South Korea was on high alert on Tuesday as a strong typhoon with heavy rain and wind gusts strong enough to derail a train are set to hit the country's southern region starting on Thursday, raising concerns over possible flooding, landslides and other damage. According to a briefing by the Korea Meteorological Administration on Tuesday morning, Typhoon Khanun will hit South Korean waters 30 kilometers west of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province at 9 a.m. on Thursday. About 24 hours later, at 9

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2023

SAEMANGEUM, North Jeolla Province -- The heat has been troublesome for 15-year-old Swedish Scout David Yao and his teammates when they first entered the World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, last week. But things are improving enough to continue their adventure, make friends with Scouts from global contingents and learn about different cultures, he said. “At first (the heat) was a shock to us because we are from Sweden. But we are getting used to it,” said Yao. &

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2023

Amid the consecutive withdrawals of several countries' delegations, the Jamboree Organizing Committee and the Korean government said they were urgently seeking to salvage the ongoing World Scout Jamboree, which has been plagued by weather-related safety and health issues, hygiene woes and the spread of COVID-19. A day after deciding to continue the 12-day event, the government said it mobilized all necessary forces to provide a better environment for participants still facing the scorching

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2023

A group of 80 South Korean scouts and leaders said Sunday they were leaving the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree, claiming proper measures were not taken to protect teens after a man had walked into the women's showers. North Jeolla Province Scout Association with 80 participants at the jamboree, including 72 teenagers, announced that they would withdraw from the camp Sunday, after "a Thai scout leader came into the women's shower room on Wednesday." He said there were ab

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2023

The accumulated number of participants suffering from heat-related illnesses has reached over 1,000 since the World Scout Jamboree -- dubbed the “cultural Olympics for youth” -- kicked off on the reclaimed land of Saemangeum near Buan County, North Jeolla Province on Tuesday amid scorching weather, fire authorities said Thursday. While refusing to disclose the exact number, organizer of the Saemangeum Jamboree said there were over 108 scouts who suffered from heat-related illnesses a

Social Affairs Aug. 3, 2023

Organizers of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea said Wednesday the event that kicked off on Wednesday is on the safe track, as it resolved a flooding problem and improved the facility management after facing complaints over the matters. There were reports of international participants spending the night at the airport and temporary indoor facilities at the Jamboree site, as they were not able to set up tents on puddles of muddy water. The Jamboree venue is located on the reclaimed area of

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2023

As scorching heat and tropical nights pose growing threats to public health and economic activities, a report suggested Wednesday that the number of days on which Korea suffered extreme heat stress would surge 12-fold if climate change continues. According to a report on the thermal stress index released by the the Korea Meteorological Administration, Korea's summer heat stress index from 1979 to 2014 averaged 28.1 degrees Celsius. But under a climate change scenario of extensive fossil fue

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2023

World Scout Jamboree, the world's largest youth camping festival hosted by South Korea this year, on Tuesday brought together young adventurers from 159 countries to the reclaimed Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province. The World Scout Jamboree runs until Aug. 12 on the reclaimed area, which is three times the area of Yeouido, at 8.84 square kilometers. The event is attended by more than 30,000 teens aged 14 to 17, 3,496 adult leaders and 9,709 staffers. This is the first global scouting event

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2023

The Korean government said Monday that it will have about 100 foreign domestic helpers working in housework and child care at home in Seoul on a trial basis from as early as this year. The plan was immediately met with opposition from civic groups here, who called it “exploitation.” The Labor Ministry said at a public hearing that it would launch a pilot project to test out the foreign domestic helper system in Korean society, in order to respond to the demand for domestic care labor

Social Affairs July 31, 2023

As the government gears up to lift the last of its COVID-19 restrictions, the nation is grappling with a surge of cases, recording the highest number of daily infections since half a year ago. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on Sunday, the nation saw a 35.8 percent on-week increase in confirmed cases in the third week of July, the fourth such jump in as many weeks. In particular, the number of patients over 60 rose significantly, showing a 44 percent increase. On July 19,

Social Affairs July 30, 2023

The Supreme Court concluded that a man who wrote online comments about actor Bae Suzy using the expression "national hotel girl" is guilty of insulting her, confirming the lower court's sentence of a fine of 500,000 won ($390), Thursday, nearly eight years after the offense occurred. On Oct. 29, 2015, a man in his 40s wrote in an online comment about Suzy: "A bubble created by media manipulation, just a national hotel girl." The first trial had concluded that the express

Social Affairs July 27, 2023

Cho Sun, who stabbed a man to death and injured three more in Seoul, had searched online for information about another stubbing rampage in Hong Kong early last month, police said Thursday. Gwanak Police Station is investigating the connection between Cho's Internet search record and his crime by analyzing his mobile phone and computer data from January. The Hong Kong stabbing that Cho had searched for seems to refer to a case in which a man in his 30s wielded a weapon to kill two women in t

Social Affairs July 27, 2023

Police disclosed the personal information of the suspect in a deadly stabbing rampage that killed one person and injured three in Seoul as 33-year-old Cho Sun, Wednesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency held a Personal Information Disclosure Committee to discuss whether to reveal the information of the suspect and decided to unveil the identity of the man, who was arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder. "The cruelty of the crimes is recognized in light of the fact that the

Social Affairs July 26, 2023

The monsoon season officially ended across all regions of Korea as of Wednesday, paving the way for a period of intense humidity and heat wave conditions, according to the weather agency. As Typhoon Doksuri heads north, the edge of the North Pacific high expanded north, pushing away the stationary front. The monsoon season of the central and southern region of the peninsula ended Wednesday, after the monsoon season on Jeju Island ended a day earlier, the Korea Meteorological Administration said

Social Affairs July 26, 2023

With the 25th World Scout Jamboree just a week away, the reclaimed land of Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, is ready to welcome more than 43,000 scouts from around the world as a number of types of safety equipment and various programs have been prepared. The recent heavy rains have raised concerns, but officials assured the public that safety measures for all circumstances are prepared. "Diverse outdoor programs, cultural experiences and measures for the safety and health of young partic

Social Affairs July 25, 2023