The number of newly adopted South Korean children fell for the third consecutive year in 2021 amid the pandemic, government data showed. 　According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of new child adoptees reached 415 last year, down from 704 in 2019 and 492 in 2020. Officials attributed the decrease in adoption to the effects of COVID-19. 　Among the new adoptees, 189, or 45.5 percent, were adopted by overseas families. Of those, 66.7 percent were sent to the United States. Oth

National June 3, 2022

　Smoking rates have declined globally for the first time on record, according to a new report on tobacco use from a public health campaign group and US academics. 　However, the figures from the Tobacco Atlas report - described as a potential tipping point by the authors - also mask growing numbers of smokers in parts of the world, as well as increased tobacco use among young teenagers in almost half of the countries surveyed. 　Globally, there are 1.1 billion smokers and 200 million more peopl

World June 1, 2022

　Chinese people purchased nearly 7,000 buildings in South Korea last year, with more than half of the properties being in the Greater Seoul area, a ruling party lawmaker said. 　A total of 6,640 buildings, including apartments, were purchased by Chinese nationals last year, and 2,659 of them are located in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital city of Seoul, Chung Woo-taik, a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, said in a report, citing the National Assembly Research Service. 　C

Business May 31, 2022

　More than half of single 20-somethings in South Korea do not want to have babies after marriage apparently due to concerns over high child-rearing costs in the country, a poll showed.  　According to a survey reported in a monthly economic journal by the state-run Korea Development Institute, 52.4 percent of unmarried Koreans in their 20s think it is OK not to have children after tying the knot.  　The percentage is sharply up from 23.3 percent in the same survey conducted five years

National May 30, 2022

　South Korea's imports of home furnishing products hit an all-time high last year on the back of demand by stay-at-home consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The imports of eight kinds of home furnishing goods, including sofas and lamps, came to $3.5 billion last year, up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. 　It rose 26.1 percent from the pre-pandemic year of 2019. 　By country, inbound shipments from China were the largest with $2.

National May 28, 2022

　The amount of illegal narcotics confiscated in South Korea reached an all-time high last year, with an increase of foreign and juvenile drug offenders, government data showed. 　According to the data compiled by the Supreme Prosecutors Office, a total of 1,295.7 kilograms of illegal drugs were confiscated in 2021, more than a threefold jump from a year earlier. 　Noticeably, the amount of major illegal drugs - including methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana - soared more than five times on-ye

National May 26, 2022

　Nearly 43,000 people were killed on US roads last year, the highest number in 16 years as Americans returned to the roads after the coronavirus pandemic forced many to stay at home. 　The 10.5 percent jump over 2020 numbers was the largest percentage increase since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began its fatality data collection system in 1975. Exacerbating the problem was a persistence of risky driving behaviors during the pandemic, such as speeding and less frequent use

World May 25, 2022

　Total art investments into small shares of blue-chip paintings in South Korea amounted to nearly 100 billion won ($78.5 million) over the past 3 1/2 years, industry data showed. 　Four local online art investment platforms, including industry leader ArtnGuide, allow consumers to invest in iconic artworks by buying small ownership stakes, attracting small-sum investors interested in diversifying their investment portfolios to the field that had been previously only available to the wealthy. 　A

National May 24, 2022

　Half of older adults in Seoul have no experience using digital kiosks, a survey showed, despite a rising number of businesses adopting such self-service electronic machines amid the pandemic. 　The poll released by the Seoul Digital Foundation, a digital arm of the city government, showed 45.8 percent of people aged 55 or older living in Seoul said they have used kiosk machines, compared with 94.1 percent of those aged less than 55. 　Noticeably, 29.4 percent of those aged between 65 and 74 ha

National May 23, 2022

　Nearly half of LGBTQ youth aged 13 to 24 in America seriously considered committing suicide last year, according to a survey released. 　The poll of nearly 34,000 people was conducted by The Trevor Project, a non-profit that works to prevent suicide among young people in the LGTBQ community. 　This annual survey “demonstrates that rates of suicidal thoughts have trended upward among LGBTQ young people over the last three years,” said Amit Paley, the organization’s executive d

World May 21, 2022

　South Korea’s imports of home furnishing products hit an all-time high last year on the back of demand by consumers staying home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The imports of eight kinds of home furnishing goods, including sofas and lamps, came to $3.5 billion last year, up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. 　It rose 26.1 percent from the pre-pandemic year of 2019. 　By country, inbound shipments from China were the largest wi

Business May 20, 2022

  　The United States’ approval rating in South Korea jumped at one of the steepest rates among Asian countries in 2021, a poll showed. 　The approval rating of US leadership in South Korea climbed to 59 percent last year from 30 percent a year earlier, according to Gallup. 　The increase marks the second highest among 33 Asian countries where the poll was conducted between April 2021 and January 2022. 　The median approval of US leadership in Asia was 41 percent. 　The approval rate for

World May 20, 2022

　The daily number of riders on the Seoul subway system breached the 7 million mark for the first time in 1 1/2 years, data showed, partly on the back of rollbacks of COVID-19 restrictions. 　According to the data from Seoul subway operator Seoul Metro, 7,210,000 people rode subway trains in the capital city on April 29, marking the most single-day riders since Oct. 30, 2020. 　An average of 7,320,000 riders used the Seoul subway system in a 24-hour period in 2019, the data showed. The average t

National May 19, 2022

　The number of gun deaths in the United States underwent a “historic” increase in 2020, possibly due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and poverty, according to a report by health authorities published.  　The US racked up 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent as compared to 2019, and 24,245 gun suicides (up 1.5 percent), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its report.  　The CDC deemed both the murders and suicides by firearm &ldq

World May 18, 2022

　Nearly 1 in 5 children in South Korea said they are unhappy, citing pressure to do well at school as the biggest reason, a survey showed. 　According to the poll conducted by the Health Ministry and the National Center for the Rights of the Child, 81.4 percent of those surveyed said they are either “somewhat happy” or “very happy,” while 18.6 percent said they are “not very happy” or “not at all happy.” 　Of the children who said they are unhappy

National May 17, 2022