Schools and businesses have been closed, sports events canceled and cultural institutions shut down around the world, as countries try to stem the coronavirus outbreak. 　The latest Nielsen survey shows what people missed the most during the social distancing in the US.

World News June 10, 2020

　South Korea’s exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or samgyetang, have posted sharp growth in the first four months of 2020 from a year earlier, data showed, amid the growing demand for ready-to-eat products around the globe due to the pandemic-led lockdowns. 　Outbound shipments of ready-to-eat samgyetang products reached $4.82 million over the January-April period, up 82.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Tra

World June 9, 2020

　The volume of short-term floating capital in South Korea hit an all-time high of more than 1,100 trillion won ($904 billion) amid low interest rates and increased uncertainties over the novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Cash and other forms of short-term capital, including demand deposits and money market funds, totaled 1,106.3 trillion won as of end-March, Bank of Korea and Korea Financial Investment Association data showed. The amount was the largest since the institutions began

Business June 8, 2020

　Lineage 2M, a mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Korean online game maker NCSoft, was the highest grossing app on the Google Play Store during the first quarter of the year, industry data showed. 　The mobile version of mega-hit Lineage II was the most popular app in the world on Android platforms during the January-March period, partly on the back of the novel coronavirus pandemic that confined people to their homes, data from analytics firm App Annie showed. 　The mo

World Business June 5, 2020

　Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 　That’s surprisingly low considering the effort going into the global race for a vaccine against the coronavirus that has sparked a pandemic since first emerging from China late last year. But more people might eventually roll up their sleeves: The poll found 3

World News June 4, 2020

　South Korea‘s output of medical equipment and related materials passed 7 trillion won ($5.7 billion) in 2019 on solid demand for dental treatment products, data showed. 　About 7.3 trillion won worth of medical equipment and materials were produced in the country last year, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 　The sector’s annualized growth rate far outpaced the 2 percent increase in the country’s gross domestic product

Technology June 3, 2020

　South Korea’s gross domestic product ranked 10th in the world in 2019, down two notches from the previous year, data showed. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy registered $1.64 trillion in nominal GDP last year, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation. 　It marked South Korea’s first ranking drop since the 2008 global financial crisis. The OECD analyzed 38 advanced and emerging economies. 　The United States topped the global GDP list with $21.43

World Business June 2, 2020

　Nearly 70 percent of South Korean youths think that reunification with North Korea is necessary, a survey showed. 　According to the poll conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute, 67.8 percent of 3,228 elementary, middle and high school students replied that the two Koreas need to reunify. 　Among them, 28.8 percent said that reunification is necessary as it will help South Korea become stronger, while 23.2 percent answered it will ease security concerns on the Korean Peninsula. So

North Korea June 1, 2020

  Timeline of reported cases Late April: An unidentified children’s illness reported in Europe May 9: Illness claims three children in New York, US, and one in France May 13: Casualty occurs in the UK; UK, France, US together confirm over 100 cases May 23: Mystery children’s illness spreads to 13 countries (25 states in the US) May 25: Korea launches disease surveillance systems May 26: Korea sees two suspected cases of the rare pediatric condition, both in Seoul　

Technology May 29, 2020

　Spending on video games in the US jumped to a new April record as locked-down consumers sought refuge in playing games, industry figures showed. 　A total of $1.5 billion was spent on video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards, eclipsing a previous April high of $1.2 billion spent in the US in 2008, according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. 　April was the first full month of tight restrictions on people’s movements in the US to prevent the spread of the deadly novel cor

World Business May 28, 2020

　US electric carmaker Tesla Motors ranked third in first-quarter sales in South Korea’s imported passenger vehicle market on strong demand for the Model 3, an industry association said. 　In the January-March period, Tesla sold a total of 4,070 vehicles in the Korean imported car market, following Mercedes-Benz (15,400) and BMW (11,331), according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　Tesla’s sales jumped to 2,499 units in March from 1,433 in February and 138

Industry May 27, 2020

　South Korea announced a long-term plan to spur a shift toward renewable power sources away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy. 　The draft plan for the nation’s ninth basic energy policy for the years 2020-2034 calls for raising the share of renewable energy out of its electricity generation to 40 percent by 2034 from the current 15.1 percent. 　Power plants fired by liquefied natural gas (LNG) will take up 31 percent of the total from the present 32.3 percent. 　Drawn up by a worki

Business May 26, 2020

　South Korean households spent an average of 2.45 million won ($2,003) per month in 2019, data showed. 　In 2018, South Korean households spent an average 2.53 million won, but an annual comparison may be inappropriate because Statistics Korea changed its method of compiling the data last year, the statistics agency said. 　Expenditures on food and nonalcoholic beverages came to 333,000 won last year, accounting for 13.5 percent of the total, according to the data. 　Expenditures by four-me

Social Affairs May 25, 2020

　South Korea’s exports of cultural goods jumped nearly 10 percent on-year in 2018, led by games and character intellectual property, a government survey showed. 　The combined overseas sales in 11 culture and entertainment sectors reached about $9.62 billion, up 9.1 percent from 2017, according to the annual content industry statistics published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 　The industries surveyed included movies, broadcasting, publishing, music, games, cartoons,

Culture May 22, 2020

　The number of abandoned animals in South Korea climbed 12 percent on-year to more than 130,000 in 2019 with dogs taking up the majority, government data showed. 　A total of 135,791 dogs, cats and other pets got deserted or lost last year, compared with 121,077 a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the state-run Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency. 　Dogs accounted for 75.4 percent of the total, with cats making up 23.5 percent. It cost 23.2 billion won ($18.9 million) to operate

Social Affairs May 21, 2020