[Graphic News] Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)

  Timeline of reported cases Late April: An unidentified children’s illness reported in Europe May 9: Illness claims three children in New York, US, and one in France May 13: Casualty occurs in the UK; UK, France, US together confirm over 100 cases May 23: Mystery children’s illness spreads to 13 countries (25 states in the US) May 25: Korea launches disease surveillance systems May 26: Korea sees two suspected cases of the rare pediatric condition, both in Seoul　

TechnologyMay 29, 2020

[Graphic News] US video game industry sees record April sales: survey

　Spending on video games in the US jumped to a new April record as locked-down consumers sought refuge in playing games, industry figures showed. 　A total of $1.5 billion was spent on video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards, eclipsing a previous April high of $1.2 billion spent in the US in 2008, according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. 　April was the first full month of tight restrictions on people’s movements in the US to prevent the spread of the deadly novel cor

World BusinessMay 28, 2020

[Graphic News] Tesla 3rd highest-selling imported auto brand in Korea

　US electric carmaker Tesla Motors ranked third in first-quarter sales in South Korea’s imported passenger vehicle market on strong demand for the Model 3, an industry association said. 　In the January-March period, Tesla sold a total of 4,070 vehicles in the Korean imported car market, following Mercedes-Benz (15,400) and BMW (11,331), according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　Tesla’s sales jumped to 2,499 units in March from 1,433 in February and 138

IndustryMay 27, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Korea unveils draft plan to foster renewable energy

　South Korea announced a long-term plan to spur a shift toward renewable power sources away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy. 　The draft plan for the nation’s ninth basic energy policy for the years 2020-2034 calls for raising the share of renewable energy out of its electricity generation to 40 percent by 2034 from the current 15.1 percent. 　Power plants fired by liquefied natural gas (LNG) will take up 31 percent of the total from the present 32.3 percent. 　Drawn up by a worki

BusinessMay 26, 2020

[Graphic News] Average monthly household spending W2.45m in 2019

　South Korean households spent an average of 2.45 million won ($2,003) per month in 2019, data showed. 　In 2018, South Korean households spent an average 2.53 million won, but an annual comparison may be inappropriate because Statistics Korea changed its method of compiling the data last year, the statistics agency said. 　Expenditures on food and nonalcoholic beverages came to 333,000 won last year, accounting for 13.5 percent of the total, according to the data. 　Expenditures by four-me

Social AffairsMay 25, 2020

[Graphic News] Cultural exports jump 9.1% in 2018, led by games, character IP

　South Korea’s exports of cultural goods jumped nearly 10 percent on-year in 2018, led by games and character intellectual property, a government survey showed. 　The combined overseas sales in 11 culture and entertainment sectors reached about $9.62 billion, up 9.1 percent from 2017, according to the annual content industry statistics published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 　The industries surveyed included movies, broadcasting, publishing, music, games, cartoons,

CultureMay 22, 2020

[Graphic News] Number of abandoned pets up 12% in 2019

　The number of abandoned animals in South Korea climbed 12 percent on-year to more than 130,000 in 2019 with dogs taking up the majority, government data showed. 　A total of 135,791 dogs, cats and other pets got deserted or lost last year, compared with 121,077 a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the state-run Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency. 　Dogs accounted for 75.4 percent of the total, with cats making up 23.5 percent. It cost 23.2 billion won ($18.9 million) to operate

Social AffairsMay 21, 2020

[Graphic News] More Seoul residents worried about COVID-19 lasting longer: poll

More residents in South Korea‘s capital appeared to be concerned about the new coronavirus pandemic lasting longer here following the recent outbreak traced to nightspots in Itaewon, a poll showed. A combined 53.3 percent of respondents in a recent survey projected the pandemic would end in December or later, nearly doubling from 27.4 percent tallied in mid-April, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Of the total, 19.8 percent said they expect the pandemic to end by

Social AffairsMay 20, 2020

[Graphic News] N. Korea spent estimated $620m on nuclear weapons in 2019

North Korea is estimated to have spent $620 million on its nuclear weapons program last year, an international anti-nuclear weapons group said. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization, made the estimate in a report about the expenditures that nine countries, including the North, made on nuclear development. The figure was drawn based on a South Korean think tank’s estimate that the North spent 35 percent of its gross national incom

World NewsMay 19, 2020

[Graphic News] 75 percent of S. Korean students get private tutoring: survey

　Three-quarters of South Korean students received private tutoring in 2019, for which they spent 6 1/2 hours a week on average, a new survey showed. 　The annual survey conducted by the national Statistics Korea and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on the country’s youth population aged 9-24, found that 74.8 percent of those surveyed got private education outside public school. In 2016, the figure was 67.8 percent. The survey included elementary school students (fourth-sixth grade

