South Korea could see a more than 40 percent decline in its population in 50 years' time, with half of its people aged over 65, a recent report released by Statistics Korea showed. The worst-case scenario in the agency’s projections for the country’s population between 2022-2072 forecast the nation's population would plummet to 30.1 million over the next five decades. The state-run statistics agency came up with three different forecasts -- one optimistic, one median, and o

Social Affairs Dec. 17, 2023

Speakers for this week's Global Business Forum, hosted by The Korea Herald on Wednesday, suggested solutions to tackle Korea's falling economy. Decentralization is the key, said Lee Cheol-woo, the governor of North Gyeongsang Province, urging local governments to attract young Koreans with stable and well-paid jobs so that they can help to keep regions outside of Seoul young and vibrant. “We face the crisis of extinction. Yet, all young Koreans are going to Seoul and that’s

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2023

Members of the Philippines' House of Representatives joined the Sunfull Internet Peace Movement to promote positive online culture and tackle cyber violence, said the Sunfull Foundation on Wednesday. Led by OFW Party List Representative Marissa Magsino, the Sunfull Foundation in the Philippines plans to expand the movement by having more legislators sign the pledge, with the aim of spreading the use of positive language, especially within the Philippine Congress. “The Sunfull Declarat

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2023

Sejong University, located in eastern Seoul, has taken the 76th spot in Asia and ranked No. 12 in Korea in the "2024 QS World University Rankings for Asia," conducted by Quacquarelli Symonds, the renowned global higher education analyst. This year's edition stands as the largest to date, featuring a whopping 856 institutions hailing from 25 different countries and territories. Sejong University has been on an upward trajectory since 2020, climbing another three spots this year. Se

Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2023

The Korean Medical Association, South Korea's largest group of medical doctors, began collecting votes on Monday on whether they should launch a general strike against the government’s plan to expand the medical school enrollment quota. The organization will collect votes until Dec. 17, and announced that doctors will stage a mass rally on the same day near Gwanghwamun in central Seoul. The majority of the association's membership consists of doctors running their own clinics. Ahead of suc

Social Affairs Dec. 11, 2023

The rate of South Korean teenagers who had thought of suicide recently has been on the rise, with some 1 in 7 students now having considered taking their own lives. Of some 50,000 middle and high school students asked across the nation in 2022, 14.3 percent have thought of suicide over the past 12 months, according to a survey released by the Korea Center for Disease and Prevention Agency on Sunday. First conducted in 2005, the rate had exceeded the 20 percent mark in its first three years, but

Social Affairs Dec. 10, 2023

Test-takers of South Korea’s national college entrance exam, known as the Suneung, are set to receive their test results Friday, amid lingering controversy over whether this year's test succeeded in completely scrapping the highly difficult “killer questions.” Results and analysis of over 440,000 examinees released by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation on Thursday suggested that exams in all subjects, including Korean language, mathematics and English, were

Social Affairs Dec. 7, 2023

South Korea outperformed in tests that compare educational attainment among 15-year-olds around the world, despite COVID-19 having wrought havoc on global education systems, according to a survey released Tuesday. Program for International Student Assessment is a study of 15-year-old students’ performance in mathematics, reading and science literacy conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Typically conducted every three years, this year’s assessment, f

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2023

South Korea is set to record the lowest number of first graders entering elementary school next year, signaling the consequences of an apparent demographic crisis driven by the world’s lowest birth rate. According to local reports quoting the statistics agency's birth rate data, fewer than 400,000 children are expected to enter elementary school next year. This will be the first time the number has dropped below 400,000 since the agency started compiling data. This comes amid a sharp decli

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2023

An online threat claiming a bomb had been sent to Yonsei University in Seoul sparked a midnight scramble for police and firefighters, resulting in the evacuation of some 100 people on campus. Police received a report at 11:38 p.m. Wednesday of an online post that claimed a package carrying a bomb would be delivered to the campus, according to Seodaemun Police Station and Seodaemun Fire Department on Thursday. The post had been uploaded at around 10 p.m. on the bulletin board for Yonsei Universit

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

Using an AI-powered IoT system and blockchain technology, Thekie aims to create a future where users can voluntarily participate in reducing energy usage and strengthening environmental sustainability. Developed with its own solutions, the carbon credit market platform Lucia allows users to trade and offset carbon credits. Blockchain-implicated carbon credits assure transparency, providing secure and reliable trading. Users can also explore and participate in diverse crowdfunding that contribu

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

Daehan E&C is a company with over 25 years of experience in environmental technology, tackling the issue of improperly managed waste by turning it into usable energy. “Many countries still do not manage their waste properly, and most of it ends up in landfills. In this process, the waste decays and produces methane gas, which is a major contributor to global warming,” the firm said. The company provides facilities that convert waste into high-quality alternative fuel called Refus

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

Korean company Blakstone utilizes smart sensors to tackle the problem of rising temperatures in “heat islands.” Heat islands refer to urban areas that experience higher temperatures than its surrounding regions. As urban structures such as buildings, roads and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes, cities are prone to becoming “islands” of higher temperatures relative to outlying areas. Blakstone’s Clean Road Syste

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

The Ministry of Health and Welfare rejected a request to devise guidelines of hospitalization for transgender people, said the state human rights watchdog. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) announced on Tuesday that the Health Ministry failed to give clear answers on how the country will accommodate trans patients. Under current medical law, patient rooms are operated separately for men and women. The human rights group pointed out that this puts trans and nonbinary people in

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2023

One in 8 commercial flights entering South Korea was found to be contaminated with pathogens that cause intestinal infectious diseases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday. The pathogens were detected through hygiene inspections on 58 out of 493 direct international flights from July 31 to Nov. 14 this year, according to the agency. Among the pathogens detected was E. coli, which causes diarrhea. Transmitted by food or water contaminated with animal or human feces,

Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2023