South Korea saw clear signs of climate change in the past decade, with more heat waves and typhoons, a government report showed Wednesday. The average temperature for the years 2010-2019 was 13 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degree higher than the average over the previous 30 years, according to the Korea Extreme Climate Annual Report 2019 released by the Korea Meteorological Administration. Hot days were hotter and more frequent, and extreme heat -- when daytime temperatures got as high as 33 degree

Social Affairs Feb. 19, 2020

The Seoul City government will financially support 1,500 households living in semi-basement apartments like the one depicted in the Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” to improve their living conditions, it said Tuesday.  Together with the Korea Energy Foundation, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will offer up to 3.2 million won per household to enhance heating systems, replace floors, and install air conditioners, dehumidifiers, ventilators, windows and fire alarms. A semi-base

Social Affairs Feb. 18, 2020

The government said Monday that it will advise Chinese students enrolled in Korean universities to suspend attending classes and to stay in isolation for two weeks, in an effort to rein in the spread of the COVID-19 virus, as they are set to return for the new school year. 　 Questions remain, however, over the effectiveness of the measures as they are not legally binding. While there are no legal grounds for local authorities to punish students breaking self-isolation rules, some Chinese studen

Social Affairs Feb. 17, 2020

  Sejong University succeeded in farming American steelhead in Korea amid rising demand for salmon here, the university said Friday. Led by professors Kim Min-sun and Lee Jang-won of Integrative Bio-industrial Engineering at Sejong University, a research team imported steelhead eggs from the US, raising juvenile steelhead in river waters and transferring them to sea water. In 13 months, the team succeeded in producing 1.3 kilograms of steelhead on Feb. 4 here. South Korea has seen an in

Social Affairs Feb. 14, 2020

Samsung Electronics flatly denied Thursday allegations that its heir apparent and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong illegally received injections of propofol, a short-acting sedative and anesthetic drug. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office began looking into the accusations after the state anti-corruption watchdog, which received a tip from a whistleblower on Lee’s alleged drug use, referred the case to the prosecution last month. The case came to light after investigative local new

Social Affairs Feb. 13, 2020

Since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed last month, many South Koreans have put their social lives on hold, choosing to stay home most of the time. When they have to step outside, many cover their faces with masks, guarding against the possibility of contracting the potentially deadly coronavirus from strangers. Masks and hand sanitizers are everywhere, from subway trains to wedding halls. Movie theaters are empty, graduation ceremonies are canceled and more meals are being delivered

Social Affairs Feb. 13, 2020

More students think the reunification of the two Koreas is unnecessary and the Korean Peninsula is not peaceful, a survey showed Tuesday, amid stalled progress in inter-Korean relations.  According to the survey by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Unification, 55.5 percent of the respondents said reunification of the Koreas was necessary, down 7.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Some 19.4 percent said reunification was unnecessary. The majority of the students who sai

Social Affairs Feb. 11, 2020

Seoul has launched an information and consulting center on the new coronavirus exclusively for foreigners, with translation services available in eight languages, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday.  At the center, set up inside the Southwest Global Center in southwestern Seoul, those illegally staying in South Korea can receive help and medical treatment without worrying about being reported to immigration authorities, officials added. The Southwest Global Center, the city-a

Social Affairs Feb. 11, 2020

An ice-fishing festival in Hwacheon has reignited controversy over animal abuse for its cruel killing of mountain trout, with the environment minister denouncing it as a “human-focused” event at the cost of animals’ lives. On Monday, bestselling novelist Lee Oi-soo, who lives in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, and is an honorary ambassador for the festival, criticized the comment made last week by Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae. “Are chickens being raised in a free and

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2020

The government said Sunday it will send another chartered plane to China’s Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, to bring back Koreans and consider imposing an additional entry ban on other Chinese regions heavily struck by the virus. 　 Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced that the government would also tighten quarantine checks on those entering from virus-hit countries as he presided over an emergency ministerial meeting. Currently, Korea has barred the entry of foreigne

Social Affairs Feb. 9, 2020

Amid an unusually warm winter, Seoul saw the coldest day of the season Thursday, with the morning low in the capital recorded at minus 11.8 degrees Celsius.  The temperature, registered at 6:34 a.m., marks the lowest since November last year, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The current cold spell is expected to continue until Friday morning, Many other cities in the country’s central region also had their record lowest temperatures, with Incheon at minus 10

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2020

South Korea on Wednesday evening confirmed another case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total here to 19.  The latest case was related to one of the two patients confirmed earlier in the day. The 36-year-old Korean man visited Singapore for work from Jan. 18-24 to attend the same conference as the 38-year-old Korean man already confirmed to be infected with the virus earlier Wednesday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. They both came into contact with

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2020

The Seoul city education office on Wednesday ordered a week-long suspension of classes for 42 kindergartens and schools in the two Seoul districts where a person infected with the new coronavirus had resided or moved around. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it had ordered 5 kindergartens and elementary schools close to where one 33-year-old patient lives, as well as 37 kindergarten and schools within one kilometer from a place where the patient had stayed for some time, to be sh

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2020

Public fears over the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, are prompting many South Koreans to avoid Chinese people altogether in the belief they can minimize their risk of catching the virus. As Koreans lock themselves up at home and shun places where they could run into Chinese people, shopping districts and sightseeing spots popular among Chinese tourists as well as neighborhoods with large populations of Korean-Chinese (ethnic Koreans from China) are unusually quiet and empty

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2020

The head of South Korea’s national human rights watchdog on Wednesday voiced concern over hate speech against Chinese people and called for humanity and solidarity in the global fight against the new coronavirus outbreak. 　 National Human Rights Commission of Korea chief Choi Young-ae also said that Koreans too, in some Western countries, are being treated as potential virus holders, just because of the skin color.  　  “Unfortunately, there have constantly been social m

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2020