A lion that was born and kept in the basement cell of an indoor zoo for its whole life experienced what it feels like to be outside for the first time on Monday. According to Yonhap News Agency and officials at Spavalley, a theme park in Daegu, the male lion appeared bewildered at first and hesitated, but he soon began to explore his new home of around 500 square meters of land -- more than 10 times the size of the previous indoor cell. The lion also met his lifelong female lion companion, whi

Social Affairs June 18, 2024

Choi Kyung-min, 33, describes himself and his wife as having been born with a “dirt spoon” in their mouths, meaning they come from less privileged backgrounds. Both graduated from university with student loans to pay back, and their parents are unprepared for retirement. Now renting a small apartment in Gyeonggi Province, they support their parents financially while trying to save as much as possible. However, it would take more than 10 years of saving to afford buying a home in

Hashtag Korea June 16, 2024

“Feeling burnt out? You’ve come to the right place,” the doctor said during my consultation at a clinic in Yeouido, Seoul's financial district, before prescribing what he called a “garlic injection.” As an average South Korean national, I am used to eating tons of garlic, but I wasn’t quite ready to have it injected into my veins. It turned out that the “garlic injection” wasn't actually a shot of garlic extract or anything similar. It&

Social Affairs June 15, 2024

Reports to emergency number 119 through channels other than direct phone calls increased by 36 percent last year, data showed on Wednesday. According to the National Fire Agency, a total of 896,049 reports were made to the hotline outside of conventional voice calls last year, up from 235,360 the previous year. Since 2011, people have been able to request emergency assistance via text messages, video calls, photos sent via text message or reports via the 119 mobile app, in addition to calling 11

Social Affairs June 12, 2024

The traffic sign just turned yellow and you find yourself in the “dilemma zone,” where it is too late to stop before the stop line. Would you stop or speed up? Recently, South Korea’s top court ruled that drivers must stop, rekindling a long-standing debate. In its decision early May concerning a case involving a car driver who chose to continue through a yellow light and collided with two motorcyclists in 2021, the Supreme Court stated that when the yellow light turns on befor

Hashtag Korea June 11, 2024

Find the answer at the bottom. Slightly over half of South Korea's population lives in the Greater Seoul area, consisting of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. The region is the country’s cultural, commercial and infrastructure capital. If the Greater Seoul area could be symbolized by a fried egg, the yolk would be Seoul and the white would be Gyeonggi encircling it. In terms of territory and population, Gyeonggi is bigger. Gyeonggi covers an area of about 10,200 square kilometer

Hashtag Korea June 10, 2024

Korean call center workers have called for proper government measures to address hostile customer complaints, citing a recent survey that showed a majority of workers "endure" unreasonable treatment. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday, revealing the results of a survey conducted among 790 call center workers from May 28 to June 3. According to the survey, 77.9 percent of respondents said they experienced verbal abuse, 12.8 percent

Social Affairs June 6, 2024

A recent sighting of an Asiatic black bear on the Jirisan trail has raised safety concerns. However, the government has moved to reassure the public, noting that the possibility of bear attacks on humans is low due to their gentle and cautious nature. Currently, a total of 89 Asiatic black bears, including four cubs, reside around Jirisan, according to the Korea National Park Service under the Environment Ministry. These bears move between Jirisan and the nearby Deogyusan areas, rarely enc

Social Affairs June 2, 2024

A petition calling for the return of a giant panda, which was sent to China after being born and raised in South Korea, has resurfaced here amid lingering concerns over the beloved bear’s wellbeing in China. The petition, titled "Return Fu Bao to Korea” and submitted by a petitioner surnamed Koh, emerged Wednesday on the National Assembly’s online petition platform. It has met the initial requirement of gathering 100 consents and now awaits a review for it to be made pub

Social Affairs May 30, 2024

The effects of illegal drug use are difficult to grasp in their full scope, but it leaves traces behind in the environment. Drug residuals enter the wastewater system through human urine. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s annual analysis of sewage has found residuals of methamphetamine in all samples collected nationwide last year, although its concentration level was down from previous years. Cocaine, which had so far been detected in limited metropolitan locations only, showed a c

Social Affairs May 29, 2024

Kim Dae-gun’s day starts very early. At the break of dawn, he collects the packages that need to be delivered that day. He sorts and loads them in his truck, arranging them in a way that matches his itinerary for the next several hours: items meant for the nearest locations in the front, with the farthest destinations in the back. “Once I get to my delivery area, it is a race against time,” Kim said. He needs to move quickly, efficiently and without mistakes to deliver near

Hashtag Korea May 29, 2024

Taiwo Victoria Anuoluwapo recalled a scene from her favorite K-drama, “Shooting Stars,” which aired in 2022. It depicted a protagonist leaving for Africa to help dying children and provide clean water. Whenever similar scenes appear in K-dramas and movies, Taiwo cannot hide her bewilderment. “We love K-culture a lot in Nigeria, and it’s always painful when we see stuff like that,” said Taiwo, 28, a Nigerian studying in Chungnam National University in Daejeon. &ldquo

Social Affairs May 28, 2024

The story of two students who found a lost credit card and returned it to its owner in a creative way has gone viral. According to a report by a local TV network Jeju International Broadcasting System, on the evening of April 19, a Jeju resident surnamed Han received a text message informing him of a charge of 300 won ($0.2) at a convenience store made with his lost credit card. At that point, he did not even know that it was missing. The next day, he called the card company to report the mi

Social Affairs May 27, 2024

Models and organizers pose for a photograph holding banners with messages supporting diversity and protecting the environment after the 2024 SWG&IWIK ESG Fashion Show, held at Sebitseom cultural space, Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul on Sunday. The event, organized by local civic group International World In Korea, emphasized social responsibility for diversity and environmental protection alongside the development of the tourism industry, its officials said. (IWIK)

Social Affairs May 27, 2024

Six out of 10 Koreans do not have plans to have babies, data showed on Friday, as the nation has had the lowest fertility rates for years. According to a survey conducted by research firm PMI on 1,800 Koreans between the ages of 20 and 50, 63.4 percent of the respondents said they do not have plans to have babies. The 1,800 respondents, however, include 530 parents who already have children. The biggest reason for not planning to have babies was economic instability (25.2 percent). This was foll

Social Affairs May 24, 2024