Seoul’s population has fallen below 10 million for the first time in over 30 years, the city government said. 　The total stood at 9,911,088 residents at the end of last year, with 9,668,465 citizens and 242,623 foreign nationals living in the capital, the local government said, citing data from the Interior and Justice ministries. 　This marks the first time since 1988 that Seoul’s population has dipped below 10 million. 　The South Korean capital posted a population of 10.29

National March 16, 2021

　A growing number of Americans identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, a Gallup poll indicates. 　The survey found that 5.6 percent of Americans identified as LGBT in 2020, while 86.7 percent said they were heterosexual or straight and 7.6 percent chose not to answer the question. 　In 2017, the last time Gallup asked the question, 4.5 percent of Americans said they were LGBT. In 2012, the first year the question was asked, 3.5 percent identified as LGBT. (UPI)

World March 15, 2021

　K-pop sensation BTS was the most tweeted about musician in the United States last year, the band’s agency said. 　In a recent survey by Twitter, BTS topped the list of 2020 most tweeted about musicians in the US, followed by Kanye West, Beyonce and Drake, according to Big Hit Entertainment. 　Other South Korean bands, Ateez, NCT and EXO, also made the top 10, along with Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles and Bad Bunny. 　BTS made a splash in the US music scene last year as its first E

K-pop March 12, 2021

　Strong sales of iPhone 12 models lifted Apple to the top of the global smartphone market in the fourth quarter, a survey showed. 　The report by market tracker Gartner showed Apple sold some 79.9 million iPhones in the final three months of the year - a 15 percent surge from a year earlier - to leapfrog Samsung in sales in a global smartphone market which shrank by some 5.4 percent. 　The California giant captured 20.8 percent of the market to take the top spot for the first time since the

Business March 11, 2021

　Over 66 percent of South Koreans used over-the-top (OTT) media, or video streaming services, last year amid the stay-at-home trend driven by the pandemic, a survey showed. 　South Korea’s OTT usage rate stood at 66.3 percent in 2020, compared to 52 percent the previous year, according to a survey of 6,029 people over the age of 13 by the country’s media regulator, the Korea Communications Commission 　YouTube was the most popular OTT service here, with its usage rate at 62.3 pe

National March 10, 2021

　South Korean carmakers’ sales rose 4.8 percent last month from a year earlier helped by strong demand for SUVs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Tuesday. 　The five carmakers in South Korea – Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. – sold a combined 544,823 vehicles in February, up from 520,095 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. 　Their domestic sales jumped 24 percent to 101,356 u

Business March 9, 2021

　Over 30 percent of South Koreans experienced online violence either as a victim or an abuser last year, according to a survey by the country‘s media regulator. 　The Korea Communications Commission said 32.7 percent responded that they had experienced online violence last year in a survey of 7,458 people, down 0.8 percentage point from 2019. 　The survey found that experience in online violence as a victim last year reached 29.7 percent, compared with that as an abuser at 16.8 percent,

National March 8, 2021

　South Koreans are estimated to have spent an hour on average on the mobile YouTube app a day in January, data showed. 　The average time a local mobile user spent on the video streaming app in January stood at 30 hours and 34 minutes, or 59 minutes a day, according to mobile app tracker WiseApp, based on data of Android and iOS users over the age of 10 in the country. 　WiseApp said there were 40.41 million mobile users who used the YouTube app at least once last month, with those aged 50 o

National March 5, 2021

　South Korea’s chicken exports touched a new high in 2020 amid growing worldwide demand for ready-to-eat products and the popularity of Korean pop culture, a report showed. 　Overseas shipments of processed chicken came to $21 million last year, up 59.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association. 　KITA said the jump came as exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or samgyetang, and chicken breast spiked due to the coronavi

Business March 4, 2021

　As the world grappled with COVID-19, a recession and a racial reckoning, the ultrawealthy gave to a broader set of causes than ever before - bestowing multimillion-dollar gifts on food pantries, historically Black colleges and universities and organizations that serve the poor and the homeless, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual rankings of the 50 Americans who gave the most to charity last year. 　Another cause that got outsized attention from billionaire philanthrop

World March 3, 2021

　Less than half of South Koreans are willing to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots immediately, without waiting for further reports on those vaccines’ effects, an opinion poll showed. 　In the survey conducted on 1,020 people aged 18 or over by the Korea Society Opinion Institute from last Feb.19-20, only 45.8 percent said they are willing to be vaccinated “right away” when their turn for COVID-19 vaccine shots come. 　Another 45.7 percent responded they will delay their vaccin

National March 2, 2021

　South Korea’s online food market posted explosive growth in 2020 from a year earlier due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　The value of online food transactions in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 43.4 trillion won ($39.2 billion) last year, up 62.4 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea and industry sources. 　The online food market surpassed the 40 trillion-won mark last year after reaching 26.7 trillion won the previous

Business March 1, 2021

　More than 40 percent of people who won Lotto, the country‘s most popular lottery, said they will use the prize money to acquire real estate assets, a survey showed. 　Among 271 Lotto winners in the first half of 2020, 42 percent of them said they will buy houses or properties with the prize money, according to a survey conducted by the Finance Ministry’s lottery committee and the Lotto seller. 　The survey showed that 22 percent of the winners planned to use the prize money to

National Feb. 25, 2021

　Samsung Electronics remained the world’s second-largest chip buyer behind US tech titan Apple last year, a report showed, while manufacturers’ spending on semiconductors increased due to the pandemic-induced stay-at-home economy. 　Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone and TV maker, accounted for 8.1 percent of global semiconductor spending in 2020 after purchasing $36.4 billion worth of chips, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary results from m

Business Feb. 25, 2021

　North Korea ranked the lowest in a world democracy index last year for the 16th consecutive year, a recent report showed. 　North Korea placed at the bottom among the 167 countries polled, with an overall score of 1.08 out of a total of 10, according to the Democracy Index 2020 published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research division of the British weekly The Economist. 　The North has ranked the lowest in the EIU index since the agency began compiling the data in 2006. 　South K

North Korea Feb. 24, 2021