Seoul to commemorate 10th anniversary of Dongdaemun Design Plaza

SEOUL -- Seoul City will commemorate the birthday of its landmark "Dongdaemun Design Plaza" through a four-day festival scheduled to kick off on March 21. The visitor-centric event will encourage participation from visitors through various types of attractions such as elaborate photo zones and special tour programs that will guide visitors to hidden areas normally closed to the public. Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) is one of the capital city's landmarks that is locat

March 18, 2024

S. Korean middle market enterprise federation chief calls for more high-quality jobs to overcome low fertility rate

SEOUL -- Choi Jin-sik, the chairman of the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK), has urged South Korean companies to offer more high-quality jobs to tackle the current low fertility rate crisis. During a meeting with the vice chairman of the Presidential Committee of Aging Society and Population Policy (PCASPP), Choi pointed out that increasing such jobs, with higher incomes, could mitigate the crisis. According to data released by South Korea's statistics

March 18, 2024

Seoul to adopt 'tagless' toll gate system at subway stations in 2025

SEOUL -- Seoul will adopt a "tagless" toll gate system at subway stations to solve congestion caused by the huge floating population at toll gates during commuting hours. Seoul Metro, the operator of the capital city's subway train system, predicts the walk-through gates will help people save time. Currently, Seoul Metro only allows passengers with public transport plastic cards or credit cards with a near-field communication (NFC) public transport payment feature to

March 18, 2024

Seoul's southern satellite city resumes operation of robot-driven mobile library

SEOUL -- Seongnam City, a southern satellite city of Seoul, is set to resume the service of its robot-operated mobile library called "Carbook." The robot will traverse the Tancheon Riverside Park to lend books. Carbook, which commenced operations in 2022, is a car-shaped robot measuring 1.8 meters (5.8 feet) in length, 1.2 meters in height, and 1.1 meters in width. Its operation was temporarily suspended during the winter season for routine inspection and maintenance. Eq

March 15, 2024

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