Contagious laughter broke out among a group of 6-year-olds as 78-year-old Yang Moon-jah energetically narrated a Korean folktale about a fart competition between a man and a woman. The septuagenarian delivered the tale with impeccable clarity, ensuring every word resonated throughout the entire 20-minute storytelling session. Officially known as an "iyagi halmeoni" in Korean, which translates into "storytelling grandmother," Yang boasts nine years of storytelling experience w

weekender Aug. 26, 2023

During COVID-19, social distancing forced Koreans to eat at home, leading many to seek solace in the convenience of delivered food. Now that life has essentially returned to normal, a new cost-benefit analysis is reshaping the food delivery landscape: declining numbers of orders, decreases in delivery jobs and increases in commissions, pushing up food prices and weighing down order volumes. According to Mobile Index, the big data analysis unit of local data tracker IGAworks, the number of users

Hashtag Korea Aug. 15, 2023

With The Korea Herald’s 70th anniversary comes an opportune moment to reflect on the path it has forged and the lives it has impacted. A number of readers have shared their journeys with The Korea Herald, many of which illustrate how the daily has evolved into being not just an English-language lens into Korean society, but also catalyzes personal growth, opens up new perspectives and serves as a cultural connector. Here are some of their stories. Expanding perspectives through a globa

Newsmaker Aug. 13, 2023

An 8-year-old Korean girl, who had been abducted and taken away in a suitcase by a man on Cebu Island, Philippines, has returned home safely, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Friday. The girl appears unharmed, but was admitted to hospital for checks. According to officials and media reports, the girl had been taken from her home in Cebu at around noon, Thursday. Surveillance camera footage showed a man dragging a large suitcase before fleeing the scene in a car. The suspect, in his 30s, appe

Social Affairs Aug. 11, 2023

From sharing a treat of 300 ice creams and delivering boxes of assorted snacks for Scouts, ordinary Koreans couldn’t help but do something to make amends for the botched World Scout Jamboree that took place in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province. Fredrik, an adult member of the Swedish contingent, shared with The Korea Herald the story of a mystery man who wanted to buy some ice cream for jamboree participants suffering from extreme heat. “We don’t know his name, but he wanted

Social Affairs Aug. 10, 2023

Cafes are the perfect place to find respite from the sweltering summer heat, but the overly icy air inside some cafes might serve as a warning sign to not overstay one's welcome. Such was the experience of Kim Min-chang, a 20-something-year-old man who sought a refreshing air-conditioned environment at a local cafe. "After cooling off and quenching my thirst (with a cold brew coffee), I began working on my project. Originally, I had planned to stay for about 3 hours and finish the wo

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2023

A typhoon that left three people dead in Japan last week and meandered in the region for days is expected to head toward South Korea this week, likely making landfall on the east coast Thursday, the national weather agency said Sunday. As of 9 a.m. Sunday, Typhoon Khanun passed 180 kilometers off Japan's southernmost Okinawa Islands, making its way toward reaching Kyushu -- the southernmost of Japan's four largest islands -- by Monday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administ

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2023

Housekeepers in Korea, commonly referred to as “ajumma” or “imo,” have acquired a new job title, "gasa gwallisa," meaning house manager. The Ministry of Employment and Labor, officially announcing the new occupational title Wednesday, asked the general public to use it to refer to domestic workers -- those who provide services such as cleaning, washing, kitchen work and caring for members of a household -- from now on. So far, domestic workers have often been

Social Affairs Aug. 3, 2023

A minute away from initiating a phone call with her landlord, Lee Hyun-jung, a 24-year-old college graduate, feels her heart racing and palms getting sweaty. These all-too-familiar symptoms seem to arise when she has to make or receive a phone call, prompting her to avoid speaking on the phone whenever possible. Phone anxiety, also known as call phobia or telephobia, is a form of social anxiety disorder observed in a growing number of people, particularly among those belonging to the so-called &

Hashtag Korea Aug. 1, 2023

Twelve unlicensed tattooists are facing charges for inking “mob-style” tattoos on over 2,000 individuals, many of them actual gangsters. According to investigators at Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, the tattooists conducted their illegal activities over a span of nine years, from October 2014 to February this year, primarily targeting individuals seeking Japanese-style "irezumi" tattoos that extensively cover the full trunk of the body. Mob-style tattoos are a p

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2023

Sightings of an alligator, which had startled a rural village in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, may have been sightings of a giant lizard, local authorities said Friday. At around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, fire officials captured a 70-centimeter-long creature, identified as a savannah monitor lizard, on the premise of a factory in Hyucheon-dong in Yeongju. The species is native to Africa and can reach a maximum length of 1.3 meters, weighing up to 70 kilograms. The creature was captured more t

Social Affairs July 28, 2023

Still smiling and waving a friendly hand, Gongju City's beloved mascot, Goma Bear, was found safe and sound Wednesday, 11 days after it was swept away by severe flooding, the Gongju city government said Thursday. The bear sculpture, originally stationed on the South Chungcheong Province city's Mireu Island in the Geum River, had gone missing on July 15, when the region experienced massive river flooding due to heavy downpours. Gongju received a total of 509.5 millimeters of rain betwee

Social Affairs July 27, 2023

Pinkfong, the creator behind “Baby Shark” and other children’s songs which feature animated animal characters, has surpassed a combined 1 billion streams on Spotify, according to Pinkfong Co., the South Korean entertainment company. An official from the company said that this is the first time a South Korean animated production has achieved such a milestone. With a monthly listener count of 4.3 million, the company has been releasing a diverse range of children's songs sin

Performance July 27, 2023

On rainy days, Koreans like to eat crispy, battered dishes, called buchimgae or jeon. Enjoying the savory fritters is a cherished monsoon ritual for many Koreans, although people may have different reasons for doing so. For Kim, an office worker in his 30s, it is more of a tradition that was passed down to him from his parents’ generation. "My body knows when to eat jeon since my mom always cooked it for me when the rain fell," Kim said. "Furthermore, I believe media plays

Hashtag Korea July 26, 2023

More than half of Korean workers currently have no plans for a summer vacation this year, with over 60 percent attributing finances as the reason for either postponing or not considering a summer trip, a survey showed Sunday. According to local civic group Workplace Abuse 119, which surveyed 1,000 Korean employees aged over 19, some 19.8 percent of respondents had no intentions of taking a summer vacation, while 36.3 percent remained undecided, resulting in a total of over 50 percent unlikely to

Social Affairs July 24, 2023