More South Koreans are consuming canned food and smoking, but are also opting to go makeup-free, according to a state-led survey released Sunday. According to the National Institute of Environmental Research's three-year biomonitoring survey of 6,608 Koreans from 2021-2023, 4.2 percent of adults aged over 19 reported consuming canned products, including food and beverages, more than four times a week. This marks an increase of 0.5 percentage points from 3.7 percent in the previous survey

Social Affairs July 7, 2024

5TH GBF WRAPS UP Herald Corp. Chairman Jung Won-ju (fourth from left in second row) and CEO Choi Jin-young (fifth from left in third row) pose with participants of the 5th Global Biz Forum at its closing ceremony held at the Mondrian Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. The forum, organized and hosted by The Korea Herald twice yearly, convened weekly for 13 weeks from March 20 to July 3. The next edition is scheduled to commence in September, continuing as a venue for knowledge-sharing amon

People July 4, 2024

Approximately 2,500 Koreans, mostly elderly people, received more than 365 outpatient treatments a year over the past few years, data showed Thursday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare data, obtained by the minor Rebuilding Korea Party Rep. Kim Sun-min, revealed that the number of patients who made more than 365 outpatient visits a year was 2,561 in 2021, 2,488 in 2022 and 2,448 in 2023. In each of these years, more than half of them were aged 70 or older. In 2023, for example, the highest nu

Social Affairs July 4, 2024

Jollibee Foods Corp. -- a multinational restaurant company based in the Philippines and owner of the country's largest fast food chain Jollibee -- will acquire a 70-percent stake in South Korean coffee chain Compose Coffee for $238 million, as part of its global expansion of coffee and tea businesses, the Manila-based firm said Wednesday. As per the company’s statement, 70 percent of the Korean coffee brand is to be acquired by Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd, while Jollibee Foods' m

Companies July 3, 2024

How delicate is the line when deciding to expose someone else's extramarital affair? A recent post on local online discussion forum website Nate Pann titled, "Should I ignore the affairs of my neighbor?" sparked a heated debate on this hot-button issue. The anonymous author of the post, who identified themselves as a person living next door to a newlywed couple, reported witnessing the husband bringing different women into his house frequently. "The wife does shift work ear

Hashtag Korea July 2, 2024

In South Korean society's contemporary lexicon, the neologism "financial treatment" posits that the mere act of monetary gain serves as a kind of therapy or cure for all manner of psychological and physical ailments. The term, especially popular among Korea's younger workers, points to a deep-seated belief -- amid the country's mixed capitalist economy with its minimal social safety net -- in accumulating money as one's primary focus, rather than as a mere bypro

Hashtag Korea June 30, 2024

US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump, in their first televised debate on Thursday night, exchanged barbs on a number of topics, among them South Korea, Samsung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. During the highly anticipated faceoff, Biden invoked “South Korea” while locking horns over defense policy with Trump, to underscore the United States' role as a military supporter and its success in rallying international aid: “I’ve got 50 other nati

Foreign Affairs June 28, 2024

Picture this: Exchanging vows at the National Museum of Korea or the National Library of Korea. Or perhaps, saying "I do" surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of Seoraksan National Park. South Korean government announced Friday a plan to make these public venues available for weddings in the latter half of 2024. The cost? As little as free. In a move aimed at alleviating the financial burden on couples planning their wedding, the Cabinet on Wedensday endorsed this measure, adding 48

Social Affairs June 28, 2024

Jeju police have launched a crackdown on minor offenses, including jaywalking, littering, smoking on cigarette-free streets and public urination in response to recent complaints from locals over unruly sights involving tourists, officials said Thursday. Within the first hour of Tuesday's crackdown, which lasted around one and a half hours, the police caught nine law violators, the majority of whom were foreign tourists jaywalking. All nine violators were issued on-site fines that were requi

Social Affairs June 27, 2024

Do you find that kids today seem to lack patience and throw tantrums more often? A team of Korean psychiatrists point to YouTube as a potential culprit in their recently published study. Professor Shin Yun-mi and researchers at Ajou University studied 195 children aged 5 to 8 for 3 years between 2018 and 2021, measuring their temperament, YouTube usage patterns, and emotional and behavioral problems. Their findings suggest frequent YouTube use negatively impacts children’s temperament, a

Social Affairs June 26, 2024

A transgender soldier, who died by suicide in 2021 following a forcible discharge from the Army, has been laid to rest at a national cemetery in Daejeon this week, but dissenting voices questioning the appropriateness of her burial there persist. The burial of Byun Hee-soo at the cemetery on Monday followed the Defense Ministry’s decision in April to recognize her death as occurring in the line of duty. The ministry said her depression was linked to her forced discharge following her gen

Social Affairs June 25, 2024

A South Korean conscript was found dead Sunday at a military base in Gyeonggi Province, marking the third military death in just two months this year, raising concerns about the recurring issue of fatalities among enlisted personnel in the Korean military. According to military authorities, the deceased soldier, a private first class -- the Army's second-lowest rank for conscripts -- in his 20s was found at around 5:00 a.m. Sunday when he was supposed to be on sentry duty. He had been sta

Social Affairs June 24, 2024

By the end of this century, South Korea will have summers lasting nearly half the year if greenhouse gas emissions continue at current levels, according to the worst-case climate change scenario. According to the highest baseline scenario for Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP5-8.5) future climate change scenarios presented on the Korea Meteorological Administration's official webpage, Korea will experience an average of 169 summer days in the 30-year period that starts May 2081 and ends

Social Affairs June 23, 2024

The recent recall of several Buldak ramyeon products in Denmark for being too spicy has unexpectedly turned into a marketing win for the company, shown by a surge in Google searches for the products, data showed Sunday. According to Google Trends data, worldwide searches for Buldak ramyeon -- popularized over the past decade as "Korean fire noodles" on the internet -- reached a peak on June 12, following news of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration's decision to recal

Social Affairs June 23, 2024

Eating and travel shows are a big hit among Koreans on YouTube, with "mukbang" YouTuber Tzuyang being the most popular, followed by travel YouTuber Kawktube, a survey showed Thursday. In a poll conducted by Gallup Korea from March to April, involving 1,777 respondents aged 13 and older, Tzuyang topped the list with 5.2 percent choosing her as their favorite YouTuber. Kwaktube of the eponymous travel YouTube channel secured second place with 4 percent. All YouTubers in the top five of t

Social Affairs June 22, 2024