[Graphic News] Child labor swells for first time in two decades: UN

　The world has marked the first rise in child labor in two decades and the coronavirus crisis threatens to push millions more youngsters toward the same fate, the United Nations said. 　In a joint report, the International Labor Organization and the UN children’s agency UNICEF said the number in child labor stood at 160 million at the start of 2020 - an increase of 8.4 million in four years. 　The hike began before the pandemic hit and marks a dramatic reversal of a downward trend that

WorldJuly 2, 2021

[Graphic News] Sales of fiction, poetry increase amid pandemic

　Sales of fiction and poetry books at leading online bookstore Yes24 have grown this year as people spend more time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company said. 　The sales volume of novels, poetry and dramas has risen 8.3 percent year-on-year so far this year, Yes24 announced. Their sales increased 21.4 percent year-on-year last year after decreasing 9.6 percent in 2019. 　Among this year’s 100 bestsellers, 13 titles belonged to the category, which came in third after busi

NationalJuly 1, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung ranks 2nd in European wearables market in Q1: report

　Samsung Electronics was the second-largest vendor of wearable devices in Europe in the first quarter of the year, although its market share declined as archrival Apple expanded its presence. 　Samsung posted a 16.1 percent market share in the January-March period in the European market, down from 16.8 percent a year earlier, according to the latest report from market researcher International Data Corp. 　The South Korean tech giant shipped 3.5 million wearable products in the region in th

World BusinessJune 30, 2021

[Graphic News] E-scooter accidents in Seoul rise sharply over past 3 years

　The number of accidents involving e-scooters in Seoul more than tripled between 2018 and 2020, the fire authorities said. 　The Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters said it had responded to 366 e-scooter accidents over the three years: 57 in 2018, 117 in 2019 and 192 in 2020. 　The increase reflects the vehicles’ increased popularity. 　Collisions between e-scooters and cars were the most frequent, accounting for 107 accidents, or 29.2 percent of the total. 　There were 2

NationalJune 29, 2021

[Graphic News] New Zealand has ‘bubbliest’ housing market in world

　New Zealand has the bubbliest housing market in the world, followed by Canada and Sweden, according to a ranking by Bloomberg Economics. 　Real estate prices around the world are flashing the kind of bubble warnings that haven’t been seen since the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, the global news service said. 　Bloomberg ranked the world’s frothiest housing markets based on key indicators such as the price-to-rent ratio, price-to-income ratio, price growth and credit growth.

WorldJune 28, 2021

[Graphic News] Seoul National University ranks 9th among Asian universities

　Seoul National University has retained its rank of 9th place among Asia‘s top universities, while Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Sungkyunkwan University ranked 13th and 14th respectively in the latest rankings by Times Higher Education. 　The top 10 universities in Asia were dominated by China. Tsinghua topped the ranking followed by Peking University and the National University of Singapore 　The university rankings are based on global performance tables that judg

WorldJune 25, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea atop Q1 chip equipment spending chart: report

　South Korea was the world's largest spender on chip equipment in the first quarter of the year, a report showed, amid a global semiconductor shortage. 　South Korea, home to major memory chip producers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, spent $7.31 billion in chipmaking equipment in the January-March period, up 118 percent from a year ago, according to quarterly billings data from SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufacturing supply c

World BusinessJune 24, 2021

[Graphic News] Image of US abroad improves under Biden

　The image of the United States throughout the world has changed significantly since the election of Joe Biden to replace former President Donald Trump, according to a new Pew Research Center survey released. 　Pew Research examination of 16 public surveys found a noteworthy increase in the image of the United States, pointing to the election of Biden and several of his major policy initiatives. 　The center said more than 6 in 10 people surveyed said they had confidence in Biden to make the

WorldJune 23, 2021

[Graphic News] One-person households make up 30.4% of homes in 2020

　The portion of single-member households in South Korea surpassed 30 percent last year, a government survey showed, amid an increase in diverse forms of families. 　One-person households accounted for 30.4 percent of the total in 2020, according to a survey conducted of 11,000 households by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family every five years. 　The percentage was 21.3 percent in 2015 and 15.8 percent in 2010. 　At the same time, the portion of households composed of parents and unma

NationalJune 22, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s exports of grapes set fresh high in 2020

　South Korea’s exports of grapes shot up 35 percent on-year in 2020 to set a new record high, data showed, on the back of the growing popularity of local agricultural products overseas. 　Outbound shipments of grapes came to $30.7 million in 2020, compared to $22.8 million posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　Over the first four months of 2021, exports of grapes came to $7.2 million, also up nearly 50 percent fr

