[Graphic News] Best places to retire overseas

Portugal‘s Algarve region has been named the best place in the world to retire for the fourth year in a row, according to a report from Live and Invest Overseas.Only two Asian cities -- Kuala Lumpur and George Town -- made the list in the top 10, ranking sixth and 10th, respectively.Valletta, Malta came in at No. 2, while Mazatlan, Mexico took the No. 3 spot.Factors taken into account include: cost of living, safety, whether English is spoken, availability of entertainment, environmental conditi

World NewsAug. 16, 2017

[Graphic News] Women hold nearly half government jobs

　Women held roughly half of governmental positions in South Korea as of last year, mostly concentrated in educational services. 　According to data released by the Ministry of Personnel Management this week, of the nation’s 650,000 civil servants at the end of 2016, 323,000, or 49.8 percent, were women. The proportion of female civil servants has been on a steady increase in recent years, moving from 48.1 percent in 2013 to 49 percent in 2014 and 49.4 percent in 2015.  　Education services showed

NationalAug. 15, 2017

[Graphic News] Delhi to grow fastest in Asia

Delhi is now the fastest growing city in Asia, according to a new study from Oxford Economics. Indian cities are set to expand the most across the region, with growth speeding up from the past 5 years.Tianjin is forecast to clock the fastest growth in China, given that it has a large manufacturing base and one of the nation’s busiest ports. Ho Chi Minh was the only non-Indian city in the top five, reflecting the city’s success in establishing itself as a manufacturing center, as well as its stro

World NewsAug. 13, 2017

[Graphic News] North Korea's Guam attack plan

North Korea's threat against Guam, a key US military outpost, is based on the Hwasong-12, a new intermediate range missile the country successfully flight-tested for the first time in May.　The liquid-fuel missile is designed to be fired from road mobile launchers and has been previously described by North Korea as built for attacking Alaska and Hawaii. The North followed the May launch with two flight tests of its Hwasong-14 ICBM last month. Analysts said that a wide swath of the continental Uni

North KoreaAug. 13, 2017

[Graphic News] Samsung registers 2nd largest number of patents in US

South Korea‘s tech giant Samsung Electronics registered an average of 19 patents per day in the United States in the first seven months of the year, industry data showed.According to the data by US online journal Quartz, a total of 4,143 patents were registered by Samsung Electronics through Aug. 1, with a daily 19.5 patents on average.It ranked second among technology firms in terms of patent registers in the world’s largest economy, after IBM, which posted 5,797 patents in total over the same

World NewsAug. 10, 2017

[Graphic News] France remains world’s favorite tourism destination

France retained its position as the world’s favorite tourism destination in 2016, the UN’s World Tourism Organization said, defying concerns over terror attacks. The United States came second followed closely by Spain, according to annual figures that the Madrid-based UNWTO normally announces in January, but which were delayed this year.The number of tourists visiting the US was also down, falling three percent to 75.61 million, which saw the country narrowly maintain its second position as Spai

World NewsAug. 9, 2017

[Graphic News] Neymar becomes most expensive soccer player

Paris Saint-Germain -- owned by sanctions-hit Qatar -- has signed Brazilian forward Neymar from Barcelona for a world-record transfer fee of $264 million.The Brazilian superstar signed a five-year deal to earn an estimated $35.5 million per year.The transfer is more than double the previous world record, set by Manchester United’s capture of Paul Pogba from Juventus last year for $125 million.

World NewsAug. 8, 2017

[Graphic News] UN bans key N. Korea exports over missile tests

The United Nations Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday that could slash by a third the Asian state‘s $3 billion annual export revenue over its two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.The US-drafted resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the current numbers of North Korean laborers working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new

World NewsAug. 7, 2017

[Graphic News] Xiaomi ranks world's No.1 wearables vendor

Xiaomi is the world’s largest wearables vendor, exceeding Apple and Fitbit, according to the market researcher Strategy Analytics.Data showed that global wearables shipments rose 8 percent yearly to 21.6 million units in the second quarter.Xiaomi delivered 3.7 million units, with 17.1 percent market share. Right after it was Fitbit, delivering 3.4 million units, with 15.7 percent market share, followed by Apple, with 13 percent market share.

