The military revised the enforcement regulations of the Military Disciplinary Decree and removed the part that stipulated sexual relationships between members of the same sex as "harassment." In November last year, the military announced a legislative amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Military Disciplinary Enforcement Decree, adding a new sentence that said "sexual harassment includes anal sex, oral sex or similar acts between the same sex against soldiers." The part t

Social Affairs May 17, 2023

The city of Seoul is looking for just a pair of people wishing to spend a night at the landmark Dongdaemun Design Plaza in September. One of the venues in the building, JandiSarangbang, will be turned into a hotel room under a collaborative project with Airbnb as part of a tourism campaign, according to the Seoul Design Foundation, which runs DDP. The guests, whose stay will be from Sept. 4-5, will get the front-row treatment at Seoul Fashion Week, sitting alongside celebrities. They will also g

Social Affairs May 17, 2023

Microsoft's MSN Weather app forecast for South Korea in July has gone viral here for predicting nearly a full month of rain. However, the country's weather agency has said that the probability of actually having such weather is slim, saying the method the US company uses is not reliable. Screenshots of monthly weather forecasts provided by the Microsoft website and app have spread on Twitter and in online forums. MSN Weather forecast that Seoul will be rainy for the entire month except

Social Affairs May 16, 2023

Former Defense Minister Song Young-moo and other high-ranking officials underwent a search and seizure Friday over allegations that Song had committed an abuse of power. He is alleged to have coerced subordinates to lie about his remark on the legitimacy of a hypothetical military crackdown on peaceful protesters demonstrating against former President Park Geun-hye. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials raided the homes and offices of former Minister Song, former reserve

Social Affairs May 12, 2023

Excitement at going back to normal life and a sense of relief was what Lee Ji-eun felt when she heard the news on Thursday morning that South Korea will lift nearly all COVID-19 restrictions, three years and four months after the country recorded its first case. “It gives me a complicated feeling that the pandemic that struck us so hard is fading. Many hospitals have already eliminated beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients, so it is unlikely that there will be any major changes in our work a

Social Affairs May 11, 2023

A cluster of minor earthquakes and tremors have hit Donghae, Gangwon Province, this year in a rare phenomenon known as an "earthquake swarm." The latest was a magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck at 4:32 p.m. on Wednesday, 4 kilometers south of Donghae, marking a total of 44 earthquakes around the area this year, according to the Korea Methodological Agency. An earthquake swarm is defined as relatively small earthquakes clustered within a small area and short period. Of the 44 earthquakes t

Social Affairs May 10, 2023

A coffee shop's decision to ban elderly customers has sparked renewed criticism amid ongoing controversy over "no kids zones," where some restaurants or commercial venues prohibit the entry of children based on the owners' preferences. A photo posted on an online community on Monday showed a cafe with text on the door that reads: "No senior zone (no entry for elderly over 60).” Beside the text is a sticker that welcomes guide dogs. The netizen who posted the photo

Social Affairs May 9, 2023

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- As a region traditionally known for its vast agricultural land, North Jeolla Province has been one of the pillars of the farming economy in South Korea. The province's governor, Kim Kwan-young, who took office in July last year, has set his sights on even bigger ambitions. Despite the province's declining population as well as its high financial dependence on the central government, North Jeolla Province has the capacity to become the center of the bio

Social Affairs May 8, 2023

The Supreme Court judged that a construction company was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of parrots in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News reported Friday, citing legal sources. The plaintiff, who runs a parrot farm, filed a lawsuit against the construction company, claiming that noise and vibrations from a construction site nearby caused the deaths of parrots. From January 2017 to December of the same year, total 427 parrots died on the plaintiff’s farm. The plaintiff filed 16 c

Social Affairs May 5, 2023

Amid growing concerns over drug crimes, lawmakers suggested a bill amendment to allow the police to conduct undercover investigations in drug-related cases. Rep. Lee Jang-seop of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea proposed a bill revision Wednesday, noting that foreign countries including the United States and Germany have introduced undercover investigation systems to effectively manage drug crimes. Nine other lawmakers of the party signed up for the bill proposal. Under the current

Social Affairs May 5, 2023

The number of daycare centers in Seoul, which accommodate infants and toddlers under age seven, has decreased by 24 percent in the last five years as the country has continued to record the world's lowest fertility rate, data showed Friday According to statistics from the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Friday, the number of daycare centers in Seoul was 4,712 as of the end of 2022, which decreased by 24.3 percent from 6,226 in 2017. The number of daycare centers by year has been steadily

Social Affairs May 5, 2023

Three out of 10 elementary and middle school students suffered from anxiety, depression, and stress during COVID-19, but more than half of them did not ask for help, according to survey results released on Wednesday. The Korean Educational Development Institute conducted a survey on a total of 26,332 people consisting of 9,607 elementary students, 13,856 middle school students and 2,869 elementary and middle school faculty members. The survey was on psychological changes in students during the C

Social Affairs May 3, 2023

A city council member in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, is facing intensifying criticism after making the discriminatory remark that one out of 10 Vietnamese in Korea is a drug user. Yang Tae-seok, a member of the Geoje City Council from the People Power Party, made such remarks during a city council meeting held to discuss a new ordinance to support foreign workers’ labor environment on April 20. Expressing his negative stance on the ordinance, Yang said, "One out of 10 Vietnamese

Social Affairs May 2, 2023

BUAN, North Jeolla Province -- With less than 100 days to go, South Korea’s Boy and Girl Scouts are eagerly anticipating the 25th World Scout Jamboree, which will bring together around 43,000 teenagers from 170 countries around the world. Ahn Ye-sung, a 17-year-old student at Buan High School in Buan-gun, North Jeolla Province, is one of three thousand Korean students fortunate enough to seize a one-time-only opportunity to participate in the Jamboree, which will be held under the theme of

Social Affairs May 1, 2023

With South Korea having lifted its mask mandate in stages, the number of patients with respiratory infections -- especially infants -- has been rapidly increasing, data showed Friday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country saw a total of 13,268 patients hospitalized at 220 government-monitored medical institutions for seven weeks from March to April 2023. The figure is more than 13 times the 1,002 people hospitalized during the same period last year. In particu

Social Affairs April 28, 2023