BusinessJune 21, 2021

[Graphic News] Conor McGregor tops 2020 sporting rich list: Forbes

　Mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor was the sporting world’s highest-paid athlete in 2020, raking in around $180 million with earnings boosted by commercial ventures, a Forbes report showed. 　The 32-year-old Irishman only fought once in 2020, earning around $22 million from his victory over Donald Cerrone in January. 　The bulk of the former plumber’s pay - an estimated $158 million - came via his successful business activities, which included the sale of his Proper Twel

WorldJune 18, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung ranks 2nd in Q1 chip sales: report

　Samsung Electronics was the world’s second-largest semiconductor vendor in the first quarter of the year, a report showed, after posting double-digit year-on-year sales growth. 　The South Korean tech juggernaut logged $17.07 billion in chip sales in the January-March period, up 15 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest McClean Report released by market researcher IC Insights. 　Samsung, the world’s largest memory chip supplier, racked up $16.15 billion in integr

World BusinessJune 17, 2021

[Graphic News] Taiwan ranked top place for expats to live

　Taiwan, Mexico and Costa Rica have been ranked as the top spots to live and work abroad in 2021, based on their cost of living, ease of settling in and overall quality of life. 　The US was ranked only 34th out of 59 places, largely because of how expats viewed quality of life in America, according to a new survey published. 　Taiwan topped the charts for the third year in a row in the survey of 12,420 expats conducted by InterNations, a Munich-based expat network with about 4 million memb

WorldJune 16, 2021

[Graphic News] Farming households' average income hits record high in 2020

　The average income of farming households reached a record high of 45 million won ($40,300) in 2020 on the back of the government’s subsidies, the Agriculture Ministry said. 　The amount marks a 9 percent rise from 41 million won tallied in 2019, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It also marked 20 percent growth from 2016. 　The growth apparently came as the country expanded the amount of direct subsidies to local farmers.

NationalJune 15, 2021

[Graphic News] 30% of pets at animal shelters adopted in 2020: data

　Around 30 percent of stray pets protected by animal shelters found new homes in 2020, data showed, amid the growing popularity of raising pets in South Korea. 　The number of pets rescued by animal shelters came to 130,401 in 2020, down 3.9 percent from 135,791 posted in the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　The data showed 29.6 percent of the rescued animals in 2020 were adopted, up 3.2 percentage points from a year ear

NationalJune 14, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung tops Q1 TV market with record share: report

　Samsung Electronics maintained its status as the world‘s leading TV vendor with a record market share in the first quarter, a report showed, as the tech giant posted robust growth on the back of its QLED and large TVs. 　Samsung represented 32.9 percent of the global TV market in terms of sales revenue in the January-March period, its largest share for a first quarter, according to data from industry researcher Omdia. 　Samsung was followed by its South Korean rival LG Electronics wit

BusinessJune 10, 2021

[Graphic News] Cryptocurrency crimes cause over W5.5tr of losses since 2017

　Financial damage caused by cryptocurrency-related crimes has totaled more than 5.5 trillion won ($4.9 billion) since 2017, a lawmaker said, citing data from police. 　According to Rep. Yun Chang-hyun of the main opposition People Power Party, the National Police Agency estimated the damage to be 467 billion won in 2017, 169 billion won in 2018, 764 billion won in 2019, 214 billion won in 2020 and 92 billion won from January to April this year. 　The NPA also said in documents sent to Yun th

BusinessJune 9, 2021

[Graphic News] South Korea now world‘s 5th best place to be during pandemic

　South Korea rose one spot to rank as the fifth best place to be during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking. 　New Zealand regained the top position it held for five consecutive months until April, with COVID-19 all but wiped out in the island nation, allowing its people the freedoms of pre-COVID-19 life - except for international travel. 　The COVID Resilience Ranking uses a wide range of data to capture where the pandemic is being handled most eff

WorldJune 8, 2021

[Graphic News] PC shipments in S. Korea soar to 10-year high in Q1: report

　South Korea’s personal computer market expanded to its largest in 10 years in the first quarter of 2021, industry data showed, due to robust demand for online education and remote working amid the pandemic. 　Domestic PC shipments stood at 1.89 million units in the January-March period, up 30.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from market researcher IDC Korea. 　This was the largest PC shipment volume in Korea since the first quarter of 2012, when it recorded 1.94

BusinessJune 7, 2021

[Graphic News] 6,705 native Koreans have become Catholic priests: report

　A total of 6,705 native Koreans have joined the Roman Catholic priesthood in the 237 years of Catholic history in the country, a report showed. 　According to the 2021 directory published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, the list of ordained priests includes Father Andrea Kim, who became the first-ever Korean Catholic priest in 1845, and Father Yoon Hong-min, who most recently received his priesthood in February. 　Among those, 5,515 were still active. A total of 645 have

NationalJune 4, 2021