World BusinessAug. 6, 2017

[Graphic News] National Museum of China tops list of most-visited museums

The National Museum of China in Beijing is now the most-visited museum in the world, according to a report published by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM.The museum for Chinese history and the arts tops the list for the first time, receiving 7.55 million people in 2016. The report has charted global museum trends since 2012 by listing the best-attended museums worldwide and in different regions.Washington’s National Air and Space Museum ranked second. The Louvre claimed the third sp

World NewsAug. 3, 2017

[Graphic News] Foreign reserves across Asia

China is the world‘s largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. It has over 2 1/2 times more foreign reserves than the second-largest reserve holder, Japan.The Asian giant has $3.483 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, despite a recent drop. China is followed by Japan, with a substantial $1.21 trillion worth of foreign exchange.South Korea and India also have a large pie of the foreign exchange. In South Korea, the foreign exchange reserve is $370 billion, while India holds $361 billion wor

World BusinessAug. 2, 2017

[Graphic News] Newborns estimated at 360,000 this year

The number of newborns in South Korea is expected to be around 360,000 for 2017, marking a record low, according to the Health Ministry and National Statistical Office. The figure is 12.4 percent lower than the previous year. The last time it increased was in November 2015, data showed. Experts said the number will further decrease down the road. The country’s average number of newborns hovered at around 1 million in the 1970s, but quickly fell to reach 490,000 in 2002.

World NewsAug. 1, 2017

[Graphic News] Top conglomerates stingy in making donations

According to data from market researcher Chaebul.com, listed firms of conglomerates donated 963.2 billion won ($847.8 million) last year, down 1.7 percent from a year earlier. Listed affiliates of Samsung, Hyundai Motor, Lotte, Posco and GS groups cut their public donations last year.Samsung’s listed firms donated 470.3 billion won last year, down 11.7 percent on-year. Samsung Electronics, the group‘s crown jewel, cut donations by 10.7 percent to 334.5 billion won. Donations by companies under H

World NewsJuly 31, 2017

[Graphic News] Auto recalls to reach record high in 2017

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, a total of 1,308,758 domestic vehicles have been ordered to be recalled so far this year across 172 cases. The number of cars subject to recall this year is expected to exceed the country’s record high of 1,369,925 vehicles in 2004. Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world’s No. 5 carmaker by sales, were ordered to recall a combined 979,687 cars in 2017, accounting for 75 percent of the total figure.

World NewsJuly 30, 2017

[Graphic News] Korean ranked 6th coolest nationality: CNN

CNN revealed the list of the world’s coolest nationalities, with Brazilians taking the top spot, followed by Singaporeans, Jamaicans, Mongolians and Americans respectively. South Koreans ranked sixth among those surveyed from other nations, saying they may be the best drinking buddies in the world. CNN also picked film director Park Chan-wook as an icon of cool, saying his twisted visions freak out fellow countrymen, but have achieved cult status among emo film majors worldwide.

World NewsJuly 27, 2017

[Graphic News] Moon fills over 30 percent of Cabinet with women

President Moon Jae-in fulfilled his pledge to fill at least 30 percent of the Cabinet with female ministers as of Wednesday, with his nomination of ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Kim Young-joo for labor minister. Currently, the new Cabinet has five female ministers and, if Kim is appointed, it would make 31.5 percent out of the 19 ministerial positions, including the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, whose chief was recently upgraded to a ministerial level. Kim’s confirmation h

PoliticsJuly 26, 2017

[Graphic News] Over half of people with HIV being treated

For the first time, more than half of all people with HIV are on drugs to treat the virus, said the United Nations. According to a UNAIDS report in 2016, 19.5 million of 36.7 million people with HIV had access to treatment, while AIDS-related deaths fell from 1.9 million in 2005 to 1 million in 2016. The death toll from AIDS has dropped in recent years, due to the availability of affordable, life-saving drugs.

World NewsJuly 25, 2017

[Graphic News] Lotte World Adventure 14th most visited theme park globally

Lotte World Adventure in Seoul, operated by Lotte Group, had the 14th-highest number of visitors among its global peers last year with 8.15 million people, an annual survey said.The tally compiled jointly by Themed Entertainment Association and consulting firm Aecom said Lotte World was the most-visited amusement park in South Korea and fifth in Asia. Everland Resort, another theme park located just south of Seoul, ranked 16th in the world in visitor numbers.Disney Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Flor

World NewsJuly 24, 2017

[Graphic News] Cities and Provinces with strongest youth unemployment cash support

In an effort to curb South Korea’s high youth unemployment rate, the government has decided to provide cash subsidies to young job seekers. Gyeonggi Province and capital city Seoul ranked first with 3 million won ($2,700) each, followed by the port city of Busan at 2.4 million won. Daejeon came in fourth with 1.8 million won and North Gyeongsang Province in fifth with 1 million won. The cash subsidy program is in line with the Moon Jae-in administration’s job creation policy.

Social AffairsJuly 23, 2017

[Graphic News] Japanese brands top imported beer in S. Korea

According to the data compiled by Lotte Mart, Japanese beer topped sales in South Korea‘s imported beer market.Japanese beer ranked first with a 21.5 percent share in 2016, followed by German beer at 19.9 percent and Belgium at 11.3 percent. Chinese beer accounted for 7.1 percent of the total imported beer sold at the outlets, data showed. The popularity of imported beer has been soaring, taking up 51.1 percent of Lotte Mart’s beer sales this year. The comparable figure for 2015 and 2016 were 34

World NewsJuly 20, 2017