Breakfast habits change in South Korea as more young adults skip morning meals SEOUL, October 05 (AJP) - Breakfast is falling out of favor in South Korea, especially among young adults, according to new government data showing a steady rise in people skipping their morning meal. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Sunday in its 2024 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey released on October 5, 2025, that 35.3 percent of Koreans aged one and older did not eat breakfast regularly last year. That means more than one in three people are now going without breakfast. The rate has been climbing every year for the past decade, up from 26.2 percent in 2015 to 35.3 percent in 2024, a rise of 9.1 percentage points. Skipping breakfast is most common among people in their 20s. The survey found 62.1 percent of South Koreans in that age group skip breakfast, and among women, the figure rises to 67.5 percent — roughly two out of three. The rate drops with age: 46.8 percent in their 30s, 39.1 percent in their 40s, 35.5 percent in their teens, and 25.3 percent in their 50s. Only 4.9 percent of those aged 70 and older said they skip breakfast. For comparison, U.S. data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that about 15.6 percent of American adults skipped breakfast between 2015 and 2018. Among children and teenagers aged 2 to 19, roughly 17 percent went without breakfast between 2017 and early 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Medical researchers have warned that skipping breakfast may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic problems. A study by Samsung Medical Center found that people who skipped breakfast had higher risks of heart and metabolic diseases than those who ate three regular meals a day. The research also showed that breakfast skippers had higher levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood sugar, and blood pressure than people who did not skip meals. 2025-10-05 10:48:51

PHOTOS: Parade marks National Foundation Day SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - On Oct. 3, Kukhakwon members held a commemorative parade from Anguk-dong Rotary to Jonggak in Seoul’s Jongno District, followed by a ceremony to mark National Foundation Day. The holiday, known as “the day the sky opened,” commemorates the founding of Gojoseon, the first Korean state established by Dangun Wanggeom, and celebrates the beginning of Korean history. 2025-10-03 17:12:07

President Lee urges humanitarian progress on divided families SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung said on October 3 that communication among divided families must move forward and pledged to ask North Korea to treat the matter on humanitarian grounds. Lee invited eight displaced people to the Peace Observatory in Ganghwa, Incheon, on the first day of the Chuseok holiday. He told them decades of separation between relatives were the result of political failures and vowed to work toward improving inter-Korean relations. "Earlier, I saw geese flying freely in a line across the river. Animals can move back and forth without restriction, but people draw lines and point guns at each other if they cross," Lee said. "It is heartbreaking that this has been our reality for so many decades." He noted that tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang have now cut off nearly all contact. "There was a time when families could be reunited and exchange messages, but now even that is gone. I feel remorse that this situation is due to shortcomings in politics, including my own," he said. Lee said he hoped hostility would ease so families could at least learn whether relatives are still alive. "Time is not unlimited. I will do everything possible to improve relations so that the day when families can hear news from their loved ones and meet again comes sooner," he added. During the meeting, participants shared personal requests. One said, "If I have the chance, I want to visit my hometown." Another asked, "I hope the president can help us find out whether our relatives are alive." Others pleaded for even the ability to exchange letters. Lee responded that humanitarian concerns should not be blocked by political or military confrontation. "Even if we compete or clash in other areas, confirming whether divided families are alive and allowing at least the exchange of letters is the responsibility of politics on both sides," he said. He added that relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are "completely cut off and in very poor condition" and remarked that he would ask the North to consider the issue from a humanitarian perspective. The issue of divided families has remained one of the most enduring humanitarian wounds on the Korean Peninsula. Since the 1953 armistice formalized the division, many families have never learned the fate of relatives across the border. More than 70 years later, most of those separated by the war are elderly or have died, and opportunities for reunions grow more limited. According to a government survey, as of 2024, around 134,160 people had registered with the Unification Ministry as separated family members for possible reunions. But only about 37,806 of them remain alive, and more than 66 percent are aged 80 or older. In 2021, the Unification Ministry reported that among 47,004 applicants still alive, the majority were aged 80 or older. Advocates warn the clock is running out. Many registered separated family members have passed away without seeing or hearing from their loved ones in the North. The cessation of exchanges—both official and private—has left many families in limbo. 2025-10-03 15:11:27

