President Yoon promises to upgrade trilateral security alliance with US and Japan

SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol agreed with leaders from the United States and Japan to upgrade the current security alliance at the trilateral summit meeting held at Camp David, the official U.S. presidential retreat near Washington, D.C. on August 18. The three leaders will meet at least once a year and build a real-time warning system for North Korea's missiles. "The cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, which remained in regional alliance on t

August 21, 2023

Presidential jet carrying President Yoon Suk-yeol lands on U.S. Air Force base for trilateral summit

SEOUL -- South Korea's presidential jet carrying President Yoon Suk-yeol has landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland near Washington D.C. on August 17 (local time). The South Korean president will meet United States President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a trilateral summit meeting on August 18. On the day of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral summit, President Yoon will move to Camp David, the official retreat for U.S. presidents, with his count

August 18, 2023

S. Korea unveils roadmap to attract 300,000 international students by 2027

SEOUL -- South Korea aims to increase the number of international students to 300,000 by 2027 from about 167,000 in 2022. The country will work with universities, private companies, and local governments, to attract foreign students. Various projects will be carried out such as offering hands-on career training programs and Korean-language classes. Under a project titled "Study Korea 300K Project," the Ministry of Education would secure 300,000 foreign students by 2027. T

August 17, 2023

Busan port operator to build S. Korea's first swing bridge by 2026

SEOUL -- South Korea's main maritime gateway in the southern port city of Busan will create the country's first swing bridge in its northern port area by 2026. A part of the 171-meter-(561-foot)-long bridge would swing to open a bridge span between support columns when yachts and ships approach and one side of the bridge will move in the horizontal direction. The Busan Port Authority (BPA) said the swing bridge that connects a park with a maritime recreation center will be buil

August 17, 2023

President Yoon to visit Maryland for summit meeting with US and Japan

SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will depart Seoul on August 17 to attend the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit meeting scheduled to be held at Camp David, the official United States presidential retreat near Washington, D.C., on August 18. Yoon will depart in the afternoon from Seoul Airport on a presidential jet for his trip to the U.S. and First Lady Kim Geon-hee will not accompany the president. Yoon's father passed away on August 15 and the president will complete

August 17, 2023

S. Korea's third tallest skyscraper 'Busan Lotte Tower' to be built in southern port city

SEOUL -- Lotte Shopping, a retail company affiliated with Lotte Group, will build a 342.5 meter-(1123.6 foot)-tall tower in South Korea's southern port city of Busan. The new skyscraper called the "Busan Lotte Tower" would become the country's third tallest building after Seoul's Lotte World Tower and Haeundae LCT The Sharp, a residential and commercial complex in Busan. Through the new tower, the retail company aims to attract more than one million tourists annually.

August 16, 2023

S. Korea records highest level of tourism deficit in 1H 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea's tourism deficit for the first half of 2023 has reached the highest level in five years, data released by the main state tourism promotion body showed. The domestic tourism industry now focuses on whether the tourism balance will improve when Chinese group tourists return to South Korea. China imposed a ban on travelers to South Korea as part of retaliatory steps over the installment of an Advanced American missile shield system in 2017. About eight million

August 14, 2023

Lioness escaped from private farm in southeastern county killed by hunters

SEOUL -- The great escape by a 20-year-old lioness that escaped from a private farm to a nearby mountain in Goryeong County some 230 kilometers (142 miles) southeast of Seoul came to a climax after a team of hunters tracked down the large feline and killed it. Predatory animals escaping from a private meat farm or zoo is not very rare in South Korea where anyone with the right documents could set up a small-sized zoo or a facility that displays live predatory animals. It is because p

August 14, 2023

Voices rise over swift disciplining of family minister Kim Hyun-sook for Jamboree fiasco

SEOUL -- With only a day left of the official schedule of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, voices are rising in the political sector over the swift action that must be taken to hold people accountable for the fiasco that took place at the international Scouting event. Kim Hyun-sook, the family minister, is likely to be the first person who would have her head put on the political guillotine. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was appointed as South Korea's main governing body

August 11, 2023

World Scout Jamboree to close with K-pop concert at Seoul's iconic football stadium

SEOUL -- A total of 16 K-pop bands including girl groups NewJeans and IVE, and three solo artists will wrap up the 25th World Scout Jamboree at Seoul's iconic football stadium with a total capacity of 66,704. About 1,100 buses will carry some 40,000 Jamboree participants to the stadium built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The global Scouting event started in Saemangeum, a reclaimed land area some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of the capital city, on August 1. The event was ori

August 11, 2023