S. Korean elderlies struggle to adapt to over-digitalized world of kiosks and smartphones

SEOUL -- "My friend and I went to a fast food restaurant to have a hamburger but we had to turn back and leave because there was no one at the counter but a digital kiosk for ordering. The letters were too small and we did not know how to use the ordering machine." Kim Kwee-hee, a 65-year-old housewife, recalled her recent incident with the ordering robot. Kim said that she has trouble using digital kiosk machines every time she encounters one. "I would at least try

April 12, 2023

Researchers develop PCR test system capable of detecting viruses within 10 minutes with 95% accuracy

SEOUL -- South Korean researchers have developed a hand-sized polymerase chain reaction test device that can detect infectious diseases such as COVID-19 within 10 minutes. The device can be carried to places where a proper screening center cannot be set up or places where quarantine specialists require high-accuracy on-site test equipment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test method has been widely used as its accuracy is much higher than rapid an

April 11, 2023

Busan to launch consortium to nurture the southern port city's coffee industry

SEOUL -- A consortium consisting of various coffee-related associations and research institutes will be launched in South Korea's southern port city of Busan to nurture the city's thriving coffee industry. The group will develop various policies to support the city's coffee industry with the biggest number of coffee shops compared to the city's population of about 3.3 million. According to the Korea Customs Service, South Korea imported about $1.3 billion worth of c

April 10, 2023

Number of foreign tourists to S. Korea skyrockets by 400% on-year in January and February

SEOUL -- Thanks to the reopening of borders and lifting of regulations on compulsory face masks in public places, the number of foreign travelers who visited South Korea in January and February 2023 has skyrocketed by about 400 percent compared to the same period last year, South Korea's state-operated tourism promotion agency said. South Korea's tourism industry is one of the country's industries that was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shopping districts frequent

April 6, 2023

S. Korea releases revised standards for construction of fuel cell-powered vessels

SEOUL -- In a bid to gain competitiveness in the global hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessel market, South Korea has revised standards for the construction of ships equipped with a clean energy drive system. Global shipbuilders are trying hard to develop efficient eco-friendly fuel-based vessels to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels after the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a U.N. maritime safety agency, adopted compulsory measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fr

April 5, 2023

Test service for China-S. Korea multimodal transport kick-started for non-stop cargo truck logistics service

SEOUL -- A multimodal transport service that would exempt cargo trucks from unloading and loading containers at docks was kick-started to see if the non-stop cargo logistics process can save time and manpower in international ecommerce parcel delivery processes between China and South Korea. Normally, when a cargo truck carrying a trailer box arrives at an international port, the cargo is unloaded and moved to a storage yard before it is loaded back onto a ship to head to overseas

April 4, 2023

S. Korean men experiences rapid aging 10 years earlier than American men due to muscle loss

SEOUL -- According to a report by InBody, a Seoul-based healthcare company, South Korean men experience rapid aging at the age of 35, about 10 years earlier than American men. The healthcare firm said the phenomenon is related to muscle loss caused by acquired factors such as smoking and a congenital reason. Data released by InBody showed that skeletal muscle mass in South Korean men decreases from the age of 35 while American males begin to lose at the age of 45. The report was cr

April 3, 2023

Baedal Minjok succeeds turning profit for first time in three years

SEOUL -- The operator of the food delivery service Baedal Minjok, Woowa Brothers, has succeeded in turning a profit for the first time in three years, thanks to dramatically increased demand for food delivery orders during the pandemic. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on March 31, Woowa Brothers' consolidated sales in 2022 were 2.9 trillion won ($2.2 billion), and the operating profit was 424.1 billion won. Sales increased by 47

March 31, 2023

S. Korea likely to lift quarantine regulations for isolation of COVID-19 patients in July

SEOUL -- South Korea is likely to take a step-by-step procedure to normalize the lives of people heavily suppressed by the pandemic and related regulations. The government will start by reducing the number of days required for compulsory quarantine isolation of COVID-19 patients to five days in May and completely remove the isolation procedure in July. It has been a long time since the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit South Korea in February 2023 and people had to go thro

March 30, 2023

​Eastern city to monitor forest fire accidents using safety drones

SEOUL -- Using safety drones, South Korea's eastern city of Wonju will monitor forest fire-related incidents. The remotely controlled flying robots will be mainly used in blind spots where humans are unable to reach. The drones can also broadcast prevention measures against unexpected accidents. Wonju said in a statement on March 29 that drones owned by members of a regional drone association will be used to carry out surveillance activities. The unmanned aerial vehicles will b

March 29, 2023