Social AffairsMay 18, 2020

[Graphic News] Pay TV subscribers in S. Korea up 3.4% to reach 33.6m

　The number of pay TV subscribers in South Korea reached 33.6 million last year, up 1.1 million, or 3.4 percent, from the previous year, data showed. 　The figure includes pay subscribers to system operators, satellite broadcasting services and internet protocol television service providers, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. 　Fixed-line and telecom operator KT ranked No. 1 in market share with just under 22 percent, or over 7.3 million subscribers, followed by SK Broadband with

NationalMay 15, 2020

[Graphic News] Apple dominates global smartwatch market

　Apple again commanded a majority share of the smartwatch market in the first quarter, when the COVID-19 outbreak encouraged health tracking and drove a 20 percent rise in shipments. 　Global smartwatch shipments reached 13.7 million units in the first three months of this year, defying a worldwide slump in consumer electronics arenas such as mobile phones. Apple’s share inched up a percentage point to 55.5 percent, according to Strategy Analytics. 　Samsung Electronics was second with

World BusinessMay 14, 2020

[Graphic News] 19 million children among 46 million displaced in 2019: UN

　The UN children’s agency said an estimated 46 million people - 19 million of them children - fled violence and conflict last year but remained in their home countries, and millions more were displaced by disasters. 　A UNICEF report said there has been a steep increase in the number of internally displaced people as a result of conflict and violence, from 25 million a decade ago to more than 40 million in the last five years. And last year more than 40 percent of the displaced were un

World NewsMay 13, 2020

[Graphic News] Samsung tops 5G smartphone shipments in Q1: report

　Global 5G smartphone shipments grew to 24.1 million in the first quarter. 　Samsung Electronics was the top vendor of 5G smartphones, shipping 8.3 million units globally in the first quarter this year, according to market tracker Strategy Analytics. 　Huawei Technologies came in a close second, shipping 8 million 5G smartphones, as Vivo, Xiomi and OPPO rounded out the top five. 

World BusinessMay 12, 2020

[Graphic News] Most Americans now spending less amid COVID-19 crisis

　More Americans are now spending less each month than at any time since the Great Recession, a new Gallup survey showed. 　When asked about money habits compared to previous months, 51 percent said they're now spending less - an increase from 32 percent last year. It’s the highest figure since 2010, when 57 percent said they were spending less. 　More Americans are being careful with money as the coronavirus crisis has taken a toll on the global economy. More than 30 million adults in

World NewsMay 11, 2020

[Graphic News] 47.5% suffer income loss due to coronavirus: poll

　Some 47.5 percent of South Korean workers saw their income fall due to the coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 10,000 here, a survey showed. 　Among those on temporary work contracts, 66.3 percent suffered an income loss, while the corresponding figure was 35 percent for permanent employees, according to the survey of 1,000 workers conducted by labor rights groups Gabjil 119 and Public Workers Solidarity Foundation. 　The survey showed that low-income workers in service industr

Social AffairsMay 8, 2020

[Graphic News] Number of Catholics edges up 0.8% in S. Korea

　The number of Catholics in South Korea rose slightly last year as the religion has experienced a slowdown in its growth in recent years, data showed. 　According to data by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, 5.91 million Koreans were registered with 16 dioceses in the country as of end-2019, up 0.8 percent, or 48,000, from a year earlier. 　The on-year growth has been hovering around 1 percent for the past decade and dropped to a 0.9 percent gain in 2018. Only in 2014, when Po

NationalMay 7, 2020

[Graphic News] Number of moviegoers hits all-time low in April amid pandemic

　The number of moviegoers in South Korea dropped to an all-time low in April, data showed, as people refrained from visiting crowded places amid the new coronavirus pandemic. 　A total of 972,447 people went to the cinema last month - the first time the figure fell below the 1 million threshold since the data was first compiled in 2004, according to the Korean Film Council. 　It marked a drastic drop from a whopping 13.3 million posted a year earlier. (Yonhap)

Social AffairsMay 6, 2020

[Graphic News] Military spending saw biggest increase in a decade in 2019

　Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said, marking the first year two Asian countries were among the top three spenders. 　The world’s nations spent a combined $1.9 trillion on their militaries in 2019, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 　Compared with 2018, that represented annual growth of 3.6 percent, the highest increase since 2010. (AFP)

World NewsMay 5, 2020

[Graphic News] Duty-free shops suffer sharp drop in sales

　South Korean duty-free stores saw their sales drop sharply in March due to the spread of the new coronavirus, industry data showed. 　Combined sales of local duty-free shops shrank 1.3 percent on-month to 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) last month, according to the data from the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. The number is down 46.2 percent from January, the data showed. 　The number of visitors at duty-free outlets came to 587,879 last month, also down from 1.75 million in February, wi

BusinessMay 4, 2020