Korean automakers turn out sales growth despite US tariffs SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - South Korea’s five major automakers posted a 5.4 percent increase in sales in September from a year earlier, overcoming stronger U.S. tariffs and partial union strikes at home. The companies shipped 683,150 vehicles last month, up 5.4 percent from a year ago, according to disclosures.Hyundai Motor sold 66,001 units domestically, up 18.3 percent, and 306,297 units overseas, up 6.4 percent, buoyed by robust performance of its key brands. “Our flagships did well globally, helping to keep up growth,” a Hyundai spokesman said. Kia sold 49,001 units at home, up 28.5 percent, and 218,782 units overseas, up 3.7 percent, led by demand for clean-fuel vehicles. A Kia spokesman said the jump in domestic sales reflected a base effect, as last year’s Chuseok holiday fell in September, along with record third-quarter sales of SUV hybrids and EV models. KG Mobility sold 4,100 units domestically and 6,536 units overseas, surging 39.3 percent thanks to rising demand for eco-friendly vehicles. The company reported its best monthly sales, powered by exports of its Musso EV and Torres EVX fleet. Renault Korea sold 4,182 units domestically and 4,528 overseas. Overseas sales rose 25.2 percent, offsetting a 16.5 percent drop at home. Strike-hit GM Korea sold 1,231 units domestically and 22,492 overseas, down 39.1 percent from last year. Domestic sales plunged 37.1 percent and overseas sales fell 39.2 percent. But compared with the previous month, domestic sales inched up 2.0 percent while overseas sales gained 13.3 percent. “Global demand for GM’s strategic models, including the Chevrolet Trax Crossover and Trailblazer, remains strong,” said Gustavo Colosi, GM Korea’s vice president of sales, service, and marketing. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-10-03 15:00:08

LG Energy Solution to resume US trips one month after detention of S. Korean workers SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - LG Energy Solution is sending staff back to the United States, ending a one-month freeze on business travel triggered by the mass detention of South Korean workers at its joint battery plant in Georgia. The move signals a step toward normalizing operations for South Korea’s battery industry, which had been rattled by the unprecedented crackdown. The company announced on October 2 that it would restart trips gradually after the Chuseok holiday, South Korea's autumn thanksgiving holiday season, beginning with essential personnel. Travel had been suspended since September 4, when U.S. immigration authorities detained 47 LG Energy Solution employees and more than 250 partner company staff at the HL-GA plant it is building with Hyundai Motor in Bryan County, Georgia. The detentions caused immediate delays at the site and heightened concerns among South Korean firms about legal exposure for workers on short-term assignments. LG Energy Solution said the decision followed discussions in a bilateral working group, where it confirmed that workers with B-1 short-term business visas and ESTA travel authorizations can legally carry out equipment installation, inspection, and maintenance work in U.S. factories. "It was also taken into account that we had been using legitimate visas consistent with the purpose and duration of the trips," the company said. The firm has introduced safeguards aimed at preventing further incidents. Business travel will be organized mainly around B-1 visas, while ESTA authorizations will only be used for meetings or event attendance. The company also outlined plans to strengthen on-site legal services, require staff to carry documentation proving the legitimacy of their work, and assign responsibility for compliance to managers at each subsidiary with additional support from outside counsel. "We will ensure safe business travel environments to maintain trust with customers and do our utmost to normalize the construction and operation of our U.S. plants," LG Energy Solution said in a statement. The restart is expected to accelerate projects that had been slowed by the disruption. LG Energy Solution operates or is building seven factories in the United States, part of an aggressive push to meet surging demand for electric vehicle batteries. At the HL-GA site in Georgia, installation and preparation work that was halted after the detentions is set to resume. Other South Korean battery makers are also moving back to normal schedules. SK On recently reinstated its B-1 visa holders and lifted travel suspensions, while Samsung SDI said its U.S. operations were not affected by the incident. The detentions underscored a growing tension point in South Korea-U.S. business ties. For South Korean companies, short-term travel by engineers and technicians is central to building new U.S. plants. The arrests raised alarm in Seoul and prompted direct government engagement with Washington to clarify what work foreign nationals can legally perform under different visa categories. Industry officials say the swift resumption of travel is essential to keep multibillion-dollar projects on track. LG Energy Solution’s U.S. investments, along with those of SK On and Samsung SDI, form a critical part of both South Korea’s global battery expansion and U.S. efforts to localize electric vehicle supply chains. 2025-10-03 14:25:19

