Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, was named as the most preferred destination for people around the world to move to, according to “The Most Popular Cities for Moving Abroad” survey released by Remitly, a US-based online remittance service. 　The study is based on Google search data over the past 12 months in 164 countries examining search volumes for the phrase, “move to (city),” Dubai topped the list with the support of 60 countries, including Cana

World News Jan. 5, 2024

The number of newly married couples fell more than 6 percent to come to around 1 million in 2022, and the proportion of the couples having no children reached an all-time high, data showed. The number of newly married couples came to 1.03 million last year, down from the previous year’s 1.1 million, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The newlyweds here refer to couples who tied the knot for the first time in the five years up to November 2022. The figure has shown a downtrend fro

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2024

After delays from renovations, natural disasters and general construction, there are a number of big-name travel destinations set to open in 2024. From the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, here are five travel spots to visit in the new year. Notre Dame Cathedral in France Notre Dame is slated for a December 2024 reopening, which means people have already started booking

World News Jan. 3, 2024

Sales of South Korea’s transportation industry rose nearly 20 percent in 2022 driven by a rising demand for travel after the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. Sales came to 232.5 trillion won ($177.7 billion) last year, up 19.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The growth came as sales of the air transport sector surged 57.9 percent on-year to 23.4 trillion won, with more people taking trips as the COVID-19 situation stabilized. Sales of the water t

Industry Dec. 28, 2023

South Korea’s car exports hit a record high in November on strong demand for premium electric cars in the US market, data showed. The combined value of car exports reached $6.53 billion in November, marking an all-time-high monthly figure, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Over the January-November period, the combined car exports came to $64.5 billion, also setting a new record for the period, it added. The ministry anticipated the annual automobile shipments to hov

Industry Dec. 27, 2023

European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine, in a historic political win for Kyiv as it grapples with uncertainty over future financial aid from the US and Europe. European Council President Charles Michel announced the move on Dec. 14. He said the bloc also agreed to open accession talks with Moldova and granted candidate status to Georgia. While Kyiv still faces hurdles in clinching funding from both the EU and US, the country’s progress on joining the bloc will

World News Dec. 26, 2023

  Douglas fir These soft needles are dark green or blue-green in color and are about 2-3 centimeters in length. The Douglas fir’s needles radiate in all directions from the branch. When crushed, these needles have a sweet fragrance. They are one of the top Christmas tree choices. Balsam fir These trees exhibits a relatively dense, dark green, pyramidal crown with a slender spirelike tip. On lower branches, needles generally occur as two-ranked (two rows along sides of the branch), a

World News Dec. 22, 2023

　South Korea’s exports of dried seaweed - “gim” in Korean - and cooked rice reached an all-time high during the first 10 months of this year on brisk overseas demand accompanying the popularity of Korean culture and food, the Korea Customs Service said. 　Outbound shipments of gim came to a record high of $670 million in the January-October period, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the customs agency. 　In terms of volume, gim exports rose 17.3 perc

Consumer Dec. 21, 2023

More than half of the new jobs in 2022 were taken by adults 60 or older, while younger people took up only about 1.15 percent of the year’s newly added posts, data showed. South Korea added 870,000 new jobs in 2022, marking a 3.4 percent on-year increase to bring the total jobs to 26.45 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Of the total, jobs for those aged 60 and older rose the most by 440,000, followed by 260,000 new jobs for people in their 50s. The number of jobs

Social Affairs Dec. 20, 2023

　South Korean 15-year-olds were among the top performers in mathematics, reading and science among their peers from the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a report showed. 　The findings were made in the latest report by the Programme for International Student Assessment, operated by the OECD. 　In the 2022 report, the PISA measured the abilities of 15-year-olds from a total of 81 countries — including 37 OECD member nations — to use their r

World News Dec. 19, 2023

Over 85,000 foreign nationals own a house in South Korea, with Chinese nationals accounting for more than half of real estate properties held by foreigners in the country, government data showed. A total of 85,358 foreign nationals owned a house in South Korea as of the end of June, up 4.6 percent from the corresponding figure from six months earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Nearly 93.5 percent of the foreign nationals had ownership of a

Social Affairs Dec. 18, 2023

Singapore and Zurich surpassed New York to become the world’s most expensive cities to live in this year, according to a new global survey. The sky-high cost of car ownership, pricey alcohol and rising grocery prices saw Singapore pull ahead of the US city, with which it shared top spot last year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2023 report. Zurich jumped from sixth place last year to joint first, thanks in part to the strong Swiss franc, as we

World News Dec. 15, 2023

The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses rose by the greatest number last year as the stable COVID-19 situation promoted people’s cross-border movements, the statistics agency said. The number of “multicultural marriages” jumped 25.1 percent on-year to reach 17,428 in 2022, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest growth since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 2008. The number of international marriages fel

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2023

The proportion of women in executive positions at the top 100 companies in South Korea reached the 6 percent mark for the first time ever this year, data showed. According to data of top 100 companies in terms of sales compiled by global headhunter UnicoSearch, 439, or 6 percent, of the total of 7,345 executives were women as of the first half of this year. The executives included executive directors, members of the owner families and unregistered directors, but not outside directors. By compani

Social Affairs Dec. 13, 2023

　Americans are divided on US President Joe Biden’s response to the Israel-Gaza conflict, with more disapproving of the president’s response than approving of it. 　Most Americans agree Hamas has “a lot of responsibility,” for the current conflict, according to data from the Pew Research Center. 　Opinions on the Biden administration’s response to Israel's military campaign in Gaza are starkly different between age groups. 　Cumulatively, 41 percent of respondents

World News Dec. 12, 2023