The search continues for a purported alligator in an otherwise idyllic village in the southern city of Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, after five people reported sightings of the reptile in a slow-moving stream that encircles the rural town. Despite having found no trace of a reptile, the city is not letting its guard down as of Friday, with four officials dispatched to monitor the vicinity of the purported sighting. It also plans to conduct a drone search of the area, officials said. &ldquo

Social Affairs June 16, 2023

A star math lecturer’s diagnosis on South Korea’s persistently falling birth attributing part of the blame to Instagram overflowing with “flex posts” went viral Thursday. In a video clip, uploaded to his YouTube channel, apparently from a lecture, Chung Seung-je shares his thought on the issue, starting with a question, “Koreans had more babies in the past when they were much poorer. Things have gotten a lot better now, but why do people have fewer babies?” &l

Social Affairs June 15, 2023

Pawn shops have been seen as relics of the past, from a time when instant cash loans were not so readily available with just a few clicks. But though many perished, a new breed of shops has emerged, catering to clients who possess expensive gadgets or luxury goods but are temporarily cash-strapped. Lee Yong-seok’s shop in Seoul's bustling Hongdae specializes in loans secured against tech gadgets. In contrast to the traditional image of pawn shops with iron bars and stringent secur

Hashtag Korea June 13, 2023

Residue of methamphetamine, a common illegal substance, also known as “philopon” in South Korea, was detected in 34 sewage plants nationwide every year for the past three years, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Since 2020, the ministry has conducted the sewage test each year, whereby researchers collect samples of untreated sewage and analyze the concentration of drug residues to quantify drug use within a community. According to the latest report released by the

Social Affairs June 9, 2023

South Korea's capital city, Seoul, was named the world’s ninth most expensive city for expatriates in terms of living expenses, an international survey showed. According to a global consulting firm ECA International in March this year, the cost of living in Seoul was the ninth-highest, up one notch from a year earlier. Tokyo was next, down five notches on-year. The survey compared the costs of living in 207 cities with high numbers of foreign national residents across 120 countrie

Social Affairs June 8, 2023

Seoul Metro, the public corporation that operates the subway system in Seoul, is putting the names of 30 subway stations up for sale. The upcoming auction will involve 18 subway stations, the naming contracts of which have expired, along with 12 additional stations in downtown and commercial hub areas. They include Gangnam Station on Line 2, one of the busiest stations, as well as Seongsu and Sinsa Stations, in hip Seongsu-dong and Sinsa-dong, respectively. The new names will be displayed in bra

Social Affairs June 8, 2023

Police booked a male college student in his 20s who exposed his genitals to elementary school children who then chased him last week in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, according to news reports on Monday. In video footage taken on May 31 and shown on the cable news channel YTN, the flasher -- wearing a mask, black t-shirt and grey sweatpants -- ran away as soon as he pulled his pants down in front of four elementary school students to display his genitals. The children immediately chas

Social Affairs June 5, 2023

Three out of 10 Korean students attending four-year universities across the nation have witnessed their peers falling victim to bullying, a report said Sunday. The National Youth Policy Institute published a report titled "Research on Bullying Among University Students and a Study on Preventive Measures for Improvement," which included the results of an online survey of 467 undergraduates from four-year colleges nationwide. Among the respondents, 135 students, or 28.9 percent, said t

Social Affairs June 4, 2023

In one up-and-coming neighborhood in Seoul, the prevalence of English letters on cafe and restaurant signboards adds to its exotic ambiance, complementing the diverse range of foreign cuisines found there. Approximately 7 out of 10 signboards in this area, known as Yongridan-gil and situated between Samgakji and Sinyongsan subway stations in central Seoul, are exclusively written in foreign languages. English is the most commonly used, followed by Chinese and Japanese. As one strolls through t

Hashtag Korea June 4, 2023

Whenever her succulents show signs of disease like wilting or yellowing leaves, Joo Young-hyun immediately heads to a "plant hospital." Recently, her potted rosemary and lavender plants required the care of a plant doctor when they began to droop and shed. The doctor’s diagnosis was overwatering. Her herbs’ roots were found to be partially rotten due to a drainage problem. The ailing plants were admitted to the plant hospital for treatment, which included repotting, repla

Hashtag Korea June 3, 2023

The frugal type: Lunch at convenience store, bike rides and thrift shops For every penny he spends that could have been saved, Kang Won-jin (not his real name) gets scolded online. When he confessed to a spontaneous purchase of a 10,000 won ($7) umbrella from a convenience store because of an unforeseen rain, he was told “No Starbucks for a week.” Some remarked half-jokingly, “You should have used flyers or newspapers to cover your head.” He willingly shares his daily exp

Hashtag Korea June 3, 2023

Seven out of 10 South Koreans residing in the greater Seoul area expressed their opposition to Japan's move to discharge radioactive wastewater from the now-defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, local broadcaster CBS reported on Thursday, citing a survey. In the poll of 1,000 people aged 18 or above conducted by polling organization Jowon C&I May 27-29, 70.8 percent of respondents said they are against Tokyo's plan to release the destroyed nuclear plant's w

Social Affairs June 1, 2023

Four out of 10 South Koreans aged 10-29 have spent money on goods related to celebrities such as music albums or character dolls featuring K-pop stars, a survey showed Friday. According to the survey of 1,142 adolescents, teens and young adults conducted by Hyungji Elite, a school uniform brand, from May 8-19, 40 percent of the respondents said they have purchased celebrity-related products before, followed by 25 percent who said they have bought goods related to movies including animated films.

Social Affairs May 26, 2023

Massive flight delays at Gimpo Airport on Wednesday which caused more than 100 domestic airplanes to be grounded were largely due to the airport’s tightened passenger luggage check, after several prohibited items were found inside the luggage of student groups, officials said Thursday. A total of 142 domestic outbound flights, including 109 en route for the southern island of Jeju, suffered delays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day. The delays affected nearly 29,000 passengers, according to Ko

Social Affairs May 25, 2023

South Korea’s human rights commission has voiced the need for multilingual translations for the laws and regulations that pertain to the detention of foreign nationals in the country. In a recommendation issued Monday to the Ministry of Justice, the National Human Rights Commission said the availability of translations of what are called in Korean the “Foreigner Detention Regulations” is a matter that concerns foreign detainees' right to know and beyond that, their human

Social Affairs May 23, 2023