Survey shows 80% of South Koreans reject U.S. upfront demand in tariff talks SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - A strong majority of South Koreans believe Washington's demand for a $350 billion upfront investment in the ongoing tariff negotiations is unfair, according to a survey of 1,008 people aged 18 and older, conducted by pollster Realmeter. The poll found that 80.1 percent of respondents said the demand was unreasonable. Within that group, 61.4 percent called it "very unreasonable" and 18.7 percent said it was "somewhat unreasonable." Only 12.4 percent said it was acceptable, with 5.1 percent describing it as "very acceptable" and 7.3 percent "somewhat acceptable." Realmeter said the sharp disapproval reflected public sentiment that the U.S. demand amounted to a "threatening request," especially after recent tensions involving a South Korean national detained in the United States. The agency said the results showed a strong awareness among the public of the need to protect national interests. The survey showed little regional divide. More than 70 percent in all parts of the country said the U.S. stance was unreasonable, including 84.0 percent in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province and 84.8 percent in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces. By age group, disapproval was above 60 percent across the board and reached its highest level among those in their 50s, at 88.5 percent. On how the government is handling the negotiations so far—rejecting the U.S. demand while continuing talks—61.9 percent said the approach was appropriate, while 30.5 percent disagreed. Asked about the best negotiating strategy, 33.7 percent chose "conditional negotiations" that would stick to principles while allowing limited concessions to strengthen leverage. A tougher line, rejecting the demand outright, was backed by 24.6 percent, while 19.7 percent said South Korea should pursue broader international cooperation alongside bilateral talks. Only 16.2 percent said the government should make concessions for the sake of the alliance. The survey was conducted Oct. 1–2 through automated mobile phone calls. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, with a response rate of 4.1 percent. Full details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website. 2025-10-03 13:42:57

KAIST builds 'physics-smart' AI to discover new materials faster SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) says it has developed an artificial intelligence that understands the laws of physics, making it possible to discover new materials quickly even with only small amounts of data. The advance could speed up work in energy, aerospace, electronics, and other areas where designing and testing materials normally takes years of costly experiments. Traditionally, figuring out a material's properties requires vast amounts of experimental data and expensive equipment. KAIST's team, led by Yoo Seung-hwa of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, worked with Im Jae-hyuk of Kyung Hee University and Ryu Byung-ki of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI). Together they used a technique called Physics-Informed Machine Learning (PIML), which teaches AI to follow the same physical rules that govern the real world. In one study, the researchers worked on hyperelastic materials such as rubber. Using just one experiment, their AI could figure out both how the material stretches and its underlying properties. Normally this would require complex datasets, but their physics-informed neural network (PINN) was able to succeed even when data was limited or noisy. In another project, the team applied the method to thermoelectric materials, which can turn heat into electricity. With only a few measurements, the AI could estimate key properties like how well the material conducts heat and how efficiently it generates electricity. They also introduced a physics-informed neural operator (PINO), a more advanced model that can make accurate predictions for new materials without retraining. After being trained on 20 materials, the AI correctly predicted the properties of 60 new ones. "These results show the first real example of AI that understands physical laws being applied to materials research," said Yoo. "It means that even when data is limited, we can still identify material properties in a trustworthy way, and this approach can spread into many areas of engineering." The first study, co-authored by KAIST doctoral students Moon Hyun-bin and Park Dong-geun, was published on Aug. 13 in Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering. The second, co-authored by Moon, Lee Song-ho, and researcher Wabi Demeke, was published on Aug. 22 in npj Computational Materials. Both projects were supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Science and ICT. The first study also received support from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 2025-10-03 13:27:30

Concerns rise over safety of 'mega batteries' after fire at government data center SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - A fire at the National Information Resources Service in the central city of Daejeon on September 26 brought down South Korea's main government data network, halting 647 public services and internal systems and leaving the government's cloud system unusable. The blaze started in a server room lined with lithium-ion batteries and was only declared fully extinguished 22 hours later. The impact was severe. Ninety-six systems in the fifth-floor data hall were destroyed, including key platforms such as the National Veterans Affairs system, the Government Legislation Information Center, and the national complaint portal. The G-Drive, where civil servants stored work files, was also wiped out. Officials admitted the system had no backup, making recovery impossible. The government has deployed more than 500 staff and contractors to restore services, but progress has been slow. After the first week, just over 100 systems had come back online, mainly those located in unaffected lower floors. Recovery of the 96 destroyed systems is expected to take at least a month, with relocation to a government–private cloud center in the southern city of Daegu. Even some restored services have suffered further outages, showing the fragility of the system. The Daejeon fire has fueled new scrutiny of energy storage systems (ESS), often described as "mega batteries." These installations store electricity and feed it back into the grid when needed, making them essential for renewable energy projects that rely on variable sources such as solar and wind. On October 3, 2025, Democratic Party lawmaker Wi Seong-gon disclosed National Fire Agency data showing that 54 ESS-related fires occurred between January 2020 and June 2025. The breakdown of causes points to systemic risks. Twenty-one cases were recorded as "unknown cause," 17 were linked to electrical issues like overload or short circuits, 10 were traced to mechanical problems such as overheating, and four were tied to chemical reactions including explosions. Out of the 54 fires, 43 involved South Korean-made batteries, with 17 connected to Samsung SDI, eight to LG Energy Solution, and one to SK Innovation via SK On. Eleven incidents involved foreign-made units. Wi said the government cannot afford to treat safety as an afterthought. "ESS is essential for expanding renewable energy, but we need a regulatory framework to ensure they operate safely," he said. He urged improvements in oversight at every stage, from design and installation to operation and inspection. 2025-10-03 10:31:43

