S. Korea records highest level of tourism deficit in 1H 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea's tourism deficit for the first half of 2023 has reached the highest level in five years, data released by the main state tourism promotion body showed. The domestic tourism industry now focuses on whether the tourism balance will improve when Chinese group tourists return to South Korea. China imposed a ban on travelers to South Korea as part of retaliatory steps over the installment of an Advanced American missile shield system in 2017. About eight million

August 14, 2023

Lioness escaped from private farm in southeastern county killed by hunters

SEOUL -- The great escape by a 20-year-old lioness that escaped from a private farm to a nearby mountain in Goryeong County some 230 kilometers (142 miles) southeast of Seoul came to a climax after a team of hunters tracked down the large feline and killed it. Predatory animals escaping from a private meat farm or zoo is not very rare in South Korea where anyone with the right documents could set up a small-sized zoo or a facility that displays live predatory animals. It is because p

August 14, 2023

Voices rise over swift disciplining of family minister Kim Hyun-sook for Jamboree fiasco

SEOUL -- With only a day left of the official schedule of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, voices are rising in the political sector over the swift action that must be taken to hold people accountable for the fiasco that took place at the international Scouting event. Kim Hyun-sook, the family minister, is likely to be the first person who would have her head put on the political guillotine. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was appointed as South Korea's main governing body

August 11, 2023

World Scout Jamboree to close with K-pop concert at Seoul's iconic football stadium

SEOUL -- A total of 16 K-pop bands including girl groups NewJeans and IVE, and three solo artists will wrap up the 25th World Scout Jamboree at Seoul's iconic football stadium with a total capacity of 66,704. About 1,100 buses will carry some 40,000 Jamboree participants to the stadium built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The global Scouting event started in Saemangeum, a reclaimed land area some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of the capital city, on August 1. The event was ori

August 11, 2023

S. Korean administrative sectors work with embassies to support Jamboree participants

SEOUL -- Provincial governments are closely working with foreign embassies to provide the best K-experience for Scouts and Girl Guides who had to evacuate from the 25th World Scout Jamboree campsite earlier than their schedules because of Typhoon Khanun. On August 7, the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), the main international Scouting organization, decided to pull participants out from the Saemangeum area six days after the World Scouting event was kicked off due to T

August 10, 2023

Seoul cancels outdoor activities for Jamboree participants due to Typhoon

SEOUL -- Due to Typhoon Khanun, Seoul City has canceled all outdoor activities that were scheduled for some 3,200 Jamboree Scouts and Girl Guides who moved to South Korea's capital city from their original Jamboree campsite to take shelter from strong winds and torrential rain. Instead, the capital city will operate various indoor programs. The 25th World Scout Jamboree was kicked off in Saemangeum, a reclaimed land area some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Seoul, on August 1

August 10, 2023

About 30% of S. Koreans suffer from mental illness at least once during lifetime

SEOUL -- About 30 percent of South Koreans suffer from a mental illness at least once during their life, research data released by the state-operated mental healthcare showed. Of those who suffered from a mental disease, only about 12 percent sought a professional diagnosis from a doctor. From ancient times in Korea, mentally ill people bore the image of untreatable people who should be kept hidden away from society. Before modern Western medicine-based medical systems were adopted ab

August 9, 2023

S. Korea unveils plan to secure 500,000 Korean language learners by 2027

SEOUL -- South Korea's culture ministry revealed its plan to secure about 500,000 Korean language learners by 2027 through Korean language institutes in foreign countries. As of 2022, the education group called the "King Sejong Institute" had about 147,000 students. Currently, the country is running 248 language centers in 85 countries and the culture ministry aims to increase the number of institutes to up to 350. The King Sejong Institute was launched in 2007 to po

August 8, 2023

Jamboree participants to be distributed to eight cities and provinces to take shelter from typhoon

SEOUL -- Some 37,000 Jamboree participants started their migration to eight cities and provinces including Seoul and its surrounding cities in an effort to take shelter from extreme weather including heat waves and a powerful typhoon that is about the hit the southern parts of South Korea on August 10 and move northward. The evacuation of Scouts and Girl Guides from 156 countries was announced on August 7 after the South Korean government told the World Organization of the Scout Moveme

August 8, 2023

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

SEOUL -- To help foreigners accurately communicate with subway employees, Seoul will develop an artificial intelligence-based translation service that can simultaneously interpret languages. A terminal with a voice recognition function will immediately translate when the two people talk to each other using their own language. The system will provide more than 12 languages including English, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish. According to data released by Seoul Metro, the subway operat

August 8, 2023