Seoul's official Instagram becomes most-followed account among 10 major global cities

SEOUL -- Seoul City's official Instagram became the most-followed account among 10 major global cities with some 454,000 followers. The most popular content was a short-form video featuring Seoul Tower, a famous tourist attraction located near central Seoul, which was illuminated in purple, the iconic color of K-pop phenomenon BTS. Other global cities include New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris. After launching its official account in June 2014, the number of Seoul's Instagram f

November 6, 2023

Seoul's public bike rental service adopts English chatbot for foreigners

SEOUL -- Seoul's public bike rental service called "Ttareungi," also known as Seoul Bike, has adopted an English artificial intelligence-based service to handle inquiries from foreigners. The English chatbot was created to meet growing demands for the rental service from foreigners. The public bicycle rental service, launched in December 2015, has been used by urbanites who wish to travel short distances of a few kilometers instead of using crowded buses or subway trains.

November 3, 2023

Aju News partners with Korean association in India to promote cooperation between S. Korea and India

SEOUL -- Aju M&C, the holding company of Aju Business Daily, has partnered with the Korean Association of India to promote South Korea's cooperation with India in various domains, including business and culture. The project also involves SVA Solutions, an Indian firm specializing in consulting services for South Korean businesses operating in India, and a Korean language media outlet based in India. Aju Business Daily said its holding company signed an agreement with thes

November 3, 2023

S. Korea to unveil blueprint for AI-based control tower for crime prediction and monitoring system

SEOUL -- South Korea will unveil a blueprint for an advanced artificial intelligence-based crime prediction and monitoring system that will work as a frontline defense against criminal activities involving illegal drugs and illegal cryptocurrency trade. During the last decade, South Korea faced new types of crimes involving the illegal trafficking of drugs and unapproved trading of cryptocurrency. Because the plotting of such criminal activities is carried out through online spaces, it

November 2, 2023

S. Korean jobseekers prioritize 'work-and-life balance' when looking for jobs: survey

SEOUL -- The most important value for South Korean jobseekers when choosing a company to work at is the "work-and-life balance," a survey showed. The phenomenon of prioritizing working conditions over wages is more commonly witnessed in younger generations in their 20s and 30s. South Korea, a country which has seen rapid development after the Korean War (1950~1953), has a working culture that is based on long working hours, poor working conditions compared to other countries

November 2, 2023

S. Korea establishes severe trauma medical team to save patients in nearby ocean

SEOUL -- South Korea has launched its first maritime severe trauma medical team to treat critical patients at sea. The medical team is based on the southern resort island of Jeju. South Korea's emergency headquarters operate multiple severe trauma medical teams to treat patients in critical conditions on land. Emergency specialist teams consist of doctors and nurses who transport patients using "doctor helicopters" to nearby trauma centers and emergency rooms. Howev

November 1, 2023

Seoul to test seatless subway cars during commuting hours to solve congestion problems

SEOUL -- Seoul will kick-start a demonstration project to test the operation of two seatless subway cars on Subway Line 4 and Line 7 during commuting hours to see if the new type of cars could solve congestion problems. According to government data, some 4.5 million people use Seoul's subway trains daily. The crowdedness is the heaviest during commuting hours in the morning (08:00 a.m.~09:00 a.m.) and in the evening (06:00 p.m.~07:00 p.m.). The most crowded subway lines are -- Line

November 1, 2023

LGBTQ culture festival to be held in S. Korea's conservative port city

SEOUL -- A "queer festival," designed to raise awareness of the human rights of gender minorities and diverse gender-based cultural content, will be held for the third time in the southern port city of Changwon. The port city located west of Busan, South Korea's main maritime gateway, is part of South Gyeongsang Province which has a strong conservative culture. The organizing committee of the Gyeongnam Queen Culture Festival said in a statement on October 31 that the LGBT

October 31, 2023

​S. Korea records 67 cases of lumpy skin disease in 10 days

SEOUL -- South Korea has seen an outbreak of lumpy skin disease and had a total of 67 cattle farms infected in about ten days after the infectious cattle disease was reported in the country for the first time. Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a viral disease transmitted by blood-feeding insects such as flies, mosquitoes, and ticks. When a cow is infected with the virus, the animal would show symptoms of high fever, enlarged superficial lymph nodes, and multiple nodules, lumps measuring up

October 31, 2023

​About 56% of S. Koreans have no plans to hold traditional memorial rite 'Jesa': survey

SEOUL -- About 56 percent of South Koreans plan not to hold "Jesa," a traditional Confucian ceremonial ritual held to commemorate dead ancestors on the day they died, a survey showed. According to the survey, people feel burdened by the amount of food they have to prepare for the rite, and they think it should be simplified or replaced with a short and simple family gathering. Jesa is a Confucian rite that involves every family member who are direct descendant of the dead a

October 30, 2023