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  Guryong becomes no-man's land. What of those who called it home? SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - A shantytown, others may call it. For those who stayed as their neighbors moved away, Guryong Village was home — a place where lives had taken root, however fragile the walls around them. By dawn Wednesday, fire had consumed swaths of the settlement tucked into Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district. It took nearly 13 hours to put out the flames. What would become of the lives they had uprooted was far less certain. One man in his 70s had been a October 28, 2026
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  Families return to a quiet Itaewon alley with unanswered questions SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - Tucked between the European-style cafes and bars of Itaewon, the alley remains in shadow even in daylight. About four meters wide and 40 meters long, it usually draws little more than passing foot traffic. On Wednesday, people came to linger. A day before the fourth anniversary of South Korea’s deadliest crowd crush, bereaved families and other visitors returned to the narrow passage in Seoul’s nightlife district to r October 28, 2026
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  Births rise for 26th month but population keeps shrinking SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - The number of babies born in South Korea continued to rise in August, extending its upward trend for more than two years. According to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Wednesday, the number of newborns in August stood at 23,703, up 2,720 or 13 percent, from a year earlier and the highest figure for the month since 2019, marking the 26th consecutive month of increase since July 2024. The total fertility rate, which gauges t October 28, 2026
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  South Korea's rice output to hit six-year low as prices hold firm SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - South Korea's rice production is expected to fall to its lowest level in six years in 2026, with harvest-season prices projected to remain steady or rise slightly from a year earlier despite weaker consumer demand. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) on Wednesday, average farmgate rice prices during the October-December harvest season are expected to remain at or slightly above last year's level of 57,735 won per 20 kilograms. October 28, 2026
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  Korea's hacking spreads to brokerages and crypto SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - Data-leak reports have become more or less a daily affair in South Korea this month with a brokerage, an asset manager and a cryptocurrency exchange becoming the latest to join a growing list of financial businesses hit by cyberattacks. Daishin Securities said Wednesday that personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers had been leaked. Mirae Asset Asset Management was also reported to have suffered a hacking incident, with authorities asses October 28, 2026
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  Fire at Seoul's last shantytown extinguished after 13 hours, no casualties SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) -It took nearly 13 hours to fully extinguish a fire that swept through Guryong Village, a sprawling shantytown tucked away in the affluent Gangnam district of southern Seoul, leaving more than 100 residents displaced and one person injured. Fire authorities declared the blaze fully extinguished at 4:39 a.m. Wednesday, 12 hours and 49 minutes after it broke out in a makeshift structure in District 2 of the village at around 3:50 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters October 28, 2026
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  Fire spreads through Seoul's Guryong Village, no casualties yet SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - A fire that broke out in Guryong Village, dubbed as the last shantytown in the affluent part of southern Seoul, spread to a nearby hillside as of Tuesday evening, prompting a Level 2 emergency response and traffic restrictions ahead of the evening rush hour. The fire started in District 2 at around 3:50 p.m. and rapidly spread to District 1 until changing winds pushed the flames southward toward Districts 3, 5 and 7, fire authorities s October 27, 2026
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  Memorial event to mark 4th anniversary of Itaewon stampede this week SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - A memorial service marking the fourth anniversary of the 2022 Itaewon stampede will be held in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul later this week, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Tuesday. Jointly organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the association of victims' families and civic groups supporting them, the event is scheduled to begin at 10:29 a.m. on Thursday in remembrance of the deadly disaster in which about 160 people were killed October 27, 2026
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  Monthly wage tops $2,200 for half of Korean earners SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) —More than half of South Korean wage earners earned at least 3 million won ($2,260) a month in the first half of 2026, while the share earning at least 5 million won reached a record high for the period, government data showed Tuesday. Of the country’s 22.37 million wage workers as of April, 51.9 percent earned 3 million won or more per month, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Workers earning between 3 million won and 4 millio October 27, 2026