Chuseok Now and Then: Pleasure Weighs Over Tradition in Korea SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - Highways once jammed with cars crawling toward ancestral hometowns, kitchens filled with the labor of preparing feast tables, and families dressed in hanbok to perform rites of thanksgiving for the harvest—these were the defining images of Chuseok in South Korea. Today, in a depopulating society, the holiday looks very different. Many households skip or shorten the traditional observances, instead choosing leisure and travel. Incheon International Airport expects 2.45 million passengers during this year’s seven-day Chuseok holiday, averaging 223,000 travelers a day. That figure not only surpasses pandemic lows but also exceeds pre-2020 levels, when daily traffic averaged around 180,000 to 200,000 passengers. A survey by Lotte Members’ Lime service found that 47 percent of respondents plan to travel during Chuseok, with 30.5 percent choosing domestic trips and 16.9 percent going abroad. Hotels.com data shows most will travel with family or groups (60 percent), while 35 percent travel as couples and 5 percent solo. Among overseas travelers, Japan remains the top destination at 43.1 percent, followed by Vietnam (13.2 percent) and China (9.6 percent). “Traditional Chuseok and today’s Chuseok are completely different,” said Kim Eun-sook, 55, a Seoul housewife. “In the past, I visited my husband’s family and worked my bones to prepare songpyeon and jeon. These days, we plan a trip a year in advance.” The shift reflects broader changes in household burdens and gender roles. Preparing food for charye—ancestral memorial rites—has historically fallen on women. Families also traveled for seongmyo, visiting ancestral graves. “It’s more comfortable now, with less burden. People may age, families may change, but fewer than 10 percent still perform charye,” Kim noted. Scholars point to westernization and shifting values. “Past traditions have weakened and disappeared, while the meaning of holiday as leisure has become more prominent,” said Lee Byung-hoon, professor emeritus of sociology at Chung-Ang University. For younger generations, Chuseok is more about rest than ritual. “Everyone around me travels during Chuseok. It’s the longest holiday of the year, so people want to rest,” said Kim Jung-yeon, 31, from Gyeonggi Province. Tourism data reflects the cultural pivot. During the 2024 Chuseok holiday, domestic visitors to Jeju Island totaled 235,089, down from 247,519 the year before, while international arrivals climbed sharply to 31,258 from 20,891. Professor Lee predicts the trend will deepen. “Unless families reunite as nuclear or extended families like in the past, traditional holidays will likely evolve into more individualistic or free holidays. In five to ten years, this shift will intensify depending on how family relationships change.” The numbers stand in sharp contrast to the pandemic years. In 2020, Incheon Airport handled just 964 international flights during Chuseok, and 995 in 2021. By 2023, flights had rebounded to 3,699, surpassing 2018’s 3,273. This year’s surge signals that travel demand has fully recovered—and that cultural practices around the centuries-old harvest festival are moving steadily toward leisure and away from obligation. 2025-10-03 09:11:35

UAE wins multiple awards at Philakorea 2025 in Seoul SEOUL, October 2 (AJP) - The United Arab Emirates embassy in Seoul said Friday that the UAE-based stamp collectors’ group won multiple awards at Philakorea 2025, an international stamp exhibition held in Seoul last month. The event, co-hosted by Korea Post and the Philatelic Federation of Korea, drew more than 2,000 exhibits from over 65 countries. Khalid Ali Al-Amirah received a gold medal for his display on "Dubai Mail 1909–1948," while five other members of the Emirates Philatelic Association also took home medals. During the exhibition, the UAE Embassy in Seoul hosted a "Dubai Night" event. UAE Ambassador to Seoul Abdullah Saif Al-Nuaimi congratulated the winners and said he looked forward to welcoming philatelists from around the world to Dubai. "The Dubai International Stamp Exhibition 2026 will be a global platform to celebrate our shared heritage and strengthen international ties," he said. Meanwhile, the International Federation of Philately (FIP) flag was handed over to the UAE at the exhibition, confirming the Gulf state as the next host. 2025-10-02 17:50:10