[Graphic News] Higher education linked to more happiness

South Koreans who received higher levels of education are happier than those who did not attend university, a study showed Tuesday.The report, released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, surveyed a total of 3,655 individuals aged 19 to 75 last year. Among those who participated, university-educated Koreans on average rated their happiness at 6.56 out of 10.High school graduates rated their happiness at 6.17, while the average rating by those who only attended middle school was

Social AffairsMarch 3, 2015

[Graphic News] Spending on private tutoring grows

The nation’s private education spending per child in 2014 edged up 1.2 percent on-year from a year earlier, Statistics Korea said on Sunday. Officials attributed the increase to a sharp rise in spending on private tutoring for art, music and physical education, from 47,000 won in 2013 to 50,000 won in 2014. The agency suveyed 78,000 students and parents of 1,189 elementary, middle and high school students nationwide. Despite the fall in consumption last year, high-income parents turned out to ha

March 1, 2015

[Graphic News] Korean home electricity use below OECD average

South Koreans use significantly less electricity at home than people in other OECD countries.According to the Korea Energy Economics Institute, South Koreans used 1,278 kWh of electricity on average in the home in 2012, ranking 26th out of 34 countries in terms of electricity use. The figure is only 55 percent of the OECD average (2,335 kWh).The country that used the most electricity in the home was Norway (7,415 kWh), followed by Canada (4,387 kWh) and the U.S. (4,374 kWh).The low home electric

IndustryFeb. 25, 2015

[Graphic News] Alcohol consumption at home increases

Alcohol consumption at home reached a record high last year while tobacco consumption decreased, according to data.Statistics Korea said the average monthly spending on alcohol consumed at home by two or more people reached 11,267 won ($10.16), a 4.8 percent increase from the previous year and an all-time high. Alcohol consumption at restaurants and bars was outside the scope of the survey.The average monthly consumption of alcohol in the home has steadily increased since 2004, mainly due to the

IndustryFeb. 23, 2015

[Graphic News] Stock-rich celebrities in Korea

According to chaebul.com, 15 Korean celebrities had over 100 million won ($90,000) in stocks in their own name as of Feb. 17. Among them, six were found to own over 10 billion won in stocks.Yang Hyun-suk, founder of YG Entertainment, remained the richest celeb, with 182.2 billion won in listed stocks, despite seeing a 4.2 percent fall since January. He was followed by SM Entertainment founder and chairman Lee Soo-man, who currently owns 142.7 billion won in stocks and saw an 8.1 decrease from Ja

Feb. 22, 2015

[Graphic News] State health insurer logs W4.6tr surplus

The National Health Insurance Service recorded a 4.6 trillion won ($4.1 billion) surplus in 2014, with its annual revenue climbing 7.4 percent from the previous year to reach 48.5 trillion won.Some of the reasons for the increased revenue include a rise in the number of cancer patients who were diagnosed at an early stage through health examinations, and a significant decrease in the number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases.Yellow dust storms ― influxes of dusty air mostly originat

Social AffairsFeb. 17, 2015

[Graphic News] Chinese toruists strong buying force in Korea

With Lunar New Year just around the corner, Korea is preparing for another influx of Chinese travelers over the holiday. The Korea Tourism Organization projects the number of Chinese arrivals in 2015 to reach a new record of 7.2 million, up from 6.1 million last year.Chinese tourists are also boosting the Korean economy. With an average Chinese spending 3 million won ($2800) per visit, the combined impact on the local economy was estimated at 18.6 trillion won last year, which equals the export

TravelFeb. 16, 2015

[Graphic News] Seoul ranks No. 10 in defense spending

South Korea ranked 10th in defense spending in 2014, according to an annual report.The report on the world’s top 15 defense-spending countries by Britain’s International Institute for Strategic Studies showed that Seoul’s defense expenditures amounted to $34.4 billion.The U.S. topped the list with defense spending of $581 billion, followed by China with $129.4 billion, Saudi Arabia with $80.8 billion, the U.K. with $61.8 billion, France with $53.1 billion and Japan with $47.7 billion.

DefenseFeb. 15, 2015

[Graphic News] Students’ fast-food intake sharp increases

Fast-food consumption among elementary and secondary school students in South Korea rose in 2014 from four years earlier, a government poll showed Wednesday.According to the annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Education from April to June last year, the rate of students who ate fast food more than once a week surged 10 percentage points last year from 2010. The percentage of obese children dropped slightly in 2014 from the previous year but still reached 15 percent, and the number of stud

Social AffairsFeb. 11, 2015

[Graphic News] Social cost of health care rises

The social cost of treating medical illnesses and injuries totaled 120.65 trillion won ($110.12 billion) in South Korea in 2012, a report showed Tuesday.At 8.8 percent of the GDP in the same year, it showed an increase of 24.2 percent from 2008.Injuries and addictions, including alcoholism, cost the most ― 19.54 trillion won ― among all medical conditions. They made up 16.2 percent of the total cost in 2012. Suicides and attempted suicides, on the other hand, were the most common cases in the ca

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea ranks lowest in OECD for welfare spending

South Korea ranked lowest among OECD member countries in social welfare spending in 2014, according to data compiled from the Korean government and OECD reports.Of the 28 OECD members (six were excluded for lack of data), South Korea took last place, with a social welfare expenditure to GDP ratio of 10.4 percent.This is less than half the OECD average (21.6 percent), and not even a third of the countries at the top of the list such as France (31.9 percent) and Finland (31 percent).This indicates

Social AffairsFeb. 5, 2015

[Graphic News] Chaebol execs serve 5 years, retire by 55

Executives in the nation’s top 10 conglomerates serve their position for about five years and usually retire before they hit 55, a report said Wednesday.According to the report released by CEO Score, the average retirement age of executives in the big firms was 54.5, and average tenure in the top office was 5.2 years. The business news site specializing in chaebol surveyed 271 executives in the big firms who retired and sold their treasury stocks in 2015.The conglomerate with the youngest retire

Feb. 4, 2015

[Graphic News] High school graduates with jobs exceed 10m mark in 2014

The number of high school graduates who were employed surpassed the 10 million mark for the first time last year.According to a government report, 10.1 million high school graduates were found to have jobs in 2014, a 2.7 percent increase from 2013.High school graduates also made up 39.5 percent of total number of people hired in 2014, a 0.3 percent increase compared to 2013. The number of high school graduates has increased since 2009, while the number of college entrants has been dropping since

Feb. 2, 2015