[Interactive] Pro baseball's popularity in steady decline: poll

　The popularity of professional baseball in South Korea is in decline, especially among people in their 20s, the exact demographic that teams are trying to attract, a national poll showed. 　Gallup Korea released results of its survey of 1,004 South Koreans aged 18 or older from March 15-17. 　And only 31 percent of the polled said they had at least some interest in the Korea Baseball Organization, the lowest since 2013 and well off the record high of 48 percent in 2014. 　Among different age b

SportsApril 16, 2022

[Interactive] S. Korea’s coffee imports hit new high in 2021

　South Korea’s imports of coffee surged more than 24 percent to hit a new all-time high in 2021 on its growing popularity here, data showed. 　The value of the country's coffee imports stood at $916.5 million last year, up 24.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. 　It marks the first time that South Korea’s coffee imports have exceeded the 1 trillion-won ($823 million) level in terms of the local currency. 　Last

BusinessApril 9, 2022

[Interactive] 53.7% oppose Yoon's plan to relocate presidential office

  　More than half of South Koreans are against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s plan to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, while some 44 percent support the idea, a poll showed Wednesday. 　According to the poll of 500 adults, conducted by pollster Realmeter on Tuesday, 53.7 percent said the presidential office should remain at Cheong Wa Dae, and 44.6 percent said they back the relocation plan. 　On Sunday, Yoon announced his decision to move the presidential office from

NationalApril 2, 2022

[Interactive] Grain import prices soar 47% over 2 years

  　South Korea’s import prices of grain has jumped nearly 50 percent over the past two years to a near nine-year high amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Prices of imported grains came to $386 per ton in February, up 26 percent from a year earlier and 47.4 percent from two years earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. 　The February per-ton import price represented the highest level since it reached $388 in May 2013. 　Last

BusinessApril 2, 2022

[Interactive] Instant noodles rank 1st in food output in 2020

  　Instant noodles captured the top spot in production among food products in South Korea in 2020 on a surge in exports amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　The output of instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, stood at 1.93 million metric tons in 2020, up a whopping 231 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 　Ramyeon’s ranking in terms of production was up 12 notches from the previous year. 　Carbonated drink

BusinessApril 1, 2022

[Interactive] Monthly salary of wage workers up 3.6%

   The average monthly salary of wage earners rose 3.6 percent on-year in 2020 from a year earlier despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a government report showed.  South Korean wage workers earned a monthly average of 3.2 million won ($2,669) in December 2020, up from 3.09 million won a year earlier, according to the report from Statistics Korea.  The figure for workers with large companies stood at 5.29 million won, with those in smaller firms earning 2.59 million won.  &n

NationalApril 1, 2022

[Interactive] 7.1% of US adults identify as LGBT

  The proportion of US adults identifying as LGBT has increased to a high of 7.1 percent, double the figure from 2012 when Gallup first started measuring it, reflecting a generational shift, the polling firm said. Gallup asks Americans whether they personally identified as straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual, as part of the demographic information it collects on all its phone surveys. Respondents can also volunteer any other orientation or gen

WorldApril 1, 2022

[Interactive] Apartment purchases by young people hit record high last year: data

  The proportion of apartments bought by people in their 30s or younger reached an all-time high last year amid “panic buying” over soaring housing prices, data showed. The buyers in this age group accounted for 31 percent of the country’s total apartment sales in 2021, up from 29.2 percent in 2020, according to the data compiled by the Korea Real Estate Board. The agency began compiling the related data in 2019, and the figure for that year came to 28.3 percent. In Seo

Latest NewsMarch 4, 2022

[Interactive] S. Korean performing arts scene sees revenue jump nearly 80% in 2021

  The local performing arts scene saw its revenue soar nearly 80 percent in 2021 from a year earlier, thanks to eased social distancing rules and a rising vaccination rate, data showed. The combined revenue of 12,000 theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 307.1 billion won ($258.1 million) last year, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System. The 2021 amount marked a 78.4 percent on-year surge from 172.1 billion

Latest NewsMarch 4, 2022

[Interactive] China's birth rate at record low in 2021: official

China's birth rate plummeted to a record low last year, official data showed, as analysts warn that faster-than-expected aging could deepen economic growth concerns. Beijing has been grappling with a looming demographic crisis as it faces a rapidly aging workforce, slowing economy and the country's weakest population growth in decades. The birth rate of the world’s second-biggest economy slipped to 7.52 births per 1,000 people, according to National Bureau of Statistics data, down from

