Spending on private tutoring breaks record again

SEOUL -- South Korean families are shelling out more than ever for private tutoring, with costs exceeding 27 trillion won ($20.5 billion) in 2023. This marks a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year and the third consecutive year of record-breaking spending. High school students are the main drivers of this growth, according to the Ministry of Education and Statistics Korea. Their private education costs surged by 8.2 percent. The high cost of private education is a majo

March 14, 2024

Seoul to expand AI-based translation service for foreign subway passengers

SEOUL -- Seoul's subway operator will expand its artificial intelligence-based translation service that can help non-Korean-speaking foreigners communicate with subway workers. The real-time translation service uses a transparent organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display which shows spoken words translated and converted into text. The AI-based service that provides 13 languages including English, Chinese, and Japanese, will be installed at 11 stations in the capital city.

March 14, 2024

Brazilian aircraft company Embraer kickstarts student incubation program in North Gyeongsang Province

SEOUL -- Brazilian aircraft company Embraer has launched a student incubation program in North Gyeongsang Province, aiming to nurture aspiring aircraft engineers and aviation specialists. The world's third-largest commercial aircraft maker became South Korea's crucial partner in December 2023 when South Korea's defense ministry selected Embraer's C-390, a large-sized plane, as the country's next-generation military cargo flyer. C-390's maximum distributed p

March 12, 2024

S. Korea sees record 40% surge in fruit prices

SEOUL -- South Korea witnessed a historic surge in fruit prices in February 2024, with an inflation rate of 40.6 percent. This unprecedented increase marks the highest recorded since 1991, when the country began officially archiving fruit price inflation data. According to the national statistical information service, the inflation rate for apple prices in February stood at 71.6 percent, attributed to dwindling production caused by adverse weather conditions. Purchasing an apple n

March 12, 2024

K-culture fans become younger

SEOUL -- Thanks to increased global recognition of South Korean culture including K-pop and Korean food, South Korea has become a popular tourist destination. Among some 11 million foreign travelers who visited the country in 2023, 35.6 percent were aged 30 or younger. Data released by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) showed that 3.93 million out of the 11.03 million foreign tourists in 2023 were aged 30 or below. Of them, tourists aged between 21 and 30 accounted for 25.3 per

March 11, 2024

India's foreign affairs minister visits Seoul for economic cooperation

SEOUL -- Through a joint committee in Seoul, India's foreign affairs minister reached a consensus with his South Korean counterpart to upgrade economic cooperation in defense, supply chains, technology, and infrastructure. This was the first dialogue in six years since the joint committee meeting held in New Delhi in December 2018. South Korea's foreign affairs ministry said India's external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended the joint committee meeting

March 8, 2024

Number of accumulated pet insurance contracts increases by 51.7% on-year in 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea witnessed a remarkable surge of over 50 percent in the number of total pet insurance contracts in 2023. This increase can be attributed to the growing recognition of pets as cherished companions or even family members in a country where one out of four households owns a pet During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pets adopted by new families surged significantly. People sought comfort and companionship from animals as they faced isolation due to strict so

March 6, 2024

S. Korea to utilize Deepfake content detection software in criminal investigations

SEOUL -- South Korea will deploy specialized software designed to detect whether video clips or image files have been manipulated using Deepfake techniques in crime investigations. This announcement comes about a month before South Korea's general election scheduled for April 10. Deepfake technology, driven by artificial intelligence, enables the alteration of videos or images by replacing the face of a person in the original content with that of another individual. This face-

March 5, 2024

Asan Medical Center ranks 22nd in global hospital ranking

SEOUL --Seoul-based Asan Medical Center has been recognized by American weekly news magazine Newsweek as the top 22nd hospital out of a pool of approximately 2,400 hospitals worldwide. Asan Medical Center achieved the highest ranking among 17 South Korean hospitals included on the prestigious list of the world's top 250 hospitals. Along with global market analyst firm Statista, Newsweek determined the global ranking based on online surveys of 85,000 medical experts in 30 count

March 5, 2024

Number of S. Korean men choosing childcare over careers increases 37 percent on-year: data

SEOUL -- Recent data from the national statistical information service revealed a significant uptick in South Korean men prioritizing childcare over their careers. This trend marks a notable shift in a traditionally conservative society, where societal biases often discourage men from assuming primary childcare responsibilities. In South Korea, deeply influenced by Confucian values, men traditionally bear responsibility for matters outside the home, such as providing for the famil

February 21, 2024