The use of Korean word “bihon” -- referring to people who choose to remain unmarried -- has increased sevenfold on social media over the past five years, reflecting the people’s changing attitude toward marriage, said a private think tank Monday. (123RF)According to big data analyst company Daumsoft, its research on 700 million blog posts and 8.9 billion tweets by Koreans on the topic of marriage between Jan. 1, 2011, and April 20, 2016, showed an abrupt surge in the use of the word beginning fr

Social Affairs April 26, 2016

마블 히어로 캡틴 아메리카 역 크리스 에반스가 지난해 개봉한 톰 크루즈 주연 액션영화 ‘미션 임파서블: 로그네이션’을 마침내 시청하고 SNS에 짤막한 후기를 남겼다. 에반스는 22일 트위터에 “방금 막 ‘로그네이션’을 봤다”며 “톰 크루즈는 진리다”라는 내용의 글을 남겼다. 크루즈는 에반스가 출생한 81년에 데뷔한 대선배다.  (월트 디즈니 컴퍼니 코리아/롯데 엔터테인먼트)팬들은 크루즈의 다른 액션영화 ‘엣지 오브 투모로우’를 추천하거나 “캡틴 아메리카도 멋지다”며 반응했다.개중에 “15년 개봉작인 ‘로그네이션’을 이제야 봤냐”는 팬에게는 “에반스는 하이드라, 치타우리, 울트론이랑 싸우느라 바빴다”는 내용의 ‘캡틴 아메리카’ 옹호 글이 달렸다.오는 27일 ‘어벤져스’ 영웅들이 아이언 맨 (로버트 다우니 주니어)축과 캡틴 아메리카 축으로 갈라서 대립각을 세우는 내용의 ‘캡틴 아메리카: 시빌 워’가 전 세계 개봉한다. (크리스 에반스 트위터)(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

한국어판 April 26, 2016

A 26-year-old woman who created counterfeit notes for her living expenses was arrested on Monday, according to the Daegu Dalseong police. The woman, identified by her last name Choi, had used a color printer to forge three 50,000 won notes and 36 1,000 won notes. She spent the fake money at small bakeries and buses, where the notes’ shoddiness could go unnoticed. (123RF)“The notes were easily identifiable as counterfeit,” said the Dalseong police.A number of police reports prompted the investiga

Social Affairs April 25, 2016

A rising number of Koreans are opting for bagel and bacon in place of rice for breakfast. Gmarket, one of the leading online retailers that also sells groceries here, said Monday that sales of products related to western-style breakfasts have more than doubled in the period leading up to April 20 this year, compared to the same period last year. (Yonhap)According to the retailer, sales of eggs has grown by 18 times, while sales of bacon and other processed pork products went up by 68 percent and

Industry April 25, 2016

A key member of a scam ring operated by ethnic Koreans from China was arrested Monday, according to Busan Haeundae police.The suspect had blackmailed Korean men with videos of them performing lewd acts. (Yonhap)Police said the scam group, based in China, had a few of its members enter Korea in November 2015 to for the illicit activity. The members stayed at rented homes on Jejudo Island. A female member would contact the Korean men over smartphone dating applications and invite them to a video c

Social Affairs April 25, 2016

Two South African nationals were booked without detention on Monday for stealing from Korean banks. The Busan Yeonje police said one of the man, a 23-year-old, had asked to see a bundle of 50,000 won ($40) notes from a bank in Busan to decide how much currency he wanted to exchange. While holding the money in front of the bank’s teller, he took nine notes from the bottom of the stack without being detected. Busan Yeonje police station (Yonhap)The teller later discovered the theft and reported th

Social Affairs April 25, 2016

Subcontractors of South Korea's major shipbuilders may massively cut jobs this year as they have become a white elephant for shipyards with sputtering offshore business, industry sources said Monday.The shipbuilders -- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. -- suffered an estimated 7 trillion won ($6.09 billion) in operating losses from their offshore facility business last year alone due to increased costs resulting from delay

Industry April 25, 2016

A 22-year-old man identified by his surname Kim cut himself and pretended to have been robbed in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend, police said. He was arrested for obstruction of official duties on Sunday. According to Seodaemun police, Kim thought that if he was a victim of crime, his ex-girlfriend would return to him out of pity.He purposefully visited Seodaemun-gu, the northwestern area of Seoul where his ex-girlfriend lives, and cut himself on the left side of the abdomen. (Yonhap)He

Social Affairs April 24, 2016

The CEO and internal director of a ginseng product company who called hallyu star Bae Yong-joon “crazy for money” were slapped with a fine of 30 million won ($26,000) for defamation, Sunday. The Seoul Central District Court said the two were responsible for maliciously defaming a well-known celebrity to gain public attention and influence the court decision on then-ongoing lawsuits with Bae’s former food brand Goshire. (Bae Yong-joon's Instagram)The court said, “Although Bae was not the person d

Television April 24, 2016

A private school administrator who took money from a staff member using a promotion as bait was sentenced to a year in prison with two years probation, Sunday. Changwon provincial court said the 63-year-old identified by his surname Jeon had convinced a part-time teacher to give 100 million won ($87,000) “for the school chairperson’s son’s business” in 2011, in return for which he promised a promotion to a full-time position.  Changwon provincial court (Yonhap)Jeon’s influence peddling continued

Social Affairs April 24, 2016

About 1 out of 6 young workers in South Korea were paid less than the country's minimum wage last year, a private think tank said Sunday, pointing to tough working conditions facing young adults already struggling with high unemployment.According to the report by the Hyundai Research Institute, some 635,000 people aged between 15-29 were paid less than the minimum pay. The figure was much higher than the 449,000 people categorized in the same group for 2011.The minimum pay in 2015 was set at 5,5

April 24, 2016

Supermarket chain E-mart and K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment announced Sunday that they would be giving a joint concert this Tuesday.The concert will feature SM artists and overseas DJs alongside Electro Man, the mascot of Emart’s electronics brand Electro Mart.   Electro Man (E-mart)To fit the dynamic image of Electro Mart, the concert is more specifically a collaboration with SM’s electronic dance music label ScreaM Records.The announcement marks an upgrade in the collaborative efforts betwe

Industry April 24, 2016

A taxi driver who sexually assaulted a mentally disabled female passenger was sentenced to three years in prison Sunday by the appeals court, a year shorter than the original sentence of four years.(Yonhap)According to the Daegu high court, the driver, who is in his 60s, sexually assaulted his passenger in her 20s after realizing her condition when she failed to clearly state her destination. She had a second-degree mental disability, the second most severe category. People in the second-degree

Social Affairs April 24, 2016

Following fellow cinema chain CGV, Lotte Cinema will stagger its ticket prices starting next Wednesday. Lotte Cinema had previously run discounted rates throughout the week for movies shown before 10:30 a.m. while on weekends after the morning discount hours it charged an extra 1,000 won (90 cents) on top of the regular fee. (Yonhap)Before, on weekday and weekend mornings before 10:30 a.m. the movies at Lotte Cinema were 6,000 won, weekdays after 10:30 a.m. they were 9,000 won and weekends after

Expat Living April 21, 2016