​S. Korean presidential office sets out to arrange Chinese President Xi's visit

SEOUL -- South Korea will start the preparation for the arrangement of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Seoul, the presidential office said. The announcement by the South Korean president's office was made a day after the Chinese president spoke with South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and said that he would seriously consider visiting South Korea during a meeting at the Asian Games held in China's southern port city of Hangzhou on September 24. If Presid

September 25, 2023

S. Korea to present foreign visitors with prepaid transport payment cards printed with Korean names

SEOUL -- South Korea has revealed its special plan to offer a special gift for foreigners who visit the country on September 23 and 24. Visitors who enter South Korea through the Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, will be given prepaid transport payment cards printed with the travelers' names in Hangul, Korean characters. Hangul, the writing system of the Korean language, was invented by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty in 1443 and was distributed t

September 22, 2023

S. Korea's state studio opens new indoor filming facility for sea battles and ship accidents

SEOUL -- A multi-purpose indoor filming facility for special scenes such as sea battles, artificial rainfall, and ship accidents was built in South Korea's largest state-run studio, Studio Cube. The special effects studio played a key role in filming the Netflix drama series Squid Game. A large water tank, which is 30.4-meter-(99.7-foot)-long and 20.9-meter-wide, was installed in the complex. The construction of the special filming facility began in October 2021. South Korea

September 21, 2023

Southern port city to start pet registration service using dog nose wrinkles

SEOUL -- The southern port city of Changwon will start a pet registration service using dog nose wrinkles. Near-field communication chips are used for the registration of dogs but some dog owners refuse to use the chips because of the fee of about 10,000 won ($7.4). Currently, the South Korean government mandates dog owners to register their pets using near-field communication chips that are either inserted into the flesh of a dog or into a pendant-type holder that can be attached to a

September 21, 2023

16 people hospitalized in river cruise boat accident in Seoul

SEOUL -- 16 people were injured and received medical treatment after a river cruise boat carrying 146 crashed into a bridge pier in Seoul. River cruise boats on Seoul's Han River, the river that flows from the eastern part of the city out to the West Sea, are a popular tourist attraction. The boats are especially popular after sunset as the cruise experience offers sightseeing tourists beautiful scenery of Seoul's nightscapes. According to Seoul's emergency headquarters

September 21, 2023

S. Korean retail giants attract consumers with pre-cooked menus for autumn harvest festival ritual

SEOUL -- South Korean retail giants including Shinsegae have set out to attract busy city dwellers and housewives with pre-cooked or heat-and-eat menus that are used for a Confucian rite that is carried during the traditional Korean autumn harvest festival called "Chuseok." The three-day festival holidays are celebrated on August 15 of the lunar calendar. On Seollal, the Lunar New Year Day in Korean language, and Chuseok, non-Christian families normally prepare a table full o

September 21, 2023

S. Korea to set up new governance for systemization of immigration policies

SEOUL -- South Korea will set up new governance including structures and processes to systemize the country's fragmented immigration policies, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during a conference in Seoul. In 2022, South Korea with a population of some 52 million had 2.13 million foreign residents and 9.9 percent (210,880) had acquired South Korean citizenship. The number of foreign residents has increased by about fourfold compared to 536,627 people in 2006. However, despite

September 20, 2023

S. Korea to kick-start annual free influenza vaccination program

SEOUL -- In a bid to prevent the widespread of highly infectious and deadly seasonal influenza, South Korea will kick-start its annual national vaccination program designed to offer flu shots to young children and the elderly for free. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that the national influenza (flu) vaccination program will begin from September 20 until April 30 next year. The target groups for this year's flu vaccination program are children aged 6 mon

September 19, 2023

Broken EV chargers take average of 3 days to be repaired in S. Korea: data

SEOUL -- According to data released by the environment ministry, it took an average of about three days to fix a broken electric vehicle charger. South Korea has a rapidly growing number of EVs but charging infrastructure is not growing as fast as the clean energy vehicle market. As of 2022, there were some 400,000 clean energy vehicles registered in South Korea where some 5.5 million vehicles roam the roads. The number of registered clean energy vehicles, mostly EVs, increased by 68

September 19, 2023

President Yoon to visit New York for UN General Assembly

SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will embark on a five-day visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly and meet leaders from other countries. The presidential office said that Yoon will address the UN General Assembly to share his thoughts about climate change, digital transformation, and the recent signs of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the Vostochny Cosm

September 18, 2023