Number of S. Korean children aged less than 18 to go below 7 mln in 2024

SEOUL -- The pace of South Korea's depopulation driven by the low fertility rate is accelerating, with the number of children under the age of 18 expected to dip below seven million in 2024. The number of children has decreased by more than two million over the last decade. Recent data from South Korea's National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) reveals a projected 49.6 percent decrease in the population of young people aged 0 to 14 by 2040, dropping to approximately 3.18 mil

January 31, 2024

[INTERVIEW] Peruvian envoy aspires to upgrade bilateral relations with S. Korea through APEC events

SEOUL -- The bilateral relationship between South Korea and Peru, established in 1963, significantly advanced in 2011 when the two countries' Free Trade Agreement took effect. South Korea, which was Peru's 11th largest trade partner in 2010, climbed to the fifth position in 2021. Peru aims to expand cooperation with South Korea through Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, an economic forum currently chaired by Peru and slated for South Korea's leadership in 2024. Asia-Pa

January 31, 2024

Doosan Enerbility to establish carbon capture utilization and storage infrastructure in Thailand

SEOUL -- Doosan Enerbility, a key player in South Korea's power industry, has partnered with Thailand's state-run power producer to provide carbon capture utilization and storage technology for factories in the Southeast Asian country. The two sides will also carry out research projects related to low-carbon power generation technologies. Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) uses special equipment to collect carbon dioxide created after burning fossil fuels or bio

January 30, 2024

S. Korean luxury goods ecommerce platform Balaan achieves profit in 4Q 2023

SEOUL -- South Korean luxury goods ecommerce platform operator Balaan has seen its first quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of 2023, about eight years after the online luxury product shopping service was launched in 2015. Buoyed by the robust performance in the domestic market, the ecommerce platform operator is poised to expand into the global market. The three years of the COVID-19 pandemic provided a wide range of opportunities in South Korea's online luxury goods mar

January 30, 2024

About 30% of children's daycare centers to be closed in 2028 due to low birth rate: data

SEOUL -- About 30 percent of children's daycare centers and kindergartens in South Korea will be closed in 2028, due to low birth rate, data released by a private child care and education institute showed. Recent data from South Korea's National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) reveals a projected 49.6 percent decrease in the population of young people aged 0 to 14 by 2040, dropping to approximately 3.18 million from 6.32 million in 2020. This projection assumes that the fert

January 30, 2024

NewJeans to participate in Seoul's biannual fashion event as honorary ambassador

SEOUL -- Girl Band NewJeans will participate in South Korea's major fashion event "Seoul Fashion Week" as a global ambassador. The five-member band will promote the biannual event, featuring 21 South Korean brands, at its fashion show. The fashion event, organized by Seoul City, is scheduled for five days starting on February 1. A total of 68 fashion brands will engage in a trade exhibition where they can interact with 101 overseas buyers from 23 countries including

January 30, 2024

BLACKPINK's 'Pink Venom' surpasses 800 mln views on YouTube

SEOUL -- The music video for BLACKPINK's dance song "Pink Venom" has garnered more than 800 million views on YouTube, 527 days after its release on August 19, 2022. The song with hip-hop and electronic dance music features entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped the charts of major domestic online music streaming services in 2022. The music video had 801,064,451 views as of 5:39 p.m. (0839 GMT) on January 29. The number of music video views on YouTube surpass

January 29, 2024

N. Korea leader Kim Jong-un inspects test fire of submarine-launched cruise missile

SEOUL -- North Korean Kim Jong-un has personally inspected the test fire of a submarine-launched strategic cruise missile called "Pulhwasal-3-31." Pyongyang has previously fired the cruise missile with a codename meaning "fire arrow" in Korean, into the West Sea, also known as the Yellow Sea, on January 24. On January 25, North Korea's state news agency the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Pyongyang's Missile Administration conducted the

January 29, 2024

Exports of S. Korean processed rice products achieve record-high of $217 mln in 2023

SEOUL -- Data released by the agriculture ministry reveals that South Korean processed rice exports reached a record-high of $217.2 million in 2023. The surge in exports can be attributed to the global popularity of South Korean rice products, including instant cooked rice packs, rice cakes, frozen "Gimbab," Korean-style rice rolls filled with various ingredients such as vegetables and meat, wrapped in seaweed. This rise in popularity can be linked to the increased recog

January 29, 2024

Hanwha Systems leads development of S. Korea's homemade rotary-wing unmanned aircraft 

SEOUL -- Hanwha Systems, a key defense contractor affiliated with Hanwha Group, was selected to lead the development of an unmanned aerial vehicle that would be used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The homemade rotary-wing solution can be operated on land or naval vessels, especially in areas where constructing conventional runways is challenging. Rotary-wing aircraft operate through wings that constantly spin during flight. Using a camera featuring optical and infra

January 29, 2024