percent from a year ago when the corresponding figure was slightly over 2.2 million, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Justice. This marks the first time the foreign population has sunk below 2 million since Dec

April 27, 2021

New virus cases in 500s for 2nd day; vaccine rollout to gather pace

South Korea's daily new virus cases stayed in the 500s for the second straight day Tuesday due to less testing as the country accelerates a vaccine rollout amid woes over another wave of the pandemic. The country reported 512 more COVID-19 cases, including 477 local infections, raising the total caseload to 119,898, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's figure was slightly up from 500 the previous day. The daily caseload usually spikes from Wednesday as more p

April 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi governor in spat over proposal for fines proportional to property

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and opposition lawmaker Rep. Yoon Hee-sook argued on Monday over Lee’s proposal of a system where the amount of fines is based on how rich the offender is. Lee, who has long been among the ruling party’s strongest presidential hopefuls in public polls, wrote via Facebook on Sunday that the amount of fines should be proportionate to the offender’s property. “Finland adopted the system 100 years ago in 1921, and Germany in 1975,”

April 26, 2021

S. Korea may develop 2 homegrown COVID-19 vaccines this year: minister

South Korea may develop two homegrown vaccines against COVID-19 as early as this year or early next year, the country's health minister said Monday. Currently, five local pharmaceutical firms are developing the new coronavirus vaccines, with two of them expected to conduct phase two or three clinical trials by the end of the year, Kwon Deok-cheol said during a radio talk show. "We expect the approval as early as the end of this year or early next year," Kwon said, adding that members

April 26, 2021

Vaccinations will proceed on schedule: acting prime minister

South Korea will accelerate its COVID-19 vaccination campaign with the additional vaccine doses it recently secured, the acting prime minister said Monday, dispelling concerns that a shortage could threaten the goal of achieving herd immunity by November. Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said in a public message Monday morning that the country could expect to achieve herd immunity earlier than expected and was prepared to meet any additional demand in the future. The government has now secur

April 26, 2021

[Animals in Korea (4)] Why we should care about animal cruelty in farms

On a sunny day in April, a truck carrying pigs approached a slaughterhouse in Gyeonggi Province. When the truck arrived, workers prodded the pigs to come out, but they would not move down the steep ramp. Workers responded by beating them with clubs, and the pigs hurried out squealing. The squealing continued until they moved to where they were slaughtered. This is only a glimpse of the animal abuse and cruelty involved in transporting animals from farms to holding pens and slaughterhouses,

April 26, 2021

[Newsmaker] Local official indicted for land speculation in 1st for govt. task force

A senior official of the Pocheon municipal government has been indicted on charges of land speculation, in a first for a government task force investigating speculative behavior by public officials, prosecutors said Monday. The Uijeongbu District Prosecutors Office indicted the 52-year-old official, surnamed Park, on Friday for allegedly using information he gained at work to purchase land near the site of a planned train station in September. Park, who was in charge of railway planning for th

April 26, 2021

New cases at 500 on less testing; Seoul to ramp up vaccine rollout

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell below 600 on Monday for the first time in six days due to fewer tests over the weekend as health authorities accelerated the country's inoculation drive. The country reported 500 more COVID-19 cases, including 469 local infections, raising the total caseload to 119,387, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added four more deaths, raising the total to 1,817. Monday's figure was sharply down from 644 the previous day an

April 26, 2021

What does Korea’s new deal with Pfizer mean for future of AstraZeneca vaccine here?

The latest expansion in South Korea’s COVID-19 vaccine portfolio, with more of the Pfizer product, is one less reason to put young people at potential clotting risk from AstraZeneca inoculations, some experts argue. In an emergency news briefing Saturday, the Korean government announced it had sealed a deal to receive an additional 40 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. This brings the amount of Pfizer vaccine to 66 million doses. The boost in the country’s Pfizer r

April 25, 2021

Daejeon to host 2022 United Cities and Local Governments World Congress

Daejeon City is fully committed to hosting the 2022 United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress in October next year, the city’s mayor said in an interview with The Korea Herald. The UCLG World Congress is a large-scale international event in which approximately 1,000 city leaders from about 140 countries gather together to boost mutual cooperation and common prosperity among local governments. The forum, which will be in its seventh year, is expected to welcome around 5,0

April 25, 2021

[Herald Interview] Daejeon Mayor maps out new vision for Korea’s Silicon Valley

Daejeon Mayor Her Tae-jeong emphasized the city’s accomplishments in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “We are seeing the seeds that we sowed in the difficult times coming to fruition one after another,” Her said. Under the grave circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the city succeeded in being designated an Innovation City. As a result, the city’s public institutions are now required to hire local talent. With its own local currency, cal

April 25, 2021

[Photo News] Spring weather with a ray of sunshine

Warm weather has finally arrived in South Korea, putting an official end to a spring cold spell. Tired from being inside amid the pandemic, Seoulites went out in the sun on the weekend to brighten their lives. People enjoy the view under a clear blue sky at the top of Inwangsan in Seoul.  People take advantage of the warm, sunny weather to gather for a picnic in Han River Park on their day off. By Gha Hee-sun (lizka98@heraldcorp.com) (Photos: Yonhap)

April 25, 2021

[News Focus] Population per household headed for under-2.0

SEJONG -- South Korea is heading toward a society in which the average household size is less than two, amid continuously falling marriage rates and an all-time low fertility rates. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the average population per household reached a record low of 2.23 -- 51.705 million people to 23.157 million households -- last month. This is fewer by 0.06 people than 2.29, posted a year earlier in March 2020. The pace toward smaller families across the nation has

April 25, 2021