The number of farming households in South Korea fell below 1 million for the first time last year, while over half of the country's farming population was aged 65 or older, latest data showed Thursday. According to Statistics Korea, there were an estimated 999,000 farming households as of Dec. 1, a decrease of 24,000, or 2.3 percent, compared with 2022. This is the first time since the survey began in 1949 that the number has dipped below 1 million. However, Statistics Korea cautioned that

Social Affairs April 18, 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would deal sternly with a festival planned for this weekend featuring Japanese adult film stars, including cutting off electricity to the venue. The warning message came after the city formally issued a ban Sunday on the adult industry exposition advertised as “2024 KXF The Fashion,” organized by Play Joker and to be held on the Han River. The city government also sent a formal letter to the operator of the venue, Us Cruise, located at Jamwon

Social Affairs April 16, 2024

A Seoul police officer in his 20s is accused of stealing money from a lost wallet, according to the Seoul Seodaemun Station on Monday. The officer is alleged to have pocketed 200,000 won ($145) from a lost wallet that had contained 203,000 won, in December last year. The officer documented the wallet as only having 3,000 won in a lost property report. He has been referred to prosecutors on charges of embezzlement in the line of duty. The police officer’s alleged crime came to light when th

Social Affairs April 15, 2024

This year’s spikes in apple prices have prompted South Korean officials to explore long-term strategies to stabilize fruit harvests. While the latest price trends are influenced by various factors, including short-term weather events, officials are concerned about a troubling underlying trend: Declining harvests due to shrinking cultivation areas in the country attributed to climate change, a decreasing and aging farming population, among other reasons. Data released Thursday by the Korea

Consumer April 11, 2024

A few years ago, Julia Bellaflores' life started to fall apart. Bellaflores, a teacher in Texas, had been doing her classes online during the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked to return to the classroom in person, she decided not to, out of concern for her mother, whom she lived with at the time, but who has now passed away. Bellaflores was too concerned about the health risks her return to the school could pose to her ailing mother. Her teaching license was suspended. On top of that, her hus

Hashtag Korea April 10, 2024

Wednesday’s general election was to pick the 300 members for the next four-year session of the National Assembly, but voters who spoke with The Korea Herald said their ballots extend beyond the next parliament, embodying their hopes and expectations for Korean politics as a whole, with President Yoon Suk Yeol included. Here are their voices. ‘It's all a mess’ says 87-year-old voter leaning on cane Cherry blossoms had burst into full bloom just outside a Hangangno-dong

Politics April 10, 2024

South Korea has the highest percentage of "skinny fat” women in their 20s out of 17 countries surveyed, according to a report. According to InBody, a South Korean maker of body composition analyzers, a person is described as "skinny fat" when they have a low body weight but are high in their body fat percentage and low in their muscle mass. Data collected between January 2018 and December 2022 showed 15.8 percent of South Korean women in their 20s fall within this category

Social Affairs April 4, 2024

Fu Bao, a giant panda that enjoyed rock star status in South Korea, returned to China on Wednesday, according to officials at the Everland zoo. The female panda, born in 2020 to a panda pair China loaned to Korea in 2016, was the first cub born in Korea through natural breeding. According to officials at Everland, located in Yongin Gyeonggi Province, the giant panda departed Panda World, its home for the past 1,354 days in Everland as well as in Korea, after a special 20-minute farewell event he

Culture April 3, 2024

Are you considering raising a pit bull terrier? Then you will soon need to get approval from the local authorities, according to a government plan unveiled Wednesday. Starting April 27, government approval will be required to own certain dog breeds considered dangerous under the Animal Protection Act, which specifies five dangerous breeds including tosa inu, pit bull terriers and rottweilers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. The decision comes in response to a s

Social Affairs April 3, 2024

As seen on popular YouTube channels featuring happy couples as well as heartwarming drama series like "Eye Love You," Korean men and Japanese women are increasingly finding love. In 2023, there were 840 marriages registered here between Korean men and Japanese women, marking a 40.1 percent surge from the 599 recorded in 2022, according to Statistics Korea. While such marriages still only constitute a small portion of the total number of marriages of Korean nationals to a spouse of fo

Social Affairs March 26, 2024

"Your face looks good." When Justin Ku first heard this remark from one of his relatives here, he took it as a compliment. He later discovered that the phrase is more often used by Koreans to point out when you've gained weight. "I was shocked by how casually they said it," said Ku, 34, who had emigrated to the US when he was young and moved back to Korea as an adult. Ku is not alone in his surprise at the prevalence of body-shaming embedded in the fatphobic social atmosphere

Hashtag Korea March 24, 2024

Even in Seoul, teeming with so many busy people, Baek Yo-sun stands out for striving to live in two seemingly contrasting worlds. By day, she's a human resources and post-investment management consultant at a venture capital firm dedicated to nurturing local startups. When the sun sets or weekend begins, she shifts gears to transform into an actor, breathing life into diverse characters. Striking a balance between her two lives has not been easy. She acknowledges that there may not be a p

Hashtag Korea March 21, 2024

In neighborhood public spaces such as subway stations, it's not uncommon to witness individuals engaging in suspicious exchanges like in a spy film, often starting their exchange with a question that includes the Korean term, “danggeun.” “Hoksi danggeun?” one might inquire to initiate the exchange, which literally translates to, “Carrots, by any chance?” But while the word “danggeun” means carrot or carrots in English, these furtive traders

Hashtag Korea March 19, 2024

Listeners of Korean pop music from around two decades ago will find many of the songs on today's popular music charts familiar, as remake songs continue to gain popularity. On Melon, the largest Korean music streaming platform, Lim Jae-hyun's "Rhapsody of Sadness" and boy band Riize's "Love 119" have secured spots on the Top 10 popular music chart as of Tuesday. The two tracks are remakes of the originals: "Rhapsody of Sadness" by singer Choi Jae-ho

K-pop March 19, 2024

Braille maps of Odaesan National Park, located in Gangwon Province, are now available, the Korea National Park Service announced Monday. The release marks the first of a planned series covering all 23 national parks designed to assist both people with low vision and those who are blind. Developed in collaboration between the parks administration body and the National Geographic Information Institute, the maps, including the inaugural edition for Odaesan, will be distributed to centers and school

Social Affairs March 18, 2024