Latest NewsMarch 4, 2022

[Interactive] Americans reading fewer books than in previous years: Gallup poll

Americans read an average of 12.6 books during the past year, according to a new Gallup poll released. That represents the lowest number of books read compared to any previous survey dating back to 1990, Gallup said. In three polls conducted between 2002 and 2016, Gallup surveys showed that Americans read an average of 15.2 books per year.The results are based on a Dec. 1-16 poll of a random sample of 811 adults living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. The participants were aske

World NewsJan. 28, 2022

[Interactive] Number of Americans who identify as Christian further declines: poll

The percentage of Americans who identify as Christian dropped 15 percentage points over the past 14 years, while those who consider themselves religiously unaffiliated increased by 14 percentage points, a Pew study released indicates.Pew's National Public Opinion Reference Survey found that the majority of Americans - 63 percent - consider themselves Christian, down from 78 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, 29 percent of adults list their religion as “none,” meaning they consider themsel

World NewsJan. 28, 2022

[Interactive] Foreign student enrollment in US colleges drops 15%

Enrollment of foreign students in US colleges and universities plunged 15 percent in the 2020-21 school year even though American institutions remain in high esteem, research showed. Fewer than 1 million foreign students enrolled for either online or in-person classes at US universities in the 2020-21 school year, marking a 15 percent year-over-year decrease from the previous school year, according to data from the Institute of International Education analyzed by the Pew Research Center. It als

World NewsJan. 28, 2022

[Interactive] Pandemic stress weighs heavily on Gen Z: poll

Isolation. Anxiety. Uncertainty. The stresses of the coronavirus pandemic have taken a toll on Americans of all ages, but a new poll finds that teens and young adults have faced some of the heaviest struggles as they come of age during a time of extreme turmoil. Overall, more than a third of Americans ages 13 to 56 cite the pandemic as a major source of stress, and many say it has made certain parts of their lives harder. But when it comes to education, friendships and dating, the disruption ha

World NewsJan. 12, 2022

[Interactive] Paul Rudd is People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’

Paul Rudd, 52, the affable actor best known for playing “Ant-Man,” was named People magazine’s sexiest man alive, joining the likes of Idris Elba, George Clooney and Bradley Cooper. Rudd played the kind boyfriend of Lisa Kudrow’s wacky Phoebe on TV comedy “Friends” and later took larger roles in comedies like “Knocked Up” before playing Ant-Man in the Marvel superhero movie, followed by a sequel and appearances as the character in “Captain A

World NewsJan. 12, 2022

[Interactive] Posco named world’s most competitive steelmaker for 12th year

South Korea’s top steelmaker Posco said it was named the world’s most competitive steelmaker in a global industry report for the 12th consecutive year. In an annual assessment of 35 steelmakers worldwide, global steel information service provider World Steel Dynamics gave Posco the top mark of 8.54 points out of 10, according to the South Korean company. The WSD report, which ranks the steelmakers based on 23 categories, gave top scores for Posco in eight segments, including techno

IndustryDec. 29, 2021

[Interactive] Exports of fishery goods up over 20% through October

South Korea’s exports of fishery products grew 20.5 percent on-year in the first 10 months of this year, data showed. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $2.24 billion during the January-October period, compared to $1.86 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Exports to China rose 48.1 percent to $540 million, and those to the United States and the European Union surged 24.2 percent and 39.4 percent, respectively. Sales

EconomyDec. 29, 2021

[Interactive] S. Korean exports of kimchi up 13.8% in Jan.-Aug.

South Korea’s exports of kimchi climbed nearly 14 percent in the first eight months of 2021 on growing overseas demand for healthier food amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed. Outbound shipments of kimchi reached $111.5 million in the January-August period, up 13.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the food industry. In contrast, imports of kimchi shrank 9.7 percent on-year to $86.1 million over the cited period, resulting in

EconomyDec. 28, 2021

[Interactive] More than half of Afghans face ‘acute’ food crisis

More than 22 million Afghans will suffer “acute food insecurity” this winter, UN agencies said, warning the already unstable country faces one of the world‘s worst humanitarian crises. The crisis is already bigger in scale than that facing Yemen or Syria, and worse than any food insecurity emergency apart from the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said. According to the statement issued by the World Food Program and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, one in two A

World NewsDec. 28, 2021