Korea struggles to respond to labor shortage amid pandemic

The South Korean government and National Assembly are looking to ease regulations on employing foreign nationals and for immigration in the face of labor shortages brought on by the prolonged pandemic. On Friday, a bill to revise the act on the employment of foreign workers, which was proposed by Rep. Lee Jong-bae of the main opposition People Power Party, passed the plenary session of the National Assembly. The main focus of the bill is to increase the number of industries that can hire for

March 28, 2021

Govt. to enforce 'no eating' policy at sports stadiums, libraries, museums as virus cases on rise

The government will ban eating at mass gathering establishments like sports stadiums, libraries and museums starting Monday, officials said, amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Eating will be banned at 21 types of public places, which also include karaoke bars, public saunas and movie theaters, and violators will be fined 100,000 ($88) starting April 5 after a one-week grace period, officials said. Other facilities subject to the ban include cram schools, hair dressers, gyms, casinos and exhibit

March 28, 2021

New virus cases fall back below 500 on fewer tests

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 500 on Sunday, a day after reaching a 36-day high of 505, as fewer people took the virus tests due to rain and the weekend amid lingering woes over a rise in new infections. The country reported 482 more COVID-19 cases, including 462 local infections, raising the total caseload to 101,757, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added one more death from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,722. After hi

March 28, 2021

[#WeFACE] S. Korea’s first ‘Period Shop’ draws eco-conscious consumers

South Korea’s first store dedicated to raising awareness about menstruation opened in Seoul earlier this year as part of efforts to fight the long-held stigma around periods and to give women more eco-friendly choices. The Period Shop, which opened in January near Daebang Station in Seoul, is a space for customers to openly explore, discuss and purchase period products. It offers a variety of sustainable menstrual products ranging from menstrual cups, reusable pads to washable period

March 28, 2021

[#WeFACE] Tips for turning your coffee green

Koreans love their coffee. Getting a cup of joe is a part of the morning ritual for many, to shake off sleepiness and boost energy ahead of the day’s start. The average Korean adult has 353 cups of coffee a year, which is about three times the global consumption rate, according to the Korea Food Forum. Seoul especially brims with cafes. The cafe count in the city has been growing each year since 2002, reaching 18,535 as of last June. And yet only about a dozen of them are “zero-

March 27, 2021

[#WeFACE] Environmentally conscious consumers turn to refill stations

On Sunday afternoon, a refill station called Almang Market in Mangwon-dong, Seoul, was busy with consumers seeking plastic-free alternatives. A refill station is a shop where customers take their own containers to buy goods without packaging. Almang Market, which opened in June, sells a variety of refillable products, such as shampoo, cosmetics and detergent. Customers purchase them by weight. As well as refillable liquid products, there are also products like unpacked body and dish soap t

March 27, 2021

Thousands join worldwide vigil to honor victims of Atlanta shootings

Thousands join worldwide vigil to honor victims of Atlanta shootings Over 2,000 people in the United States and from around the world have taken part in a vigil to honor the victims of recent shootings in Atlanta that left eight people dead, six of them women of Asian descent. The White House too mourned the deaths of the eight people while strongly denouncing violence against Asian-American communities on Friday, according to organizers. "My heart goes out to all who are joining the A

March 27, 2021

New virus cases hit one-month high amid concerns over spring resurgence

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose to above 500 on Saturday to reach the highest number in more than a month, deepening concerns over a resurgence in infections particularly as more people go out in the warmer weather. The country reported 505 more COVID-19 cases, including 490 local infections, raising the total caseload to 101,275, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The country added five more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,721. Saturday's ca

March 27, 2021

No wild bird-tied flu cases reported for 1 week

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Friday that additional avian influenza cases tied to wild birds have been not reported in the country over the past seven days, signaling a possible letup in the transmission of the disease among local farms. Since October last year, the country has reported a total of 229 cases of malign H5N8 strain of bird flu from wild birds, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ministry said the number of cases from the wild remained

March 26, 2021

Ultrafine dust density soars to 'very bad' level in greater Seoul

The greater Seoul area was blanketed by extraordinarily heavy concentrations of locally generated ultrafine particles on Friday, but its air quality will return to normal over the weekend due to rainfall, a state monitoring agency said. According to the state-run National Institute of Environmental Research, the hourly average density of ultrafine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 2.5, soared to 95 micrograms per cubic meter as of 10 a.m. The PM 2.5 level reached a

