S. Korea sees record 40% surge in fruit prices

SEOUL -- South Korea witnessed a historic surge in fruit prices in February 2024, with an inflation rate of 40.6 percent. This unprecedented increase marks the highest recorded since 1991, when the country began officially archiving fruit price inflation data. According to the national statistical information service, the inflation rate for apple prices in February stood at 71.6 percent, attributed to dwindling production caused by adverse weather conditions. Purchasing an apple n

March 12, 2024

K-culture fans become younger

SEOUL -- Thanks to increased global recognition of South Korean culture including K-pop and Korean food, South Korea has become a popular tourist destination. Among some 11 million foreign travelers who visited the country in 2023, 35.6 percent were aged 30 or younger. Data released by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) showed that 3.93 million out of the 11.03 million foreign tourists in 2023 were aged 30 or below. Of them, tourists aged between 21 and 30 accounted for 25.3 per

March 11, 2024

India's foreign affairs minister visits Seoul for economic cooperation

SEOUL -- Through a joint committee in Seoul, India's foreign affairs minister reached a consensus with his South Korean counterpart to upgrade economic cooperation in defense, supply chains, technology, and infrastructure. This was the first dialogue in six years since the joint committee meeting held in New Delhi in December 2018. South Korea's foreign affairs ministry said India's external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended the joint committee meeting

March 8, 2024

Number of accumulated pet insurance contracts increases by 51.7% on-year in 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea witnessed a remarkable surge of over 50 percent in the number of total pet insurance contracts in 2023. This increase can be attributed to the growing recognition of pets as cherished companions or even family members in a country where one out of four households owns a pet During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pets adopted by new families surged significantly. People sought comfort and companionship from animals as they faced isolation due to strict so

March 6, 2024

S. Korea to utilize Deepfake content detection software in criminal investigations

SEOUL -- South Korea will deploy specialized software designed to detect whether video clips or image files have been manipulated using Deepfake techniques in crime investigations. This announcement comes about a month before South Korea's general election scheduled for April 10. Deepfake technology, driven by artificial intelligence, enables the alteration of videos or images by replacing the face of a person in the original content with that of another individual. This face-

March 5, 2024

Asan Medical Center ranks 22nd in global hospital ranking

SEOUL --Seoul-based Asan Medical Center has been recognized by American weekly news magazine Newsweek as the top 22nd hospital out of a pool of approximately 2,400 hospitals worldwide. Asan Medical Center achieved the highest ranking among 17 South Korean hospitals included on the prestigious list of the world's top 250 hospitals. Along with global market analyst firm Statista, Newsweek determined the global ranking based on online surveys of 85,000 medical experts in 30 count

March 5, 2024

Number of S. Korean men choosing childcare over careers increases 37 percent on-year: data

SEOUL -- Recent data from the national statistical information service revealed a significant uptick in South Korean men prioritizing childcare over their careers. This trend marks a notable shift in a traditionally conservative society, where societal biases often discourage men from assuming primary childcare responsibilities. In South Korea, deeply influenced by Confucian values, men traditionally bear responsibility for matters outside the home, such as providing for the famil

February 21, 2024

S. Korean government's decision to increase medical school admissions sparks mass resignation of doctors

SEOUL -- To oppose the South Korean government's decision to increase the admission capacity of medical school students to around five thousand, from the current three thousand, residents at major hospitals are joining a mass resignation movement. The resident doctors' mass rally will cause chaotic situations at major hospitals, resulting in delayed or postponed surgeries and treatments. A similar chaotic situation occurred in early 2020 when former President Moon Jae-in p

February 20, 2024

S. Korea's election governing body warns of AI-based 'Deepfake' content surge

SEOUL -- South Korea's state-operated election governing body has sent out a strong warning against Deepfake, artificial intelligence-generated content using facial and physical images of real-life people. Deepfake is an AI-based technique used to create fake videos or images that look incredibly real. It works by taking a real-life person's face and superimposing it onto another person's body in a video or picture. This can make it seem like a famous person is saying

February 19, 2024

S. Korean presidential office anticipates supply chain cooperation with Cuba for EV batteries

SEOUL -- South Korea's presidential office aspires to cooperate in the mineral supply chain sector following the establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba. The Latin American country, well-known for its socialist and communist roots, is the world's fifth-largest producer of nickel, a critical material for secondary batteries, rechargeable batteries that are mainly used for the operation of electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Along with manganese and cobalt,

February 19, 2024