Teo, who just turned 3 years old this month, is cared for by a babysitter until sunset, as day care centers have been partially shut down due to COVID-19. After dark, the situation changes. “When I work overtime at home past 6 in the evening, it’s the smartphone that keeps Teo company in the living room,” the mother of Teo sighed, as she admitted that smartphone usage at such a young age may not be the best option for a child. A recent survey has demonstrated that Teo is not

Technology Jan. 14, 2021

South Korea’s blood reserves, which had been in a sharp decline due to the lingering third COVID-19 wave, have begun to stabilize. The Korean Red Cross’ National Blood Institute of Daejeon-Sejong-Chungnam, issued an alert over the shortage of blood reserves in mid-December. However, the Institute announced that as of Thursday, the country had recovered to the average supply amount needed, maintaining a little over four days’ worth of blood reserves. At the alert-stage of ca

Social Affairs Jan. 14, 2021

Korean firm Scatter Lab has defended its Lee Luda chatbot in response to calls to end the service after the bot began sending offensive comments and was subjected to sexual messages. Kim Jong-yoon, CEO of Scatter Lab, posted answers Friday to the public’s questions through the development team’s official blog, saying the bot was still a work in progress and -- like humans -- would take a while to properly socialize. Kim acknowledged that he had expected this controversy to ignite

Social Affairs Jan. 11, 2021

A single comment from Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Twitter led a small company’s stock price, which had nothing to do with the comment itself, to multiply 12-fold in just two days. The phenomenon is being predictably attributed to investors’ great trust in Musk, as well as enormous liquidity released on the recent stock market. Musk posted a message on Twitter on Thursday saying, “Use Signal.” The message was later revealed as meaning to encourage the use of encrypted messeng

Technology Jan. 11, 2021

Matchmaking advertisements in South Korea can no longer display personal information such as a person’s height and weight, or any photos of the face. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Friday that an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Brokers Business Management Act was in effect. Under the amended enforcement decree, photos of users’ faces cannot be revealed in public through any type of advertisement that is visible to the general public. This includes

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2021

The Busan Metropolitan Government will provide economic relief for industries in the city that have been affected by the social distancing measures that were extended due to the third wave of COVID-19. Beneficiaries will include artists, the transportation industry and the tourism industry. Busan’s acting Mayor Byun Seong-wan said 154,000 businesses and individuals would receive a combined 220 billion won ($208 million) from city, district and county resources. This is separate from the

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2021

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed the appeal of a high school teacher and acquitted the man who had been indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. Identified by the surname Ko, the teacher had shared controversial posts on social media ahead of parliamentary elections in March and April of 2016. The teacher at a public high school on the island of Jindo, South Jeolla Province, who also serves as the branch president of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers&ls

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2021

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will more than double the number of staff at government agencies supporting victims of digital sex crimes, from 17 in 2020, to 39 this year. The services provided by the Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center, established by the Women’s Human Rights Institute of Korea under the ministry, includes victim counseling, help getting illegal videos deleted, investigative support, litigation support, and post-monitoring. Since its launch in April 2

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2021

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it will replace all 27 buses on four of the green circuit bus lines that travel along the Namsan Park area with electric, low-floor buses. The bus routes go to Namsan Park, Myeong-dong, Seoul Station, Insa-dong, and the main palace Gyeongbokgung. The city will ban diesel tour buses that used to pick up and carry group tourists from entering Namsan Park. Namsan Park was designated a “clean-air district” in 2015, showing off i

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2021

Walking down the stairs from exit No. 2 of Sangdo Station in southwestern Seoul, its not easy to miss a white and green signboard that reads “METRO Farm.” A method of what‘s known as “smart farming,” Metro Farms can create nature-friendly environments while being located inside urban subway stations, using AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Sangdo Station’s exit No. 2 was originally left unattended, merely serving its purpose as a meet-up plaza. S

Culture Jan. 4, 2021

Licensed private detectives can do business in South Korea beginning Wednesday, following the recent revision of the Credit Information Use and Protection Act. The National Police Agency announced Monday that it had inspected the country’s private detective agencies over the past year and provided on-site guidance so they can operate as part of a regulated system. Previously, the police said, 12 companies were issuing 14 different private certificates. The police had ordered corrective

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2021

Encountering the word “designer,” one generally imagines a creative person with artistic talent -- someone who shows artworks at a gallery, or who takes the commercial route and sells stylish, sleek items they have created. But an “interaction designer” is something else. Silicon Valley-based Han Seung-heon, who holds this position at Google, works for the Google Assistant team. He and his colleagues recently launched a service called Family Notes, which can be used wi

People Jan. 3, 2021

What would happen if you saw your significant other disappear into an unidentified beam of light? Once again screenwriter Jin Han-sae, best known for the Netflix original series “Extracurricular,” has paired up with Yoon Shin-ae, CEO of the film production company Studio 329, to produce a new Netflix series titled “Glitch.” Studio 329 captivated the public and critics with “Extracurricular,” a 10-episode thriller drama that aired in April, when Jin was still

Television Jan. 2, 2021

Living in a crowded urban city, one can realize in the daily routine that the proportion of “going digital” has drastically increased over the year -- waking up to use smartphones for running bank errands, standing in front of digital kiosks for takeout orders during lunchtime and ordering groceries online after sunset. The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us further to a society where non-face-to-face interactions are strongly recommended across different tasks to halt furt

Technology Jan. 1, 2021

Police nabbed a 37-year-old man for drunk driving an e-scooter in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. The man cursed at police and refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. Cheong Moon-sik, senior judge at the Chuncheon District Court, said Thursday that the man was sentenced to a fine of 5 million won ($4,200) under the Road Traffic Act. The case was first put to trial on July 15 on charges of failing to respond to an alcohol measurement test by a police officer who witnessed that the man’s

Social Affairs Jan. 1, 2021