March 26, 2021

New virus cases nearing 500, another uptick looming amid extended curbs

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed above 400 for the third straight day Friday, prompting health authorities to extend current distancing rules by another two weeks amid looming concerns over a spike in new infections. Health authorities are concerned about another uptick during spring time, with untraceable cases rising sharply. The country reported 494 more COVID-19 cases, including 471 local infections, raising the total caseload to 100,276, according to the Korea Disease Cont

March 26, 2021

S. Korea to extend current social distancing measures for 2 weeks: PM

South Korea will extend its current social distancing measures for another two weeks, the prime minister said Friday, amid no clear signs of a letup in new COVID-19 cases and fears of a mass infection resurgence. "The government will extend the current distancing levels and the gathering ban on five or more for another two weeks starting next week," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. The greater Seoul area, home to around half of

March 26, 2021

[#WeFACE] Zero-waste far from reality for grocery shopping in S. Korea

The zero-waste movement has been growing globally with increasing public interest toward a sustainable lifestyle with less reliance on extra packaging. Yet South Korea remains largely unprepared to accommodate the eco-friendly mindset at least in terms of shopping for groceries, as most supermarkets, retailers and stores are yet to step away from single-use plastic bags and packaging for their fresh produce and protein options. When The Korea Herald visited grocery stores of varying sizes in S

March 26, 2021

S. Korea’s homegrown rocket on track for October launch

South Korea’s plan to launch its first homegrown rocket later this year is on a roll after researchers successfully conducted the final combustion test for its main first-stage engines, the science ministry said Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the Korea Aerospace Research Institute successfully ran the third and final test for the four 75-ton liquid engines of the 200-ton rocket, named Nuri, at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, 473 kilometers south of Seoul. Local researc

March 25, 2021

Korea surpasses 100,000 coronavirus cases

South Korea’s COVID-19 cases on Thursday passed the 100,000 mark, about 14 months since its first case was identified, as the country continues to grapple with the third wave. The total number of confirmed cases reached 100,276, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency statistics showed Thursday, up 430 from a day earlier. According to the World Health Organization, the figure puts Korea at 86th in terms of number of cases, next to China. In the last seven days the number of c

March 25, 2021

Seoul Cyber University Chairman of the Board awarded Pushkin Medal for strengthening Korea-Russia cultural ties

Korea-Russia Arts and Culture Society President Lee Sang Kyun was awarded the Pushkin Medal from the Russian government for his role in strengthening ties between Seoul and Moscow. During the opening ceremony for the Year of Mutual Exchange between South Korea and Russia held Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov presented the award to Lee, chairman of the board at Seoul Cyber University, in place of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Korea-Russia Arts and Culture Society has pl

March 25, 2021

Half of younger Koreans see no need to have kids after marriage: report

More than half of South Koreans in their 10s and 20s think it is not necessary to have kids after marriage, a report showed Thursday, adding to concerns about the country's chronic low birth rate. As of 2020, 32 percent of Koreans aged 13 or older said it is not necessary to have children after getting married, up from 30.4 percent two years earlier, according to the report on social indexes by Statistics Korea. All age groups felt less need to have kids after marriage, but in particular, more

March 25, 2021

Stalkers to face heavier punishment under new law

The consistent stalking of others will constitute a crime that can be punished by up to three years of imprisonment under a new law. The National Assembly passed a bill on a 235-0 vote Wednesday to strengthen the punishment for stalkers amid growing public voices calling for increasing penalties for the offense. The legislation was made 22 years after an initial move was made to stipulate stalking as a crime by law. Until now, stalking has been categorized as a misdemeanor and was punished o

March 25, 2021

S. Korea reports 1 more bird flu case, total now at 108

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Thursday it has confirmed yet another case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms, with the total caseload rising to 108. The latest confirmed case of the deadly H5N8 strain of bird flu came from a duck farm in Naju, 355 kilometers south of Seoul, the previous day, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea reported its first highly contagious bird flu case since March 2018 in November. Gyeonggi Provin

March 25, 2021

S. Korea still facing upward curve as COVID-19 cases top 100,000

South Korea's total virus caseload topped 100,000 on Thursday, about one year and two months after reporting its first confirmed case, as health authorities warned that the tally is expected to rise further amid sporadic cluster infections. The country reported 430 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, raising the total caseload to 100,276, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea confirmed its first novel coronavirus case on Jan. 20, 2020. The country's accumula

March 25, 2021