S. Korea to host Winter Youth Olympics for first time in Asia

SEOUL -- The Winter Youth Olympic Games will take place in South Korea's eastern province of Gangwon, well known for its mountainous and forested landscapes, in January 2024. South Korea has become the first Asian country to host the international sports event that would be attended by some 1,800 athletes from about 80 nations. The Winter Youth Olympic Games (WYOG), designed for young athletes aged between 15 and 18, is held every four years. The multi-sport event organized by t

December 20, 2023

Number of S. Koreans with families in North continues to decrease

SEOUL -- The number of South Koreans separated from their family members due to the Korean War (1950~1953) dropped to 39,881 as of November 2023, down 32.5 percent from 2017. Divided families have been unable to reunite since the last family reunion event in 2018 due to escalating tensions between the two Koreas. Millions of Koreans were displaced by the sweep of the Korean conflict, which concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technical

December 19, 2023

Police on manhunt for male and female vandals who damaged walls of iconic palace

SEOUL -- Police are on a manhunt for two vandals, a man and a woman, who damaged the outer walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul using paint spray cans. Two cases of vandalism took place for two days in a row. The police said that they consider these cases as acts of serious crime. Gyeongbokgung is an iconic palace in Seoul that was visited by some 3.4 million people in 2022. The area near the Blue House, the former presidential office, remains a high-security area with a s

December 19, 2023

S. Koreans choose Gangnam as favorite place to spend end-of-year season in 2022: data

SEOUL -- Gangnam, a southern district famous for rapper Psy's global hit song "Gangnam Style," was the most crowded region in Seoul during the Christmas season last year. The southern district, also known as the capital city's heart of fashion and finance, was the most visited region among people in their teens to 40s. In South Korea, Christmas is regarded as a special day for couples to go on dates and an opportunity for singles to express their feelings to someon

December 19, 2023

Girl band NewJeans to drop remix album to commemorate release of hit song "Ditto"

SEOUL -- K-pop girl band NewJeans will drop its very first remix album containing 12 songs. The album is to be released at 6:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) on December 19, the first anniversary of the release of Ditto. Ditto is the five-member's 2022 global hit song that garnered more than 400 million streams on Spotify, the world's top music streaming service. NewJeans, which debuted in July 2022, is the brainchild of Min Hee-jin, the prodigy producer who successfully incubated iconi

December 19, 2023

S. Korean exports of electric vehicles increase by 40% on-year in first three quarters of 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea's exports of electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the first three quarters of 2023 showed a growth rate of 40.9 percent on-year, according to data released by a private vehicle technology institute. Data released by Volkswagen, the world's second-largest carmaker, showed that during the first three quarters of 2023, the German automobile company saw a 45 percent increase in its EV sales compared to the same period in 2022. Howeve

December 19, 2023

Exports of S. Korea's commercial drone hardware and software surpass $11 million in 2023

SEOUL -- Exports of commercial drones, including both hardware and software and related services developed by 17 South Korean companies, reached $11.1 million in 2023, state data showed. The amount is higher by 4.8 times than South Korea's initial annual export plan set at the beginning of this year, which was $2.3 million. In the early days of commercial introduction, drones equipped with optical equipment were mostly used to carry out dangerous tasks. However, their role has b

December 19, 2023

Number of working S. Koreans aged 60 and above on par with workers in 40s: data

SEOUL -- Data released by South Korea's national state statistical office has shown that the number of people aged 60 and above was nearly equivalent to that of young people in their 40s between January and November of this year. The number of new businesses established by individuals aged 60 or older has also significantly increased from January to September in 2023. South Korea is an aging country where about 30 percent of the population would consist of people aged 75 years a

December 18, 2023

Boy band Seventeen completes three-month tour in Japan

SEOUL -- Multinational K-pop boy band Seventeen has completed its Japan tour that started in September. The group attracted about 515,000 fans through 12 concerts at in five cities, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The 13-member band debuted in May 2015 and won the "World Performer Award" at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), an annual music festival in Hong Kong. Seventeen consists of three subgroups -- hip-hop, vocal, and performance. The group made its debut i

December 18, 2023

Seoul's iconic palace walls vandalized despite high security

SEOUL -- The walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace of the Joseon dynasty (1392~1897), located in the heart of Seoul were vandalized with spray paint despite the palace area being one of the most heavily guarded areas in the capital city. Gyeongbokgung is an iconic palace in Seoul that was visited by some 3.4 million people in 2022. The area near the Blue House, the former presidential office, remains a high-security area with a score of closed-circuit television (CCTV) came

December 18, 2023