Changwon Seobu Police Station said Tuesday it arrested two suspects and booked one without detention for stealing goods and money worth tens of millions of won from automobiles at night.The suspects, who are friends, are accused of stealing about 5 million won ($4,670) from automobiles that were not locked inside an apartment parking lot in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province on Dec. 9, 2017.They had allegedly stolen articles and money worth 17 million won in the same way since the end of 2017.(

Social Affairs April 10, 2018

Five teenagers have been apprehended for counterfeiting 100,000 won checks.Yeongdo Police Station in Busan said Tuesday that it arrested two teenagers and booked three teenagers without detention for violating the Illegal Check Control Act.(Yonhap)The suspects are accused of forging more than one hundred 100,000 won checks, or over 10 million won ($9,350) in total, via color printers on March 22 at a motel in Yeongdo-gu where they were staying together.They used 1.6 million won to purchase a use

Social Affairs April 10, 2018

The National Fire Agency has chosen a special balcony as the product of the new fire equipment contest. It can be transformed into a staircase for evacuation in case of fire.The balcony was introduced during the “The 21st New Fire Product Convention.” Whenever there is a need for a fire emergency evacuation, this balcony can be unfolded to provide a staircase for downstairs.Judges of the convention highly rated the balcony due to its effectiveness as an evacuation method, differentiation from th

Social Affairs April 9, 2018

A Marine Corps officer was found dead 19 days after he went missing in Pohang, South Gyeongsang Province.The body of the officer was seen drifting toward the shore in Ipam-ri, Nam-gu, on Sunday morning, according to the First Marine Division. The Marine Corps will carry out an autopsy to discover the cause of death.(Yonhap)The major went missing on March 21 on Ipam-ri beach. His vehicle was found to have fallen and turned over 4 meters under a nearby parking lot. The bloodstains inside the vehic

Social Affairs April 9, 2018

A kindergarten teacher has been sentenced to a prison term on the charge of habitual child abuse on her three-year-old students.The Incheon District Court handed down a six-month imprisonment term suspended for two years to the kindergarten teacher indicted for violating the Act on Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes. The court also ordered a 40-hour prevention course on child abuse to the suspect.The suspect was accused of repeatedly abusing three-year-old kids at the kindergarten located in Yeons

Social Affairs April 8, 2018

The barbershop has been slowly fading into a place of the past, only rarely shown on TV as a symbol of the bygone era. But there are signs of it being reborn into a hip place for Korean men.(Shot and edited by Park Ju-young / The Korea Herald)The revival of the barbershop is being driven by a set of carefully redefined features and services reserved for male clients. One factor is a pressure-free interaction atmosphere between customers and barbers. “Older barbers in our parents’ time even knew

Culture April 6, 2018

A man estimated to be in his 60s died after being hit by a Mugunghwa train traveling from Busan to Seoul inside a tunnel in Dong-gu, Daejeon, on Thursday at 10:26 a.m.  (123RF)Due to the accident, the train service was delayed for 40 minutes.While seeking to identify the man’s body, police are investigating the railroad engineer to obtain a more detailed account.By Ahn Sang-yool (koolsangon@heraldcorp.com)

Social Affairs April 5, 2018

A recent poll showed that people with office jobs in Korea spend over an average 1.5 million won ($1,400) every year on cash gifts for special occasions.Monthly expenses on cash gifts was 129,000 won on average, coming to 1.55 million won per year, according to the research conducted by JobKorea on 819 office workers.Male respondents spent 142,000 won a month, 20,000 won more than female respondents at 122,000 won. Meanwhile, the average expense for married office workers at 141,000 won exceeded

Social Affairs April 5, 2018

Tongyeong Korea Coast Guard on Wednesday booked three men without detention for scuba diving at night without safety gear.They are accused of scuba diving without wearing life jackets near a breakwater and a dock in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, from 11:30 p.m. to 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.(Yonhap)Scuba diving is prohibited from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before dawn, according to the South Korean underwater activity law.The suspects reportedly scuba dived with a dive light. Police are i

Social Affairs April 4, 2018

To combat the fine and yellow dust sweeping the country, it is advised to wear a mask from and above KF80.Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment conducted dust collection efficiency tests, which evaluates the level of fine dust prevention, on 39 prevention masks and 11 regular masks from February to May in 2017 to test out the efficacy of masks. It announced Wednesday that prevention masks KF80 blocks 86.1 percent of fine dust on average while KF94 blocks 95.7 percent and KF99

Social Affairs April 4, 2018

Seoul City is set to host the fifth Korean “space-out” competition on April 22 along the Han River.The event seeks to find those who can stay zoned out for the longest time. According to the organizers, the competition aims to highlight the value of doing nothing as opposed to busy city life. It promotes a stress-free life without overloading on information and electronic devices.The fourth edition of the competition was held in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, last year. Similar events have also been held a

Social Affairs April 3, 2018

Korean actor Lee Joon will continue his military duty as a public service worker.Lee’s agency Prain TPC said Friday, “Lee Joon was transferred to reservist status as of March 23. He will resume his military duty as a public service worker.”Enlisted in October 2017, Lee Joon has been undergoing medical treatments due to panic disorder that he has suffered since prior to joining the army. However, as his conditions did not improve, he was examinated in the military and was ruled ineligible to serv

Television March 30, 2018

(K-MOOC website)The Ministry of Education announced Thursday that it will widen the scope of its Korean Massive Open Online Course service to provide up to 500 free lectures.K-MOOC is a free web-based course service that offers lectures from universities via e-learning technology. It provided 140 courses from domestic leading universities in 2016 and aims to nearly triple that number to 500 in 2018.K-MOOC has doubled in the number of students participating with interactive learning opportunities

Social Affairs March 29, 2018

Some South Korean office workers have raised concerns over outdoor activities related to the workplace amid the fine dust sweeping the country.As the weather grows warmer, outdoor corporate activities are becoming more common. Some workers are required to take part in such outdoor events despite health concerns linked to fine dust. (Yonhap)An employee at a public enterprise told a local media outlet that he had to go fishing with his boss on Sunday even though there was an “unhealthy” level of f

Social Affairs March 27, 2018

Visiting the United Arab Emirates with President Moon Jae-in, South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook gave out CDs signed by Korean boy band BTS to students learning Korean at the King Sejong Institute in Abu Dhabi.The first lady met with students from King Sejong Institute at a “souq,” or traditional market, where the students had prepared a cup of freshly brewed coffee for her.When Kim asked how they could speak Korean so well, a student answered, “Female Arab students especially like the langua

Social Affairs March 26, 2018